.30/30 with 34" barrel. Am I out to lunch?

[slug]

I"m thinking of ordering my dream rifle.
I like the looks of a skinny long barrelled single shot, and the .30/30 is an excellent C/B cartridge.
So, I'm thinking of an 1875 Sharps, with the long barrel.

Are there any logical reasons why I shouldn't go this long?

Comments, complaints and criticisms welcomed.

TIA

[Outpost75]

Sounds grand to me. With a 34" barrel you will get a useful velocity gain with most loads and the longer sight radius is a help.

I'm envious.

[John Taylor]

I picked up a couple of 32-40 barrel that Green Mountain was closing out, 36" long. Was planning on putting one on a high wall. Finding a 34" barrel is not easy, there are very few companies that can drill that length.

[Bigslug]

Sounds like a good time to me!

I understand the attraction to the .30-30 because brass is abundant and everywhere, HOWEVER, the .30-40 Krag might be better suited to a project like that. A little bigger boiler room to exploit that long barrel with, and maybe (check the chamber reamer prints) a little more throat for fiddling around with bullets in the 200+ grain range. NOE's clone of the 311299 GC would be the PERFECT target bullet for such a thing, and there are plenty of flat nosed "killin'" bullets in that weight category if you wanted to make meat with it.

I've been playing with Lee Enfields a lot lately, and the Krag is pretty much a .303 Brit copy with the groove diameter shrunk from .314 (ish) to that American .308 standard. My current accuracy load for the No.4 MKI rifle is 27.2 grains of Accurate 5744 behind the 316299GC for 2060fps with about a 215 grain payload, by the time gas check and lube are added. This pretty well duplicates the British service loads for the pre-Spitzer MKI through MKVI ammo, & I have little doubt a Krag would behave similarly. With the extra 9" over a Lee Enfield barrel you're proposing, you could generate some real long range magic with that combo.

[dverna]

What do you want to do with the rifle?

I would not want a barrel that long as I think it will negatively affect the balance of the gun. Long barrels are great for a longer sighting radius and more velocity and to take advantage of using a slower powder. If you will not hunt or carry it much, it may be fine. And if you change your mind, it can be cut back.

[TNsailorman]

If you have the itch and got the scratch, go for it. james

[GARD72977]

I would love to have a 30/30 single shot. I do worry about barrell stiffness on 34" I would consider 30" to be about perfect. The only thing the 34 will give you is sight radius.

That's my opinion but if I wanted an 34" that's what I would buy.

[earlmck]

That should be a thing of beauty as a cast boolit rifle. I looked at it in QuickLoad and QL thinks you are looking at around 100 fps more velocity with the 34" bbl vs. a 24" bbl. And the regular 30/30 case with its beautiful long neck gets you all the velocity you will ever want for cast boolit shooting. For example, you could nicely duplicate Bigslug's 2060 fps/215 grain load with a case full of slow powder such as WW780 or AA2700.

[slug]

I already have 1875's, one in .30/30 with a 26" barrel and it is a gem. I also have one in .38/56 with a 30 inch barrel that's only seen a few rounds. It was -31 this morning with wind chill of about -45, so it will be a few months before that one gets shot.
I'm just lusting over a long barrelled one with set trigger, set up with a Kelley sight . It will only see range use, or perhaps some long range plinking at my bush lot.

[shaner]

What's not to like?

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[Tom W.]

Sounds good to me!

[country gent]

You might also consider a tapered octagon or even half round barrel contour. I have a couple 34" barrels one on a sharps and one on a Hepburn. One is half round and the other is tapered octagon. Both are good stiff barrels ( 45 cal so a .30 cal would be even stiffer). What your describing would be a interesting rifle and a lot of fun to work with. With cast bullets you may have lube issues with some bullets since the lube grooves are designed around 20-24" barrels and you may run low on lube in the last 8-10", just a thought. With the ladder and globe sights the extra barrel length would be a plus. For noise the extra barrel length would reduce noise a lot. Recoil will be greatly reduce with the added weight of the longer barrel. I see it as all wins here.

