[Long Path]

Of course we know that a .30-30 will kill whitetail deer at 400 yards. To attempt to do so on an un-wounded deer would be ridiculous, but the bullet clearly has the energy to do so. This proves little. We are sportsmen.

I've a friend who killed a deer at over 200 yards (I want to say 213yds, but I could be mistaken-- I must ask) with a Marlin 336. But he had some special conditions. The rifle was scoped, and had a trigger job. He had worked up the load himself, and knew the drop to within a fraction of an inch out to 250. He had been hunting that deer lease for over a week, and had paced the shot to that spot at the fence from his blind, so that he knew the exact range. He had pushed some downed timber together to make a solid rest for his blind, which he took advantage of. It was a still day, with standing broadside shot, with the sun behind him, and the deer unaware of his presence.

Under those conditions, he was not stretching too greatly the abilities of the .30-30. Add to that the fact that we call him the "human Ransom rest", and you have a clean shot.

Using factory sights and factory triggers under average field conditions, I would say that 125 yards is the longest shot I would ever try for a deer with a .30-30. With good receiver peep sights and a trigger job, I feel that 175 yards is certainly within the reach of a good rifleman.

-L.P.