2022 Mule Deer with a 30-30 Lever Action
Posted: Sat Dec 24, 2022 5:11 pm
Well sadly this year my son struck out on his regular season mule deer hunt. He has an astoundingly accurate 7mm Rem Mag Bergara rifle and we were hoping he'd tag a nice buck this year. No luck.
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.
I needed an easy hunt this year. Partial tear of my left Achilles tendon has me limping a lot, but I could handle this hunt just fine.
Merry Christmas All! Guy
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.
I needed an easy hunt this year. Partial tear of my left Achilles tendon has me limping a lot, but I could handle this hunt just fine. Merry Christmas All! Guy