My Latest Levergun Had A Slight Problem
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- Shasta
- Senior Levergunner
- Posts: 1558
- Joined: Thu Sep 06, 2007 10:50 pm
- Location: Shasta County, the far right stronghold in California
My Latest Levergun Had A Slight Problem
I drop by a local gun & pawn shop every Friday looking for bargains. Just before Christmas they had a Winchester Model 94 Canadian Centennial 1867-1967 rifle in .30-30 caliber with 26" octagon barrel. It was used, but overall in about 90% condition. It was very reasonably priced, and I felt it would make a good NRA Cowboy Lever Action Rifle Silhouette gun with the addition of a Marble's tang sight. I only have nine rifles that qualify for this sport, so I thought maybe I needed another back-up gun, so I bought it.
The bore was pretty dirty, but cleaned up nicely. I picked a good Marble's tang sight from my stash to put on the rifle. It was not drilled and tapped for a tang sight, in fact it had "CANADIAN CENTENNIAL" stamped boldly down the length of the tang. Well, I didn't buy it for "pretty", I bought it to shoot, so now instead of a "D" there is a neatly drilled and tapped tang sight screw hole in the rifle's tang. The new tang sight covers all that text anyway.
I took a box of my favorite cast lead hand loads and headed to the range to see how it would shoot. I loaded the magazine and proceeded to lever one into the chamber. When I tried to fire the rifle, well, she's a no go bang! Hmmm.... a quick check revealed that the lever was not quite tripping the safety behind the trigger. An extra squeeze on the lever took care of it and the rifle shot fine, as long as I squeezed that lever hard. But why was it doing that? One round refused to chamber completely, and after extracting it I saw that the bullet had distinct rifling marks around its circumference. None of my other three Winchester .30-30s had any problem with this ammo. I checked a few more loaded rounds, and each showed at least some rifling marks upon extraction. This rifle obviously had a short throat in the chamber. Here is a pic of a dummy round showing the rifling marks on the bullet:
A little reaming on the throat should take care of that, so I took the rifle back to where I bought it as they have a good gunsmith working there. I explained the problem and left him the rifle with a few dummy rounds. I didn't ask for a cost estimate as the reaming needed to be done in order for me to shoot my cast bullet loads. Three weeks later during my regular Friday visit, I asked one of the guys working the counter if my rifle was done yet. He said yes, he had seen the 'smith working on it and it was ready. He went in back and brought it out, the paperwork flapping merrily from a tie on the lever. I was a little worried at how steep the bill might be, as I had not asked for a quote. The counter man pulled off the paperwork, looked at it and said, "I hope you have this much money on you!"
The bill showed that the 'smith had disassembled the rifle, removed the barrel, reamed the throat, reassembled it and tested the sample dummy rounds. My jaw dropped a little when I looked down at the price and saw....
N/C - meaning "No Charge"
I guess it pays to be a steady customer! They wanted to make that rifle right for me. I haven't taken it back out yet, but I will soon, and I'm sure everything will be fine!
SHASTA
The bore was pretty dirty, but cleaned up nicely. I picked a good Marble's tang sight from my stash to put on the rifle. It was not drilled and tapped for a tang sight, in fact it had "CANADIAN CENTENNIAL" stamped boldly down the length of the tang. Well, I didn't buy it for "pretty", I bought it to shoot, so now instead of a "D" there is a neatly drilled and tapped tang sight screw hole in the rifle's tang. The new tang sight covers all that text anyway.
I took a box of my favorite cast lead hand loads and headed to the range to see how it would shoot. I loaded the magazine and proceeded to lever one into the chamber. When I tried to fire the rifle, well, she's a no go bang! Hmmm.... a quick check revealed that the lever was not quite tripping the safety behind the trigger. An extra squeeze on the lever took care of it and the rifle shot fine, as long as I squeezed that lever hard. But why was it doing that? One round refused to chamber completely, and after extracting it I saw that the bullet had distinct rifling marks around its circumference. None of my other three Winchester .30-30s had any problem with this ammo. I checked a few more loaded rounds, and each showed at least some rifling marks upon extraction. This rifle obviously had a short throat in the chamber. Here is a pic of a dummy round showing the rifling marks on the bullet:
A little reaming on the throat should take care of that, so I took the rifle back to where I bought it as they have a good gunsmith working there. I explained the problem and left him the rifle with a few dummy rounds. I didn't ask for a cost estimate as the reaming needed to be done in order for me to shoot my cast bullet loads. Three weeks later during my regular Friday visit, I asked one of the guys working the counter if my rifle was done yet. He said yes, he had seen the 'smith working on it and it was ready. He went in back and brought it out, the paperwork flapping merrily from a tie on the lever. I was a little worried at how steep the bill might be, as I had not asked for a quote. The counter man pulled off the paperwork, looked at it and said, "I hope you have this much money on you!"
