I once had an old 94 action with a model 64 front end fitted that I had Ackley Improved by a NB gunsmith. The 24 inch barrel gave good velocity and was accurate with a Lyman receiver sight fitted. Case life was excellent although I had to be pretty careful when seating the bullet or the shoulder would buckle. I only shot 170 grain bullets as they are my preferred weight in a .30 WCF. I did not try for absolute maximum loads and settled @2400 fps. Accuracy and case life were good there. My memory suggests that I used 3031 and 4895 poweders. I found feeding in my particul rifle to be less smooth than the standard round which concerned me. After having my fun with it for several years I traded it here on the board.
I don't think that I would build another one as I'm quite happy with the .32 Special or .30 WCF in a model 94 for general woods walking/hunting situations. If I want a little more power I use a .300 Savage, .33 or .348 WCF. While I love my Winchester lever guns, a Savage 99F in .300 Savage carries just as easy and is a real pleasure to load for and shoot. Come to think of it, I always meant to pick up a takedown 99 in .300!
For experimentation and fun the .30-30 AI is a nice little rifle, just please don't rechamber a really collectible rifle.
