can re bore my 30-30 to something bigger

[jeepLIFE]

I have a savage 30-30 pump action rifle and im looking for something a lil extra to take on a elk/ram hunt. I was thinking about re-boreing to 45-70 or .375 H&H. Does anyone know if this is even possible?

[Frank46]

You could go to the 38-55 cartridge if the barrel walls are thick enough. No way to the 45/70 or 375 H&H. The action was not designed with these cartridges in mind. Frank

[jeepLIFE]

Dang so I guess buying a new gun is my only option. Unless you think 38-55 is enough to lay the smackdown on some elk or ram?

[rvtrav]

  JeepLIFE,
 
   you'll likley have to stay within the same pressure limits, cartridge dimensions, and rim diameter. The 38/55 is basically a "blownout" 30/30 (although the 38/55 came first and was used as a basis for the 30/30) so it would be the easiest to convert to.
 
 There is also a few wildcat cartrides based on the 30/30, one that comes to mind is the 35/30 kinda like a "ackley improved" taper with a necked up caliber, although it was meant to be a modernish improvement in the lever action rifles of the day, I think that it's similar to the 38/55 in in actual preformance.
 
 Just FYI, I hunted elk with a friend a for few years that used a Remington model 8 in .30 remington, (basically a rimless 30/30) and he had success with it, typically he hunted the thick timber, while the rest of us hunted the more open country, but he never lost one that he shot at. usually after opening day the Elk prefered the thickest stuff they could find anyways, where a flatter shooting gun really didn't make much difference.
 
 Rvtrav
 

[Graybeard]

You could prolly turn it into a .375 Winchester which is adequate to the task but is still not a very long range round. When you say elk and ram you make me think you are talking about a high fence operation. If so you can likely get within shooting range of them using a .375 Win.

If you are talking wild free range elk and wild bighorn, dall, etc sheep then a new rifle is in order. I really don't think this is what you mean tho as wild sheep hunts cost about the same as a new truck these days and guided elk hunts about what a used truck would cost.

At a high fence operation you can take an elk and a nice ram for less than a typical guided elk hunt alone.

[shot1]

For the type of money you would be talking about for doing a conversion project you can pick up a REAL elk rifle used. Get you a 300 Win mag and never look back.

[ceadersavage2]

sent you a PM on a 300 win mag with barrel break on it

[Lloyd Smale]

your best bet would probably be to have it rechambered to 3030 improved. that will give you a bit more power and put you up near 300 savage ballistics. Keep in mind too that the 3030 is actually a very downloaded round and in something like your pump savage can take a bit more pressure. Id be will to bet i could get a 150 up to around 2500 fps out of improved 3030 in a 22 inch barreled gun like yours and the cool thing is you could use spitzers like the 150 nos partition. A 150 partition at 24-2500 fps will kill any elk out there out to around 200 yards with a good shot.

I have a savage 30-30 pump action rifle and im looking for something a lil extra to take on a elk/ram hunt. I was thinking about re-boreing to 45-70 or .375 H&H. Does anyone know if this is even possible?

[Chadtom444]

For what it's worth I'll share my 2 cents, I have a good friend that hunted elk in Colorado for many years with a 30-30, he said that the Hornady and Federal Fusion 170gr. flat nose round simply did the job, never lost an animal in 20+years, when he moved back home he had drawn 8 tags and had gotten 8 elk, 3 were 4x4 and up bulls, anywhere from 600lbs to 900lbs, now the trick is the farthest he ever had to shoot was about 150yds, yet according to him the animal dropped within seconds standing still like it never heard the gun go off.
You can pick both of those rounds up from Midway or Sportsman's Guide at a very reasonable rate. 
However you could simply use your hunting trip as an excuse as I would to justify to my wife that I need a new gun! Perhaps a Marlin .444  should do the trick!
 

[ironglow]

  If the Savage is the one pictured below, I believe that one was based upon a shotgun action, so the pressure rating might not be adequate for anything with more pressure rating than the 30/30.
   I really believe that Chadtom's friend has a good method..stay within 150 yards and the 30/30 should do the job.  Of course, you can't always do that, especially if you have just a certain few days to fill your tag.  I could be wrong, but for what it would cost to do the gunsmithing on the old 30/30, a fellow could get an H&R or Savage Axis in just about any good Elk cartridge you may want.  Try for one right here in GBO's classifieds..bet somebody's got one they are willing to part with..trade or sell.
 
  Take a look at this for instance:  http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,254714.0.html

[Chadtom444]

Adding to Ironglow you can get one of the new Mossberg 4x4 bolt actions that are very very nice in say a 300 win mag or even 338 win mag for around $500 or less, and thats New out of the box with trigger adjustment.

[S.B.]

You could always have you barrel rebored to .32 Winchester(many a ,30 .30 has been).
Steve

[GeneRector]

   Howdy! If I were you I would not spend money on a re-barrel to another caliber. Try some different ammo to see what shoots in your gun the best. I would spend money on another rifle such as a 7mmRemMag or 300 Win Mag for elk and sheep. That being said, if your 30-30 is highly accurate with the right ammo, use it, but stay in good range for your shots on elk, etc. Remember, your 30-30 as it is now is a great deer and hog gun. Always, Gene
 
 

[fatercat]

ya'll took the hook, line, sinker, rod,reel and the boat.

[AtlLaw]

ya'll took the hook, line, sinker, rod,reel and the boat.

    Sure looks that way don't it!