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I have a 1971 made Winchester 1894 Musket in .30-30 that I plan on putting a 28" Barrel chambered in .38-55 on. What bore would you use, a .375" or a .377" diameter ? What would be the best twest, 12 or 14 or 18, shooting a 265 gr bullet.I want to keep the .30-30 barrel.
I know JES does good work. There are not a lot of the muskets so I want to be able to restore and I also want a 28" barrel. Gun has a 26" barrel so rebore is out.
I would think to get a long enough blank for a 38-55 and get it threaded, chambered, have all the dovetails and extractor cuts made, sights and bluing done you would have close to the price of a replacement rifle in it.
If you can do most of the work yourself it maybe would be practical as far as costs involved but I would keep a eye out for a second rifle that is already in the caliber you want and buy one that you can be happy with.
Having 2 rifles that are in desirable configurations to me would be much better than changing the barrel back and forth on one rifle.
Jedman
I will agree with Jed on this.
Should be able to pick up a decent 38-55 for around a grand.
RP
Gunsinternational # 101912951. You could send it to JES and have the bore and twist you want.
Jedman
The twist will all come down to what bullet weights (actually bullet lengths) you want to shoot, there will be no "benefit" to a faster than necessary twist other than you may be able to buy an off the shelf barrel.Quote:
Originally Posted by warren5421
pacnor will make you any twist you choose, and any length you ask for but you might have to live on ramen to pay for it ;-).
This won't fit your bill of wants but: Forget the .38=55 and feed the .30-30 a 200 grain bullet. You will get 1800fps or so out of that musket barrel and you have the option of using the wide selection of .30 bullets without changing barrels, a non starter for a non-takedown rifle. I have an excellent Marlin 1893 Delux rifle in .38-55 and while it is a good shooting rifle, it does not have anywhere near the versatility of any .30-30 and yes, I have several of them. The .38-55 presented an advantage back when black powder was king and the .32-40 was the little caliber. The .30-30 and smokeless powder rendered the .38-55 moot.
But then states like Ohio allow straight walled cartridges for Deer gun season and the 38-55, 375 Winchester and many other cartridges become relevant again :-).Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan Cash
And 38-55 is just cool! where the 30-30 was always a modern cartridge and many all over the place, the most sold rifle ever. The 38-55 is an excellent target cartridge and great for hunting too! Load it for either in smokeless or black and will hit very hard at normal hunting distances if wanting it to.