Author Topic: Rechamber 30-30 Topper to ???? (Read 2051 times)

44 Man · « **on:** November 18, 2009, 12:57:49 PM »

Ok, so let's say I want a light weight Handi with a little more punch than my 30-30. I can fit the old lightwt, tapered barrel from my Topper to an SB2 frame. Then I can rechamber it to what? I know Quick will suggest 30-30AI on the old Topper frame. But what about a .307 or .308? Would it clean up? It would be a nice combination with the lightweight barrel and a synthetic stock. Kind of a 'mountain' rifle H&R. I know we could do a 30-06 and clean it up, but what other options have we to work with? 44 Man

Mitch in MI · « **Reply #1 on:** November 18, 2009, 01:18:08 PM »

This is what, a 158 Topper frame?

The nice thing about the 30-30AI would be keeping the 30-30 case head size. Was the '06 case used in a factory chambering of the Topper?

Swampman · « **Reply #2 on:** November 18, 2009, 01:19:04 PM »

#1 choice for me is the .30-40 Krag. The AI gains nothing really.

quickdtoo · « **Reply #3 on:** November 18, 2009, 01:36:44 PM »

There would be just a little of the 30-30 neck left after rechambering, but nothing to be concerned about, chamber would just have a bit longer neck by about .025", the rest of the dimensions would clean up fine with a dual cartridge rechamber like the 307/308W.

Tim

http://stevespages.com/page8d.htm

Quote from: 44 Man on November 18, 2009, 12:57:49 PM

I can fit the old lightwt, tapered barrel from my Topper to an SB2 frame. 44 Man

peternap · « **Reply #4 on:** November 18, 2009, 01:47:31 PM »

I'd go with the 30/06 and if it was too much recoil, load down. The Krag might be nice though because of the rim. I suppose my first choice would be to leave it as a 30/30 though.

I think Tim was making heavy duty cases out of something and that could be an option if you needed a little more punch.

petemi · « **Reply #5 on:** November 18, 2009, 01:51:11 PM »

I've got a simple answer to the whole problem. Just sell me the 158 .30-30 for a nice fair price of say $29.95 tax included, and use that for a down payment on what you really want

Pete

Mac11700 · « **Reply #6 on:** November 18, 2009, 01:57:11 PM »

I second leaving as is..Hand loads will give you a lot more than standard factory loads..I started my Handi journey with a Topper in 30-30...Loved how that rifle looked after refinishing the stocks..loved how accurate it was..loved how it balanced..

I know what it's like to what to upgrade...hellsbells I am going thru this everyday..but...having one of these in 30-30 and a new finish job on the stocks is pretty awesome as well...With this..If your like me...you'll miss it when it's gone..Trust me..I'd pick up another 30-30 barrel for it and rechamber it if you had too..The 307 or 30-40 Krag would be my choice staying with the 30 cal..but 1 wildcat I would consider if you wanted to stay with the rim would be a 338/307...ballistics would be the same as the 338 Federal...and should make a dandy mountain rifle..of course you would have to have it rebored for this one..but..

Just my $.02

Mac

dpe.ahoy · « **Reply #7 on:** November 18, 2009, 02:01:24 PM »

Pete, ya got a heart O' gold to make that offer.

Lord knows that 30-30 ain't no good fer nuttin'

. 44 Man, you could always go to a rebore/rechamber in 38-55, but not sure how thick the Topper barrel is or how much ya wanna spend. If this is to get that light weight packin' rifle, the bigger the bore, the lighter the barrel on the regular Handi barrels. DP

dpe.ahoy · « **Reply #8 on:** November 18, 2009, 02:03:40 PM »

Mac, that sounds like remakin the 338 Marlin. DP

quickdtoo · « **Reply #9 on:** November 18, 2009, 02:11:46 PM »

44man, here's an option I've been thinkin on for the past couple weeks, I'd like a light weight Handi such as the Superlight which has a very similar contour to the M158, but I'm just not real fond of the .243, sooooo, I've been thinkin on having Wayne York rebore one of my 243 Superlights to 338 Federal(thanks a lot Mac!!

) they measure ~.625" at the muzzle, his minimum is .550", he could do the same to whatever chambering that floats your boat.

I love my 338-06 A-Square, but I certainly don't like carrying that 26" barrel around since that's about all I do while hunting anymore, not much shootin, just lots of carrying!

