Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats .30/30 AI questions

I put together an H&R Topper .30/30 Win for my younger son. He is 13 years old and learning disabled. Went with the single topped with a Burris 135 Speed Dot for ease of explanation and use as well as the milder recoil. Primarily a <100 yard whitetail gun and shoots better than a 3 MOA dot will permit. But for its intended purpose, the rig, itself, is perfect.

Should my son grow into the sport like I think he is going to, we may end up after black bear and/or elk. That's where the questions arise.

How much would I gain, power-wise, by going to an AI chamber ??

Would it be ENOUGH gun to effectively upset a mono like a TTSX on bigger critters ??

Will the H&R handle the upgrade to the higher pressure the AI would run at ??

What might be obvious that I'm not thinking of ??

I would be inclined to go with the 30/40 Krag rather than the 30/30AI. Larger case= more power.The only problem is the linited brass availability but, once you have brass, you're good. GD

Why not keep the H&R as is and when he is bigger/older get him a rifle more suited for bear/elk. Just my suggestion.

For ease of his operation, I'd like to keep everything the same, throughout. I suppose I could try to find another barrel in a heavier chambering, maybe. Not sure what more was ever offered for the SB1 receiver....

How about a T/C Contender then?

You can have a .30/30 barrel and whichever cartridge he wants for bear/elk.

Published velocities for a .30-30 AI with a 24" barrel and a 170 grain bullet are roughly 2400 FPS muzzle velocity. I am assuming that Topper has a relatively short barrel, so 2400 FPS may be a bit of a stretch, without hotrodding the case. That's not enough velocity to give me the warm/fuzzy using a TTSX on critters.

I've never tried that combo, so take that for what it's worth but I suspect you'll not be overly impressed shooting an elk at any distance with that setup.

Appreciate the insight fellers.

300 savage perhaps?

I have a few, you might like one for your son?

Yoder, dunno if you can find or make one, but a .38-55 barrel might work. My experience with the Topper is that with rambunctious cartridges they tend to stomp in both directions....and I was raised shooting one.

Comes under the heading of good.ideas I had not thought of.

No idea if they ever made a .38-55 Topper barrel...... But maybe a possible re-bore candidate ?? I've got .375 Win ammo and components out the wazoo. Could be the ticket.

The gun, as is, recoils considerably less than I thought it would, considering the weight. Don't know how much a .375 Win conversion would up that. Guessing 25% or so.

Angus nailed it. Use the 125gr ballistic tip for deer and the 165gr for bear and elk. powdr

Sb1 was 357 and 44 mag and that's it for limits. You want an sb2 for anything else if you like your face where it is now.

Adding that i am surprised they did 30-30... Maybe they did things differently at one point?

Another thought would be the 32 W/S. I bet it would out preform a 30/30 ackley with no modification.

Punch it out. I have a savage 99 in ai. Can shoot 125gr bullets at 2800+. In a single I would look hard at the Barnes 130 TTSX. Should be able to get close to 300 savage/308 performance. Plenty for all but the big bears. They also will kick way less than the 38/55-.375. If we could hunt rifles here in Iowa I have no doubt I’d pick up a Henry in 30/30 and punch it out. You also get the benefit of being able to shoot cheat factory 30/30 ammo in it. And the rimmed cartridge works wonderfully in the single shots.

Ymmv
David

I reamed an accurate Handi in 30/30 to Ackley Improved and enjoyed deer hunting with it.
HOWEVER.... as I slowly increased loads using 3031 powder and 150 Nosler Ballistic Tips, I started thinking that maybe I was approaching pressure limits that might enter or pass the safety limits of the Handi Rifle, (and surely an older Topper as you have!).
If you want more (?) power, at least be sure you have an SB2 receiver, or start saving for a Henry Single Shot Rifle as your starting point.
The Henry comes in 30/30 and 308 factory guns. The 30/30 would give you an increase in the margins of safety if you still wanted to ream to AI.
Just my thoughts on your thoughts!
**and more thoughts,.. no extra charge! - I hade a few extra barrels fit at the factory when the barrel program was offered years ago. The Handy Rifle is very low cost,— just buy complete rifles. Then they are always ready to go hunt. Extra barrels were fun for a while but they’re kind of like an extra fork by the dinner plate, you really don’t need them.