Anyone have a 35-30?

CoryTheCowboy

CoryTheCowboy

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Howdy folks,

I have the habit of getting into money pit rifle projects and the most recent one in my mind is a 35-30. I've always liked the .358" cartridges (growing up shooting a .35 Whelen probably has a lot to do with it...) and a Winchester 94 carbine is just dandy to carry, so I thought "Why not combine the two and sink a pile of money into a gun that will be impossible to sell when I get bored of it?"

Ballistically, it seems to be just a step behind the venerable .35 Rem, which isn't a bad place to be in my opinion. I see CH4D makes dies and it seems to be a simple one step resize from plentiful 30-30 brass.

I feel like I could get into a sewer pipe bore 30-30 pretty...thriftily and then obviously my biggest expense would be the rebore itself.

I'm thinking the long neck of the 30-30 should make it a dandy cast shooter.

Besides the obvious question of "Why?", I feel like it could be a fun little project.

Anyone have one? Used one? Opinions and experiences?

Thanks,

Cory
 
The long neck on the 30-30 will be considerably shorter when opened to .358. Case capacity and ballistics ( not load data) should be similar to the 35 Rem. You might find that a new barrel is simpler and cheaper than a quality rebore. Should be straightforward, no feeding problems , I like it.
 
tiriaq said:
Or .38-55.
Click to expand...

Nope, the 38-55 takes .377 diameter bullets and a straight case

The 35-30 takes standard 35 caliber bullets and has a slight shoulder.

I have a friend that picked up a reamer for it a few years back. That reamer was well used and starting to dull but, thankfully, no chips. We carefully stoned the cutting edges and it came out quite well but right on minimum spec.

The neck on this reamer was much shorter than those we saw on the internet but not really enough to make much difference powder capacity wise.

He picked up a used barrel and we fitted it to a surplus Martini action from Marstar, that must have been chambered in 303 Brit according to the extractor.

It's a very decent shooter and because of the action will take any 35 caliber bullets made.

I should have kept that reamer when he offered it to me. He has no idea where he put it, after he moved from Alberta to Cranbrook.

OP, I can really see this cartridge shining in a single shot.

Setting up a lever action for it wouldn't give you much over it's parent case IMHO.
 
You will do what it takes to scratch that itch, but can not see just a huge gap out to 75 yards between 30-30, 32 Win, and 38-55. I suppose a 35 caliber could be "slid" in there, just because... But, then there was already the .348 Win, based off the .50-110, but you'd need a Model 71 rifle or it's descendants...
 
My earlier post. And having re-read your original post. Did not mean to dissuade you. Might want to read about the 9.3BS. I happen to like most writings by writer John Barsness. He felt obliged, as a "professional gun writer" to invent a "wildcat" and get his name on it. So he partnered up with his buddy Charlie Sisk and they whipped up a belted magnum in 9.3 mm caliber that would replicate the 9.3x62 cartridge - result was the 9.3 Barsness-Sisk, which was then intentionally shortened to 9.3 BS. John Barsness dutifully shot a bear of some sort with it and it was declared a "success".
 
Folks can do well with the .35-30. It's one of the oldest wildcat chamberings on our side of the pond as it came out around 1900 or so. Folks back then
had 32-40's & 32 Specials with shot out tubes that needed a rebore to keep 'em going. The .35-30 fits the bill for this job nicely for lever guns like the Win
94's & Marlins. The cartridge really shines in the Remington 788 action bolt rifle that was made in 30-30 Win back in the late 60's .

Folks down south had great results on Rifle Silhouette matches in the mid 70's using 788's done up in .35-30. A nice platform fer tossing hardcast 300 gr bombs out of. In a lever rifle, one can get a 250+ gr boolit to cycle easy enough with careful attention to cartridge OAL.
 
Cory, forget the .35-30 and pick up a M94AE in .356 Win. The -30 case runs out of gas with heavier .35 cal pills. I love the .35's too, but want a little more case capacity to drive 200-250 grain pills, I even bailed on the .35 Rem. I have the M94AE .356, two M77 Mark II's in .358 (SS & Blued), a No.1-A in .35 Whelen, an M77 .358/375 Ruger, and two M77 Mark II 's in .350 Rem Mag (SS &Blued). Love them all, and by and large they are all very forgiving of loads with excellent accuracy with various bullets and charges... and they just seem to put animals down fast! I won't debate the physics on that statement supportable or otherwise, but that has been my experience on dozens of big game animals.
 
Holy cow, I didn't expect this many replies ;)

I think this plan is getting put on forever hold before it ever really gets started...I didn't realize how much Win 94s have creeped up in price lately. After doing the math, I think it's just not practical. Not that it ever was practical, but I mean, I'd be into it for a pile of money and like most of you implied, "Why?" That's never stopped me before...but maybe I'm finally learning...

Thanks a lot for the input everyone,

Cory
 
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