Tim

http://home.earthlink.net/~oregunsmithing/id9.html

44 Man · « **Reply #10 on:** November 18, 2009, 02:13:48 PM »

What I want is the slim, lightweight barrel of the Topper, but in a caliber with more punch. I have my 7-08 Handi that I thought was going to be my 'go to' rifle and I like the caliber. I mounted a heavy scope on it (and that can be corrected) but it weighs 9 1/2 lbs with a sling, ready to hunt. My Topper is only 7 lbs with a 4x tasco on it. H&R seems to think that we all want semi-bull barrels. I bought that first Topper because it was light and handy. Now I find what I buy has the heavier barrels and has lost that 'lightweight' appeal that brought me to the Handi's in the first place. So if I can't get the 7-08 (I talk about the weight and how to get it down in another thread) down around 7 or 7 1/2 lbs, the 30-30 barrel fitted to an SB2 frame (I have an extra), would be an option for more punch. I agree, I don't want to do anything to the 30-30 as I love it the way it is, but I'm fishing for a way to get a little bigger all around gun that handles like the Topper. Quick says I could chamber it to a 307, or a 308, or the new, rimmed Marlin round (is that still a Winchester .307?) 308 Marlin. That sounds good, could be an option. If I did something like this, I would try to find another Topper 30-30 barrel to do it with. If I wanted another heavy barrel, I'd send the SB2 back into H&R for a rebarrel. 44 Man

dpe.ahoy · « **Reply #11 on:** November 18, 2009, 02:18:03 PM »

Like Tim suggested, Superlight 243 rebored to 7mm-08 and best of both barrels, er I mean worlds.

DP

Mac11700 · « **Reply #12 on:** November 18, 2009, 04:13:29 PM »

Quote from: dpe.ahoy on November 18, 2009, 02:03:40 PM

Mac, that sounds like remakin the 338 Marlin. DP

Simalar...but with more powerful when handloaded properly.

Mac

Mac11700 · « **Reply #13 on:** November 18, 2009, 04:19:45 PM »

Quote from: quickdtoo on November 18, 2009, 02:11:46 PM

44man, here's an option I've been thinkin on for the past couple weeks, I'd like a light weight Handi such as the Superlight which has a very similar contour to the M158, but I'm just not real fond of the .243, sooooo, I've been thinkin on having Wayne York rebore one of my 243 Superlights to 338 Federal(thanks a lot Mac!! ) they measure ~.625" at the muzzle, his minimum is .550", he could do the same to whatever chambering that floats your boat. I love my 338-06 A-Square, but I certainly don't like carrying that 26" barrel around since that's about all I do while hunting anymore, not much shootin, just lots of carrying!

Tim

http://home.earthlink.net/~oregunsmithing/id9.html

Your welcome..I figured you would like the idea..and it seems only natural for those wanting a less lenghty barrel. Me..I like the 24" bull barrels..and the 26" ones..too bad they won't release more of them...Even with as much climbing hills/crawlingup and over blow downs and such as I do..a couple extra pounds don't bother me much..nor does the extra length...and I don't ever see Remington allowing a named cartridge to be chambered in the Handi..so we might as well make them ourselves..

Mac

carbineman · « **Reply #14 on:** November 18, 2009, 04:33:03 PM »

44 man, Please keep me/us informed about the project if you undertake it. I have three of the older slimmer Topper type 30-30 barrels and might be interested in doing a 307 someday.

kevinsmith5 · « **Reply #15 on:** November 18, 2009, 04:46:00 PM »

How are you loading your current 30-30 rounds? Using heavier/better profiles I find it to be plenty of gun for 250 yards on whitetails.

Catshooter45 · « **Reply #16 on:** November 18, 2009, 04:59:51 PM »

44man,

I would say for a bit more punch, I'd rebore to a .38-55.

carbineman,

I would love to part you from just one of those lightweight Topper .30-30 barrels.

Cat

carbineman · « **Reply #17 on:** November 18, 2009, 06:43:11 PM »

Quote from: Catshooter45 on November 18, 2009, 04:59:51 PM

44man,

I would say for a bit more punch, I'd rebore to a .38-55.

carbineman,

I would love to part you from just one of those lightweight Topper .30-30 barrels.

Cat

I would not think of parting with any of them. I am though done buying them and will post on here if I know where there are anymore. Two of them I purchased off the classifieds here. Good Luck in your search.

Text included in your original posting above!

44 Man · « **Reply #18 on:** November 19, 2009, 02:57:05 AM »

I'm really not interested in the expense of reboring at this time. But the thought of a .243 superlight barrel is something to consider. Enough for deer, but lightweight. My only drawback is all the problems people seem to have with accuracy from them. Of course I think many of them are forgetting; it only has to put the first shot where you want it from a cold barrel. After that first shot or two, it doesn't matter what it does with the rest. I had an old Marlin .35 rem that would do that. The first two shots were right where you wanted them, but after that, it would start to walk vertically for the next 5 or 6 shots. Then for some unexplained reason, it would walk them back down to where it started from. But it doesn't matter. I'm only concerned with the first shot going where I want it to. Yeah, it's nice to show your friends a pretty 3 or 5 shot group on paper, but my priority is a really good 'one shot group' from a rifle. Bet we can start a contoversy with that one. 44 Man

Graycg · « **Reply #19 on:** November 19, 2009, 04:44:32 AM »

Not sure what you mean by a little more punch, but if you mean more range, with good handloading and a nice 125 or 150 grain nosler ballistic tip, you will be able to get a much flatter, wind resistant trajectory. I've killed deer with my 12 inch 30-30 contender barrel cleanly with such loads at as much as 225 measured yards, your 22 inch will give you another 200-250 FPS. If you don't reload, try the new hornady pointed ammo....

