30-30 Bore Slightly Bigger in the Middle

[Alan in Vermont]

Chasing the cause of poor performance of mouse fart loads in my 94. Using 2.7 to 3.5 grs of Bullseye behind a 93 gr. Lee RN. Boolits are running .309-.311 out of the 6-hole mold, I have been sizing them to .309-.3091". 25 yd groups are running pretty well to 2.5", the gun will shoot right around 1" with 311440s ahead of 19/4759 so it's more capable than the 93 gr groups are showing.

Slugged the bore, from the muzzle, and found a loose spot right about where the rear sight used to be. Then I took the gun apart so I could work from the chamber end. Slugged the first inch ahead of the chamber and got .3085. Slugged the muzzle only about 2" in and got .3088. Ran another one all the way and found the same loose spot again. Don't see any way to find out just how big that "jug" is other than it seems to be about 2-3" long and loose enough to hand push the slug through that area.

Plan, for the moment, is to try going to a .310 sizer. I know that's going to get swaged down as it leaves the chamber but I don't see how it can hurt anything.

Don't see any evidence of leading anywhere in the tube. Beyond that I'm pretty much lacking a clue of how to proceed.

[MT Gianni]

How does it shoot with close to max loads and ja@#$%ed bullets? The bore may not be in good enough shape for mouse loads. Pushing them harder may allow pressure to obderate the base back up, gas checks may helo some though it might defeat the purpose of the load.

[303Guy]

I'd think higher loads with a slower powder that develops peak pressure closer to the loose spot. I'd also think a fibrous filler would help, even with lighter load but maybe not so much with Bullseye although I have done it but in a Brit and that isn't so great for light loads with shotgun powder. Wheat germ filler might be good and that is what I would try. Accuracy wasn't bad in the Brit.

[Alan in Vermont]

[QUOTE=MT Gianni;1982678]How does it shoot with close to max loads and ja@#$%ed bullets? [QUOTE]

It has been so long since I put any jacketed down it that I don't remember other than it wasn't notably bad or I would have traded it off. It has been living on 311440s since not very long after I got it. I had a 4-hole 440 mold that I had to sell when I found that I could not handle the heavy molds with my messed up left hand/arm. I cast several hundred with it before I sold it and want to get an NOE version at some point. I never did much accuracy work with that boolit, it was an excellent plinker with 19/4759 so I stuck with it as a fun load.

Now that I'm all infected with how good I can make them shoot I will probably get serious with it in the spring. Winter weather isn't much fun at the club range, it's in flat country right next to the lake, really ugly winds, from all four points of the compass, way too much of the time.

[rbertalotto]

Have it bored and rifled to 38-55....A much more accurate cartridge and a blast to load for....

$225........http://www.35caliber.com/

[Wolfer]

You might fire lap or hand lap it to a more even condition. If the slug doesn't fall on its own weight with the barrel vertical across the loose spot then it's not very big.
If you fire lapped you would only have to go until you had a taper all the way.

[Alan in Vermont]

Have it bored and rifled to 38-55....A much more accurate cartridge and a blast to load for....

$225........http://www.35caliber.com/

Sorry, not interested in that option at the present. While it's workable it is not financially viable. If the gun didn't shoot anything decently that would be a whole different matter.

If I should run across a 94 with a totally trashed bore for a decent price I think I would go the re-bore route. Part of me would like a big bore, boolit shooter to play with.

[nhrifle]

Part of the problem could be that little boolit having such a long jump to the rifling. Mine won't shoot those little pills and believe me I have tried.

[Alan in Vermont]

You might fire lap or hand lap it to a more even condition. If the slug doesn't fall on its own weight with the barrel vertical across the loose spot then it's not very big.
If you fire lapped you would only have to go until you had a taper all the way.

No, it isn't loose enough to free fall the slug through it. The force required goes from having to drive it pretty forcefully at both ends and it drops off enough that I was able to hand push the slug that few inches with a heavy glove over the end of the rod.

I had been blaming the 2 1/2" groups on my eyes and lack of practice when I started with the MF loads for my granddaughter to shoot. The last time I had the rifle on the bench I was re-zeroing it after a front sight change. Same group sizes as I had been getting, "Old man, ya just can't shoot anymore." :( I had some of the 311440/19 4759 loads with me and tried those. Four into a cluster with one out for about a 1" group. I figured that one for a fluke so I shot another one. Same deal, four in one ragged hole and one out but still just shy of an inch. Hmm, maybe 'tis not me after all. I put the 93 gr loads with 2.7 BE over a chrono and got 863 average with around 60fps spread. As a percentage that variation is fairly high so there may be some improvement if I play with the load more.

The chamber will allow a .312 boolited round to slip right into place so I'm pondering loading some of the bigger ones unsized and either pan or hand lubed to see if tighter boolits help. I've got some boolits another member gave me out of an NOE oversize 3118 clone (3148 ?) Those are running .316-.317 as cast so they are too big to load unsized. It's not outside the realm of possibility that the gun just deosn't like those little 93 gr Lees. I wish I could size those NOE down to .311-.312 but the only die I have for 30 cal. is sizing to .3091, I would sorta like to only buy one more sizer for the Star but need to figure out what will work best.

My granddaughter has a ball with the Lees, just having fun. For that purpose they are fine but at some point she's going to gain skill enough that they won't shoot good enough for her either.

[Dark Helmet]

Fouling in front of the chamber area? If for sure not (I'd clean it with everything I could find to try to be certain), time for a couple of lead laps to loosen up that tight section in front of the chamber.

[Wolfer]

I have a 31108 I going to try in my marlin someday. It loves the 311041 but I've heard rumors that some 30-30s don't like light boolits. I'm from MO. though so I'll have to try it for myself.

[uscra112]

Have it bored and rifled to 38-55....A much more accurate cartridge and a blast to load for....$225........http://www.35caliber.com/


Sorry to say it but: I sent a Krag barrel to that shop, and it came back with . . . . a loose spot in the middle. Someday I guess I'll lap it out and try it, but for now it was money down the drain.

[303Guy]

Fire-lapping would be my second option after trying longer (or seated out further) boolits and as said, larger diameter slugs. From what has been said, it sounds like it's that small boolit that's at fault. The Brit has the same problem. Simply too much boolit jump and too loose in the throat. I't tend to ignore that 'loose' spot in the bore. Now if it were a tight spot you would have a problem.:roll:

It you are not getting any leading and accuracy seems OK with longer boolits with as you say, 'your eyes' then I don't see a problem.

My first serious attempt to get accuracy with my Brit I ended up with a tapered shank boolit that did not reach the bore so I coated the boolit with 'waxy-lube' to form a wax 'jacket' to support the nose section in the throat. It worked.

http://i388.photobucket.com/albums/oo327/303Guy/MVC-336F_edited.jpghttp://i388.photobucket.com/albums/oo327/303Guy/MVC-338F_edited.jpghttp://i388.photobucket.com/albums/oo327/303Guy/MVC-457F_edited.jpg

I'm not suggesting you try it - it's a bit of a mission and the stuff gets damaged easily - mine does at least but maybe carnauba wax would work better? It has to me melted, then the boolit dipped into it and held nose down until it hardens. It's done after seating the boolit. It might make those short 93gr boolits jump the throat straight - just a thought.