30wcf Bored out to 35-30 ?

[Dusty Texian]

Really thinking about having a worn-out 30-30 bored out to 35-30 . I remember reading about the 35-30 and most liked it . If anyone has one of these 35-30's , how do you like it and where can I get re-loading dies ? I have an old circa (1909 ) 1894 30wcf 26" octagon barrel rifle that would be the one bored out . Would be used for deer and wild hog for the most part and would hope to use .358 cast bullets around 1,650 fps - 1,750 fps . Is that doable with the 35-30 ? Thanks in advance ,,,,DT

[Tycer]

Here’s the pages:
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=site%3Ahttps% ... one&ia=web

[Scott Tschirhart]

Sounds like a worthwhile project.

[Dusty Texian]

Here’s the pages:
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=site%3Ahttps% ... one&ia=web

Thank you ,,,,DT

[Twodot]

here is the guy to do the work

http://35caliber.com/

..

[yooper2]

Ed Harris of the Cast Bullet Association has one and has written a couple of good articles on it. Below is the only one I've found on the web but there were others in the Fouling Shot.

Eric

https://www.hensleygibbs.com/edharris/a ... ster94.htm

[Dusty Texian]

Thank you all for the info . The more I learn of this Wildcat the better it looks . ,,,,DT

[Pat C]

Are you worried about possibility of a ruined barrel?
I've got a 32 WS been wanting to take to 38-55

If you ask any of the re-borers the 1894 nickel steel can be tough to rebore .liner probably safer but would rather have rebore.

[El Chivo]

rifle bullets are going to be pretty long and heavy, with a fairly small case for the powder charge, if you go .358. You pretty much have to use the 200 gr round nose meant for 35 Rem.

I thought of doing this but optimizing it for pistol cartridge bullets, .357 diameter instead of .358. I contacted the reboring man and he said he could do it.

then I'd have a very hot pistol cartridge rifle instead of a somewhat anemic rifle cartridge. I was thinking of velocities between 1600 to 1800, and using it for silhouette.

I wanted to shoot the 180 grain Lasercast and push it faster than the .357 cartridge can.

another idea I got for dies is to buy die parts from Lee, and use a 30-30 outer die with a 35 neck sizer, they are available separately.

I did make up some demos opening up the necks with my 357 die.

never got around to it though.

[Dusty Texian]

Looking at this project after a good night sleep , a rare thing for me ! It looks like a great project , but think the old worn 30wcf that still shoots jacketed bullets pretty good and cast OK if you don't ask target accuracy from it . At the rate I shoot it the old worn barrel will probably last as long as I will . Think I'll let the grandboys deal with it their own way latter .....DT Hard to beat the old 30 wcf !!!!!

[El Chivo]

that's what happened to me, I got into other things and the 30-30 shoots well enough. Another issue I had when living in So Cal is the need to use Barnes bullets when hunting. And I found out the Barnes 30-30 bullet needs 1400 fps to open up. So on long shots, it would be going too slow to open up. Whereas the Barnes .357 bullet will open up at a much lower velocity - the petals are slimmer and the nose opening is wider. So I could take a long shot with the .357 bullet and it would still open up on game, out to 250 yards or so as opposed to 150 with the 30-30.

There are really no good levergun loads with the Barnes bullet unless you are staying under 200 yards, which is tough to do in California. I was going to do all this but with hunting season coming up, I just bought a .243 Handi-Rifle instead. Lighter to carry, accurate, deer capable, etc.

It's still a neat project but I think it lends itself more to the use of pistol cartridge bullets because of the smaller case capacity. That 180 grain .357 bullet was always accurate for me in the .357 case, it would probably be a good match for the 30-30 case.

[Scott Tschirhart]

here is the guy to do the work

http://35caliber.com/

..

Just thinking out loud, but I'd have a hard time doing a .35-30 over a .38-55.

[Dusty Texian]

The old 94 thutty thutty has sent a bunch of them to the smoke house !

[65bee]

Five years ago I picked up a excellent '94 carbine in .30-30, made 1930, with nickel steel barrel, that had a completely useless barrel from firing corrosive ammo. I sent it to JES Reboring and had him rebore it to 38-55. He did a flawless job, looks factory, accurate with cast bullets and jacketed. I couldn't have been happier with the work! It required no action work, functions perfectly with the factory guides. You can't go wrong with JES. Oh yeah, the best part was the turn-around was only two weeks!

[Tycer]

here is the guy to do the work

http://35caliber.com/

..

Just thinking out loud, but I'd have a hard time doing a .35-30 over a .38-55.

Not me. I have a thing for 35 caliber.

[Dusty Texian]

Five years ago I picked up a excellent '94 carbine in .30-30, made 1930, with nickel steel barrel, that had a completely useless barrel from firing corrosive ammo. I sent it to JES Reboring and had him rebore it to 38-55. He did a flawless job, looks factory, accurate with cast bullets and jacketed. I couldn't have been happier with the work! It required no action work, functions perfectly with the factory guides. You can't go wrong with JES. Oh yeah, the best part was the turn-around was only two weeks!

Have heard all good reports about JES . How many rifling grooves did you get ?

[Pat C]

I was thinking of sending JES my 32WS to get rebored to 38-55 but I don't think he does original Winchester 6 groove rifling.

Personally wouldn't care for the 3 groove

[Scott Tschirhart]

I was thinking of sending JES my 32WS to get rebored to 38-55 but I don't think he does original Winchester 6 groove rifling.

Personally wouldn't care for the 3 groove

Do you think it matters?

[Pat C]

Maybe,maybe not.during war time two groove barrels were made to cut down on time required to rifle barrels.
It was also determined less grooves increased chamber pressure .
Accuracy was also reported not as good as four groove
These deficiencies may be miniscule and not detectable especially in an old levergun .

But there was a reason Winchester used 6 groove rifling and it wasn't by accident. I'm kinda partial to having the bore made like it was originally.

[Dusty Texian]

JES must be doing something right , all I have ever heard from others that had him re-bore a barrel is very good work and accurate shooter . I would have no problem at all with a Three Groove re-bore if it was accurate . Once bored with however many grooves , original is out the window .

[buckeyeshooter]

I would go 38-55 over 35-30. No case forming and jacketed.358 bullets for my 35 remington are a pain in the butt to find right now, good thing I cast.

[Tycer]

I would go 38-55 over 35-30. No case forming and jacketed.358 bullets for my 35 remington are a pain in the butt to find right now, good thing I cast.

What bullets does your 35 rem like?

[El Chivo]

I would go 38-55 over 35-30. No case forming and jacketed.358 bullets for my 35 remington are a pain in the butt to find right now, good thing I cast.

What bullets does your 35 rem like?

I will chime in for the Hornady bullet, it was noticeably more accurate than the other I tried (Sierra). Though the Remington factory load is close.

It looks like the hash mark for the case is set further back on the Hornady, so if you use it the round will be longer and it just contacts the rifling in my Marlin. At any rate it gave me the best groups. I also found 3031 was the best powder, which was a surprise.