Anyone of the single shot crowd have a NE Arms 30/30? I have debated on one, since I love loading 30/30s but the levers never give the accuracy, I know the cartridge is capable of.

I have not seen one ever, but I have heard that Ruger made a batch of Number Ones in 30/30.

My other desire would be finding a great shape old Winchester 54 in 30/30 ( and also a 35 Remington which they made).

Just if anyone has one, is it as accurate as my other two New England rifles are in the rim fires?
thanks

Good luck on finding a Winchester 54 30-30 at a reasonable price. I found one at a gun show with about 50 percent finish on the metal, and the wood while not terribly beat up did have a few dings. The checkering ws worn almost toatlly flat. The bore was totally mint, so I bought it. It has the factory installed Redfield peep sight, and is a good cast bullet shooter. I had to give $600 to get it, but the guy did come down from $800. Saw another at a different gun show that waas totally minty with a period scope on it, also a 30-30, $1,400 FIRM! I'd have loved to take that one home.
Now, finding a Ruger #1 would definitely float my boat. Hell, that would float my whole damn fleet. Probably would have to morgate the house, and sell my wife, kids and grandkids into slavery to pay for one though. never know though. Sometimes one gets lucky.
Paul B.

Paul,

sounds like you got a nice rifle from the period though! I am envious!

In 1954, I saw an M54 Win. in ".30 WCF" (.30/30) for sale in the Thrift Shop at Ft. Bragg NC for $35.00. Of course, I didn't have the $35.00, and could not convince my father that it was a good buy! Oh well!! It's kinda like the $75.00 M 70's, $120.00 Browning Superposeds, and $100.00 Mann/Schoenauers for sale at the Rod & Gun Club in those days....

hey sea i got a nef in 30 30 i love it shoots great an cool thing bout any type of bullet u want to use also

Hi Seafire
Why not a Savage 340? I own one of them and I bought it for acouple of years ago for the price of � airgun! it is at least 30 years old gun and i've fired it more than 1000 time without a single jam. unfortunatly now the barrel is begining to expire and accuraccy begins to declin,but when it was newly purchasses it could 1 inch att 90 yds without any problem . the action in mine is realy smooth.
regards
danny

Remington chambered the M788 in 30/30.The rifle is ugly as sin but I've never seen one that wasn't accurate regardless of the caliber.I see them around the gunshops,used for $300-$400 depending upon condition.

Bravo

Another option(though not inexpensive) is to find a Browning highwall traditional hunter in 30-30 or one of the Italian copies of the high/low wall. I love my traditional hunters!

Bought my son one of the combos, 30-30/20ga years ago and he still has it. Have loaded spitzer bullets (can't do that with the lever actions) and it has shown good accuracy. I glass bedded the forend so it fit, just leave about an inch bare behind and in front of the attachment screw. Then polished the trigger for a better pull. It will shoot an inch-and-a-half any day of the week, and better often enough, depending on the load.

For the guys who recommend a Savage 24 F:

I have looked at those, but do not care for the shotgun part. I was seriously looking at one in 30/30 and 20 gauge tho.

However I have to admit:

To the Single shot guys, suggesting the Browning High Wall; Looked at one of those guns recently, and I was so dam impressed with the thing, after playing with it, I drove home thinking that is On the Got to Get List. I was so busy playing with the rifle, admiring its quality, checking out the price tag on how much I am going to have to save up, I neglected to see what caliber that one was in! LOL>

I just love handloading the 30/30 case.The cartridge is not a " it will kill anything" like the old guys around the turn of the century thought, but it will sure do a lot more than it is given credit for in the these days with the Magnum crazes.

I look at is as Humble but awfully capable. And the older I get, that is more of a trait I admire both in people and cartridges.

Why not look into a contender carbine in 30-30?
As to the remarks on the Rem 788 in 30-30, I have an old one, ugly as sin, pitted inside and out, not much finish left, but has a walnut not a birch stock! Dented and dinged of course. Ugly as sin, did I mention that it shoots sub MOA groups with proper cast bullet loads? I wouldn't trade it for anything.

regards,
Graycg.

A Bolt Action or a Single Shot fills the accuracy bill. A LEVER ACTION is inherantly inaccurate.

MADISON:
A lever action in the hands of my Uncle Eddie is as deadly accurate as a bolt gun and much faster. He can snapshoot anything from rabbits to deer like nobody on Earth. He's been shooting nigh unto 70 years now; it's how he put some of the family's meat on the table during the Depression. My dad bought an old Model 94 in 32WinSpec when he was about 12 (1942). He "gave" it to me in the summer of 1975 when I was 17. I finally took receipt of it for Christmas 2001. Eddie used the gun from 1948 when my dad went off to college until he surrendered it when my dad finally convinced him he had to give it up and mail it to me. What a moment that was for me to at long last get that gun after 26 years. My dad told me to look behind the door to our downstairs family room (this door is always open and makes a good hiding place as it is in the corner of the room and nobody ever looks behind it) and there it was, a box that was as long and thin as a '94 should be. I knew what it was instantly. I could hardly hold back the tears as I unwrapped it. Once unwrapped and in my hands after so much time, the tears came out and it was mine at last. Some would say "It's just an old gun." No, it's my father's heritage to me; it's something a gunhater and freedom hater would never understand. We gun people are different-- and proudly so.

[ 07-26-2003, 07:17: Message edited by: rootbeer ]

Hobie and Rootbeer;

I can see where my heritage and ideas come from. You two make me proud to be a native Virginian.

Rootbeer, I loved that story Son! And you hammered the nail on the head when you made the statement that receiving it was something the Anti Gun people or the Anti Hunting people would never understand.

