Have a .30-30 with barrel that is toast and am considering a rebore to this caliber, which some sources say is one of our oldest wildcats.

Is this what you are thinking about?

Looks mighty close, Mick. I'm not sure which reamer they use at JES Reboring but that is who I would use.
The rifle is a Remington Lee 1899 Sporting Rifle with 26-inch barrel, so I believe it would have a lot going for it as a chassis for this wildcat.

Great cart! Long neck is good for cast bullets
Have you read these threads?
What is your max OAL in that rifle?

http://www.hensleygibbs.com/ed...s/35winchester94.htm
http://www.castbulletassoc.org...&highlight=ed+harris
http://castboolits.gunloads.co...9-win-94-in-35-30-30
https://www.shootersforum.com/...s/83366-35-30-a.html
http://www.marlinowners.com/fo...pics/93646?_k=xokf64

Boomie, thanks for those links. The magazine is long enough for a .35 Winchester, so LOA won't be an issue.

Why not go with the .38-55????

I find the 35-30-30 to be more desirable over the 38-55 because of all the 35 bullet choices.

I'm fairly certain JES will just open the neck of the 30-30 chamber to 35 once the rebore is done.
That is what he did on a couple 303 to 35-303 conversions for me on burned out Martini sporters.
They shoot wonderfully.

I wouldn't dismiss the 38-55. IIRC he will rebore to the modern .375 dia instead of the early .379 (?). So bullets are no problem.
Resale would be easier too IMO in 38-55 if that was in the future.

The limit of rebore would depend on the muzzle dia of the bbl.

Just some thoughts

I would be guided by whatever cartridge feeds best through the magazine.

My vote would go to the 38-55 from a resale and ballistic standpoint, .375 bullets are more available than 35 bullets...I could through a rock faster than either caliber btw, well make that 20 years ago!!

I would rebarrel or sleeve it to a 25-35 myself, but Im a 25-35 groupie of one! Maybe a 25-35 Ackley Imp.

Bill, I've got a 35/30-30 improved and really like it. It is a Contender with 21" barrel. Accurate, easily reloaded, plenty of power for anything in my part of the world.

Another vote here for a .375 diameter .38-55.

I've got a Remington small bore magazine rifle in 30-40 ( Michigan guard ) that I was going to rebarrel in 35-40 , again for the 358 bullet choices . Good luck with your project !

Some outfit many moons ago rechambered 94s to the 30-40 case, using 30, 35, bullets, giving one the option of reboring the 30-30 to 35 or whatever..Balistically it competed with the 30-40 Krag and bested the 35 REm...I think they operated out of Arizona and still do last I heard..It was a neat modification for shot out 94 and its ilk....

Gary,
I would hesitate to do that, Ive seen your gun go for big bucks if in decent condition..

35/3030 vs 38-55 -- well, there's quite a few "357" bullets to choose from .. 154gr XTP sure makes an impact ... there's zero jacketed "cheap" 375 bullets, when compared to "357" bullets

and i am certain you considered the 356, but that's a pretty high pressure round compared to those in the topic

I have the rifle in question now, Bill having sold it to me.
Even with it's rough bore it does shoot fairly well!

But my ideas run about like Bill's I guess and a nice clean shiny bore would be nice.

38-55 was my first impulse, and it was an orig chambering in the sporter.

But right now I am leaning more towards keeping it original and re-line it back to it's present 30-30.

I know,,how boring,,,,but I rather like the 30wcf. Plus it is an uncommon chambering in the Rem Sporter if that means anything.

I don't hunt anymore, haven't for years, so small groups on a paper target or stopping a charging milk jug is all I require of it. Should I ever venture out again, it's a fine white-tail caliber.

The rest of the rifle will undergo a restoration to bring it back to life.
Mostly some wood issues, they stayed away from the metal with Black&Decker's, dremels, drills and taps. So that's good not that any of it couldn't have been fixed.

I really like the rifle, fits right in with my LeeSpeeds and the early MkI* SMLE's in the closet.

Thanks again Bill for the opportunity to obtain ths one.

HQ: Can't wait to see it when you get it fully up and running. Just don't find these very often. There is nothing at all wrong with the .30 WCF, which men like Teddy Roosevelt thought was a virtual laser when it came out.

Regarding the .35-30, there are some tantalizing hints here in Joe Reikers' article. He was getting 1900 fps with a 250-grain cast boolit, which ought to be a very capable deer, hog and bear load. I don't subscribe to loaddata.com, but maybe I should. I checked the 1966-1996 Master Index to Rifle and Handloader and did not see a single article listed on the .35-30.

http://www.wideopenspaces.com/...e-original-wildcats/

If I ever have to rebore one of my old Win. in 30-30 or 25-35, I think I will give that 30-40 Krag case a shot, maybe a 338 Krag, that sounds like another worthless bucket of fun!! It would duplicate the 338/308 or come close..But the 30/40 Krag is supposed to duplicate the 300 Savage in a mod. 94, and that's pretty darn good for a Deer rifle, even on elk. The 94 takes that case pretty well Im told. I looked into this some years ago with a well known gun smith in Arizona, I think he's still out there somewhere doing those conversions..I think Ackley makes mention of the caliber and the Smith.

In my mind, I just can't see the 30-30 case pushing a 35 caliber bullet fast enough to suit my needs, seems short on powder capacity to me and some gunsmiths over the years didn't mind pumping a wildcat to the breaking limit..and some had horrific imaginations also..

I like the 38-55 but the 30-30 IMO is a much better caliber for deer and elk..Ive hunted with both, and the 30-30 kills better IMO..I might raise some hackles but I feel like the 30-30 killed better than the 35 Remington mod 14 pump I had at one time...The most fun gun I had back when was a Rem mod. 8 auto in 35 rem..I like that heavy rascal. Did you know that the Border Patrol at one time issues mod. 8s in 25 Rem. caliber?? Id like one of those, but that's off the subject.