Several years ago I had a No 3 Ruger .30-40 which wouldn't shoot for beans. After ringing the barrel about 2" from the muzzle (don't ask, it wasn't deliberate) nothing changed either for better or worse. It didn't even affect the zero! The rifle would do no better than 3-4".
At the same time I was musing about a .358 Win. Model 70, 99 Savage, whatever. This was 18 or so years ago and me, a gun, and the money, have never gotten to the same place at the same time yet. I thought about a wildcat .35 and what I had that could be used. After necking up several cartridges, just to see how they looked, the .30-40 with its long neck looked the way to go. My Powley Computer showed projected velocities of 2250 fps for a 250 gr. Hornady and 2500 fps for the 200 gr. Sounds just like a .358 or .35 Winchester, doesn't it?
A call to Fred T. (Huntington) for a referral on a barrel maker to re-bore the Ruger to .35 got me the name of Bob West. As an aside, I can heartily recommend Bob West for any barrel work you need. Contacting Mr. West got a quote of 贝 to re-bore and neck up the existing chamber.(Remember, this was a long time ago)
The barrelled action went to West and was returned just a few weeks later including a re-blue you couldn't tell from the original Ruger finish. This POS that wouldn't shoot as a .30-40 now shoots in the 1" range as a .35-40 with full loads. The only problem is that it really kicks! It has taken one good scope apart for me.
I modified a set of RCBS .30-40 dies to the .35 and saved a bunch there. This cartridge has the advantage that both bullet and neck diameters are standard sizes so a pair of chucking reamers did the work after annealing the dies. The dies were re-hardened with Casenite after reaming and have been used for many years now.
The question is, does anyone have any information if this has been done before. I have seen mention of it it one of the magazines, but checking with RCBS, Redding, C-H can find no information that any has ever made a die set for it. Until I find other info, I will claim this as my own.
Thought some of you might be interested in the story. BTW, Bob West is still in business if anyone needs any barrel work.
At the same time I was musing about a .358 Win. Model 70, 99 Savage, whatever. This was 18 or so years ago and me, a gun, and the money, have never gotten to the same place at the same time yet. I thought about a wildcat .35 and what I had that could be used. After necking up several cartridges, just to see how they looked, the .30-40 with its long neck looked the way to go. My Powley Computer showed projected velocities of 2250 fps for a 250 gr. Hornady and 2500 fps for the 200 gr. Sounds just like a .358 or .35 Winchester, doesn't it?
A call to Fred T. (Huntington) for a referral on a barrel maker to re-bore the Ruger to .35 got me the name of Bob West. As an aside, I can heartily recommend Bob West for any barrel work you need. Contacting Mr. West got a quote of 贝 to re-bore and neck up the existing chamber.(Remember, this was a long time ago)
The barrelled action went to West and was returned just a few weeks later including a re-blue you couldn't tell from the original Ruger finish. This POS that wouldn't shoot as a .30-40 now shoots in the 1" range as a .35-40 with full loads. The only problem is that it really kicks! It has taken one good scope apart for me.
I modified a set of RCBS .30-40 dies to the .35 and saved a bunch there. This cartridge has the advantage that both bullet and neck diameters are standard sizes so a pair of chucking reamers did the work after annealing the dies. The dies were re-hardened with Casenite after reaming and have been used for many years now.
The question is, does anyone have any information if this has been done before. I have seen mention of it it one of the magazines, but checking with RCBS, Redding, C-H can find no information that any has ever made a die set for it. Until I find other info, I will claim this as my own.
Thought some of you might be interested in the story. BTW, Bob West is still in business if anyone needs any barrel work.