You take good care of that Winchester. I had a 1935 production Marlin 336 in 30/30 that belonged to my grandfather. Some asshole broke into my truck and stole about $6,000.00 worth of stuff out of it, after I returned from a trip one night. In that was my grandfather's 30/30.
Because it was his, that was I was the most angry about. I even know who did it, and of course the cops would not do nothing about it, basically because of the jackasses called judges who let crooks skate in this country.

I also have a Winchester 30/30 that my step dad bought when we came back from England in 1966 after being stationed there for 3 yrs. Learned to deer hunt with it. It is in beautiful shape because it has not been used much in 35 plus years. Basically because it is so inaccurate, you could not hit Texas with it. However it has a history to it, and I would not trade it for the world. I won't even rebarrel it.

I occasionally take it to the range and shoot at a 50 yd target and congradulate it if it hits the paper in 15 shots. However it really does like a stout load of W 748 ( 35 grains) and a 220 grain bullet seated to the max! Don't know if it is the length of the bullet or the speed ( chronographed at 2100 fps), but it will give real good accuracy then.

However with a history, it will always be in my family as long as I am alive.!

Savage topbreak 219 single shot in 30-30, 26" barrel, light weight, quite accurate, trigger may need work, look in gunbroker, auctionarms, gunsamerica, they are not expensive when they show up. The NEF HandiRifle, currently made, is similar but much uglier.

i got to agree with vigillinus. the savage 219 is a great gun. i picked up two for under two hundred dollars total. i rechambered them to ackley improved and touched up the triggers. gave them to my brothers two boys. accurate enough with light single shot pistol bullets for chucks. loaded with 150 spitzers, the deer think you shot them with a 308. the kids did learn the value of aiming and had a grand time with "their rifles"

hm2,

have heard the 219 can be rechambered to .30-40 Krag, which would be interesting - and if you are really ambitious you can go to Krag Ackely Improved.

vigillinus,
i happen to have a krag standard reamer. looked at it and considered it but decided two young hunters starting out didn't need that kind if recoil out of the lightweight rifle and i had a ton of once fired 30-30 to keep them in ammo. didn't get into the measurement needed to determine if i would even try it, it might get a little thin between the chamber and the screw holes for the scope mount. one was drilled and the other had a dovetail type mount.

NEF 30-30---great price and accurate rifle..Best load to date--170 grain Hornady JFP, 31 grains W748, F210 primer and WW brass. Out to 200 yards, venison, mashed potatos and gravy--on time, everytime.

One more vote for the Savage 219.

When I lived in northern Alberta, I carried a Sav 219 behind the seat of my '65 Ford pickup in a neat little canvas case. Had three barrels in there for it...30-30, .22 Hornet, and .410 shotgun. Put a LOT of meat on the table with that rifle. Bet that .410 shot several pickup-loads of Spruce Grouse. Had one of those neat little Redfield 3/4" tube 4-X scopes on both the Hornet and the .30-30. Gawd I wish I had that 219 back!!

Also, don't know if it is still that way, but in the 70's Winchester 54's in 30-30 were quite common in Western Canada, particularly Saskatchewan and Alberta. I've owned several and never paid more than $225 Canadian for one. I know the price would be up, but unless times have REALLY changed, you might try looking in that area for one.

Personally, I preferred the Sav. 219 for an actual "user" rifle. Was much handier, lighter, and just as effective. Also more versatile when fitted with the other barrels.

AC

H&R or NEF break action. Very easy to re-stock so the gun fits when using a scope and nice walnut is available in 2 inch thickness. I had one that shot 130 gr Hornadeys to under 1 inch for 5 at 100 yds. Get the hammer spur if you are planning to scope it.I even replaced the plastic spacer on the forend with brass and added a brass butt plate for "looks".

Once saw an M54 Win. ".30 WCF" for sale in the Thrift Shop at Ft. Bragg, N.C., for $35.00. Should have bought it!

Too late now!!

NEF makes a fine rifle. Mine is in .30-06 and has paid for itself in venison brought home. I would suggest getting one in a heavier caliber, then sending it in to NEF for the .30-30 barrel. Go to: http://www.hr1871.com/ You can get a shotgun barrel for it also. While it is in the shop have them do a trigger job (it's free) before sending it back. Another site you might want to look at is: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nef-singleshot/ Lots of information there on accurizing it.

-Kees-

I bought my son-in-law a NEF .30-30 for Christmas several years ago. It will shoot 3 different factory loads into 1.5". It has been an excellent"truck gun".
As far as "inherently inaccurate", I 've got a Marlin 336 RC that 37 years old. It still shoots Winny 150 grn.hp. into 1.25" avg. Marlins can be accurized with little effort.

I have seen many M-94 Win. that would shoot 2" groups with iron sights off a bench and I own one that will shoot an inch, most will shoot 3 inches, now that isn't inherent inaccruacy in my books....Mostly the older 94' shoot best and the Marlins can be very accurate..

I love the old Sav. M-219..I saw one in 25-20 that have been rechambered to 25-35, wish I owned that one..

Many years ago in the Sierra Del Carmin Mountains of Mexico, we went out to shoot some deer to make our yearly supply of sausage..I was sitting on a rock and 6 big bucks walked by me and stopped at about 75 to 100 yards, they probably had never seen a man, I calmly shot all 6 of them with that single shot 30-30 Sav. 219 and we spent the next 3 days packing meat..I was about 14 years old then as I recall, the smallest of those bucks was 26" btw, that country was literally crawling with deer, bear, Mule deer, Fantail and turkey back then.....We killed a hog and had lots of Sausage that year. Traded one deer for a towsack full of quail from a Mexican family that had a pen full of quail..

Those were wonderfull days for a 14 year old boy who loved to hunt.