Ed Harris
posted this
18 February 2021
I will share a brainstorm I've been thinking about while watching the snow...
Not as a repeater, but as an addition to the Bunny Gun options.
I sold my 1944 Inland M1 carbine because I had a good offer and I found it less interesting in that my Ruger revolver in that caliber was more accurate than the GI carbine. I would still like some sort of rifle to use the carbine ammo I have hoarded, for recreational steel shooting purposes, and as a walking companion for the Ruger revolver.
In the past John Taylor did a rimless extractor for my .45 ACP Bunny Gun barrel which had a rim seat cut into the barrel so that it could also use .455 or .45 Cowboy Special rounds. I was thinking of having him do the same thing with a barrel chambered for the .30 Carbine cartridge, but also having a rim seat cut into the rear barrel face so that it would headspace and eject .32-20 rounds.
All of my .32-20 brass is Starline and trimmed to 1.28" so the case lengths are the same. The .30 M1 chamber is a bit larger at the mouth and is straight tapered with no shoulder, but is no issue. The greater neck clearance will permit loading larger diameter .314" bullets in .32-20 brass or normal .308 jacketed bullets in carbine brass.
Green Mountain has 8-inch twist .300 Blackout barrels in 25-inch length in normal .308 groove. I plan on using one of these and having John rethroat the .30 carbine chamber to permit seating #314299 bullets out long, and with a compressed case full of IMR4895, IMR4064, RL-15, or Varget it should make a nice subsonic blooper. I would also have the option to load .30-30 jacketed bullets at decent velocity which should approximate a .32-40 rifle.
The faster twist should enable good accuracy with minimum-power "Cat Sneeze" .32-20 loads which are the lowest to exit the rifle barrel. The rifle should not need a "can" because with subsonic loads from 700-1000 fps it will be quiet enough not to disturb the neighbors. Report should be like firing a .22 with Eley Sport.
Plan is to machine the muzzle for an M14 front sight, fit a Picatinny 1/2-rail for optic and XS ghost ring peep similar to what I did on the 10x25mm Bunny Gun. Contour will be the same except to finish 24 inches rather than 22" and having a smaller hole in the end of the barrel. Something like this:
73 de KE4SKY In Home Mix We Trust From the Home of Ed's Red in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia