Just received a gift of an early '70's Win 30 30. I loathe the caliber, Granpa loved it but I don't. Would love to have a lever action 307 win. Is it possible to ream the chamber to 307 win or do I need to buy a new barrel?

I'd suggest going with an improved 30/30, not the 307, as you have a larger dia case, and I'd expect the conversion if even possible would be quite costly due to work with the lifter, bolt face, extractor etc.

You also might want to check out sixgunner.com and look for Paco Kelley's articles, he had one on the 30/30, and as I recall, some data for the improved varient.

Personally, and especially if this is an heirloom, I'd leave it as is.

How about reboring to 32 win special? 30-30 case, so no rework there.

I rechambered a contender carbine to 30-30 improved several years ago for a Canadian friend of mine. I thought it was kind of a silly little gun and not a very worthwhile project. I was wrong. He gets 300 Savage performance out of that little gun and has killed several big Saskatchewan whitetails with it.

Your just pissin in the wind, trying to improve the 30-30 in the 94..The gain isn't that much and the cost is excessive..For what it was designed for the Win.94 in 30-30 is a grand gun and kills deer this side of 200 yards or so as well as anything...If the 30-06 is a 400 yd. gun then the 30-30 is a 300 yd. gun.....

A m-94 can be converted to a 30 cal. on the 30-40 Krag case and gains a good deal on paper, it is also costly and the real world gain is again not very practical....

you could almost buy a new rifle for the cost of conversion, case making, and all thoes little problems that raise their ugly heads with such jobs.

But more than anything else, you shouldn't bad mouth the 30-30, its history is legend and its been around a lot longer than you have, and killed a lot more game than most any caliber in the modern world...Try it, then you might like it, it has a way of surprising folks that havn't used it.

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com

I apologize for not being clear. It is not an heirloom and I already own a Marlin 30 30. I was simply wondering if it was feasible. It appears it doesn't make the cut economically. Which is disappointing, so it appears I will just give it to my brother.

Tombo31. A conversion could be done, but i strongly question the safety of doing it. The .307 Winchester is a much higher pressure cartridge and the model 94's chambered for it have, I believe, a reinforced action. Take that old 94, put a peep sight on it, load up a few cast lead bullets and enjoy one of best "fun guns" around.
Paul B.

I do believe the 307 case is shorter than the 30-30 so just simply reaming it might not work.

The 30-30 improved is the way to go. The Paco Kelley article is gone from the website. (At least I can't find it) But I did print it, and it does claim to have driven 130 Speer Flat points at 2877 fps., with no pressure increase. He also stated that this was in a modern type firearm.

If you want to know to know more let me know and I will copy the article and send it to you.

The 30-30 gets a bad rap, undeservededly so in my opinion. It is a good close cover whitetail round in a handy short carbine style rifle. Excellent length for use in an elevated stand and fairly accurate for the type of hunting it should be used for. If it didn't work hunters would abandon it quickly.

I have 2 30-30 single shot NEFs that I use 140 Barnes X bullets in and drive them 2575 fps in a standard 30-30( MOA accuracy) and am thinking of an Imp. version of one also.

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"�and I believe further, that [our new Constitutional government] is likely
to be well administered for a course of years, and can only end in
despotism, as other forms have done before it, when the people shall become
so corrupted as to need despotic government, being incapable of any other."

-from Benjamin Franklin's speech upon signing the Constitution.---------Chainsaw

Paco Kelly bases his 30-30 improvement on the 7-30Waters case improved then necked up to 30cal. You end up with a .25" neck and more case capacity compared to the traditional AI configuration.

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"Use A Big Enough Gun!"

Keep in mind the 307 is on a different action than the regular M-94..It is really beefed up big time in the rear of the frame because the standard M-94 was not strong enough.....

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com

Heck, why not rebarrel? Since you have to stay with low pressuer, why not rebarrel in a wildcat like say, a 30-30 necked down to 6.5mm or so? Lighter bullets, better velocity, flatter shooting, great for deer, and the only one on the block with one! Just a passing thought...

The 30-30 is a grand old round. No more than you would drive a mini-van in the Indy 500, would you use a 30-30 for a bean-field rifle. I despised the cartridge in my youth, but in my more mature age have grown rather fond of it. It works well in most deer hunting situations. A friend of mine rechambered his marlin for 30-30 improved and has gained a considerable increase in velocity.
I don't think the 307 is feasible due to pressure limits, and 32 spl. is out unless you want to rebarrel it.
Just my thoughts, Good luck and good hunting.

Curious here about the references to the 32 Winc Special. What would you expect to gain by rechambering or rebarreling the 30/30 to the 32 WS? I own, shoot and load for both calibers and if anything, the little 30/30 is a better item thant the 32WS. Now, before you jump, let me say I have an 1894 SR carbine in 32 WS that is one of my most prized possessions and I am not bad-mouthing it - I just don't see where the exact same case with a .321 bullet is going to be much improvement over the same thing with a .308 bullet. Please tell me if I'm missing something here.
Regards,

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'Trapper'