35-30 / 35 30-30 Conversion Questions

[Bazoo]

I have decided that I want a 35-30 conversion. Im not sure if I want to convert my current 1894 winchester, or purchase another one and convert it. I dont know when I'll be going through with it... But its been on my mind a while. I have some questions in regards to this neat old wildcat.

Does it use projectiles intended for the 35 remington? Will the cannelure hit where its supposed to?

Can anyone recommend a good mould to be looking for?

I found JES http://www.35caliber.com/index.html upon doing some research. Is there anyone else that others might recommend me looking into for the conversion?

JES lists groove diameter on his conversion as .359, not a problem for cast, but for jacketed... .358 is the standard.

What can I expect with a .001 undersized jacketed bullet? Will it foul more than normal? Will accuracy be acceptable out to the practical range of the gun? 200-225 yards max.

Anyone have any other info or links in regards to the 35-30 conversion.

Thanks

~Bazoo

[BAGTIC]

I would want one with a tighter barrel. Not because .358 bullets might be too small but because I suspect I would end up using a lot of .356-.356 pistol bullets in it for plinking, pests, etc.

[Outpost75]

My .35/.30-30 has a 16" twist and .359 groove diameter, with throat like the .35 Whelen. I feel that the advantage of this wildcat is its longer neck which permits loading heavier bullets at full length to feed from the magazine without the bullet base intruding into the powder space.

The longer Whelen-style throat does not support light pistol bullets well and I don't use them. The shorter .35 Remington throat some people use, defeats the ability to seat heavier 250-260 grain bullets out to 2.55" overall cartridge length.

I don't use jacketed bullets in my rifle at all. The lightest bullet I shoot is a cast 215-grain custom one I had cut from an RCBS 35-200FN, boring out the GC heel to make a plain base, and lengthening the .359" diameter parallel bore-riding nose portion to fit the longer Whelen-style throat. My most common "light" plinker load is Accurate 36-245D with 8-9 grains of Bullseye, which is subsonic, accurate and stable from the 16" twist, and has ASTOUNDING penetration. My hunting load is 30 grs. of IMR4064 behind the same bullet. I also have a 260-grain LBT WFN bullet which works well with a compressed nominal caseful of either 4064, RL15, Varget or 4895.

If you want to shoot cheap, light pistol bullets buy a .38 Special...

Attachment 191404 Attachment 191405Attachment 191406Attachment 191407

[Skipper]

Check with Wayne York at Oregon Gunsmithing

Oregunsmithing, LLC

W. Wayne York, Gunmaker

43906 Jerico Lane

Pendleton, OR 97801

Phone: 541-278-4177

Fax: 541-278-4797

Email: Oregunsmithing@earthlink.net

[Bazoo]

Thanks for the replies all.

I do not have much interest in using pistol bullets for the caliber.

I will mostly be using cast in the gun, But I do want to be able to use jacketed sometimes for hunting.

[Texas by God]

Thanks for the replies all.

I do not have much interest in using pistol bullets for the caliber.

I will mostly be using cast in the gun, But I do want to be able to use jacketed sometimes for hunting.

Jacketed will work fine in the .359" JES rebore. By that I mean FINE accuracy. That's my experience with my .358. I want a .35-30 too; I just haven't found the deal I want on a post 64 Win 94.
Best, Thomas.

[Bazoo]

Does anyone know if I need to be concerned about the the chamber not matching the dies? I'd probably go with CH dies.

[Outpost75]

Depends what JES uses for a reamer. From what I have read elsewhere on the site here about .35/.30-30 most people are using CH4D dies with good results. I got Redding dies custom dimensioned for my brass, bullets and chamber, but they cost nearly twice as much...

Attachment 191905

[polebilly]

J.E.S. did my 336. I use a set of 357 Herritt dies. All you really have to do is neck size.

[Shawlerbrook]

JES does great work, reasonable and fast. He did my Marlin 30AS 356 Winchester rebored shorty and it shoots and functions great.

[Bazoo]

What would yall recommend as far as rifling? JES offers 3 groove or 4 or 5 grooves. Is there any benefit to the 4 or 5 groove rifling?

[Outpost75]

What would yall recommend as far as rifling? JES offers 3 groove or 4 or 5 grooves. Is there any benefit to the 4 or 5 groove rifling?

Odd number of grooves supposedly provides a better gas seal with lead bullets because a land is compressing the bullet opposite a groove. More, smaller lands and grooves supposedly reduces bullet deformation. Fewer, more prominent lands and grooves permits more rounds to be fired with black powder before accuracy fails from fouling.

I don't think any of these reasons matter with modern loads and smokeless powder, but if you want to be different I think a three groove barrel would be really cool!

The Trapdoor .45-70 had four equal width lands and grooves, as did the M3 Greasegun.

The British 1855 Enfield had five.

[Bazoo]

Odd number of grooves supposedly provides a better gas seal with lead bullets because a land is compressing the bullet opposite a groove. More, smaller lands and grooves supposedly reduces bullet deformation. Fewer, more prominent lands and grooves permits more rounds to be fired with black powder before accuracy fails from fouling.

I don't think any of these reasons matter with modern loads and smokeless powder, but if you want to be different I think a three groove barrel would be really cool!

The Trapdoor .45-70 had four equal width lands and grooves, as did the M3 Greasegun.

The British 1855 Enfield had five.

I didnt know any of that. Thanks. I doubt i'll be shooting black powder. Wonder if the amount of grooves makes any difference to the amount of lube required for a given barrel length.

[Outpost75]

I wouldn't be too concerned about it, all you want is a barrel of uniform dimensions and good interior surface finish.

[John Taylor]

A while back I picked up a Marlin 336 in 35 Remington. Someone drilled a couple holes in top for a scope mount, other than that it looks like a good used rifle. Now to figure out what I want to do with it. The first 35-30-30 I did was because I somehow stuck the wrong liner in and thanks to a forgiving customer I did not need to remove it, just chamber it different. Thanks Outpost75.

[Shawlerbrook]

I know when I asked JES about 3,4 or 5 grooves when I did my Marlin 30AS 356 W rebore he didn't seem to favor one over another. I opted for 5, but wonder whether there is much of a difference.

[Outpost75]

A while back I picked up a Marlin 336 in 35 Remington. Someone drilled a couple holes in top for a scope mount, other than that it looks like a good used rifle. Now to figure out what I want to do with it. The first 35-30-30 I did was because I somehow stuck the wrong liner in and thanks to a forgiving customer I did not need to remove it, just chamber it different. Thanks Outpost75.

John,

I had always wanted a .35/.30-30 and it has worked out splendidly!
I knew instantly that it was the "right" thing to do and never gave it even a second thought.

[Scorpion8]

They don't list it, but I'd imagine that Ranger Point Precision could do this conversion also. http://www.rangerpointprecision.com/

[Bazoo]

Will I have to contend with thin case necks on my converted brass?

[Bazoo]

Other than the availability of factory ammo, is there any benefit to staying with the 30-30? I cant think of any.