[30-30 guy]

I cant think of a better cartridge to get in any length barrel than a 30-30 and I would love to have one too!!

[jaysouth]

Sounds like a good time to me!

I understand the attraction to the .30-30 because brass is abundant and everywhere, HOWEVER, the .30-40 Krag might be better suited to a project like that. A little bigger boiler room to exploit that long barrel with, and maybe (check the chamber reamer prints) a little more throat for fiddling around with bullets in the 200+ grain range. NOE's clone of the 311299 GC would be the PERFECT target bullet for such a thing, and there are plenty of flat nosed "killin'" bullets in that weight category if you wanted to make meat with it.

I've been playing with Lee Enfields a lot lately, and the Krag is pretty much a .303 Brit copy with the groove diameter shrunk from .314 (ish) to that American .308 standard. My current accuracy load for the No.4 MKI rifle is 27.2 grains of Accurate 5744 behind the 316299GC for 2060fps with about a 215 grain payload, by the time gas check and lube are added. This pretty well duplicates the British service loads for the pre-Spitzer MKI through MKVI ammo, & I have little doubt a Krag would behave similarly. With the extra 9" over a Lee Enfield barrel you're proposing, you could generate some real long range magic with that combo.

It would be worth looking at re-cutting that chamber to .303 Br. or 7.62x54 Russian. Either with a .3085 bore would make a good cast bullet load with more beans than a .30-30.

30-40 is a good caliber but brass is pricey and sometimes hard to get. Not so much with PPU .303 or 7.62 Russian.

[Tom W.]

After you lube and size your boolits tumble lube them in JPW and let them dry for a few days. If the boolits fit to start with then with the JPW you shouldn't get any leading.

[barrabruce]

Apart from maybe wiping out the ceiling fan or lopping off a couple of inches in the Ute door it would be good to go.
Hope you live on the flat lands as I have found poking long barrells through thick scub can be a hassle..
Althou you could just keep feeding it through and poke ‘Em in the ear with it.

There could be complaints from bench rest shooters as you wouldn’t be shooting as far as them and the powder burns on the target could make it harder to score.

Ha

You could even put a wind flag on the muzzle.

No one will take you serious with a thuddy thuddy till they see the scores that is!

[Larry Gibson]

Good Idea.....only caveat I would suggest is to have a 14" twist and certainly not any faster twist than 12". Otherwise, with cast bullets, you lose accuracy with the 30-30 capacity that the additional gain in velocity would provide. If done just for aesthetics and the longer sight radius and not concerned about higher velocity the a faster 10" twist would be okay.

[1Hawkeye]

I like the idea but will it be a little nose heavy for offhand shooting?

[marlinman93]

And if you change your mind, it can be cut back.

And that's the perfect reason for going with a long barrel. If you ordered a shorter barrel and didn't like it, what option do you have?

I personally love long barreled single shot rifles, and a 34" barrel is perfect in my opinion. I wouldn't go too light though, as a #2 weight is probably the minimum, and a #3 weight is perfect.
The .30-30 will really shine in a long barreled single shot. Not my choice if you plan to do any long range work past 500 yds., but a great midrange or less choice. With a tighter twist rate you might be even more successful, as you could push heavier bullets too.

[richhodg66]

You'd be like half-way to the target without ever leaving the bench, LOL!

Sounds cool to me, go for it. Please do post some pictures and shooting results when you do.

[MOA]

After you lube and size your boolits tumble lube them in JPW and let them dry for a few days. If the boolits fit to start with then with the JPW you shouldn't get any leading.

Tom, how do you go about doing the tumble lube with JPW. I'd like to try that on a few of my cast loads too.

