i just made a swap for a g in 30-30 that the guy i got it from says the bore is dark. i haven't got my grubbies on it yet , but pictures show a splintered forearm and that takes the collector status away. was wondering if it dosn't shoot , could i have it chambered and bored for 375 winchester. wondering if it would take the pressures. am hoping it shoots even fair to good as i do like the 30-30.
what do y'all think?

Don't think you would have enough meat on the barrel to go to .375" How about something in 32 cal now that would be fun

Johno

375 Winchester isn't going to fit in the receiver. There was a 35-30 wildcat that you could probably get done.

375 winchester is the same dimensions as the 30-30 but i think maybe a 32-40 would be fun and the pressures are much lower than the 375.
the 35-30 would also be on the menu. a poor mans 35 rem?

i wrote that wrong. the 375 is nothing more than the 30-30 necked up . i have made many 375 cases out of 30-30 when you couldn't get factory. i thought of 375 because i have one in a 94 win but like the 32 and 35 idea better.

This was my thought as well... those early 99G barrels were pretty thin. Even if you could modify the receiver to get the 375s in, you are probably pushing it on barrel thickness. If it was an early 1899A in 30-30... sure, lots of barrel thickness there.

Depending on the model, even a .35 wildcat may be pushing the boundaries of wall thickness. I know I wouldn't want to do it on an 1899H barrel. A .32 re-bore may not completely clean up a .30 tube, depending of course on the extent of the damage.

I would investigate the chance of doing this rifle into a .32 Special were it me. .32-40 is out- the chamber is smaller in diameter than a .30-30. But, by the time you have a re-bore + re-chamber done you could've haunted ebay or gunbroker and scared up an original barrel to replace the bad barrel for probably a lot less money.

Just a thought, find a 22HP barrel and have it made into 25-35, you would have a light and handy rifle!

I think there is at least one take down barrel on eBay right now. As gnoahh said, the cost of the work you propose would likely exceed the cost of another barrel - given the replacement is in good shape. There was a thread on this that got knocked around a bit about a month ago.

Yeah, there is that chance (a decent one) that it may not index or have good headspace.

Bottom line, guns with bad bores should be avoided unless really cheap and you're looking for a labor of love.

My bad, thought the COAL of the 375 was longer than it is.

Anybody here ever try to see if a 375 would load and feed on a 30-30 rotor/internals?

aren't they all labor of love? i saw the barrel on ebay . the indexing and head spacing makes 399.00 a big gamble. i have had dark bores shoot like lasers and just really hope this one shoots ok.
wasn't sure about the strength of the TD action vs solid frame. thought maybe bolt would match up with others in the 30-30 family.

Might be a tempest in a teapot. You're right, it might shoot ok.

As for strength, a TD action is the same strength as a non-TD, no difference whatsoever in that regard.

Simply because the rims are the same is no guarantee that a different barrel will headspace the same. Barrel shank lengths varied a bit which is why Savage mixed and matched bolts of varying lengths during assembly in order to end up with a rifle with good headspace.

Oh, and Happy Birthday!!

well thank you sir for the information and the wishes. as you know it tends to be just another day above the dirt at this age.

It's certainly worth a try at the range. How know, it just might shoot as is.

i am like a kid at Christmas waiting for it to get here. now if i can beat FB2 to a replacement forearm . or not. may just leave it as is. honest wear and such.

best pic i could get of the bore/rifling.



this is with 170g' winchesters,the only two i had in my side table . shot them before crawling up to my gun room and now it is raining. i think i will keep it as is. 100 yards open sights and the front sight is just a little buggered.

Where's the pics of the rest of the gun? Joe.

thunder storm came in and photobucket went on the fritz. here you go.

Looks like it shoots good!

Except for the forearm, it ain't a bad looking old rifle.

Lots of good hunting character, I like it, Joe.

have a new/oldstock forearm coming. i am happy with it as i wanted just what it is a old honest gun that i can hunt and not freak out if it gets a ding. wish it could talk. maybe ChanceD knows its lingo.
thanks to Chance for a check mark on my bucket list.

What's the length and weight of the barrel, would you say?

20 inches and fairly light but not as light as my F. its 5/8's at the snable and 9/16 at the muzzle. got one stashed?

Yeah, I think you have a shooter there.

