Husqvarna rebore?

[Exal]

Thinking about buying a husqvarna single shot bolt action off of Simpsons LTD in 30-30 and reboring it to 38-55. Has anyone ever done this or heard about it being done, I can't seem to find anything online about it. Also how accurate are these guns and would it retain any sort of accuracy?

[Eldon]

No reason not as long as there is enough meat in the barrel. It's good Swede steel in a bolt gun so it should be accurate, I'd do 35-30 as boolit choice is better and recoil less with serious loads.

[Gewehr-Guy]

Exal,the action dia. is 1.070" and barrel is .850 across the flats, if that helps. I bought one with a poor bore, looked really bad, but after several soak and scrub sessions it looks much better, still dark but with good lands.
As for accuracy I think around 3-4in groups with a couple of cast loads , but I did not try to work up a load for this particular rifle, as it is missing the extractor, and had to use the cleaning rod to extract all cases.
If you rebore one of these to a larger cal., I would not use heavy loads as it only weighs a little over 6 lbs in 30 cal,and has a rather thin wrist and stock. If you get one i think you will get it to shoot to your satisfaction in 30-30.

[John Taylor]

The 30-30 came out as a smokeless cartridge with pressure around 42,000. The 38-55 was originally a black powder round with pressures closer to 30,000. While the 38-55 may be throwing a heavier bullet it probably does not have much more recoil than the 30-30.

[KCSO]

I don't remember the barrel attachment in the s/s husky's, some of the 22's are one piece barrel and receiver and that might complicate things. If the barrel is thick enough go for it is should work fine.

[marlinman93]

First thing to check on any Rolling Block is the action, and headspace, before going further. Not just the amount of headspace, but also whether the breech block is perfectly square to the bore! If it's loose, stretched, or worn enough, a new barrel, or rebore wont ever give good accuracy. Plus it will tweak the rims on each firing, and the brass wont be usable to reload.
If the breech block/hammer clearances are good, and the pins are a good fit in the frame, and breech/hammer; then you can proceed with a rebore or new barrel installation.
I've built up a number of these old Rollers, and the Husqvarna are some of the best actions I've found. Some of the later Husky actions have a lot of weird markings and extra screws that make them a bit ugly to build a nice Sporter on, so I avoid them. But they're very strong.

[Exal]

Good information here! Those dimensions really help out gewehr-guy. It seems like there would be plenty of material left in the barrel. The action shouldn't change too much except for the end where the 30-30 bottle necks, so it should be good there as well. I didn't really think about the stock and the possibility of higher recoil. I've never shot a 38-55 so don't know how it compares with 30-30, I would probably be sure to load the rounds light anyways.
Sounds like there could be a few problems with this build though. I've also thout about just buyin a tc encore and getting a MGM barrel in 38-55. Would his be a better route?

[marlinman93]

A .38-55 with an average load is a pussycat in a Rolling Block that weighs around 10 lbs., as most will. Mine end up a bit heavier with my preferred 32"-34" heavy barrels, and it isn't much different than a .22LR.
I think you'll love the .38-55, and Rolling Block combo!

No offense to anyone who owns and loves the TC, but I'd much prefer the Rolling Block.

[2152hq]

Find out the muzzle diameter of the bbl on the Husky 30-30. Then ask whoever is going to be doing the rebore if it will allow a 38-55.
The rebore gunsmiths have certain dimensions they stick within for bbl wall thickness at the muzzle also.
Being a bolt action single shot in 30-30, a simple conversion to 38-55 shouldn't cause any concerns as the case head size and rim are the same. There's no magazine or feeding issues to worry about.
Sounds like a nice project.
If the 38=55 isn't doable,,there's the 35-30 as already mentioned and is a very nice cartridge especially w/ cast bullets.
You'll want to keep the loads down anyway with the light weight rifle. No use beating up the rifle and yourself.

JES Reboring does both conversions.

[marlinman93]

One issue going from .30-30 to .38-55 is the chamber. I'm not certain the .38-55 reamer will get rid of the shoulder on a .30-30 chamber. Might have to set the barrel back to get enough meat to rechamber to .38-55.

[Exal]

Thanks for the info guys, I've been mulling it over for the past few days and think I'm going to go the encore route. Main reason is that I can change to multiple chamberings very easily and still get to shoot a 38-55!
Marlinman, the gun I was thinking about reboring is a single shot bolt gun, if it was a rolling block I would almost certainly go with that since I've always been interested by them but don't have one, they are pretty pricey though excpecially for a decent one that won't take a lot of work to get shooting!

I'm still not dropping this project permanently I think I would still like to do it at a later date, but between school and work I just don't have the time or funds currently!

[marlinman93]

Marlinman, the gun I was thinking about reboring is a single shot bolt gun, if it was a rolling block I would almost certainly go with that



Sorry, missed that it was a bolt gun? Read Husqvarna and my mind went to Rolling Blocks. But I find Rolling Block Swede, Danish, or Spanish quite often around here for under $300. Purchased 3 in the last year and paid $200, $220, and $140 for those three. All military style.

[missionary5155]

Good morning
JES Reboring has rebored 4 of our 30-30's to 38-55 and 375 Winchester. Whatever procedure and reamer he is using takes care of any 30-30 shoulder that was present.
Mike in Peru