Should I Rechamber my .30-30 Win to an AI??????????

[Lawful Larry]

I have a barrel that a friend gave me. It is a little rough on the outside, but is in mint shape down the bore. It will need to be refinished due to some surface rust and pitting. I was thinking of the possibility of changing the barrel from a .30-30 Win to an Ackley Improved. I have been reading on the advantages of the AI over the .30-30 Winchester.

First I would like to know how much it would cost to rechamber the barrel and also who does this sort of work. Should I even consider doing this or just go out an get another barrel in the AI caliber? What a difficult decision to make.    :wink:

Any thoughts on this one?

Thanks ,
LL

[jhalcott]

hey Chris,why waste the $ on a face lift and rechamber? the standard 30-30 will do all you need. Besides,this barrel wont get its feelings hurt if you take her out in bad weather! A little paste wax to keep the rust in checkand go. think of all the bullets and powder you can get for $100.
   If 2300fps can't get the job done 2500 ain't the answer!  jh

[Hopalong7]

LL, First of all, I'm a 30-30AI shooter and love it, and would reccomend one to most anybody.  Great round in a Contender, but then the 'ol thuurtty-thuurtty Win ain't all that bad neither.  Now 'bout that rechamber....your barrel either shoots good or it don't(now isn't that just a brilliant statement)....well if it shoots great, I would have a hard time bringing myself to touch it....if it don't shoot worth a hoot, it's probably got a misalined chamber or a slopy throat and in either case, a rechamber from 30-30Win to 30-30AI isn't going to fix it.  I would tend to be more inclined to rechamber a 32-20, 32 H&R, or .30 Herret to 30-30AI where the whole chamber and throat would be recut and the throat could be custom cut to your specific bullet.  There are those that think the old 6-groove barrels are better suited for this (helps keep pressure down), mine is a new factory chambered barrel and performs at about 15% higher velocities than the 30-30Win.  Hope I haven't muddied things up too bad.  GOOD SHOOTIN', Walt    

[rickyp]

If I had a 30-30 and wanted more out of it, I would send it to ssk and have them make it into a 309jdj. It is big enough to clean uo the chamber (if needed) and will pit the 30-30 into a new class. then if the outside isnt pitted bad you could have him crome it for you whole thing should be around $150

[DLH]

:-D I turned my 30/30 into a 30/40 Krag and love it!!  it is an old style and is the best shooter that I have had ever!!!!

[Jay HHI6818]

If I were you I would send it to SSK and have them rechamber it to 309JDJ but then jhalcott offers the best advice!!!!

[Lawful Larry]

Thanks all for the thoughts and advice.  First let me say that the barrel shoots great with iron sights.  I am leaning towards leaving it as is and have fun with it.  I will be using it for hunting and can dress it up a bit.  The pitting is not that bad, mostly around whee the forend sat so it is not that noticeable.  But like someone said, it would do just fine as a hunting barrel.  I did like the idea of the camo refinish.  Who does that work?

I now will be getting a scope for it and go from there.  Thanks again folks, this is one of the finest sites I visit and always look forward to getting valuable info from very experienced and friendly people.   :grin:

LL

[jhalcott]

sorry chris,I thought YOU were the original poster,oops!
  Larry, A couple cans of auto paint in the right colors will not break the budget.Also you can do it the way you like it.I got a beat up .308 in a trade.It was NOT pretty but makes a decent truck rifle.I got some Rustoleum paint in green,brown ,yellow& primer coat gray.A couple hours
 work and I have an even uglier truck gun that I don't mind leaving under the seat   jh