The gunsmith got my NEF 30/30

[Tom W.]

This is not from my rifle. but one someone sent me.

[Bagdadjoe]

Accuracy normally improves..I had a 30-30AI in a Contender that was exceptionally accurate.

[Chad5005]

tom w who do you use for a gunsmith,i only live about 30 miles from phenix city

[Tom W.]

As I said earlier, I've wanted one for over 10 years. I don't want a 30/40 or something else. And I'll more than likely just be killing steel and paper, but that's my choice. I haven't been hunting in 5 or 6 years, altho I do get to the range and keep my rifles sighted in due to the fact that one of my sons may ask me to go hunting.

[Tom W.]

tom w who do you use for a gunsmith,i only live about 30 miles from phenix city

The gentleman is retired from the Russell County Sheriff Department, and now a reserve officer. He did most of their work when he was active. I met him at the RCSO range which is open to the public on the 2nd saturday morning of each month.

[Tom W.]

SB2 receivers come with 270 win barrels from the factory. You'll ruin 30/30 cases before you get to gun destroying loads with rifle powders.

I love AI cases and the 30/30AI would be a good one to add to the collection for when my kids start hunting.

I had a .270 NEF but I can't for the life of me figure out what happened to it. I do remember the brass stretched horribly and I couldn't create any handload that it liked, but it was a tackdriver w/ the cheap Green & yellow box Remington loads from Walmart.

[Chad5005]

ive got a 308 nef as my backup gun now,2years ago I hunted the whole season with it

[Tom W.]

I've got the Ruger #1b in 30-06 A.I. as my primary rifle, but a lot of times I'll just take my .44 SRH......

[geezer56]

I have had at least 50 handi rifles in my career. Down to about 8 now. The 243 and 270 are the most problematic, with the 280 close behind. The Whelens had head space issues. The 30-30 is the best caliber, 45-70 close behind.

[uscra112]

Y'know. there is the Savage 219 to consider, if you can find one. Good sturdy all-steel rifle that came in .30-30, .219 Zipper, and some other calibers, and could swap barrels with the Model 220 - the shotgun version. (My A-model came to me with .30-30 and 12 Gauge.) You want the earliest model with the striker firing mechanism. For some reason the B and C models went to a swinging hammer (still fully enclosed), and by all accounts those are not as reliable. There's one on Gunbroker now. https://www.gunbroker.com/item/783668263

The Whelen was notorious because of the skimpy shoulder. There's one cartridge which should ALWAYS be "Improved".

[oldred]

As I said earlier, I've wanted one for over 10 years. I don't want a 30/40 or something else.

I like the way you think because that's what it's all about really, honestly how many of us own certain calibers because we truly "NEED" that particular cartridge, especially when there is so much overlap these days there is almost always something else that will do the job just as well. Every single caliber I have was chosen because it was what I wanted pure and simple.

[bedbugbilly]

Tom W. - Thanks much for posting that photo - certainly makes a difference in the casing! Interesting stuff!

[cwlongshot]

Best of luck with it!! The handis make good choices for these caliber improvements.

I almsot did this too, but talked myself out of it.

But I have a K Hornet that I reamed. (Easy job to do yourself BTW)

I reamed a couple 357 Mags to Maximum, a 45 colt to 454 and even reamed two 17HMR’s to 17 Hornady hornet. THAT ONE is better done on a lathe. One was not accurate gfter the reaming and I had it made i to a 17 fire ball. Its a good shooter now.

I enjoy shooting the KHornet allot. It was always a good shooter now its better. I have t chronod any loads yet, but its a sub MOA gun with its fav load of 2400.

CW

[Texas by God]

The K Hornet Reamer would go in any .22 Hornet I ended up with. I base this on reloading for 4 different Hornets over the years. A friend reamed his Sav 24 V to the K and his brass lasted much longer.

[Tom W.]

Today was range day. My rifle showed up. I had several different loads that I wanted to try, but ended up shooting just two. The first load shot well but to the left, as the gunsmith had to remove my scope to do the rechamber job. I was just shooting @ 50 yards. The second load was one that I got from the book, and it shot terribly low, but grouped well. As I am just fire forming I'm only looking to see what groups the best. I can adjust the scope to hit where I want later. The brass formed just fine, nice sharp shoulders and a considerably shorter neck, at least as compared to the standard 30/30 case.
It didn't take me too long to get pretty worn out, as I did shoot 50 rounds from my LC9s Pro. 5 grains of True Blue with a 124 gr TC bullet is pretty snappy in that pistol.
All in all, I had an enjoyable morning.... Now to get some dies......

[Tom W.]

This Saturday I'll be going to the range again. I have a bunch of loads to fire form, both for my 30/30 A.I. and my 30-06 A.I. I don't know if I'll shoot my pistol or not. I AM taking my rests and spotting scope this time. I'll probably shoot @ 50 yards on the pistol range if there isn't a crowd. It takes a while to shoot 50 rounds from a single shot rifle.

[Char-Gar]

This won't be a popular post, but here goes anyway. Back in 1959 when I was 17 years old and blowing primers on my 300 Weatherby with lots and lots of powder, my gunsmith and mentor told me "If you want to drive a bigger nail, use a bigger hammer!."

This directly applies to trying to turn a 30-30 into a .308 or whatever.

[Goatwhiskers]

Actually the main advantage to the AI cartridges is reduced rearward thrust against the bolt face. FWIW I shoot a Martini with an Ackley barrel in 30/40AI that I built back in '69. Normally stays inside 1/2" at 100 using a 180 Hornady RN and 49gr H4831, this gives me 2200fps. Velocity is not my goal, I'm sure it would go faster, but only accuracy counts. I only recently got into casting, for this one I use a NOE-310-180-RF with a homegrown GC, didn't check velocity but accuracy is right in there where it's always been. I did reduce the charge to 44 gr. Need to work on this some more. Just to stay on topic, I snatched up a Handi in 30/30 a while back, tried the same boolit with 4895 and got great accuracy--my records are out in the shop. Only change is a floated fore-end. As far as converting to AI, not a bad idea, do it if you want to. GW

[Tom W.]

Well, I wanted it. I'm not trying to make it into a .308. I just kill paper with it. And I'm happy with it. I like my 30-06 A.I. too. It's not about a "bigger hammer" or even a need. No competition shooting, just a relaxing time at the range for a retired man. If YOU don't want one that's fine, but some slack to people that do. We shoot and handload as a hobby, not a living. If there isn't any enjoyment, why bother?

[Chad5005]

well said Tom,im not real old yet but I am retired and do what I do cause its what I want to do