Well...the first step is to actually get the bore clean to see what you have there.
30-30s seem especially prone to layers upon layers of buildup over the years...hell centuries, and Foaming Bore Cleaner may not be enough to make a dent in the debris in that bore. An Outers Foul Out is sometimes necessary, or a trip to a gunsmith that can do it at a professional level.
Once you get down to bare metal and know where you stand, you can make your choice of the other options.
I have some guns that aren't ready for prime time, but I wouldn't go to heroic efforts to make them so...they aren't damaging my wallet by sitting there in the safe.
I've owned and worked on rifles with real ugly bores...bores that had been shot with corrosive ammo and left out in the rain or snow or under hay in the barn for decades or buried in mud and left on the battlefield, or whatever, but when they were thoroughly cleaned...no they actually looked worse...but...they shot fine.
The fact that your rifle sends bullets downrange right now without tumbling is a good sign and mostly all a 30-30 really needs to do.
What's headspace like in it? Being that old and in that condition, its hard life may have loosened it up a bit. That would be the determining factor for whether to alter/re-barrel/use as-is were it mine.
The action is well-broken in, but not loose. It's been well-used, for sure.
The cases come out looking good, no smudging, splits, bulges, etc. Was shooting mild to mid-range handloads.
I noticed on Saturday, though, we went shooting, that the primers were protruding a bit. No cratered, no apparent gas leakage when shooting or smudging, though in that area. Rifle shot fine, although at first some cases were sticking in the chamber, as it had a bit too much oil in it. My younger some was worried about it, but after a few rounds it stopped once the chamber dried up. The chamber itself is in good condition. I've read that lower-powered loads can actually case the primer to protrude.
I've looked around, and it looks like protruding primers is a fairly common happening on Model 1894s and Model 94s (the rifle in question being the former), even in rifles with correct-enough headspace, so will leave it for now.
The rifle shot well enough with 130 and 150 grain Speer FP bullets, certainly well enough to kill at deer out to acceptable .30 WCF ranges with open sights. He was hitting deer-vital-sized areas on stumps out to about 150 yards off his knees, and smaller targets offhand out to about 100 yards regularly.
So it looks like so far no need for a reline. I'll take another pass at cleaning again.
I did contact the guy in Omak, WA (Redmond), and he does not do .30 WCF relines on original .30 WCF, says barrel is not thick enough.
My other son has a newer Model 94 (about 1957 or 58), in close to new condition, we shot it yesterday, and it is quite accurate, smacking targets of opportunity out to 200 yards with a mid-range 130 gr FP load with ease, offhand at that. He is looking forward to hunting with it next fall, and will warm up on ground squirrels in April.
