Lane proved to his own satisfaction that with handloads and a red-dot optic, the .30-30 Winchester M94 is still a viable hunting rifle. (Lane Pearce photo)
July 07, 2026
By Lane Pearce
The .30 WCF (a.k.a. the .30-30) was introduced a year after Winchester’s Model 1894 lever-action rifle debuted. The round is based on necking down the .38-55, and the .30-30 may well be the first sporting cartridge loaded with smokeless powder. Marlin soon chambered its Model 1893 lever gun for the round, and keeping with the then-common practice of including the charge weight of gunpowder in the cartridge designation, Marlin stamped the rifles .30-30 (.30 caliber and 30 grains of powder). By doing so, they avoided referring to their competitor. Winchester didn’t change the barrel stamp from .30 W.C.F. to .30-30 until after World War II.
I’ve owned several
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