Fitting a .30-30 barrel to an older 16 gauge frame

[One Gun Andy]

Is it possible to fit a .30-30 barrel to our older 16 gauge H&R shotgun/frame? If so, where would one look find a proper .30-30 barrel? Thanks for any info!

[MT Gianni]

The shotgun and rifle frames should be treated at different levels by the users. The fat firing pin hole and iron vs steel give you very different pressures & velocities you can shoot at. You might get buy finding and fitting a 357 magnum frame to one. Barrels are where you find them. No longer manufactured and long out of stock in all calibers. Greybeards Outdoors has a lot of fans of Handi's but I would look for a new gun not a new bbl.

[richhodg66]

H&R made .30-30s, .22 Hornets and .45-70s on the old frames (iron). I have a .30-30 and 20 gauge combo they sold, Model 158 I think?

A guy on another site told me he put a .22 Hornet Savage 219 barrel onto a Savage or Stevens 94, which is a similar frame, but has an exposed hammer. I really like my 16 gauge 94 and have a ruined .30-30 219 barrel I'm contemplating having lined to something else and doing just that.

Supposedly, when NEF took them over, they would fit a barrel to your receiver if you sent it to them, but a lot of people have just slapped a barrel on the correct frame and it worked. Finding a .30-30 barrel for one is going to be the real trick.

[jaguarxk120]

The biggest difference between rifle and shotgun frames is
the firing pin and hole. Rifle much smaller and shotgun larger.

[Gray Fox]

Why not have that barrel bored out to .38-55? It'd be a great single shot. GF

[ulav8r]

The biggest difference between the shotgun frames and the rifle frames are that the shotgun frames are cast iron and the newer rifle frames are steel. The older rifle frames were also cast iron but they were available in limited calibers. 22 Hornet, 30/30, 357 mag and 44 Mag were the most common calibers, 22 Jet was another. Check out the FAQ's on the GBO Handi forum.

https://www.go2gbo.com/forums/108-h-r-centerfire-rifles/19157-faqs-help-please-read.html

[cwlongshot]

Yes everything you need to know is in the faq’s on GBO.

CW

[GhostHawk]

A Agree, for all things handi rifle hard to beat GBO, lots of faces you'll recognise that frequent both boards.

B I have an old .30-30 + 20 ga combo, I know it is an older topper 158 with a SB1 type frame. But I don't hot rod it either.

C Barrels are where you find them. Expect to pay 300 to ??? how much you can afford if you really want one.
I paid over 400$ for a .45colt unfired barrel, and was tickled pink to get it at that price. I'd of gone to 500$.

Evilbay is one source, due dilegence is required, you check DAILY. Same for here, gun broker, etc.

Me I was lucky, my .30-30/20ga combo walked in my door. Pawn shop offered him 125$ tops.
I said bring it by, my price will depend on condition. Well condition was like new. 20 ga barrel never fired that I can see. And if the .30-30 had more than 15 rounds through it I'd be surprised. Outside blueing was deep and dark, no rust, wood was good.

I started with what I thought was a lowball bid of 300$ he snapped it up and threw in a 60$ Damacus Bowie knife that I need like I need another hole in my head. But we both walked away smiling. So good trade IMO.

Live right, be good to others, good things come back by and by.

[megasupermagnum]

$300 for an H&R barrel?! That is otherworldly! You can buy a brand new Henry single shot, an entire rifle for about $375. You are not that far from me GhostHawk. I would NEVER pay more than $150 for an SB1 H&R. I got a pristine 12 gauge last year in St. cloud for $120, and found another very nice 12 gauge with a ding in the stock in Alexandria for $100. A shop in Spicer has a decent one for $150, but the barrel has an odd pit in it. I doubt it would hurt anything, but I passed anyway. I passed on a decent 308 Winchester SB2 the guy was asking $275, that one didn't seem to lock up right to me. You can find 243 Winchesters for $200-$250 just about anywhere. $240 is a fair price for that combo.


The guys asking $300 for a common H&R barrel are price gougers plain and simple. They were $70 barrels 6-7 years ago. They are not rare, they are not valuable because they quit making them.


Sorry GhostHawk, that's nothing against you. Just a rant against scam artists.

[richhodg66]

Another option would be to find an old beat up shotgun barrel and have a stub job done with it. Some guys have done some pretty amazing things that way.

Good point made that you can get a whole rifle for less than those H&R barrels are going for now. Someone had a .30-30 Savage 219 in swapping and selling recently for about $300 and you see them go for that or less pretty frequently. The CVAs are nice rifles than the H&R/NEF ones ever were and are still available as far as I know.

[oldred]

The shotgun and rifle frames are treated to a different level.

I assume you are talking about heat treating? The difference in the frames is not in the heat treating it's the material they are made of, malleable iron casting vs steel and the iron shotgun frames can not be treated to the same strength as the steel frame.

[megasupermagnum]

I never looked into barrel stubs too deep. Has anyone ever made one that was more or less a switch barrel that you could unthread easily with just a vice and a wrench?

[Texas by God]

I never looked into barrel stubs too deep. Has anyone ever made one that was more or less a switch barrel that you could unthread easily with just a vice and a wrench?
Now you’re talking. A threaded monobloc with interchangeable barrels using the Savage barrel nut system? Heck yes.

[uscra112]

I assume you are talking about heat treating? The difference in the frames is not in the heat treating it's the material they are made of, malleable iron casting vs steel and the iron shotgun frames can not be treated to the same strength as the steel frame.

Exactly right. Malleable iron is very low carbon and cannot be heat treated at all. In fact you will ruin it if you try. Case hardening is all that can be done with it.

[geezer56]

At one time I had 30 plus Handi rifles. The older frames are suitable for shotguns, muzzle loader barrels, and low pressure rounds. They were originally offered in 45-70, 30-30, 44 mag, 357 mag and Max, 22 Hornet, and 221 Fireball. I have owned all of those at one time or another. The later SB2 frames are suitable for much hotter stuff. The problem isn't chamber pressure, it is case head force applied the frame. The older versions will flex enough to lock the action to the point it won't open. I had a 270 brought for me to look at that was doing this. Yep, high pressure barrel on a shotgun frame. I warned the guy he had a pipe bomb. He refused to hear my thoughts and left with it. I have often wondered how bad someone got hurt with that one. The barrels aren't hard to fit to different frames. GBO is a good source of information.