The classic my Dad always wanted.

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My Dad was always a good shot. When the weapon came to his shoulder it seemed to align and fire on it's own, an instinctive very quick shot.

We never had very much and what there was went to the needs of the many rather than the wants of a few. Dad always wanted to hunt deer. He never had the tools for the job until he was unable to take to the field. He horse traded for this classic model 94 Winchester in 30-30, like there was any other choice. When he passed away it came to me. I particularly like the darkening of the finish, and the compact feel it has.

I've seen and handled many of these rifles over the years, from an octagonal barreled 30WCF, with a serial number that was slightly over 10K, to some of the latest, and some of the "collectible" series, none of them have that feeling of solid quality.

The 30-30 is a one hundred yard rifle. It will do a lot out to that distance, then the rainbow trajectory makes marksmanship way to chancy. A 150 gr bullet at about 1800 to 2200 fps and a top eject limit it's usefulness to thin skinned stuff that doesn't bite. I know you can get heavier bullets and you could hunt anything with it, but that would not be wise considering the choices available and the consequences of inadequate power.

Even with all the short comings, relative to modern cartridges, this is still a great gun. It is an icon, and a tool that no one can turn their nose up at.