Have you loaded any of the brass yet?
Looks like it will shoot, hopefully new cases will not split.
I loaded up 5 rounds tonight. The brass was very easily sized. I then pulled the bullets out of 5 of the factory ammo. I had to beat the heck out of it to get the bullet to start moving. The easiest took 10 whacks and the hardest was 16. That was to get the bullet moving. I de-primed the brass because the inside of the cases was gritty and looked like it had been fired. However, the primer pockets were very clean and it was obvious the rounds were new. Resizing was a little tough. It took quite a bit more pressure. I now have 5 new brass reloads and 5 factory reloads. Hopefully I can shoot them tomorrow and see what happens.
If you are satisfied with the way it shoots leave it alone. But a lining job to make a new chamber and bore are very doable. However if you can get a barrel for $200 it's a better option because I doubt you could get it relined for that same amount.
1 other note of interest:
It's not hard to make 30 Remington out of 30-30 Winchester if you have a lathe. When the 6.8SPC first came out I made about 100 cases from 30-30, and it has the same head dimensions as a 30 Remington. The easy way to do it is to turn off the rim of the 30-30s and grind a tool to cut the case groove. I made a spud that went into the case neck to give it support and would simply chuck up on the neck to spin the case against a live center in the primer pocket. It's an easy and quick way to convert the rimmed case into the rimless one.
I had heard about making 30 Rem from 30-30. I have plenty enough brass for now unless I only get 1 shot per case.
I guess if it continues to split the cases I will need to get someone to re-cut the chamber. I am certainly open to ideas from the brain trust here.
I will post again after I shoot the gun. I want to thank all of you for your ideas.
Jim
