New toy Rossi R95

[LoonWulf]

Over here we call them the thudy thudy, lots of them have been carried through the woods and shot a lot of deer and beer cans

They seem to be more popular with pig hunters here than deer, sheep, and goat hunters, but almost everyone i know has a lever 30-30.

So not solid on the name yet currently its 30-160- not there yet.....
I hit the top of my ladder and have no pressure signs, velocity is lower than predicted suggesting pressure is lower than predicted. Ill tinker with QL settings and see where it thinks were at.

This is the top if my ladder.


I also noticed this rifle is has noticeable POI shift when the MS is attached. It also seems to shift POI as the the bayo moved.
.......aaaaand i seem to throw the last shot out of every group.

Bayo slid little over 2" during this group....lowest charge 35.5gr, velocity 2230ish


Max charge i had



Two groups i shot without (these were 3rd and 2nd highest charges) the bayo attached.


Overall im happy with the accuracy of the rifle, ill work up another ladder and see where i hit pressure. Then ill do some work on fine tuning accuracy.

LW, how about the Leupold 1.5-4x20?

That ones on the list of possibilities. I dont have one on hand, but I do have a 1-4x simmons coming that i was gonna use to decide for that power range. If thats the range i go with ill probably pick up a VXf 1-4 or similar.

The swfa ultralight 2.5-10 would be interesting to, think there 9 oz. I'd still would like to check one out and see how the eye relief is in person, think max is like 3.3" the ultralight rifle guys seem to like them.

This is the other range im considering (2-7/3-9 etc). Ive been wanting to try thr Swfa UL too, the short eye relief and the just "goodish" glass are the only downsides ive read about .

 

[LoonWulf]

Loon... I was looking at the safety button on your new blued steel and wood beauty and thought of this alternative that I've used...it's a saddle ring replacement for the safety, from Bearthooth Mercantile....an easy installation if you're so inclined. Four of five years ago you could order them in blued or brass too. It's a 15 minute change change out, but you do have to remove the butt stock.

IIRC, they also made just a stud that eliminates the safety. Saddle ring or stud, they're not for everyone as we all have our druthers. But I didn't like the rough operating and somewhat noisy safety on two of my Marlins and changed them out. The one below is an 1894S in .41 Magnum with the saddle ring installed.

I'm not a big fan of scopes on lever guns, (except Savage 99s), and even tang or receiver peeps are getting hard to use in my dotage, but a scope, with an ultra low profile and which 'looks' ok on a 1890 design, nothing pleases me more than Leupold's long discontinued Alaskan in 2.5x or 4x magnifications. Expensive, though all good glass is pricey nowadays, they can be found on GB or EB.

The one below is a Marlin 336 in .44 Magnum (yep they did make them in the mid-60's), set up with a 2.5x Alaskan mounted. A hell-of-a-deer-gun in brush country!! Good, easy totin' all day deer hunting rifle for a 78 yo.

Best regards, Rod

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View attachment 1208080​

Troy mentioned the saddle rings too, that does seem like a good option if i get rid of the safety. Ive never actually used a lever with a saddle ring, im not even sure what they are actually for, but they look cool.

Those are both nice looking levers!

 

[troy fairweather]

Troy mentioned the saddle rings too, that does seem like a good option if i get rid of the safety. Ive never actually used a lever with a saddle ring, im not even sure what they are actually for, but they look cool.

Those are both nice looking levers!

Need to put a Scabbard in your yota lol. You tie rope or leather thong to the ring and to your scabbard on your horse/vehicle keeps it from falling out when riding/driving or tied directly to you, the calvery had a chest belt they clipped to there chest. You should have your leather buddy make one of those butt stock pads if you do scope it.

 

[LoonWulf]

You should have your leather buddy make one of those butt stock pads if you do scope it.

Yeah, i probably will ask ed for another riser/cuff at some point.....he still hasnt worked on the sheath for my little buck knife.

 

[LoonWulf]

Made a charge ladder from 39.5-41.5 last night, shot them this morning.

I got a slightly sticky lever on one shot at 41gr, which is where the powder is becoming heavily compressed, 41 5 didnt show much of a velocity increase but showed sticky lever on all the shots. Not stuck, but i could feel it in the first bit of opening.

Velocity topped out at 2508.
39.5 didnt chrono

40


40.5


41-forgot the picture

41.5


I shot one group (ignore the .22 round it took me a while to get my holdover)

 

[troy fairweather]

Made a charge ladder from 39.5-41.5 last night, shot them this morning.

I got a slightly sticky lever on one shot at 41gr, which is where the powder is becoming heavily compressed, 41 5 didnt show much of a velocity increase but showed sticky lever on all the shots. Not stuck, but i could feel it in the first bit of opening.

Velocity topped out at 2508.
39.5 didnt chrono

40
View attachment 1209198

40.5
View attachment 1209199

41-forgot the picture

41.5
View attachment 1209201

I shot one group (ignore the .22 round it took me a while to get my holdover)
View attachment 1209202

Looking good, 2500+ is moving considering, should get a few more fps with some rounds on the barrel. This maybe a good gun to try the hammer bullets on, they have suck a low bearing surface you can use faster powders and not get pressure early. I'd bet the primers still look good on the sticky lever load lol.

