Converting a 30-30 to 357 herrett?

[andym79]

Hi guys, I have a lot of ideas go through my head and have slowly been acquiring normal (common) rifles and turning them in to the less ordinary.

My latest idea is to turn a 94 or 336 from a 30-30 to a 357 herrett!

Would this need anything but a re-barrel?

I ask over a 35-30/30 because the use of the reamer would be free as opposed to buying one.

Yes I know that a 35 rem would work out cheaper, I would really prefer a 356w, but they are as rare as a pink unicorn!

Truth be know I have also toyed with the idea of a 33-30/30 as something even less common, has that been done?

[Mk42gunner]

I have never been around a .357 Herrett; but I don't think it would cycle very well in the Model 94, due the shorter length of the cartridge. Don't know for sure if the 336 will handle the shorter round okay or not, but I'd bet not. Marlin quit making .44 Mag 336's pretty quick.

I base that on having a Model 94AE in .357 Mag and it is not the smoothest cycling lever action I have ever shot. Longer rounds feed better, Short ones (.38 w/158RNFP) tend to pop out the top when feeding.

You can rent reamers instead of buying them, which may be the smart way to go for a one time build.

Robert

I just realized you are down under, renting a reamer might be problematic from there.

R

[andym79]

I just realized you are down under, renting a reamer might be problematic from there.

R

As far as I know there are no places that rent reamers in Aus It would be really nice to have access to 1/4 of the stuff in the states.

[MT Gianni]

33/30 would be little improvement over a 32 Special. If the reamer is free you may consider making a 35-30 by running it to full cartridge depth themboring out a sizing die to the same depth. I think the Herrret has a different neck and angle than the 30-30 but don't have a book near me.

[bikerbeans]

It looks good to me if you start with a 336 in 30-30. I have converted several 336s to cartridges shorter than the 357 herrett (445sm, 44-40, 357 max). You may or may not need to adjust the carrier timing. Numrich has marlin 1894 barrels in 357 mag that should work with just a rechamber. The threaded barrel shank on the 336 and 1894 are the same.

BB

[MostlyLeverGuns]

How about a rimmed 35 Remington, you can cut-off 303 british and reduce the rim diameter to 30-30 size (.504?). Might even work through a Marlin with just the bolt face changed.

[wgg]

I had JES rebore a 336 30-30 into a 38-55. I was very pleased, the cost was around $250.00. His site indicates that that he also can rebore to 356.

[MT Gianni]

I had JES rebore a 336 30-30 into a 38-55. I was very pleased, the cost was around $250.00. His site indicates that that he also can rebore to 356.
Shipping from and to Aussieland might be a problem.

[andym79]

Shipping from and to Aussieland might be a problem.

yes it will due to US export permit!

So the 357 herrett would work if using a 94 or 336 as a single shot but might not cycle well?

I was doing a little reading and it looks like the 33-47 a .338 version of the 32-40 (a version of the 33-40 pope) is the go if I am looking for a 33 calibre 30-30 type cartridge. Pacific tool do a reamer, I would need to see if dies are available, if I did want to look at this unusual cartridge would ch4d be the go?

[Mk42gunner]

Probably. All the CH4D dies I have used were good, and they are about the least expensive choice for anything out of the ordinary.

They may even have a set of dies sitting on a shelf.

Robert

[Mk42gunner]

On the other hand, since you have access to a .357 Herrett reamer, if you already have the donor rifle in hand, I would make a few (magazine full) dummies and try them.

I wouldn't go too crazy on forming the Herrett case, just a shortened .30-30 to test the action.

Robert

[Shawlerbrook]

I had a Marlin 30AS rebored to 356W by JES. Too bad the logistics don't work because he does great work, fast & reasonable.

[AggieEE]

Gunsmith I know had a trapper length 94 and he was looking for a different idea. I said 357 Herrett to increase his round count by 1 or 2. If you use 200 gr bullets seated long you may not have to do any work to the carrier. If you use 158's etc. you may need to put a stop on the carrier to keep the round from going too far back. The cartridge catch in the mag tube should work just fine just the short length issue. Let us know how things work out.