Thinking about two or three wildcat savage 340s?

[dragon]

I have a soft spot for the savage 340 series of rifles. Laugh if you want but they just "fit"me. Dad bought me my first rifle, a Stevens 325C in .30-30, when I was 14. It is soon to become an Ackley improved along with my Dad's model 94 that has now come to live at my house!

Last year I found a Coast-to-Coast version in .30-30 that was late enough to be drilled and tapped for a scope. The price was right and son number two was on year three of deer hunting, so it followed me home. The stock is a bit beat up with a bad refinish job, but the deer don't care what it looks like ;) A month later I came accross a MINT 340 in .222 Rem. for a not bad price and I was looking for something to try coyote hunting so...

Recently I got ahold of Ackley's first book and found the .22/30-30 improved and 6mm/30-30 improved. After a bit more research, I really want to re-barrel the C2C and maybe keep my eye out for a good deal on another 340 with a bad barrel. I realize that this is turning into a sickness, but I have four kids to pass everything on to so I still need one more to keep it even right? :D

So, the question is... Which caliber do I do first? The 6mm or the .22.

[JeffinNZ]

6mm is a tad more versatile. Get an ex benchrest target barrel for next to nothing. Heaps of life left in them.

[nekshot]

I understand your appreciation of those ugly ducks, I like them to. I was contemplating doing the ackley deal to mine but stopped when I sat back and really looked at that lone locking lug and what could happen if it would fail. If you can control yourself and stay in the limits of the gun and its design go for it. Restocking them is easy and can greatly improve the looks dept.

[CLAYPOOL]

I bought one in .222 from one of our local Game Wardens to help when his brother passed. I had seen them bac in the Day, but not recently. They kinda grow on you. I had found that the barrel nut system was on it as a plus. Whoops 340 deluxe. They had found 10 or so boxes on FMJ's somewhere, dies, etc. with it. Assorted other ammo. was kinda high, but I hope someone down the road would help at a bad time too.

[dragon]

My very first cast boolit a couple of months ago was a 113gr. soup can with 7gr. unique, that went down the barrel of the C2C. That experience has since forced me to purchase a 9mm mold and the .22 Bator for the .222. A 6mm will require the purchase of another mold... that could be a problem as I may need to clear some shelf space ;)

As for the strength of the action... The 30-30AI actually produces less bolt thrust due to the case walls being less tapered. From my reading it is at least as strong as the model 94 and there are many of those out there that have been reamed to the AI. These rifles were also available in .223 and 225 winchester, which is a 52,000 psi-cup cartridge. That said, my reading has pointed out that the 30-30 brass is also a weak point as it is fairly thin compared to say .308. As always start low and work up. The bolt handle is designed as an emergency 2nd lug, but I intend to never get anywhere near testing that.

Ackley's testing showed that the .22/30-30AI could perform faster than the 22-250 at considerably lower pressures. He was also able to achieve near .243 winchester performance from the 6mm version in a savage 99 but noted NOT to run it that hot in a model winchester 94. I'm not a speed demon, I like finding that sweet load that shoots better than I can.

[hound-1]

how about sending one out to get rebored to 38/55,or 35/30-30. Check out 35caliber.com ,no need to rebarrel, and you have something different and " cool ".

[dragon]

25/35 or 32 special Improved would be other options as well....Hmmm

.17/222... on .222/.223 action
22/30-30 AI
6mm/30-30 AI
6.5x45 (based on .223 brass)... on .222/.223 action
6.5mm JDJ #2
6.5x30-30/Imp
25/35 AI
7mm JDJ #2
7-30 Waters
7mm International Rimmed
32 Win. Special Improved
35/30-30 Improved
35 Lever Power
.35 Remington... Would probably work with .225 bolt face and extractor?
38/55

I need to plot some ballistics and see what looks most interesting. The inexpensive take off bench-rest barrels make it very cost effective and tempting to do the 6mm. My only other rifle caliber right now is .222 so I need to look at which would give me the most added utility in the field for the game around here.

It is a bummer that Lee doesn't have any cheap 6mm molds to play with.

[dragon]

Well, I found a NOS .223 barrel for the 340 series. So I guess the .22/30-30 will be the first! I'm really excited! My first wildcat :guntootsmiley:

I think that I might machine some wrench flats on the barrel so that I can essentially have a switch barrel setup so that it is easy to swap out calibers and not fill up the safe as quickly. Barrels are also much more economical than a whole rifle, even these relatively inexpensive ones.

It might be fun to add the other five calibers from my list to the group of barrels over the years. I could add a .223 and .17/.222 to the list of barrels and use those on the .222 action.

The barrel should be here this week. I will start a new project thread and post pictures along the way.

Do any of you have experience with reamerrentals.com???

[RustyReel]

I've used ReamerRentals.com and was happy with their products and service. I did a three Mauser rebarrel project at once and ordered three reamers and sets of go/no go's from them. Saved me a bunch on shipping and insurance to do the three in one order.

I'm also a Savage 340 fan. Have owned a few in the past and currently have a 340C in 30/30 and a 340D in 222 Rem. Thought about rebarreling a shot/rusted out 222 I had, but found out I could sell the useable parts and buy another nice condition 222 for less than the cost of the rebarrel.

