Sears Model 54/Win 94 conversion possibility?

awp101 · Post by **awp101** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 8:29 pm

Been eyeing a Sears 54 at a shop in .30-30 for $270.

I don't need another .30-30 but got to wondering if it might be a good candidiate to converting to .35 Rem?

Or should I stick with my plan of grabbing the next decently priced, great shape 336 in .35 Rem? There have been several at the past couple of shows.

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 8:41 pm

My advice is wait for suitable Marlin. The 94 action that I'm aware of has never been chambered in 35 Rem. Differences in a non-rimmed, much thicker web, etc. will make it all a custom fit job, if it would fit.

awp101 · Post by **awp101** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 8:43 pm

Thanks Griff, I hadn't even researched whether or not the 94 was ever offered in .35 Rem.

My initial thought was to use it for a .38-55 conversion but I figured it might be a tad light for that...

Griff · Post by **Griff** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 8:47 pm

awp101 wrote:Thanks Griff, I hadn't even researched whether or not the 94 was ever offered in .35 Rem.

My initial thought was to use it for a .38-55 conversion but I figured it might be a tad light for that...

It'd work great for a .38-55, ream & rebore, plink away. Look @ 20cows Puzzle, started out as a std carbine, minimal change.

awp101 · Post by **awp101** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 9:50 pm

The .38-55 may still happen somewhere down the road but right now I have this terrible monkey on my back...it's called The List. It's my list of current wants/needs/projects. I started it to try and focus my accumulation (it can't be called a collection

) and right now it includes:

Ruger Charger

New irons for the .357 1894C to complement the XS scout mount it currently wears (my Urban Carbine

)

.32 Long cylinder for my 1849 Colt (Uberti IIRC)

Converting my spare Cadet to something besides .310 (fair bore and my other one will remain in .310 as it's in better condition all the way around)

Building my PPSh41 and Vz61 Skorpion kits (oh for the days of pre-86 to make these two TRULY fun!

)

New front sight for the 1889 Marlin in .38WCF

And this morning I cancelled my layaway on a Ruger .45 Colt Bisley Vaq and transferred the paid in amount to a brand new 1895CB in .45-70 (for the Summer Safari

)

Those are just the projects I have written down. It doesn't include the myriad of goodies that just need some general tweaking, tinkering, personalization and whatever else comes up OR my other money/time consuming hobbies.

Some folks were born with looks, some with money, some with talent and some with a combination of any or all of the above.

Somehow I managed to miss all four lines when they were being handed out...

20cows · Post by **20cows** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 10:26 pm

I have had two .30-30s rebored to .38-55. The only changes made were bore and chamber.

They are the top and bottom Winchesters in theis pic.

This was the fruit of the labor put into Puzzle One:

You can even make your own brass in a pinch.

awp101 · Post by **awp101** » Sat Apr 05, 2008 10:31 pm

20cows wrote:You can even make your own brass in a pinch.

.30-30 punched out to .38?

homefront · Post by **homefront** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 8:51 am

The .30-30 was created by necking down .38-55 brass.
You can use .30-30 brass to make .25-35, .32-40 and .32 Winchester Special cartridges as well.
In other words, if you had rifles in .25-35, .30-30, and .38-55 for small game/all around/bigger game shooting, all you'd need was .30-30 brass to reload all three.

shawn_c992001 · Post by **shawn_c992001** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 10:19 am

I've been looking at the 38-55 Marlins on Gunbroker. I believe they started as 30-30's but were bored and chambered to 38-55. The seller says they will also handle 375 Win. If I have a 45-70 do I really need a 38-55/375 Win.?

Modoc ED · Post by **Modoc ED** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 10:35 am

20cows -

Just curious. Since you rebored a .30-30 barrel to .38-55, how did you handle the barrel markings to indicate the caliber of the rifle to it's new caliber? Did you X-out the .30-30 markings and roll .38-55 alongside or what or did you even bother making caliber change markings?

Sixgun · Post by **Sixgun** » Sun Apr 06, 2008 11:28 am

homefront wrote:The .30-30 was created by necking down .38-55 brass.
You can use .30-30 brass to make .25-35, .32-40 and .32 Winchester Special cartridges as well.
In other words, if you had rifles in .25-35, .30-30, and .38-55 for small game/all around/bigger game shooting, all you'd need was .30-30 brass to reload all three.

Homefront, in addition to the ones you mentioned, you can add the 219 Zipper. I keep a couple of thousand once fired 30-30's to make all of the above mentioned rounds but..........the 25-35 and the 219 Zipper need their base squeezed down an extra bit in which case I use the #1 Zipper form die. Failure to squeeze down the base an additional 5 thou. results in hard chambering or no chambering at all.------------Sixgun

awp101--I saw one of those Sears 30-30s go at an auction yesterday. It went for $225. I really thought that big black forend tip was a bit ugly. Take Griff's advice

----------Me

homefront · Post by **homefront** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 4:36 am

I forgot the Zipper!

Here's a great way to do your conversion:
http://www.buffaloarms.com/browse.cfm/b ... age=fadded

You just can't go wrong for $150!

I really thought that big black forend tip was a bit ugly. Take Griff's advice Very Happy

For me it's more about the utility. Pretty is a bonus, but usually costs you and doesn't make it more accurate or reliable.
With women the waters get muddier

.

20cows · Post by **20cows** » Mon Apr 07, 2008 4:58 am

Both are clearly marked. The gunsmith who rebored the rifle overstamped the 30-30 marking to 38-55 and it's not perfect, but it's readable. The one who did the trapper, Jes Ocampaugh, put X'es through the original marking and 38-55 above it.

BTW, a rebore by Jess cost the same $150, but you don't need to change forearms and hardware. However the barrel homefront gave a link to would handily solve the ugly problem. If it were me, I'd go ahead and put a crescent rifle stock on it and make it purty all over. (That's what I did with the rifle on top, it started life as a regular carbine).

Longfin · Post by **Longfin** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 6:36 am

20cows, I'm considering a conversion of a 30-30 by Jess. Would you give more specs on the one he did for you: groove diameter, twist, etc.
Why did you choose 38-55 rather than 375 Win? Are you using cast or jacket bullets? Thanks for any information.

BenT · Post by **BenT** » Sat Apr 12, 2008 8:34 am

Numrich also sells a 26" octagon 38-55 barrel top eject for $115. I'm in the process of putting one on . The blueing on it isn't the best job. I'll post a picture when I'm done.

Longfin you can chamber a 375 in a 38-55 barrel or load a 38-55 as hot as a 375. But I wouldn't in a standard action. 375 brass is a 1/10 of an inch shorter than 38-55 brass.