I think you will find the 30:30 a good deer hunting rifle as long as you keep the range under 150 yds. I personally find the 150 grain cartridges much more accurate and flat shooting and, if you place your shots well they will kill just as efficiently as a a .308 out to that range.
I have both a Winchester 94 and a Marlin 336 in that caliber and actually prefer the Marlin (side ejecting, Mike) since the scope can be mounted much lower and I find the lever action much smoother. Then again, I have never tried the angle ejecting Winchester so perhaps it is different.
Incidental, Mike, I have never seen a bottom ejecting Marlin. Which model has that feature?