Rebarreling a Browning B78 in 22-250 Remington to 30-30 Winchester.

dthunter

dthunter

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Hello guys.

I am wanting to rebarrel my B78 in 22-250 Remington to a 30-30 Winchester. I am wanting to put a match quality barrel with a “slightly” heavier profile than the original barrel. The 30-30 barrel will be 24” long, 1:10” twist and Chrome Moly, and deep blued as the original. Ideally I would like a long heavy chamber swell.

Do any of you see any issues with the reuse of the original ejector? I dont forsee enough difference between the 22-250 case rim/groove diameter and the 30-30 win case base diameter to require any modification to the ejector.


After the new barrel is finished, I will explore the possibility of a different scope base mounting system to be installed. I am wondering if having both rear and front bases mounted to the barrel is benificial over having one on the action and one on the barrel.


Any heads up issues about this project that I am missing?
 
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Any heads up issues about this project that I am missing?

Yes a few
common barrel twist for the 30-30 is 1/12
You will have to change the bolt face/ extractor
You can not push a 30-30 too far (38000 cup) -- brass is weaker than a 308 (52000 cup)

Why not rebarrel to 308 ? 1/12 twist or 1/11 for the vld
Same bolt face as 22-250 = less work
 
Just having some fun, thank you for your input:

The rate of twist is what I want out of it. 1:10 will be just fine and will stabilize heavier bullets at lower speeds if I want to do that.

The extractor may be an issue, but I think its do-able for such a small variation.

The bolt face is a falling block, no need to change anything there. Why do you think I would have to change something there?

Pressure limits are ok with me. I am not trying to push it hard, just accurately to its normal potential.

Why not make it a 308?..... I have 4 of them already and it would be “vanilla” to me, so to speak

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What you propose to do is doable. The extractor may have to be built up a bit, but that is easily done.

As far as the scope bases, it would take a lot of rapid shooting to heat up the barrel enough to affect them. I once owned a B-78 in 25-06 calibre, and used it for several years as a Coyote gun out West. It also took several Mule and Whitetail Deer, along with the odd Elk. Even in benchrest shooting when I was developing some accuracy loads for it, the impact never changed as far as I could see.

What I do see is that a B-78 in 22-250 would be worth a lot more for resale than a 30-30.
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All choices are fine, I personally wouldn’t go a heavier profile.
I built a 30-30 on a Ruger #1 that was originally a 30-06 - the extractor was perfect with zero alterations hopefully the browning will be similarly easy.
 
It is a nice idea and the .30/30 is a very accurate cartridge. It has a rim which is good for accuracy and a long neck which is even better for cast bullet shooting ad we know that DT is an advanced leadhead.
I imported a .30/30 C. Sharps a few years back and while it had a few teething problems, it did put 10 of my cast loads into 2 & 1/8 inches at 100 yards at 2050 f/s with iron sights.

Back in the late eighties, one of my patients was the Browning rep for Ontario and I asked him about getting a Traditional Hunter in .30/30, since it was listed in the catalogue. When he got back to me, he said that Browning made only ten of them. Years later, I managed to find one but I only shot it a very little. It didn't shoot as well as I wanted and we parted. I really should have kept it. I read in the Fouling Shot where someone on Vancouver Island , IIRC, had one and converted it to .30/30 Improved.

There are a very few #1's in .30/30 from a short run a while back, and it is a Lippsey special for 2018. Prophet River is bringing in two. One is sold and the other was available for $2399.
 
Thank you for the compliment Slug! I really enjoy shooting cast!

With a retail price of $2399, I think I am going to gag! LOL! I don't think I can justify that much of a price tag!
 
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