 

[LoonWulf]

Looking good, 2500+ is moving considering, should get a few more fps with some rounds on the barrel. This maybe a good gun to try the hammer bullets on, they have suck a low bearing surface you can use faster powders and not get pressure early. I'd bet the primers still look good on the sticky lever load lol.

No visible stress on the primers, but then i expect the gun would lock up solid before the primers would deform enough to show any real issues. With 41.5gr compression was more than i liked, was getting about a .010 increase in coal.
Ill probably back down to 40.5 or so and start accuracy work.
I have enough data to corelate quickloads now i think.

Im kinda curious about rhe hammers, have been for a while just havent gotten around to tinkering with them.

 

[troy fairweather]

No visible stress on the primers, but then i expect the gun would lock up solid before the primers would deform enough to show any real issues. With 41.5gr compression was more than i liked, was getting about a .010 increase in coal.
Ill probably back down to 40.5 or so and start accuracy work.
I have enough data to corelate quickloads now i think.

Im kinda curious about rhe hammers, have been for a while just havent gotten around to tinkering with them.

Ya I've wanted to try them to, probably get some for the 6.5 prc. They get some ridiculous speeds, seen over 300 fps for the same bullet weights.

 

[WestKentucky]

What will you gain out of going to an AI chamber? I know it increases case capacity, and 30-30 has a long neck so that could really change things, but in a short barrel I’m wondering if it’s worth the work.

 

[troy fairweather]

What will you gain out of going to an AI chamber? I know it increases case capacity, and 30-30 has a long neck so that could really change things, but in a short barrel I’m wondering if it’s worth the work.

He is already seeing the benefits of the ai chamber.

 

[LoonWulf]

What will you gain out of going to an AI chamber? I know it increases case capacity, and 30-30 has a long neck so that could really change things, but in a short barrel I’m wondering if it’s worth the work.

If it were much work, like pulling the tube or adjusting feed rails id say it wasnt, but when all thats necessary is to run a rented reamer in (and dies were 30 bucks) its an easy win.

 

[Show Me]

If it were much work, like pulling the tube or adjusting feed rails id say it wasnt, but when all thats necessary is to run a rented reamer in (and dies were 30 bucks) its an easy win.

Been following some. I like it because your rifle is unique. Not what everyone has. You can't buy ammo at the hardware store. You will make ammo for your personalized 30 30. Good project and story.
Now can you hit anything ?

 

[LoonWulf]

Now can you hit anything ?

That's gonna be the real question lol. The 6.5-20 came off today, im waiting on another box if scopes to get a 1-4x to try. At that point i think ill be able to decide if im going to use an optic or go back to the dot.....then its just getting out and hunting.....havent shot at, much less shot, an animal since our last trip home i think.

 

[Buckeye63]

Since you can't stop by somewhere and purchase the marlin 16 inch compact I'd say good purchase. Didn't know it existed and like it very much.

Safety, there is only one way to unload my R92's. I left safeties on because of my youth shooters. Never had an issue with the old Ted Williams though.

A 16 in. Is so handy in a ladder stand in the woods. Sits on my lap at nap time. The 24 inch can be a bit much when in silent stealth no motion mode when surrounded after nap is ending.

Rechamber a blasty 16 inch? I'm not feeling it. But I'm nobody.

Edit. Just had to look. 850.00 at bass pro.
My opinion is.......

336Y JM …

 

[Show Me]

View attachment 1209265

336Y JM …

Sweet. Sold mine to my 6 foot 4 ex wrestler firefighter son in law for covid home protection. He has shot two bucks and loves it. His first centerfire. I see it from time to time. Didn't have the nice wood like yours.

 

[LoonWulf]

So spoke to the seller if the scope lot I was hoping to harvest a 1-4 from yesterday and hes been busy and hasnt shipped yet.

So lacking what i wanted to run i put my 4-12 Si on there for today (dad wanted to go shoot). Im really feeling like sticking the dot back on and calling it good......

Anyway I ran across an article written about testing the 30-30AI in a pressure barrel....which i of course cant find right now.....but anyway, it showed a couple interesting points which i hadnt considered in relation to AI cartridges and claims. Primarily that the reduced bolt thrust (which the article proved was true (at least in their testing) is at least some what nullified by having a lubricated chamber....which mine usually are to prevent rust.
So i cleaned my guns chamber of oil and wiped down my cartridges.

Ive dropped back to 40gr of lvr....and when i went to open the new fox of FTX my buddy ordered for me, i found them to be thr 160ftx for the 308 Marlin Express. Data below is using those bullets as opposed to the .30-30 version.

Shooting today provided a velocity avg of 2435 with an es of 28fps.
I only shot one group at 200yds (winds were supposed to be 20mph from about 11 o'clock) which turned out ok. I shot a few rounds at our 400yd plate but they were getting scattered pretty bad.


The .308 to the right actually didnt do a whole lot better but i did actually zero that one.

All in all.....fun, easy to shoot, and plenty hunting accurate...nice to be seeing 2400 out of the 20" tube also. Could probably chase the 2500, but this is plenty fast enough.

 

[Show Me]

It is satisfying to settle in on THE load. For a hunting rifle. And THE scope. To be continued.