Researching reboring a 30-30 to .35-30. The unanswered question thus far is reloading. Does one need .35-30 dies or can a combination of 30-30 and .358 dies work?

Thank you in advance.

How exactly would a combination of 30-30 and 358 dies even begin to work?

Oh boy.

you will need 35-30 dies your other thought/ ideal will not work ever. just find a 35 Remington lever rifle and you will have your dream rifle then

He's talking about using the .358 as a seater. I don't know if that would work, but you could likely just get dies from C4HD.

It wouldn’t be pretty but I think I could make it work. Expanding 30/30 cases in a couple of steps works. I’ve done that when I needed some 38/55 cases. Necking 38/55 cases down might work too. Using a 38 or 357 die to neck the case down might be a way to set the shoulder where you want it.

Ok but how would he resize?

Just do a .375 win

I am usually all gung ho about finding complicated ways to achieve a simple result. For some reason, this whole idea sounds like a fool's errand to me. I cannot imagine going to the trouble and expense to get a rifle rebored but not getting an appropriate die set. I have no doubt it could be managed, but any such solution I can think of other than the proper die set, would be problematic with regard to getting bullets seated straight.

I'm assuming you are talking about a 94 Winchester and want to keep that platform, but with a bigger bullet. If that's the case, I would take the easy route and go .38-55 or .375 Win. If the platform doesn't matter, .35 Remington is the obvious solution, but might want to stock up on components.

Whatever you choose to do, best of luck. Let us know how it goes.

i have a Winchester m94 in 35/30-30 that JES Reboring has done. i use CH-4D 35/30 dies, but your 35 Rem dies can neck size and seating the bullet. i use Starline 30-30 brass and CH-4D FL die and i don't have a problem. about 5 or 6 years ago, i called CH-4D, i gave them my info and 2 or 3 days later, the dies came to my mailbox. it was $115 or $120.

i use 200gr RCBS FNGC and 2400/tuft of dacron that goes from the muzzle 1726fps. it kills deer at that speed, my longest shot with the 35/30-30 was 53 yards, but normally the 35/30 shots deer at around 30 - 40 yards. i like the way the 35/30 shoots, with next to no recoil.

you can go near the 35 Remington's velocity, but you can't find 35 Rem brass anymore. you can find 30-30 brass on the range or new. i bought 500 cases of Starline 30-30 brass new and i can make the 30 and 357 Herrett brass too. i made a 100 cases of the 35/30 and i've shot them 11 or 12 times with no annealing and next to no trimming. i just want to see how long they last for.

i shot in the Williams FP aperture sight (2 shots at 100 yards)


fire forming the 35/30-30 with open sights at 100 yards (25 or 30+/- shots)



i was going to use a custom 35cal 270-280gr WFN mold, but i shot the 200gr RCBS mold and i was impressed with that (using an aperture sight).


**** i think you can use the 357 Herrett dies too.

I kind of want to build a .338/30...I have plenty of .30-30 brass and quite a few bonded 185gr bullets, just not sure if I could get enough velocity to make them reliably expand.

I always thought Winchester should have done a 33/30 instead of the 32 Spl

I believe I saw a Remington M788 that had been converted to 35-30 many years ago

Seems like there is some potential in a .338 caliber .30-30 case. You can push a 170gr bullet out of a .32 Special around 2400fps staying at 36k CUP, 2400-2500 should be doable with a 185gr out of a .33/30 case. It would be a neat round out of a T/C Contender carbine, but the big thing is still whether the bullets would reliably expand.

i did a much simpler rifle rebore that is a much better finished rifle with some value , this is what i had Jess rebore a Ruger #1 into a 35 Whelen , brass is easy to resize out of a 30-06 brass case , new Hornady dies were $50.00 and its a heck of lot more accurate and powerful .

i think Winchester used a 338 bullet in the 45-70 called the 33 Winchester.

MGM barrels (TC Encore and Contender) make a 338/30-30 along with JES Reboring (i think). in a lever action, i know of two bullets, a 250gr Hornady RN and a 200gr Hornady FTX. you could a two shot lever rifle, one in the chamber, one in the tube, then you could go pointed.

i do cup-n-core and cast bullets, so you are on your own with bonded bullets.

This all sounds interesting but for those States that need a .358 bullet to kill deer, the 35 Remington should make a huge comeback. Now would be the time.

kwg

What about reboring to .360 Buckhammer, which uses a .30-30 based case?

There is an article in the Nov. issue of Shooting Times on this very subject

http://35cal.com/

35 Bullberry is another option. Redding makes dies for it.

If reamers and dies weren't so expensive, I would seriously consider building my own .338-30/30 wildcat.

do you have your own donor rifle? if you do, i'd give JES Reboring a call. he might do it. he does 338 Federal and 338-06.

Finding a donor rifle would be the easy part, forcing myself to spend an additional $2-300 on a set of dies is the challenge.

The .360 pretty much eliminates the need for wildcatting a .35/30, which might not meet the straight wall rules anyway. Factory ammo and at some point dies at less than custom or “D list” prices.

There may be some question about the pressure levels when used in a standard 94, but we’re all responsible adults here, right?

where's the fun in that?

you do't have a 35/30 reloading die set. all you need is a 35 Remington reloading die set, 30-30 shell holder and 30-30 brass (new or used). i chose to get 35/30 CH 4D dies and new 30-30 Starline brass. my old 30-30 brass i gave to my youngest son to use in his Savage m340 in 30-30. i kept about 50 old cases to try a 30 and 357 Herrett dies.

the 35/30-30 is about the oldest wildcat round. Winchester must have a brain fart that day long ago. the 35/30 doesn't beat the velocity of the 35 Rem, but the 35/30 is capable of pushing a 270 - 280gr bullet out of the barrel accurately. the 35 Rem can shoot a 250gr bullet out of the barrel, but is it accurate? maybe. it is accurate in my neighbor's rifle, but the 250gr isn't as accurate (6 or 7" at 100 yards) as my cousin's rifle. add to the fact that 35 Rem brass is as scarce as the hen's teeth. 30-30 brass is picked up at your range (i rarely go to the public range) or if your like me, you already have a lifetime supply of 30-30 brass. i like to use cast bullets and the lead and tin are purchased or given to me long ago. or you can buy the cast bullets online.


me and the old m94 go back a long way. i remember when she was little (30-30) and the first buck (spike) we ever got with it. we were together for sereval years and we'd killed deer galore. i put her away in the gun safe years ago and i just plain forgot about her. then 10-15 years ago, i read about the 35/30-30. 5 or 6 years ago, i sent the m94 to JES Reboring and he did an awesome job on the 35/30. in the past 4 years i have hunted with 35/30, i have taken 2 doe and a buck. oh, i put on a Williams FP aperture sight (3 or 4 years ago) because my eyes ain't what they used to be. i take her out and i'm (well, my Polaris utv) dragging a deer back home. just like we used to do.