Well, it took about twenty years but I finally upgraded the sights on my .30-30 carbine. This thing weighs just a tad under five pounds which malkes it a joy to tote through the woods, it breaks down into two pieces small enough to stuff in a pack, and it shoots a .30 caliber cartridge with a respectable amount of energy. But…the factory sights were lacking.
Those sights are darn near halfway down the barrel. And they’re simple notch/post sights…like an AK. And while I respect the AK, I want better sights if I’m going out looking to load up the larder.
I finally got off my butt and order up a peep sight that I’d been meaning to buy for the last couple decades. When you’re using open sights, the longer the sight radius the better.
And it sits all the way at the back of the barrel like it’s supposed to, giving me a rather lengthy sight radius. And an aperature I can swap out if I so desire.
Sure, I have plenty of .308’s that will kill Bambi just fine. But, none of them weigh less than five pounds. And I enjoy handloading for the single-shot .30-30.
Is it a survival gun? I suppose any gun is a ‘survival gun’ if your situation calls for it. But this is really just a fun lightweight(!) carbine that I can stuff into a backpack, hop on my mountain bike, and be miles ahead of everyone on some closed-off logging road when the sun comes up and hunting hours begin.
What willI be shooting? Most likely some 180 grain hollowpoint cast bullets. I like playing with cast bullets and the Contender is an ideal platform for such foolery. Since it’s a .30 caliber single shot, I can pretty much load it with any bullet from 90 gr. up to 220 gr. Of course, at .30-30 velocities those heavy ones will just meander out there taking their time…but when they hit…ouch.
Whats the sight? Williams. There are other sights out there but I liked how compact this thing was.
However, speaking of sights…wait’ll you see what I put on the Marlin 336.
Nice ! It sounds like you made a wise choice. For sure you aren’t limited to round – flat nosed bullet designs so you also have that, 30-30 can be found nearly everywhere and its affordable too. Softer recoil so you don’t get kicked silly in that lightweight gun.
A lot of winning there.
Yeah, I like it. I’d like to have another carbine barrel in .357 and threaded for a suppressor.
The good thing about the 30-30 round, is that any little “mom and pop” bait store that sells ammo for deer hunters, is going to have at least one box ( usually more) sitting on the shelf. Go in there looking for 7mm Magnum or .243 and you will probably wind up bird watching instead of hunting.
That’s what we call “The Wal-Mart Test” : Is it a caliber you’d find at Wal-Mart? If not, then you’ll probably have a hard time finding it elsewhere as well. .45GAP would be a good example. The State Police in NY adopted it but none of their guys could find ammo on their own for it.
Make sure to to put lock tight on the rear sight when zeroed
With the 220’s, have you brewed them to be low and slow subs? Always looking for recipes…
Dont have a .30 suppressor so there’s not much interest for me in doing so. However, I would imagine it wouldnt be too hard.
Just remember, a .30cal suppressor can’t handle a .357 projectile!
Threading for a can would not be a bad thing. Is the barrel thick enough for that to be possible?
Post-SHTF, quiet hunting would be a very good idea. Even now, in some places predators know that a gun shot likely means a meal. Humans can be expected to learn this at least as quickly as bears and wolves.
And that’s not considering the usefulness of “sounds like a bug flying by” so far as meat animals and missed shots.
.30-30’s not a bad round for such purposes. If starting from scratch there are .338 and .358 options that might be better, at least on paper.
I used a William rear aperture on my Marlin 336 .30-30. 16 inch barrel it was short, light and handy. I dislike long barreled rifles for carrying around the boonies. My Woods are tight and quick handling is preferred. Your setup is slick to pack as you outlined. Might not want to face down a bunch a post SHTF bikers types with it but you can bag ass out quicker than a guy humping a Barret M82 for sure.
And the reality is that post-SHTF gangs aren’t likely to be tightly-bonded infantry platoons.
Shoot one and the rest will flee like cockroaches. They’re not going to be thinking “A-ha! He’s fired and now his single-shot weapon is temporarily useless!” —they’ll be thinking “Shit, homie be dead and I might be next!”
This looks to be a practical and useful arm.
I put one of these on my 1894’s, has pretty good elevation and windage adjustment.
Rear: https://www.rangerpointstore.com/cloverleaf-peep-sights-fiber-optic-traditional-marlin-henry-ruger-brass-black-stainless/
I f you camp where bear who may bite roam, a 45/70 Govt. carbine barrel would be of great comfort. Talk about some horsepower in a light small package !
My .357 Winchester 94 trapper has a Williams peep sight on it. From the experience I’ve had with it over the years, I think you’re going to like the results when you sight in this rifle.
I’ve put Skinner Peep Sights on my Henry .22 mag and my Marlin Guide Gun in 45-70. I love ’em and he local, I think St Ignatius.