I have a Ruger Balckhawk pistol i picked up at a gunshow a while back. Its a .30 Carbine. Fun little sucker to shoot. Puts out one hell of a muzzle blast!

Wondering what you guys thought about the .30 Carbine on big game the size of deer, antelope etc.? Is it big enough? OR should it be left for popping coyotes at 100yds?

I realize in some states the .30 Carbine is NOT legal for shooting big game. Are there any states where it IS legal?

Thank you.

I don't think the 30-cal Carbine load is even suitable for coyotes at 100 yards unless you are handloading it with suitable bullets. This is a plinking-round pure & simple.

NO

From a pistol? Mebbe 50 yards with soft point or hollow point bullets. Mostly a plinker, especially in the winter when the yellow hoards are charging down the hill towards you. JMO

My brother hunted deer with a carbine one season back in the early 60s. He chased up a buck, fired and the deer kept going. Distance, about 100 feet. The deer crossed in front of me and I put him down with my 30 06. We found his 30 calibur under the skin when we skinned the deer. The bullet penerated the hair and hide, hit a rib and stopped. He hurt the buck, but in no way came close to killing him. He put away the carbine and went back to his 30 30. That never failed him.

Sharps-Shooter. The Ruger Blackhawk in .30 Carbine is one of my favorites, but NOT with full power loads. I've been looking for one in the Old Model Ruger and recently found one in decent enough condition to suit me at a reasonable price.
I shoot almost nothing but cast bullets in my handguns, all handloads, leaving factory jacketed ammo for defensive purposes only. The handloads are for pleasure.
My .30 carbine is used with one of two bullets, a 113 gr. Lyman gas checked bullet (#311316) and a SAECO 120 gr. bevel based bullet that I can carefully force gas checks on. Both bullet sit over 5.0 gr. of Unique. I have no idea of the velocity, and don't really care. Either bullet is minute of cottontail rabbit's head at 25 yards if I do my part, and neither will demolish Brer Cottontail should I do a body shot. Muzzle blast is diminished somewhat, recoil extremely mild, and from a good rest, groups less than one inch at 25 yards.
As to whether or not I'd shoot a deer with it? Well, maybe in a survival situation, I might try a brain shot if I could get close enough, but otherwise, I have much better guns for larger animals.
Paul B.

I alawys wanted to try pointed bullets in it to see what it would do. Compare the .30 to pistol rounds. Lots of guys hunt deer with .357 and .41.

A Master Seargeant in Viet-Nam told me the only time he ever shot anything with a 30 carbine, it got up and shot him back. Purple heart city. He advised me to get something bigger. Based on that, I'd say no.

Military users have all used the FMJ ball round in combat. It is a miserable performer. Using the 110 gr. RNSP it does a very credible performance on humans to 100 yards or so and is much more controllable for the younger set and many smaller people (or so I've been told ). I know that I wouldn't feel unarmed with an M1 carbine. IOW, if you like your 9mm Luger or .40 S&W you'll like the carbine cartridge.

I used a 30 Carbine one time with Rem Soft nose bullets and a few solids to shoot a buck mule deer and had to run him down horseback to kill him, 14 shots later I cut his throat and that killed him...sold it never want to see another one...

I had a .30 carbine revolver for awhile. Real load. Pretty accurate. Ineffective for anything larger than a packrat, and a large bull packrat may give you some troubles.

You've been given good advice in the posts above. While that particular pistol can be quite accurate, it is in no form or fashion suitable for big game in anything other than a sheer survival situation. I had one for a while, and with suitable bullets, it does fairly well on small varmints and will no doubt put the lights out for coyotes out to 50 or 60 yards. But there are much better choices for coyotes -- and for deer and larger game, it shouldn't be given a second thought.

The 30 carbine well kill just fine with soft pts and good shot placement. I know a gal that has a bad arm and cannot handle anything heavier. She killed a very nice 180 lb buck with hers. One shot one kill. As with any gun where you have limited power you just have to make sure of your bullet placement and range is limited.
It is a legal round both in rifle and pistol in Wisconsin.

If I had to choose between the 30 Carbine and a 22LR for deer, I wouldn't be pickin' the 30.

I have one too that I've had for about 10 years and I love taking that thing out to the range. You touch off 6 rounds and you have everyones attention! As for the power if you look at the ballistics the 30 Carbine with a 110gr SP puts out the same kind of power as a 41 Mag. If you're using a good SP and limited yourself to 50 yards you'ld be fine just put the bullet where it belongs.

I think it would make a good handgun. Moreso than a rifle.

I have one I use to shoot beavers that are always flooding my meadows. Works great, no beef with it's killing power on them.
Theres an old deer hunter nearby that uses one time to time, but he's pure woodsman and could likely use a 22 RF without trouble too.