The Old .30-30


Today, while we tend to look at the .30-30 cartridge and the guns it is chambered in as being suitable for close-range deer hunting, it is a fact that the cartridge has been used to take every species of North American big game. Elk, moose, black bear and grizzlies have all fallen to the .30-30 in the hands of hunters....

Interestingly enough, the .30-30 cartridge and the guns chambered for it became quite popular during the Mexican Revolution (1911-1920). Quite a large number of these guns were exported, legally and otherwise, to arm the revolutionary forces. Even today, south of the border, you will hear the Mexican folk song, “Carbina Treinta Treinta,” honoring the part that the cartridge played in that conflict.

I have a Winchester '94 downstairs myself. I had never heard of the song, though. It's not my favorite genre of music, but it's pretty punchy. 

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6 comments:

  1. Mike Guenther7:51 PM

    I have a Marlin gold trigger, myself. I haven't fired it probably 20 years. Looking it up by the serial number puts it in the mid seventies.

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  2. Assistant Village Idiot10:23 PM

    my step-grandfather might have had something to do with that 94. He was a fine tool maker for Winchester starting about 1890, responsible for the constant adjustment needed to make the dummy version of a new design.

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    1. Grim11:17 PM

      That’s quite a strong family connection! You can be proud of it; the Winchester ‘94 is a great rifle.

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  3. raven1:23 AM

    The old photo's show the revolutionary's with a mix of US lever actions, and Mauser 7x57 bolt actions. (the Mexican Army issue rifle). The Mauser with a 29 inch barrel is a pleasure to shoot, the long barrel keeps the muzzle blast away.
    A superior arm as the distance increases, not nearly as handy in the brush.
    Ludwig Loewe and DWM supplied most of Latin America with Mauser rifles prior to the first world war- some of the finest quality military rifles ever produced.

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  4. Tom10:44 PM

    What a great song!

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  5. douglas2:30 AM

    I suppose I will get my father's .30-30 now. It's not an antique (early 1980s I think). Wonderful gun. He was always a better shot with it than I.

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