30 carbine question

[benjaminw7528]

 will a 30 carbine be a good deer cartridge

[PA-Joe]

Not the carbine. A 30-30, 30/06, 308 even the 7mm08 are good short range deer guns. Plus check your state hunting regs, some do not allow semi-auto guns.

[Redhawk1]

Will a 30 Carbine kill a deer, yes. The 30 Carbine is on par with a 357 Mag. If it is legal in your State use it, but keep your shots under 50 yards.

[Cement Man]

I think Redhawk is right on the money.
But to answer your question - is it a "good" deer cartridge?  No.  It ranks very near the bottom for CF rifle cartridges and because of that it is not legal (the cartridge itself, not necessarily semi-auto rifles) in all states for deer hunting. If it is legal, and you would use one, make sure you use the correct bullets. Not FMJ, which is generally more available, and probably not legal as well.

[rich5674]

Cementman s right on. That being said, a friend of mine killed a deer no problem with one when he was new and didn't know better. Once he was educated he never used it again.

[Sourdough]

I know guys that got pistols chambered for the .30 carbine cartridge.  Performance was not all that great.  Knew lots of people that brought them back from the War (WWII) most tried hunting with them, then came back disabled them and gave them to their kids to play army with.  Says a lot about their confidence for using it as a deer gun.

[coyotejoe]

I took one whitetail with the M1 Carbine and a handloaded 110 grain Speer "varminter" flat nose hollowpoint. The deer didn't seem to know it wasn't an '06. It was a broadside shot and left an exit wound larger than a quarter coin. It really doesn't take much to make a clean kill if you just pick your shots and don't squeeze until you're certain. I have no doubt that the .22 rimfire has killed more game than any centerfire cartridge, illegally yes, but dead is dead. I view the .30 carbine as about like a .22 rimfire magnum times three.
  Here in Colorado some egghead decided that 1000 ft.lb. at 100 yards was the minimum for clean kills with a rifle, but handguns need only 550 ft.lb. at 50 yards. So a .357 magnum in a  revolver is OK but a .357 Magnum rifle is not! Then for muzzleloaders they only require .50 caliber or larger for elk with no mention of energy.  Go figure!  I can attest that round ball muzzleloaders of .50 and .54 caliber will drop elk at 100 yards even though the .30 carbine round retains more energy at that distance. It all comes down to shot placement. That one item, shot placement, is so important that nothing else much matters. Where legal, I'd have no qualms in hunting with my M1 carbine.

[257 roberts]

NO!!!!!

[Redhawk1]

NO!!!!!

Wow that was helpful.... Care to elaborate???

[jro45]

NO!!!!!

A man of few words.

[Don Fischer]

I think the 30 carbine cartridge could be a lot of fun in something like a Handi Rifle. Loaded up with cast bullets it would probally make a neat small game rifle. The biggest thing it has going against it is the M-1 carbine you usually get it in. But the cartridge is in the same class, in my opinion, as the 256 Win and the 32-20. They have a place it's just that we don't go there. You could start off a kid with one of those in a Handi-Rifle and teach handloading at the same time; and casting if your into it. Unfortunately what probally happens with the 30 carbine is the same that happens with so many 223 black rifle shooters. They buy up a lot of really cheap ammo and spray it all over. the difference is the 223 has a big V8 and the carbine a flathead six! But no way would I call it a deer cartridge.

[SHOOTALL]

A BEAN FIELD RIFLE NO ! A HANDY LIGHT GUN IN A THICK BRIAR PATCH THAT COVERS HALF A SQ. MILE OR MORE , WHERE SHOTS ARE 20-30 YARDS IT SEEMS TO BE OK !
I HAVE COLLECTED SEVERAL DEER WITH THE .30 CARBINE ! EASTERN VA. DEER ARE SMALL , I LIKE TO CARRY THE .30 ON DOE DAYS !
IT SEEMS TO SHOOT BETTER THAN ANY HAND GUN ( I LIKE TO HUNT WITH A HAND GUN )AND CARRY BETTER THAN MOST RIFLES ( BEEN THAT WAY SINCE 41 ) , ANYWAY IT WORKS UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL !
O YEA I HAVE GOTTEN A FEW TURKEYS ALSO WITH THE .30 !
AMMO WINCHESTER 110 GR HP FACTORY

[257 roberts]

I carried a Winchester M1 Carbine in my patrol car for 11 yrs nuff said!

[Redhawk1]

I carried a Winchester M1 Carbine in my patrol car for 11 yrs nuff said!

I find it funny that a 357 Mag in a handgun is considered a short range  deer cartridge, but a 30 Carbine that has the same power as a 357 Mag would not be considered at all.

What does carrying a 30 Carbine in your patrol car have to do with killing a deer at short range? 

[SHOOTALL]

PATROL CAR ! HUM !
SOUNDS LIKE A GOOD TRUCK GUN TO ME !
IN VA. WE CAN HUNT DEER WITH THE .30 CAB. BUT NOT THE .223 REM. THAT SAYS A LOT !
I LIKE MINE , OH BY THE WAY , MINE GROUPS WELL , I HAVE OWNED 4 AND ALL WERE USEABLE OUT TO 100 OR SO YDS. ALL GROUPED BETTER THAN MY MINI 30
AND AT 5 1/2 LBS. " NUFF SAID "

[Larry Gibson]

Some years back the .30 Carbine was legal for deer in Oregon. When I returned home off active duty (the first time) in '67 the little M1 Carbine was all I had. I was reloading using a Lee loader and loaded the Hornady 100 gr HJ over H110.  I killed 7 black tail deer with it in the foothills outside Dallas where I grew up. Longest shot was just over 100 yards or so. All were heart lung shots and all one shot kills. None went over 30-40 yards after the shot and several dropped in their tracks. I also managed to kill 20+ feral goats with that Carbine, that load and a couple others including cast bullets. The goats had been left when a OSU experimental station was closed in the Eola hills outside of Salem and went feral, pretty wild and wliey they were. I shot a lot of greydiggers for the orchard owners and they wanted the goats dispatched. The M1 Carbine proved quite up to the task in the dense brush and scrub forrest that bordered the orchards.  All those hunting areas are now subdivided. Like any gun/cartridge combination the M1 Carbine /.30 Carbine cartridge works fine within it's limitations.

Larry Gibson

[coyotejoe]

Very well put Larry, and I could only add "and within the limitations of the user."  If you can't settle your nerves and wait for the right shot you won't do well with the carbine but you probably won't do very well with anything.
Redhawk1, I also find that very odd.  The carbine round has more energy retained at 100 yards than most .357 handguns at the muzzle and I expect that anyone could place their shots more accurately in the field with a carbine than with any revolver but you won't find anyone singing the praise of the carbine as a personal defense weapon either.
And to ".257 Roberts", well I carried an M1 Carbine in my VW bus for 30 years, is that enough said?

[Ratltrap]

As has been well argued, the 30 carbine will kill deer under certain circumstances. Considering other available cartridges, however, the short answer to whether a 30 carbine is "a good deer cartridge" must IMHO be no. A marginal deer cartridge, sure.

[SHOOTALL]

please don't tell the deer in va. , i would still like to use mine !
but yes there are better options for power , some people think the 30/30 is marginal ,