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Mighty thick brush out here in western,wa and the lowly 30-30 is still quite popular..I know a fella could just get a lever gun but out of pure curiosity would it be possible to build a 30-30 off a savage short action ?
You would need the proper bolt face and I don`t even think a barrel exists for 30-30...Ofcourse there are much better calibers so for conversation sake try not to laugh to hard
if I remember right savage used to make one. Someone help me out here.
It was the model 340. When I was younger I always thought that was the coolest 30-30 out there. I had a buddy I hunted with that had one.
I'm currently gathering the parts to put together a Stevens 200 in 30 Remington. The 30 Remington is basically a rimless 30-30. I plan on using it primarily for cast bullets. I went with the rimless 30 Remington because it is the parent cartridge to the 6.8 SPC, and therefore bolt heads are available.
My first deer rifle was 340 chambered in 30-30. It never shot better than 4" groups at 100 yards because the barrel is pitted. However, it killed two deer at less than 50 yards. I have seen a Winchester model 54 and a Remington 788 chambered in 30-30.
You can often find 340's on Gunbroker.
Why not a 308 hog hunter.
A 358 Winchester knocks them off their feet ! :)
One of my buddies hunted for years with a Savage 340 in 30-30 and killed many a deer with it in Western Washington of all places....where doyou live oldbrass? I grew up in Skamania county and still have a place there. I've killed many a deer there with one of two Marlin 336's in 30-30 I have...great caliber for that neck of the woods!
I`m in Thurston county. I hunt the Naselle valley in pacific county and on occasion the east where its open country. I had a marlin 30-30 once and sold it..I regret it now..It was suggested I build a .308 which is what I might just do, that will cover everything I wanna shoot at from paper to Elk. I got this 7-08 mainly because its a lefty. I figured It would serve as a deer/elk rifle with proper loads, sadly it won`t.Quote:
Originally Posted by emtrescue6
I also have a 110 30-06 featherweight that will do the job but kicks like a mule even with a limb saver.I`m becoming recoil sensitive in my 50s and wanted something freindlier
Did anyone ever make a 375 Winchester bolt action?
Dean
Oh nice! I lived in Lacey for a few years (went to college at Saint Martins) and worked for Lacey Fire Department for awhile so I know the area well.
I too am a lefty, to bad I live in Michigan now or we could probably manage a swap of our 7-08's as all I want to shoot out of mine are the lighter bullets anyway. A quick barrel swap would be an easy inexpensive option as well for your 7-08...as it's not overly desirable with that 1:11.5 twist tube on it anyway...I do love my .308's though and they will do anything you want/need for out there.
I know one of the appeals of the old thuty thuty is the low cost of ammo, and other calibers cannot compete with that. If you want, you can swap for the 308, and load it to 30-30 levels, even using the flat nosed bullets, for reliable, fast expansion. Then when you want to switch gears for elk, load it with a 165gr accubond or similar and run the FPS to the top.
That way you can enjoy a knock em flat deer bullet, and a good mid range elk round.
I slept on it and came to the same conclusion, getting a new model 11 .308 factory takeoff from KschillingQuote:
Originally Posted by handirifle
You got it for a good price too. Let us know how it works out.
get a .308 and load round nose bullets in it for brush busting.
I have a Stevens 30/30 bolt gun with DBM. I like it, great deer rifle out to 150 yards or so.
I like this idea. It would be a lot better than the 7.62x39 bolt actions out there. Maybe Savage could start chambering for it & Remington could start making 30 Remington ammo on a regular basis.Quote:
Originally Posted by gpb11
In reply to post #17
When considering this project, I looked at 3 cartridges. They were the 7.62x39, the 300 Blackout and finally the 30 Remington. Since this rifle will primarily be used for cast bullets, I chose the 30 Remington because of the long neck that it shares with its cousin the 30-30 Winchester. I feel that long necks are an advantage when using cast bullets.
Right now I am waiting for the chambering reamer. I've asked that it be ground for a relatively tight chamber. I have 150 unfired 30 Remington cases along with a set of RCBS loading dies. Since 30 Remington cases are tough to come by I'll probably end up forming some from 30-30 Winchester cases. A little lathe work on the rim and some shoulder reforming is all it should take.
Since you're building it for cast bullets what twist rifling are you going with?Quote:
Originally Posted by gpb11
In reply to post #19
The twist rate was one of the more difficult decisions. Since I’ll be shooting cast bullets in the range of 150 to 170 grains at a range of 100 yards, I opted to go with a 1 in 12 twist. I almost went with a 1 in 10. However, the twist rate formulas I used for the bullets and velocities I expect kept pointing to the 1 in 12.
Also, if a 1 in 12 was good for the people who originally designed the 30-30 Winchester and the 30 Remington it should be good enough for me. If I was going to shoot bullets in the range of 180 to 220 grains I probably would have gone with the 1 in 10.
Right now I have a Krieger #4 contour CM barrel .300/.308 with a 1 in 12 twist waiting for the chambering reamer to arrive.
Yeah ok I was just wondering. I thought you might be going with something slower with cast bullets. I think they went with 1in16 in the 32cal with cast bullets in mind. Wasn't sure what twist would be best in 30cal with cast bullets.Quote:
Originally Posted by gpb11
In reply to post #21
The 32-40 and 32 Winchester Special twist rates of 1 in 16 always seemed kind of slow to me. I suspect that the 1 in 16 originated with the 32-40 due to soft lead bullets and black powder, and that the 32 Winchester Special inherited that even though it was a true smokeless jacketed bullet cartridge. It might have been better off with a 1 in 14 twist which is the twist rate that the 32 Remington ended up with.
Twist rate selection seems almost as much art as science, at least to me. I'll find out if I guessed right next spring.
I used to have a 32-40 with a 1 in 20" twist. It was wonderfully accurate with 165 grain round nose cast and a case full of black.
That makes sense. Anyway I really like the 30 Remington I have two a Model 14 pump & Model 8 semi auto. Would love to have a bolt action. Maybe I'll build one someday too. Cant wait to hear how yours does.Quote:
Originally Posted by gpb11
I have a old 30-30 Stevens bolt not sure on the age. My guess would be 70s. Iron sights. Its a good gun
I have a 30-06 and shoot the 140grain hornady round nose bullets meant for a 30-30. At 100yards it's a paper punching machine! Move out to 200 and it's still pretty good pattern, but drops 6" due to the bad BC. I don't see the want for a 30-30 unless it's a camp rifle. Bad BC = a lot of drop.
Remington made their 788 in 30/30 and it was extremely accurate and you could load pointy bullets. If you find one at a gun show they sell for around $600 ($700 asking) in my area. But, I’d go with .308 because it’s much more versatile.
Yep the .308 will do a lot, loaded with cast bullets its probley an excellent brush rig.As for a 30-30 build Sometimes I think out loud on the forum to get new ideas, If something has ever been tried I`m certain someone here knows about it, So how cool would a left-hand 30-30 bolt gun be ?? Probley not the most practical of firearms but It would be fun I`m sure of that !!