[JWFilips]

Well you bested me on this: I already put in a feeler 1 year ago to E. Arthur Brown for one of his Custom single shot drop actions with a 29" barrel in 30/30 for cast bullets as my retirement rifle! I do not think he can go 34" :cry:
If I had to pick the best cast bullet target cartridge it would be the 30 WCF

[marlinman93]

Since Green Mountain and a couple others offer barrels of 35", I'd think any custom gun maker can build a gun if they don't mind getting the barrel from a supplier who carries them. My current build is a Rolling Block with a 34" GM .40 caliber barrel that is #3.5 weight. It will be used for bench rest, or mid to long range shooting.

I've got four other old single shot rifles with 34" barrels. Some came from the factory this way, while others are guns I've built. Have two Ballard rifles in .45-70 and .44-100 with 34" barrels. A #1 Rolling Block 34" in .44-77SBN. And a Hepburn Match B with 34" in .32-40. And the other #1 Roller in .40-50SS with 34" that is finishing up now, that will be number five.

[jaysouth]

Well you bested me on this: I already put in a feeler 1 year ago to E. Arthur Brown for one of his Custom single shot drop actions with a 29" barrel in 30/30 for cast bullets as my retirement rifle! I do not think he can go 34" :cry:
If I had to pick the best cast bullet target cartridge it would be the 30 WCF

I had one of his 97D rifles in his proprietary 30-30 improved. It was the worst and most expensive gun mistake of my life. The barrel is fixed to the receiver by epoxy which means no one will work on them and the extractor/ejector is very fragile.

[JWFilips]

Are you sayin E Arthur Brown fixes his barrels into the receiver with Epoxy????

[john.k]

The barrels are threaded,not just glued............but ,the threads are locked with a 'sealant'.....which is not spec ified...........but if epoxy ,then removal is problematic...............this is by no means unique.....Howa bolt guns have barrels epoxied in the tenon threads..........and are they hard to remove?............not if you have a hydraulic fixture that can apply the 3000 odd ft /lbs needed to unscrew the barrel................I think saying no one will work on them is a bit extreme............after all,how many cast bullets does it take to wear out a 4140 barrel?.........They are a price point well below most other ss .............and falling block extractors are traditionally weak.......dont jam cases .

[barrabruce]

I’m not saying that there would be anything wrong it’s a 30-30 as a target rifle.

But, I don’t see it in the winners circle in the USA cast bullet comps, either breachseated or fixed.

Think it would hold it’s own thou no doubt about it against most things

I’m not sure but it may have to be stoked up pretty high to get to 500yds with a decent b.c. Bullet.

Or go through the zone when the bullet is not tipped.
1500 fps with a good design maybe?
:popcorn:

[Don McDowell]

I"m thinking of ordering my dream rifle.
I like the looks of a skinny long barrelled single shot, and the .30/30 is an excellent C/B cartridge.
So, I'm thinking of an 1875 Sharps, with the long barrel.

Are there any logical reasons why I shouldn't go this long?

Comments, complaints and criticisms welcomed.

TIA

I think that with a barrel longer than 28 inches you'll see dimensioning returns on velocity with the 30-30. You might also think about what profile you want the barrel in. Even with a 28 inch 45-70 barrel the 75 comes in at over 10 lbs. Even at 28 inches the rifle won't be much longer than a 24 inch barreled lever gun, so if you can deal with the weight it won't bother anything when carrying it for hunting.
CSA is set up to profile barrels now, so you could get a round blank from McGowen and have CSA profile it during the build.
Don't forget to have them put the single set trigger in , and it might not be a bad idea to have it drilled and tapped for scope blocks during the build.

[Tom W.]

Tom, how do you go about doing the tumble lube with JPW. I'd like to try that on a few of my cast loads too.


I have an old plastic glass that I got from Olive Garden some years ago. I'll put a gas check on, size and lube the boolit, a put a handful or so into the cup. Put a small glob of the JPW , put the lid on and just gently roll them around for a bit. The heat from your hands (or the ambient temperature in the room) will melt the wax. It doesn't take long. Then I'll pick them up with needle-nose pliers and set them nose up on some wax paper or parchment paper and let them dry.....

