35-30 / 35 30-30 Conversion Questions

[Texas by God]

Do it and don't look back. Post 64 94's and Marlins are everywhere in 30-30. Dare to be different. JES will hook you up; my .358 has 3 groove rifling and I get amazing accuracy.
Best, Thomas.

[Bazoo]

For those with JES bored rifles, what size bullets does your rifles like? .359? .360? What size expander ball should I get?

[Outpost75]

In my rifle I use a .360-.361" bullet, as-cast and unsized. I use a .358" expander.

[Bazoo]

Is there any problems with thin case necks from necking up 30-30 brass?

[Outpost75]

Is there any problems with thin case necks from necking up 30-30 brass?

The .35 Whelen neck & throater which John used on my rifle has a .385" neck diameter which has ample release clearance for bullet diameters up to .362" with case mouth wall thickness of 0.011". I can also use Starline .38-55 brass, neck down and then trim to length using Lee .358 Win. case length cage and .30-30 case holder and lock stud.

I don't know what JES is using for a reamer.

[Reg]

Interesting caliber. Wonder if anyone has tried this on a Krag action ?

[Outpost75]

Interesting caliber. Wonder if anyone has tried this on a Krag action ?

A .35 Krag or .35/.303 would offer more of the same.

[Reg]

Have thought of both of the above but cannot find much information about either. Would the 303 be a Epps design ?
The 35 Krag I understand was common in the day but there again there seems to be very little usable information out there about loads and performance.Any info you might have would be appreciated.

[Outpost75]

Have thought of both of the above but cannot find much information about either. Would the 303 be a Epps design? The 35 Krag I understand was common in the day but there again there seems to be very little usable information out there about loads and performance.Any info you might have would be appreciated.

Epps was one, but a simple necking up with no other change would work. Fellow I once knew who had one used data in Sharpe (1937) for the .35 Winchester 1895 as a guide, using IMR3031 powder about 39-40 grains and a 255-grain Hoch mold. Rifle was a Winchester 1895 originally a Krag but with shot-out barrel, rebored back in the day by Bob Snapp. He never chronographed the loads, but estimated velocity about 1900 fps. based on extrapolating old IMR17 data to the 3031 which replaced it. HiVel#2 was another powder listed in old sources and be substituted RL7, reducing max loads 10% and accuracy was good with no pressure signs, if I recall about 32-33 grs. of RL7 with 255-grain bullet. I use 29 grs. of RL7 with Accurate 36-245D in my .35/.30-30 as full-charge load 1800 fps in 20" barrel.

[Reg]

Have you ever heard of loads for a 200 gun cast. For the 303-35 or the Krag. Am wondering if the Epps info would be usable.

Am also thinking might it not be a smart move to hold back on that 39-40 gn 3031 a bit. The High Wall is a much better breached design compared to the one lug Krag ??

Sorry. Thought you said 85 not 95. The 95 might be comparable in strength.

[Texas by God]

I use .358 " jacket & cast in my JES .358 And no thinning of necks noted.

[GL49]

Doggone you guys. I've got four 30-30's, now it looks like I'm going to have to get one rebored to 35/30-30. JES is just up the road from me a couple of hours away, it won't be painful at all.

Outpost75, is that the 260gr LBT boolit you're showing in post #8?

[ulav8r]

Have you ever heard of loads for a 200 gun cast. For the 303-35 or the Krag. Am wondering if the Epps info would be usable.

Am also thinking might it not be a smart move to hold back on that 39-40 gn 3031 a bit. The High Wall is a much better breached design compared to the one lug Krag ??

Sorry. Thought you said 85 not 95. The 95 might be comparable in strength.

Could Quickload provide loading recommendations? Seems it would based on what little I have read about it.

[texasnative46]

Shawlerbrook,

Fyi, I'm a self-appointed charter member of the JES Fan Club. = His work on my Model 760 pump-rifle is FLAWLESS, imvho.

yours, tex

[texasnative46]

Outpost75,

I have an old boarding-school chum who had JES bore out a badly-pitted .303 British bore (in an OLD, circa 1910, Westley Richards sporting rifle) to .358 & Fred W______ says it's "a HOSS" at woods ranges on elk & moose using GCCB.

Btw, my buddy calls the rifle/cartridge a ".360 Nitro Express".

yours, tex

[Outpost75]

D]
Outpost75, is that the 260gr LBT boolit you're showing in post #8?

Yes! The 260 LBT is the4-cavity mold in the pic.

[texasnative46]

GL49,

One of "the guys on our deer lease" had his father's (circa 1940) .32 SPL Model 94 rifle, which had a badly pitted bore, rebored by JES to .35-30 several years ago & he's done very well with it out to 150M or so.
(You cannot see 150M in the vast majority of our lease. - The brush is just that thick on the lease & in many places you cannot see more than 25M.)

His rifle shoots a 250 grain GCCB at 1800FPS accurately, without any sign of too much pressure & in 2015 took an about 300 pound hog that was GYD right there. = Tom said the hog collapsed "like you hit him with a sledgehammer".

yours, tex

[GL49]

GL49,
(You cannot see 150M in the vast majority of our lease. - The brush is just that thick on the lease & in many places you cannot see more than 25M.)

yours, tex

That's the way it is where I hunt, but not quite that thick. Thirty years ago, you'd get a few longer shots, now its all 50-100 yards, max. The 250-260 gr. boolits you guys shoot have to be about an inch long. The 260LBT looks huge. There's a rather pesky black bear that's been hanging around my brother's cabin, I think the 35/30-30 would work pretty well. My 1972 vintage model 94 will be a good candidate to send to JES. One of my other 30-30s belonged to my dad, a second was my first "real" rifle. I had to mow a lot of lawns to pay off the $50 it cost me in 1961.

[texasnative46]

GL49,

My crystal ball says that if you send the Model 94 to JES that you will be PLEASED, clear down to the ground with your .35-30 wildcat.= His work is reasonably priced & FLAWLESS, imo.

yours, tex

[Estacado]

This is the second build today that has got me excited. You guys are enablers!