The bill showed that the 'smith had disassembled the rifle, removed the barrel, reamed the throat, reassembled it and tested the sample dummy rounds. My jaw dropped a little when I looked down at the price and saw....
N/C - meaning "No Charge"
I guess it pays to be a steady customer! They wanted to make that rifle right for me. I haven't taken it back out yet, but I will soon, and I'm sure everything will be fine!
SHASTA
Last edited by Shasta on Sat Aug 07, 2021 7:00 pm, edited 2 times in total.
California Rifle & Pistol Association LIFE Member
National Rifle Association BENEFACTOR LIFE Member
http://www.hcrpclub.org/schedule.html
avatar pic is Shasta Dam, Shasta Lake, & Mt. Shasta
National Rifle Association BENEFACTOR LIFE Member
http://www.hcrpclub.org/schedule.html
avatar pic is Shasta Dam, Shasta Lake, & Mt. Shasta
- J Miller
- Member Emeritus
- Posts: 14885
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Re: My Latest Levergun Had A Slight Problem
Sweet deal. Now, I'll with hold my next comment until you tell us how it shoots.
I just wish I had even one gunsmith like that around here.
Joe
I just wish I had even one gunsmith like that around here.
Joe
***Be sneaky, get closer, bust the cap on him when you can put the ball where it counts .***
-
- Advanced Levergunner
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- Joined: Tue Apr 03, 2007 8:52 pm
- Location: Ridgefield WA. USA
Re: My Latest Levergun Had A Slight Problem
Cool!!! I have it`s twin sister. A very good shooter she is to.
It looks like you are shooting the 311041 bullet the same as me.
I have had no issues with short leads with that bullet in any of my .30-30`s.
It looks like you are shooting the 311041 bullet the same as me.
I have had no issues with short leads with that bullet in any of my .30-30`s.
Re: My Latest Levergun Had A Slight Problem
The lyman bullet does that in all 4 of my Winchester 30-30's. I just have to seat them a little deeper. My Model 71 does that with the RCBS cast bullet too.
Re: My Latest Levergun Had A Slight Problem
that's great news...always thought that being a "loyal" customer has it's perks... :)
Re: My Latest Levergun Had A Slight Problem
What a great looking rifle! I wish that we had a gunshop close enough so that I could be a Loyal customer.
Re: My Latest Levergun Had A Slight Problem
Glad for the great service. Good luck and let us know how the range time goes
Mike Johnson,
"Only those who will risk going too far, can possibly find out how far one can go." T.S. Eliot
"Only those who will risk going too far, can possibly find out how far one can go." T.S. Eliot
- Griff
- Posting leader...
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- Location: OH MY GAWD they installed a STOP light!!!
Re: My Latest Levergun Had A Slight Problem
Yep!elmo123 wrote:The lyman bullet does that in all 4 of my Winchester 30-30's. I just have to seat them a little deeper. My Model 71 does that with the RCBS cast bullet too.
Why I like the Saeco mold mo better!
I'd have waited to see how it shot before I did that reaming. But fully understand your reasoning.
Griff,
SASS/CMSA #93
NRA Patron
GUSA #93
There is a fine line between hobby & obsession!
AND... I'm over it!!
No I ain't ready, but let's do it anyway!
SASS/CMSA #93
NRA Patron
GUSA #93
There is a fine line between hobby & obsession!
AND... I'm over it!!
No I ain't ready, but let's do it anyway!
Re: My Latest Levergun Had A Slight Problem
That's a good looking rifle and good service. I hope all goes well from here.
Re: My Latest Levergun Had A Slight Problem
i need better pawn shops in my area ........ lol
- Shasta
- Senior Levergunner
- Posts: 1558
- Joined: Thu Sep 06, 2007 10:50 pm
- Location: Shasta County, the far right stronghold in California
Re: My Latest Levergun Had A Slight Problem
Well guys, I dredged up this old post because I finally got around to trying out my Canadian Centennial .30-30 after having the throat reamed to accept the Lyman 311041 cast lead bullet. I think that ream job did OK! Here's the best target of the day...
Bench rested at a range of 50 meters, it put three shots into 3/8", then after a slight windage adjustment of the Marble's tang sight, it did it again! Now all I have to do is get some sight settings for the 100 meter Pigs, 150 meter Turkeys, and 200 meter Rams, and I'll have another good NRA Lever Action Rifle Silhouette gun. Hopefully I can get those settings this coming weekend.