Not sure the 30/30 barrel has enough meat in it to take a rebore to 35-30/30 or 38/55 but it would certainly make a neat little rifle. A .17/222 would also be cool.

Gonna keep an eye on your thread and please keep us posted!!

[uscra112]

If that NOS .223 barrel came from Numrich, watch out. The thread O.D. on the one I got from them is a few thou under minimum tolerance. Engagement in the receiver will be much less than it should be. (Probably why Numrich has them - a rejected lot...) I will "re-purpose" mine to some other project.

[dragon]

It was indeed from Numrich. A big thanks for the heads up. I will be sure to check it well.

I have had good experience with them in the past with parts that allowed me to resurrect a couple of my grandfather's rifles as well as a firing pin spring and clip for the firing pin on the very rifle I am modifying. I hope that they don't disappoint me this time :(

[uscra112]

Dittos. I've rescued more than one old crock using parts from Numrich. Not demeaning them in any way.

[uscra112]

BTW I've got a plan to do wildcats on the old 340 too. First one will be 6x45, sorta-kinda, since I have a number of takeoff 6mm barrels around. The reamer would be a 6x47, since the 6x47 has a longer, more boolit-friendly neck, but I'd hold it short, so I can use .223 brass. Will it work? Heck I dunno, but it'll be fun doing it! I just need a donor 340 or two, since my .222 shoots too well to permit me to break it down.

[Dark Helmet]

6.5x30-30/Imp., 6.5 JDJ or 300 Blackout (6.5x47comes to mind also) for 30-30, .225 Win. or 222/223 actions.

[uscra112]

A 6.5 is a good bet.

I dunno about the Blackout. Case capacity is too small. Same problem the .30 Herrett has. Only reason for the Blackout to exist at all is that it fits AR-15 magazines, IMHO.

But, how about 7-30 Waters? Or .25-35 AI?

Wonder if .35 Remington would work thru the magazine?

[dragon]

I did list the 25/35 AI above... it is so close to the 6mm that I think I would personally like to give the 6 a try instead just to see if Ackley's praise was waranted. But others may feel the 25 is better.

7-30 Waters... I would rather give the the nod to the 7mm International Rimmed. The 38deg shoulder angle would produce less bolt thrust, and with the single locking lug I want all the safety margin I can get ;)

.35 Remington... I do have a 35 rem case in my collection. I will see tonight if it wants to feed from the mag. I am pretty sure that it won't fit in the .223 or .222 mag but it isn't too much smaller than the .225 Win that shares a mag with the 30-30. The 35 Lever-Power might be a more interesting choice. It has a sharp shoulder and delivers 400 fps more with a 200 grain bullet. It was also designed for the model 94 action so pressures are low.

I will add these options to my above list.

Dragon

[dragon]

I checked the .35 Rem and it does look like it would feed from the 30-30/.225 magazine with a bit of adjustment to the lips. The 30-30 bolt face/extractor does not hold it very securely though and there is almost certainly not enough grasp of the extractor to remove the cartridge from the chamber reliably. With the .225 winchester bolt face and extractor it might work quite well though. Of course I have never seen one of these, or any other rifle for that matter, chambered in .225 win. I think if I had one I would just leave it in .225 because of what it is to start with.

In this action I bet one would get about the same top performance from the 35/30-30 improved and perhaps even better performance from the 35 Lever Power than the .35 Rem.

On another note... I found that Richards Microfit Stocks (gun-stocks.com) will inlet any of their stocks for this action. If I ever get some spare $$$ I do have a nice piece of hickory here 8-)

My barrel arrived safe and sound and the threads measured out the same as someone posted the original thread OD to be on the savage forums. I will start a new thread and try to take some pics when I rent the reamers in the next week or two.

Dragon

[uscra112]

I've been mentally toying with the idea of a rimmed .35 Remington for years. Partly because my first cast boolit rifle was my old Dad's 336 Marlin, I guess. The .30-40 Krag case has the right base diameter, just trim the rim down to .30-30 diameter (.506"). Use .35 Remington dies and reamer.

For a long-neck version, use a .35 Winchester reamer held about 1/2" short, and shorten .35 Winchester dies. Almost like the .30-30 necked up to .35 caliber, but doesn't require a custom reamer and dies.

[koehlerrk]

Well, and here in NY, I'm looking to take an old 340 with a buggered barrel and maybe screw a new 300 Blackout barrel on it. Should make a nice, light, handy, and soft-recoiling rifle for my kids. I'll have to post pics as I do it. I'm also planning on free-floating it... and no, I'm not talking about that part just yet.

[uscra112]

There is a guy posting in the Savage wesite www.savageshooters.com who offers prefit barrels for the later Savage actions, and in a P/M he said to me that he was willing to make them for the 340, too. Only difference is the shank diameter.

His moniker on the site is "Russell D".

[koehlerrk]

Thank you for the heads up, might pursue it at some point, but right now I've been talking with Bryan from BFG... figure I'd rather do business with a CB sponsor. This won't be a quick project on my end as I'll have to shoehorn it in between work, wife, kids, Boy Scouts, kids' sports, and keeping up with the house... but I'll take pics at every stage and post them when I'm done.