Thinkng of building a 30/30 Rolling block, what do you guys think?

[koger]

I am thinking of buying a Remington roller Swede 8x58R with a barrel that is toast, for a future build. I can get the Rolling block for less than $500 with good wood front and back, and thel action looks pretty nice. $500 would get a new barrel on it. Thinking 28-30" barrel, put good sights on it and it would be a fun rifle, to hunt with or shoot long range out to 700 yds with cast bullets. A buddy recently finished a range that long on his farm. I have 2 single shots and a Marlin 336 in 38/55, or that would be the caliber. I also have 2 40-65's, and a custom in 30/40 Krag AI, so that kinda leaves out the 30/40. I have 3 levers in 30/30, plenty of brass, and several .30 molds, including a 190gr 4 groove Gas check that shoots great in 30/06, thinking of trying it in the 30/30.

[stubshaft]

Sounds like a GREAT idea!

[marlinman93]

I'd hesitate to chamber a BP era roller in .30-30 myself. A smokeless later 7mm Mauser Roller would be my choice.
For the action you have, I'd seriously consider chambering it in .32-40 as it will be plenty strong, and it's a great cartridge. I have no problem shooting great groups with my .32-40 Roller, even at 400 yds.!

[ascast]

yup marlinman93 said it

[koger]

Guys the action is for a 8x58, which is a smokeless round action. Also the bulk of the shooting would be done using cast bullets/unique loads, not full bore factory ammo.

[marlinman93]

Guys the action is for a 8x58, which is a smokeless round action. Also the bulk of the shooting would be done using cast bullets/unique loads, not full bore factory ammo.

The 8x58R was adopted by the Danes in 1888, and pretty sure it wasn't a smokeless cartridge to begin with? Not sure when they chambered their Rollers in it, or if those actions are considered like the #5 smokeless or the BP actions?

[Shawlerbrook]

Whatever you decide, please take us along for the ride. Just love projects like this.

[Gtek]

I thinking back, remembering the Meister's discussing the importance of marking rim for case orientation in the rollers for safety and case life considerations when you get it figured out.

[muskeg13]

The 8x58R was adopted by the Danes in 1888, and pretty sure it wasn't a smokeless cartridge to begin with? Not sure when they chambered their Rollers in it, or if those actions are considered like the #5 smokeless or the BP actions?

True for when it was adopted in 1888, but the Swedes had begun loading smokeless by 1892 and reconditioned their rifles for smokeless. Receivers were re-hardened and new blocks and hammers with better steel were installed.

https://www.chuckhawks.com/swedish_rolling_block_rifle.htm

http://www.gotavapen.se/gota/artiklar/remington/remington.htm

[Rockindaddy]

Make it a 45-70 !!!! Shoot a bison!

[marlinman93]

I thinking back, remembering the Meister's discussing the importance of marking rim for case orientation in the rollers for safety and case life considerations when you get it figured out.

I've never had to index cases on a Rolling Block with a properly setup barrel and breech block. It's extremely important when installing a new barrel on a Rolling Block to ensure the breech block face is perfectly square to the bore when the block is closed, and the hammer is lowered. Not milling the breech block to be square to the bore will result in tweaked rims, and after reloading the bent rims wont allow the reloaded ammo to chamber until it's indexed the way it was when fired.
Marking cases is a bandaid fix to a problem some poorly educated gunsmith's work caused. Not needed if the smith knows Rollers.

[greybuff]

If it were me I would go with a 38-55 and shoot black powder. AS Steve Garbe said Smokeless is a passing fad".

[marlinman93]

If it were me I would go with a 38-55 and shoot black powder. AS Steve Garbe said Smokeless is a passing fad".

Hopefully I'll be dead before the fad fully passes. I shoot a little BP the last couple years, but still more smokeless.

[John Taylor]

I made my own personal roller in 38-55. The 45-70 was just getting to much recoil for me. Last time I had it out there was no problem hitting the 200 yard gong off hand.

[koger]

Guys I will keep you up to date as things progress. As I stated, I have several 38/55 rifles, and currently have 10 rifles in 45/70, with 5 of them being rolling blocks, so it would be redundant to go with either caliber. It appears by the article in Chuck Hawks website, that the rifle I mentioned is up to 30/30 pressures, as I already thought.