SHASTA
Bench rested at a range of 50 meters, it put three shots into 3/8", then after a slight windage adjustment of the Marble's tang sight, it did it again! Now all I have to do is get some sight settings for the 100 meter Pigs, 150 meter Turkeys, and 200 meter Rams, and I'll have another good NRA Lever Action Rifle Silhouette gun. Hopefully I can get those settings this coming weekend.
SHASTA
Last edited by Shasta on Thu Oct 19, 2023 6:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
California Rifle & Pistol Association LIFE Member
National Rifle Association BENEFACTOR LIFE Member
http://www.hcrpclub.org/schedule.html
avatar pic is Shasta Dam, Shasta Lake, & Mt. Shasta
National Rifle Association BENEFACTOR LIFE Member
http://www.hcrpclub.org/schedule.html
avatar pic is Shasta Dam, Shasta Lake, & Mt. Shasta
- AJMD429
- Posting leader...
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Re: My Latest Levergun Had A Slight Problem
You are SO hooked...!Shasta wrote:I only have nine rifles that qualify for this sport, so I thought maybe I needed another back-up gun, so I bought it.
Doctors for Sensible Gun Laws
"first do no harm" - gun control LAWS lead to far more deaths than 'easy access' ever could.
Want REAL change? . . . . . "Boortz/Nugent in 2012 . . . ! "
"first do no harm" - gun control LAWS lead to far more deaths than 'easy access' ever could.
Want REAL change? . . . . . "Boortz/Nugent in 2012 . . . ! "
- Griff
- Posting leader...
- Posts: 20869
- Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2007 4:56 pm
- Location: OH MY GAWD they installed a STOP light!!!
Re: My Latest Levergun Had A Slight Problem
Almost all the Winchester Commemoratives that I've seen or seen others have, have been great shooters. Congrats on finding another one!
Griff,
SASS/CMSA #93
NRA Patron
GUSA #93
There is a fine line between hobby & obsession!
AND... I'm over it!!
No I ain't ready, but let's do it anyway!
SASS/CMSA #93
NRA Patron
GUSA #93
There is a fine line between hobby & obsession!
AND... I'm over it!!
No I ain't ready, but let's do it anyway!
- Shasta
- Senior Levergunner
- Posts: 1558
- Joined: Thu Sep 06, 2007 10:50 pm
- Location: Shasta County, the far right stronghold in California
Re: My Latest Levergun Had A Slight Problem
I think I have a keeper here! Today I took the Canadian Centennial .30-30 rifle to the NRA Cowboy Lever Action Rifle Silhouette match held at Hat Creek Rifle & Pistol Club near Burney, CA. I got there early and was able to get settings for the Marble's tang sight at each of the four target distances (50 meter Chickens, 100 meter Pigs, 150 meter Turkeys, and 200 meter Rams). Shooting ten targets at each distance for score, I got nine Chickens, nine Pigs, five Turkeys (they are the hardest targets), and nine Rams for a score of 32/40, good enough to win the match! Whoo Hoo!!
SHASTA
SHASTA
California Rifle & Pistol Association LIFE Member
National Rifle Association BENEFACTOR LIFE Member
http://www.hcrpclub.org/schedule.html
avatar pic is Shasta Dam, Shasta Lake, & Mt. Shasta
National Rifle Association BENEFACTOR LIFE Member
http://www.hcrpclub.org/schedule.html
avatar pic is Shasta Dam, Shasta Lake, & Mt. Shasta
- Griff
- Posting leader...
- Posts: 20869
- Joined: Sat Mar 31, 2007 4:56 pm
- Location: OH MY GAWD they installed a STOP light!!!
Re: My Latest Levergun Had A Slight Problem
Confrats on some FINE shooting!
Griff,
SASS/CMSA #93
NRA Patron
GUSA #93
There is a fine line between hobby & obsession!
AND... I'm over it!!
No I ain't ready, but let's do it anyway!
SASS/CMSA #93
NRA Patron
GUSA #93
There is a fine line between hobby & obsession!
AND... I'm over it!!
No I ain't ready, but let's do it anyway!
Re: My Latest Levergun Had A Slight Problem
Yes indeed.
Confrats.
Confrats.
Government office attracts the power-mad, yet it's people who just want to be left alone to live life on their own terms who are considered dangerous.
History teaches that it's a small window in which people can fight back before it is too dangerous to fight back.
History teaches that it's a small window in which people can fight back before it is too dangerous to fight back.