The Henry 30-30 Lever is a lever-action hunting rifle with a 5-round tubular magazine. Like most lever actions, it’s chambered in .30-30. At only 7 pounds in weight, it’s ideal for hunting in deep brush where other rifles could be inconvenient.
The stock iron sights are adjustable, and are pinpoint accurate out to about 100 yards. Beyond that, you’ll probably want to mount an optical sight on the top. To help with this, the hammer is grooved to accept an extension.
Pros
- Lightweight
- Adjustable iron sights
- Extendable hammer for mounting optical sights
- Beautiful hardwood stock
Cons
- Requires flat or blunt-tipped bullets
- Fixed tubular magazine
Why It’s Recommended
The Henry 30-30 Lever is a workmanlike rifle that’s equally useful for short and medium-range hunting.
Key Considerations
If this is your first deer rifle, you probably have some questions about what makes one rifle better than another. We’ve tried to be as thorough as possible in our reviews, but there are a couple of things that deserve special attention for new hunters: caliber and action.
What is the Best Caliber Rifle for Deer Hunting?
When considering a rifle caliber, there are two main considerations: the size and shape of the bullet, and the size of the cartridge. A heavier bullet will hit harder than a light bullet at the same speed.
However, the heavier the bullet, the more powder is required to fire it, which means you’ll need a bigger cartridge with higher recoil.
With that in mind, let’s look at the five most popular deer hunting cartridges.
.30-06 Springfield
The .30-06 was originally developed by the US military in 1906, and remains in use to this day in many foreign militaries. The bullet is 7.62mm in diameter, identical to the current NATO standard, except that the NATO cartridge is a bit shorter.
It’s suitable for hunting out to very long ranges, but has significant recoil.
.308 Winchester
The .308 Winchester was developed in 1952, and is the commercial cartridge on which the current NATO cartridge is based. It’s very similar to the .30-06 Springfield, but has a shorter cartridge.
Thanks to improvements in smokeless powder between 1906 and 1952, it was no longer necessary to have such a large cartridge, and the shorter cartridge allows for shorter action than a .30-06, which means it’s easier and faster to cycle the bolt.
.300 Winchester Magnum
The .300 Winchester Magnum was developed by Winchester in 1963. Like the .30-06 Springfield and .308 Winchester, it fires a .30 caliber (7.62mm) bullet, but it has a larger, magnum cartridge that provides a higher muzzle velocity, with point-blank range extending as far as 300 yards.
This makes it useful for long-range shooting, as well as for big game like moose and elk. The price of this extreme power and accuracy? A lot of recoil.
6.5 Creedmoor
The 6.5 Creedmoor is a newer cartridge, created in 2007 by Hornady. It combines a .308 Winchester cartridge with a longer, but narrower 6.5mm bullet. This results in slightly lower recoil and a flatter bullet trajectory.
While it’s not as powerful as the .308 at shorter ranges, beyond about 300 yards it’s actually more powerful. This is because the lighter, slimmer bullet is slowed down less by wind resistance. It also flies truer, and is less sensitive to crosswinds.
.30-30 Winchester
The .30-30 Winchester has been around since 1895, when Winchester introduced it to go with their Model 1894 lever-action rifle. It’s still the most popular hunting cartridge for lever-action rifles, thanks to the blunted tip, which keeps it from causing accidental discharges when it’s stacked in a tube magazine.
It’s comparable to the .308 Winchester at short ranges, but loses velocity faster due to the blunted tip.
What is the Best Rifle Action for Deer Hunting?
In our list, we’ve included rifles with three different types of action: bolt-action, semi-automatic, and lever-action. While there are other actions available, such as pump-action and single-shot, these aren’t very common, and are niche rifles. We’ve chosen to stick with mainstream, frequently-used designs.
Bolt-Action
Bolt-action rifles are by far the most popular variety for hunting rifles. The main reason for this is that they’re the simplest in mechanical terms. Simple means fewer moving parts, and fewer moving parts means a lower chance of failure or jamming.
On the other hand, these guns do have two significant disadvantages: unlike semi-autos or lever-action rifles, they come in left and right-handed versions. If you’re left-handed, you’ll have to either learn to shoot right-handed, or seek out a hard-to-find left-handed action.
The other disadvantage is that they take a couple seconds to reload, so they’re not ideal for quick follow-up shots.
Lever-Action
Lever-action rifles are popular among hunters who do a lot of walking through deep brush. Because of the location of the lever, it’s easy to cock the rifle in one smooth motion as you bring it to bear, making it ideal for snap-shooting.
Since the action is ambidextrous, lefties can use one easily without needing to buy a special version or learning to shoot right-handed.
That said, these rifles aren’t available in very many calibers. Almost all of them are .30-30 Winchester, which isn’t a bad cartridge – it’s just not ideal for long-range shots.
Semi-Automatic
Semi-automatic rifles automatically load the next round when they’re fired. They’ll continue to reload themselves each time you pull the trigger, until the magazine is empty. This makes them great for taking follow-up shots. It also makes them inherently ambidextrous.
On the downside, semi-autos have a lot of moving parts, so they tend to cost more than a bolt-action rifle in the same caliber. They’re also more prone to jamming, although this should be rare with a well-designed firearm.
Bottom Line
At the end of the day, there’s no single “best deer hunting rifle”. There’s a range of options which are well-suited for particular purposes. Whether you want a long-barreled bolt-action rifle or a shorter, lever-action rifle will depend on how and where you’re hunting.
If you’re shooting from a deer stand, you’re going to have limited mobility. Since you can’t reliably count on deer coming right up to your stand, your main consideration will be range. A longer-barreled, higher-powered rifle is a better idea.
And since you won’t be walking around with your gun as much, you’ll be able to easily manage a heavier gun.
On the other hand, if you’re going to spend a lot of time tracking and stalking, a shorter, lighter rifle will be a better choice. This means you’ll need to be closer to the deer to take your shot, but you’ll also have an easier time getting your gun from point A to point B – and back to point A again.
Visit the OutdoorWorld Reviews homepage for more expert deer hunting tips including how to grunt for deer, how much calculate venison yield, how long to hang a deer for the best tasting meat and much more!