Cast bullets in M94 Centennial

[flatlander]

I traded for one of the Winchester M94 Centennial rifles with the 26" half octagon barrel, primarily because I'd heard that Badger Barrels made the barrel, and I wanted a good barrel to play with cast bullets in. Does anyone out there know if Badger did make these barrels, and if so, how good are they? I don't suppose that Badger had the budget or the time to hand lap these production barrels like they would one of their custom target barrels, so I might consider firelapping it with the finer(800-1200 grit) grades of abrasive. Any opinions?

[This message has been edited by flatlander (edited July 06, 1999).]

 

[Paul B.]

Flatlander. I don't know who made the barrels for your rifle. I do shoot a lot of cast lead from 30-30's. It's one of my favorite cartridges. Using 10 parts wheel weights, mixed with one part linotype, I duplicate factory loads with no problem. I use Lyman #311291 and 31141 (now called 311041). The load I finally settled on duplicates the origional 30-30 load of 1965 fps. I does a number on deer. When duplicating current factory loads, the mushrooms and retained bullet weight are almost exactly the same as Federal 170 gr. loads. I just picked up a Canadian Centennial myself, but I haven't had the time to shoot it yet. Got to find a peep sight for it and with my eyes, I can see the rear sight, and the target, but not the front sight. One of the problems of old age and those new-fangle varilux lenses. I hope your Centennial works out for you.
Paul B.