Hope it helps.

regards,
Graycg

Graycg · « **Reply #20 on:** November 19, 2009, 05:07:21 AM »

One final thought, if you wanted to, you could sent the gun to JDJones and have him rechamber it to 309 JDJ. That gives you a 444 case necked down to 308 bullets and is quite a hoot!

regards,
Graycg

jlwilliams · « **Reply #21 on:** November 19, 2009, 05:10:10 AM »

  44man, you just mentioned the round, but they don't make the barrel. The 35 Rem would be just the ticket. Odd, considering the only company currently offering factory made rifles in the .35 is Marlin. One would think that the left hand could pass the barrels to the right hand, considering NEF and Marlin to be two 'hands' of the same parent company.

  But now I'm just wishin' and dreamin'....

  Back to the discussion at hand. It seems that the most cost effective way to your goal of a rifle that carries like your topper buy shoots a little better is in hand loads. That's assuming you are set up to load. One of the limitations of the 30-30 is the factory loads that are generally a bit lighter than they could be because of all the old guns in that caliber, and the poor balistic coefficient of the projectiles that are required for tube mag fed guns. I know plenty of guys with 30-30 handis or TC Contenders who load them up just head and shoulders above anything I'd feed my 1960's Marlin. If I had a Topper or Handi (or TC) in 30-30, I'd feed it hot rounds too.

  The cost of a new barrel or any major gunsmithing would easily outweigh the cost of the trial and error in working up a balistic tipped load that shoots well and far (relatively) in your rifle.

  BTW, have you tried the "Leverevolution" ammo? It really does fly a flatter path.

clearwater · « **Reply #22 on:** November 19, 2009, 06:48:29 AM »

I have a Handi in 30-40 rechamber.

It shoots 220 grain Hornady at 2100 fps. 150 grain bullets up to 2700 fps.
Likes reloder 19 for those loads.

jeepmann1948 · « **Reply #23 on:** November 19, 2009, 07:07:34 AM »

How about a 30-444 AI ? Impressive ballistics

If interested pm me for the address of a gunsmith in Oklahoma that does really nice Handi Rechambers and barrel work

Couger · « **Reply #24 on:** November 19, 2009, 09:27:52 AM »

Quote from: 44 Man on November 18, 2009, 12:57:49 PM

Ok, so let's say I want a light weight Handi with a little more punch than my 30-30. I can fit the old lightwt, tapered barrel from my Topper to an SB2 frame. Then I can rechamber it to what? I know Quick will suggest 30-30AI on the old Topper frame. But what about a .307 or .308? Would it clean up? It would be a nice combination with the lightweight barrel and a synthetic stock. Kind of a 'mountain' rifle H&R. I know we could do a 30-06 and clean it up, but what other options have we to work with? 44 Man

I'd also recommend the .30-40Krag, or .307Win - to stay with the .308 bore and rimmed case.

Too bad noone's ever come out with a .30-30rimmed .30/06 casing. That would tempt the hell outta me!

If you want to spend the cash, I've also wondered about a .356Winnie. But I'm cheap and would want to ensure "success" in an Encore for the price it would take to modd a Handi barrel to 35 cal.

44 Man · « **Reply #25 on:** November 19, 2009, 09:42:18 AM »

Jlwilliams had a good comment. Also the rechamber to 30-40 Krag (AI) would be an easy one. I think I'd be more likely to go to .307. All these good thoughts! 44 Man

clearwater · « **Reply #26 on:** November 19, 2009, 09:46:48 AM »

Data for heavier pointy bullets is easier to com by for 30-40 than 307.

Couger · « **Reply #27 on:** November 19, 2009, 10:31:32 AM »

Quote from: clearwater

Data for heavier pointy bullets is easier to com by for 30-40 than 307.

In a single-shot bullet shape is moot - compared to a cartridge used in a levergun!

Also the casing is really only the engine that drives the bullet - differing mostly with the amount of powder it holds. There's nothing magical about a cartridges case.

I've never shot the .307 Winchester, but would load it as close as possible (in a Handi) to the .308W.

Afterall, in the Handi-Rifle why should a .307Win not handle the same pressure as a .308W?

I have a .308 HB Survivor bbl I've thought about rechambering to .307W or even .356W. (rebore). Why would that barrel suddenly not handle the same pressures as a .308W?

Sure the .307W case has less volume (alledgedly) than a .308W case, and this would have to be considered comparing the .307 to the .308 Winchesters, but the barrel would remain as strong as it ever was. So would the brass types.

Biggest factor limiting performance from a .30-40K would be is case volume, then barrel length that would allow a complete combustion and gas expansion.

Regarding bullets shapes in a Handi, once MV was determined use whatever ballistics chart for that bullet from the company that makes it!