I'm contemplating chambering a 18" barrel for my own stub barrelled H&R Handi Rifle. Is 18" a decent length for this cartridge? I'm limited to this length as this is a barrel blank that I've already cut and turned down for threading into the stub.

Longer might be a bit better, but . . .BUT you do not have longer so I am going to bet that the 18 incher will be great.
How precise will it be . . .ONLY shooting will tell!

14" Contender barrels seemed to gain velocity performance from the AI treatment and you are talking an additional 4 inches on that!

Have a 13" MGM and is a hammer with the 125NBT.

Thanks for the input!


How fast is it from that barrel length?

It's been quite a while since I cronographed it, but I think it was just under 2475 fps. I'll check my notes.

2460 average, but I have backed it off just a bit to get better case life.

Thanks Ken!

I'm missing my last 30-30 Handi rifle and hoping this one will shoot half as good.

22 inch ruger #1 ris using tac I get about 2790 with that nosler 125 gr,

Good shooting Dinny. I can usually get two to touch, but that third one sometimes is a bullet hole away. Haven't shot past 200, but will not miss clay targets at that range.

Hi Domit. Curious on the load are you using to get that speed?

txtrout check your mail

Should make a stout 30 cal rifle. I liked 165s with 3031 in my 30 Merrill, which is pretty close to the same general cartridge design, just based on the 225 WM necked up and blown out. Was just the old school way to get a stronger cartridge case for single shot actions.
Today, Starline 30-30 brass is supposed to be tested o 65k.

I have a barrel and the reamer. Now all I need is some time to sit down and do the math, maybe draw my plan, and turn and thread the barrel. I won't be fast so don't get your hopes up looking for another update soon. I need to spend some quality time with my son in the woods.

Barrel will finish at 17.375". I still need to chamber it, cut an extraction groove, cut a dovetail for the forend stud, and modify an ejector for the 30-30 rim.

Looking forward to seeing the results.

I decided to go a slightly different direction. I received a H&R 30-30 Win barrel in the mail a few days ago. It fit perfectly to one of my spare SB2 frames. Last night I improved the chamber with an AI reamer. Cutting the body taper out by hand allowed for even greater support of the reamer. I finished it off in my lathe and loaded some mild 150gr loads to test fire and form the brass. I fired 5 rounds today and they passed my gunsmith friend's inspection. Not too bad for a shadetree amateur.

Nice pics, thanks for sharing. I like the .30-30ai. Playing with one in a savage 99, mag length still becomes an issue. Have thought a lot about buying an h&r or Henry .30-30 single shot to ream and play with the variety of pointy and polymer tip 125-150gr bullets.

Looks good!