Calhoun, you are right and i was wrong, sort of
the 375 will not fit in the 30-30 set up receiver with 220g bullets anyway. plus being straight cased (nom) the case jams on the spindle. certainly not going to change this rifle but might some other down the line.
my other question to all you true collectors/tinkerers is what are the odds of other takedown setups fitting this action? surely there other bottleneck cartridges close to the 30-30 that might work with the innards, but how about head space.
this in my first takedown and i am an inveterate tinkerer.

.303 will, and .22HP will feed a couple (but probably not a magazine full) if the stars are in alignment. The bugabear is whether a different TD barrel will A) index, and B) headspace. It's a real crapshoot, and luck comes into play. I would say, from experience, that the odds are 50-50, at best.

What's headspace like on this one? M1899/99 bolts came in a lot of variations in length. (They were fit-and-tried at the factory until a suitable combination was found.) Were it me, and I had to have a second barrel, I would just try another barrel and be prepared to mix and match bolts until I found a combo that was acceptable to both barrels- but then again one of the two may still not be optimal headspace-wise.

not real sure of the head space on this one. the rounds i fired , the primers backed out slightly on my handloads which were lite loaded for plinking. the factory Rems. i found, they didn't. being they head space on the rim my next task is to measure the thickness of the rims and see if that is in play.
the lite loads may not have expanded enough to grip but normally that results in flattened cups. guess i am going to have to sneak in an order for go/no go gauges after momma goes to work!

plus shoot a bunch more!

Don't forget the 25-35 would load and feed as well as a 22HP. Wouldn't be "proper" for a 99G, but would be fun.

oooooh i like that! so many oldies but goodies i have forgotten. i even have tong tools for the 25-35.

haven't unscrewed the barrel yet as its real tight. got it soaking with break free right now. would heating the receiver with mommas hair drier (while she is gone of course) help?

...unless somebody "permatized" the barrel to the action sometime along the way.

don't want to hear that ! be my luck though

Well, I found a 20" takedown 30/30 barrel for a junker 300 G I got from pwdr but it seems really light and short for a G. My murrays is buried from the move so I can't for the life of me remember the specs on a factory 30/30 G barrel. It was a degree or two past index so it got the treatment to get that fixed, but haven't checked headspace or fired it yet. Lots of gap on the forearm so I'm guessing this barrel is from another (lightweight) model. I'm thinking it will ride just fine in the Jeep with nary a complaint about how ugly it is. The extra .410 barrel will be handy for grouse.

extra 410 barrel? i wish!
i ordered a replacement today from Macon as the buttstock is also a replacement. spent the day shooting it off and on and its a fine shooter!

Roy, that's an early lightweight barrel. Compare the barrel address with the pics in my book, that'll tell you what era it's from.

wyo1895, got an address and price for your book? do you take checks or paypal?

Thanks David, it is an early barrel, but all my supplies are buried in the garage in boxes, including books. When I find them I'll look up the barrel address. All I've managed to liberate so far is fishing tackle. Living on the river a man has to have priorities.

Roy ,don't know if this will help but here ate the first 4 styles from Murray's 3rd
will see if i can get a good one of the later but am eating a bowl of mint chip ice cream and can't do that and fight photobucket at the same samre/

I went and dug it out, looked at it, came in and sat back down at the computer. Now was it a #3 or #4? Sucks getting old. I believe it was 3. Thanks for the help! 1911-1919

big bowl of ice cream! got the last page but you dont need it.
catch me a salmon .

Just waiting for the fish to get here.

I'll send you a signed, numbered and inscribed book for $65 which includes shipping. Send a check to: David Royal, p.o. box 1271, Pinedale, Wy., 82941 or you can send a paypal to: [email protected]. If you use paypal mark it for friends and relatives and PM me your address. Sometimes paypal doesn't send the address for friends and relatives. Thanks, David

thank you David

just finished a replacement forearm and checkered it. probably the last checkering i will ever do.
old one.


mainly just learning the new gallery.

Nice improvement.

thank you sir. first 99 forearm i ever carved and i haven't checkered anything for over 5 years. arthritis has just about finished that hobby.
i plan on keeping this gun and it will be the only example of my checkering i have. 55 years scratching lines and never kept any myself.
not the best work i have ever done but it works.

Looks absolutely awesome! Great job!