[Gtek]

Only having 85 Win/Jap Hi-walls to shoot and never shooting the #5 7mm saddle ring carbine hiding somewhere back there (bought for a maybe later). Curious as to approach of squaring breech face to bore, grinding of breech face to correct angle?

[Hahndorf1874]

I have a reworked Swede action, it’s 40/65, I run 27 gns of 4198 behind a brooks 2 dia 380 gn.If I do every thing right will go sub MOA @ 100, just over with BP.a delight to shoot. Mal in au.

[marlinman93]

Only having 85 Win/Jap Hi-walls to shoot and never shooting the #5 7mm saddle ring carbine hiding somewhere back there (bought for a maybe later). Curious as to approach of squaring breech face to bore, grinding of breech face to correct angle?

The method I've used is to simply close the breech block, lower the hammer, and thread the new barrel into the receiver until it contacts the breech block. Then once it's just hand tight I insert a feeler gauge at the top to determine if there's too much gap indicating the breech block isn't squared to the barrel. Pulling back on the block as you insert the feeler gauge is a must to ensure you get a proper reading. And of course making sure the breech block and hammer pivot pins are a good fit first, so they wont give you false readings either.
Once you've determined how thick a feeler gauge fits in, then you need to setup the breech block in a mill so it's held at the same angle and mill the face to get it square to what you need. That requires most of the metal removed down closer to the pivot point, and none removed at the top of the breech block. I want the difference to be .003" or less once it's squared up. Over that will usually result in fired cases not fitting well if they aren't indexed the same direction.
In years past I had my receiver and breech blocks annealed first to make polishing easier, and I could even square up the breech blocks with a mill file and careful hand filing. I still have them annealed first, but I find it's easier to take them to a friend with a mill and tell him how much I need removed to square them up.
Once squared, then the barrel and be finished, indexed, and chambered. Ready to polish and blue after that.

[Gunlaker]

I have no idea on the relative strengths of the various rolling block versions, but I can say that I have an original highwall in 30-30 and it's a pretty neat rifle. In a single shot you also have the advantage of being able to use pointier bullets and no length restrictions.

Chris.

[gnoahhh]

On the face of it I guess that RB should handle .30-30 pressures ok, especially if mild-moderate cast loads are employed. My main consideration when doing such tricks is what would happen when a second party acquires the gun and then fires factory (or hotter) loads in it out of ignorance. My credo in life is "people are idiots," and live my life with that in mind!

[Gtek]

MM93- Thank you for the explanation and how to, kind of figured something like that. I have a .458" barrel laying in there threaded next to it (#5). I believe the extractor will need a touch also. Would you buy a new one and leave the 7mm extractor alone just in case?

[marlinman93]

MM93- Thank you for the explanation and how to, kind of figured something like that. I have a .458" barrel laying in there threaded next to it (#5). I believe the extractor will need a touch also. Would you buy a new one and leave the 7mm extractor alone just in case?

No, I wouldn't save the 7mm extractor. Not sure who would ever need or want it, and the rim is smaller, so taking some metal off for a .45-70 rim would be cheap and easy.

[dverna]

I like the concept of a .30/30 single shot. Should be a neat gun when you get it done.

[Dutchman]

True for when it was adopted in 1888, but the Swedes had begun loading smokeless by 1892 and reconditioned their rifles for smokeless. Receivers were re-hardened and new blocks and hammers with better steel were installed.

https://www.chuckhawks.com/swedish_rolling_block_rifle.htm

http://www.gotavapen.se/gota/artiklar/remington/remington.htm

Ya gotta be careful what you read on the net. That chuckhawks website says I'm an "authority" on Swedish military firearms. Dang! I gotta be careful what I say. More than few errors on that page.

Don't push old guns too hard. Respect their limitations. You know how you find out their limitations? By exceeding them.

http://dutchman.rebooty.com/RBfailure.html

Dutch

[marlinman93]

Ya gotta be careful what you read on the net. That chuckhawks website says I'm an "authority" on Swedish military firearms. Dang! I gotta be careful what I say. More than few errors on that page.

Don't push old guns too hard. Respect their limitations. You know how you find out their limitations? By exceeding them.

http://dutchman.rebooty.com/RBfailure.html

Dutch

I've found many of Chuck Hawk's postings to have numerous errors. I'd never use him as a single source of info without getting input from others. He seems to post as an "authority" on a lot of stuff, but not sure he's got expertise on any one thing.