Does a laser / ballistic calculator make the 30-30 a long range round?

[bluez]

I have been thinking about buying a laser range finder, most likely a bushnell. In his eager the sales guy was arguing for that buying an expensive range finder would turn my 30-30 and other shorter range rifles in to long range guns . Is there any truth to that?

[charles p]

I think you should buy a long range rifle if that is what you desire to shoot. 

Having said that, if the 45-70 can shoot at long ranges, I suppose a 30-30 could also.

[Curtis]

Accurate ranging is only one part of the equation.  If you don't put in the work to know the exact ballistics of your round out of YOUR rifle (not the book charts) and practice enough to be confident of the shot then the range finder is just another toy (there is nothing wrong with toys, mind you).  Of course, your 30-30 will run out of steam many hundreds of hards before the aforementioned 45-70 is no longer reliably lethal, so energy carried downrange is a consideration as well.

Curtis

[Mikey]

The lazer rangefinder doesn't make the caliber any better, but knowing the distance and your bullet drop does and the range finder gives you the distance - you have to know your bullet drop and be capable of making a long shot.  The 30-30 is capable of taking Whitetail at 300 yds.  One of our members used to shoot a older Marlin 30-30 for rifle silhouette to 500 yds. 

[AtlLaw]

buying an expensive range finder would turn my 30-30 and other shorter range rifles in to long range guns .

I think, as if anybody cares what I think,    that this statement is wrong on so many levels it's hard to know where to start!  First, what's his definition of a "short range" rifle!?  Or "shorter range" then what?  For me, where I hunt, 300 yards is such a "long range" shot not only have I never had one, I can't think of anywhere that there is the possibility of one!  And try to tell some of the folk here that 300 yards is an impossible shot for a "short range" 30-30 rifle!   

A range finder just lets you know the range to a target more accurately then eyeballing the range.  IF, and these are big "ifs," a shooter knows the trajectory of a particular round fired from a particular weapon (the actual trajectory, not some generic printout) , and IF the shooter knows how to dope the wind and take into account any other factor that may effect the bullet's path, knowing the exact range to the target will assist this already accomplished shooter place his bullets more accurately.

It will NOT turn any other mechanical device into anything!  And if you are talking about shooting at a live animal, it will not make a bullet that has run out of steam a clean killer.

Other then the fact that this was a completely nonsensical statement, it's fine... 

Oops!     Curtis and Mikey beat me to it...    Itype to much... and to slow!   

[charles p]

Are you planning to shoot long range paper or game animals?  Doesn't take much energy to poke a hole through a piece of paper, but you need several hundred foot pounds of energy to kill a deer.  Some manuals suggest a 1000 ft/lbs.  Less will work with good bullet placement, as most everyone on here has experienced or hear a tale about.

[dukkillr]

No.

[bluez]

The 30-30 looses energy down range i know. And my scoped 30-30 is at zero in 200 yards. And the original reason i wanted to buy the rangefinder is to be sure i was under 250 yards or so. But as i understand the rangefinder with ballistic calculator tell med how much to hold over the target. So if i aim at a smaller game on let's say 350 yards the device is supposed to tell me to hold over let's say 30 inches. Then again finding out how much you need to hold over on target is hard with out knowing the height of the game.

But in what cases will a built-in ballistic calculator make sense?
 

[Lloyd Smale]

i think the fly in the ointment here is accuracy. The 3030 probably has plenty of power at even 300 yards to kill a deer but not many 3030s will hold accuracy out that far well enough to get the job done.

[Curtis]

But in what cases will a built-in ballistic calculator make sense?

For the 30-30, your stated use of the range finder alone (to make sure you are within your limits) makes perfect sense.  For longer ranges, the ballistic calculator is only useful if you can input the known velocity and ballistic coefficient of the particular round that you are shooting.  Your load might accidently match up with book data but you can't know for sure unless you put in some range time.

Curtis