So far it works on both of my 30 cal. rifles, the 30/30/A.I. and the 30-06 A.I., and the fire forming loads too!

[rfd]

aside from concerns over consistent accuracy with the .30-30 cartridge, barrel length and balance is a big consideration for any offhand shooting. i had a .45-70 with a 34" barrel that was a bear for offhand and was much better when it became 30".

[samari46]

I have a Ruger #1 in 30-30 with a straight barrel no taper on it. keplinger trigger. Have to watch how I position it on the benchrest and rear bags, Way too muzzle heavy And its for sure no lightweight either. Frank

[sparky45]

I have a Uberti 1885 Highwall that has a 30" barrel and 30-30, it's a delight to shoot off a bench but freehand is somewhat troublesome because of weight. However, dead on accurate with tang sights.

[slug]

OK, lads:
I bit the bullet and ordered it this morning.
34 inch, half round, light contour, 12 inch twist.
Six to eight month wait. Also another six to eight weeks to cross the northern frontier and then get to me.
Hopefully, before the next winter.
Thanks for the comments and encouragemant.

[marlinman93]

Going to be the longest 8 months of your life! I hate that waiting when I'm excited about a gun build, and know it's going to take a long time to fruition!

[JWFilips]

Slug,
Where did you get it?

[Texas by God]

Why not three feet?[emoji3]I'd love to hear it go off!

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[marlinman93]

Why not three feet?[emoji3]I'd love to hear it go off!

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36" becomes an issue with suppliers. Not many make blanks long enough to end up with a 36" barrel when finished. Several make 35" blanks so a 34" finished length is doable.

[slug]

From C Sharps Arms in Big Timber, Montana.
They're the only ones who make an 1875 repro.
I have one in .30/30 already, but it has a stubby 26 inch barrel.
Also, one in .38/56 with a 30 incher which is getting closer.
I need a 34 inch, well, just because....
I may have a firearrm fire sale in a few weeks.

[sparky45]

I have a 30" Uberti 1885 Highwall replica 30-30 that is a joy to shoot; color me envious.

[John Taylor]

More than a few years back I worked for a smith that was making single shot 50 BMGs. He was getting some of his barrels from Orion barrel company. He got an order in for a 3" diameter barrel that was 60" long and Jerry did it. The finished rifle weighed 165 ( if I remember right) pounds and shooting off the bench was like shooting a 22LR. but with much more knock down power.

[Tom W.]

I wonder how many people it took to carry it to the bench......

[Texas by God]

More than a few years back I worked for a smith that was making single shot 50 BMGs. He was getting some of his barrels from Orion barrel company. He got an oder in for a 3" diameter barrel that was 60" long and Jerry did it. The finished rifle weighed 165 ( if I remember right) pounds and shooting off the bench was like shooting a 22LR. but with much more knock down power.
Wow! Did it get 3000 + fps with that length?

[John Taylor]

Wow! Did it get 3000 + fps with that length?

Many of the rifle were 36" to 48" barrel length. We were making lathe turned bullets out of brass that weighed 615 grain and we were getting 3400 FPS. Had an old automatic screw machine that was making bullets, very noisy chain drive but it would spit out a bullet about every 3 seconds. At the time Barns was the only one making a 50 cal bullet and it was a round nose. Military bullets had the core off center for the "cone of fire" from a machine gun. We were making pointed boat tail.

[M-Tecs]

I would think that the bullet holding enough lube at that length would become an issue????

[scattershot]

I like the 30/30. And long barrels. And the Sharps. Sounds like a win/win/win situation to me.

[John Taylor]

I would think that the bullet holding enough lube at that length would become an issue????

We had trouble with the last 8" of bore picking up metal, ended up coating the bore and bullets with triflow teflon coating. This gave an extra 100 feet per second and eliminated the metal fouling.