I had a late-season doe tag and though the hunt was in open sagebrush & bitterbrush country, I decided to use a 30-30 lever action anyway. The Henry Model X was selected. It's not the prettiest lever action around, with the black synthetic stocks, but it's just a well built, accurate lever action rifle chambered in the timeless 30-30.
Handloaded Hornady's 160 grain FTX bullets - they have a flexible tip, and are intended for use in tubular magazines. Got a roaring 2267 fps... LOL!
Popped a 2.5x Leupold atop it. That little scope is my favorite levergun scope and I've had one on my 45-70 for a long time. Great little scope! Zeroed it at 100 yards. I could have zeroed it at 150 or 200 yards, but I was happy with a 100 yard zero. Practiced out to 200 yards with it, knew my holds.
Early on the day of the hunt I put the rifle on my Bog "Deathgrip" tripod and took the doe cleanly with one shot at 170 yards. The bullet hit a rib on the way in, destroyed the lungs. I thought she was broadside, but she must have been at a bit of an angle because the bullet exited her flank, penetrating quite a bit of deer. I did recover a piece of the bullet, less than 20 grains worth.
Meanwhile, the meals have been excellent.





Merry Christmas All! Guy