The .30-30: that lazarus of cartridges - Handgun Hunting

American Handgunner, Sept-Oct, 2002 by J.D. Jones

Thompson Center introduced the .30-30 in a 10" barreled Contender almost 30 years ago, starting the .30 caliber handgun craze for hunting and competition. At that point, the Contender wasn't anywhere near as accurate as it is now. The .30-30 was soundly criticized by many self-proclaimed experts as being inaccurate and unable to give decent performance on game. Those experts were wrong on both counts. Obviously the shooting public either can't read or didn't believe them and I have a feeling it's the later. The .30-30 is still around and it's better than ever.

Time passed. Custom XP-100's in .300 Savage and .308 became quite popular. The .309 JDJ in a Contender got invented and is a ballistic match for a .308 and I'm happy to announce there are many thousands of them in service. The .300 Whisper is a relatively recent development and is very effective on game up to around 400 pounds. The Encore in .300 Win Mag and .30-'06 JDJ sell well too. The critics still criticize and the public still buys the .30 caliber.