z1r

Only you can determine if it is worth it. Remember, it is a wildcat. That means NO factory ammo so it is handload only. That is a pain to some, and par for the course for others. Like I say, it will give you a MAX of 100 fps over the 8x57. Most people don't get that. ME, I'd stick with the 8x57. You can get 8x57 ammo most anywhere. Price dies, they may cost most than 8x57 dies. If you feel 100 fps is worthwhile then go for it.

Look at a Brownless catalog. If you can;t figure out how to make a vise from the pics ( they even give the specs of the bushings) then you might ought to consider not rebarreling. Somewhere on here, someone posted how to make a wrench. Do a search. I'll also try to find it tonight. It was pretty good.

You get maybe 100 fps more than the 8x57. If you think about it, if the 8x57 were a 30 caliber then it would fall right in the middle of the .308 and .30-06. So you can expect half the increase an -06 has over a .308. In other words, not much. Still, -06 brass is a bit cheaper than 8x57 and certainly a bit easier to get.

Blanchards or Industrial Heat Treating of SLC, UT. Either can and do heat treat mausers. The prices are about right. The more you do the lower the per unit cost. Some places I've used in the past charged a flat fee but they don't do guns anymore so its a moot point.

The levers look cool but after fitting one I didn't like the way it interfered with the way I like to carry a rifle. If a button type release appeals to you check this one out. I have one and love it. You simply depress and remove like the original. Here is another pic showing the over-engineering that went into this. You can use a cartridge rim too incase you have gloved hands. The groove is a perfect fit for a case rim. Tom Burgess makes these. Email me if you are interested and I'll put you in touch.

This is why removable pilot reamers are to be preferred. If the pilot is too tight not only do you run the risk of cutting the chamber wrong due to trying to overcome the friction fit but you can also damage the rifling. I'd set the barrel back two threads and recut if I was going to try and repair it. Depending on how oversized your chamber the -06 may not clean it up since the case is so much slimmer near the shoulder. Don't feel too bad, one of my first was similar. A recut Rem 700 barrel that didn;t have too good a chamber to begin with. I also got a slight expansion. But, since the rifle will ALWAYS be fired with factory loads it wasnt an issue.

Since you have access to machines then do as others have suggested and make an action wrench and barrel vise. This will keep you from ruining the action and/or barrel. Then remove the old barrel. I all starts there. Once you have the barrel off you need to inspect the action to ensure it is safe or worthy of further investment of your time & money. Once you determine it is ok, then you remove the lip and do any other work including lapping, truing, etc. Once all of that is done, then you can start to measure how long your shank will be and what the distance from front ring to inner ring and front ring to boltface. If you do this beforehand, the measurements will change.

Jim, Don't toss that bolt send it my way. I'm looking for parts like that to section for when I gear up to make actions in 2008. That's the plan at least. I wouldn't worry to much about this whole business about switching back from a magnum? Why, because the action right now is the cheapest part of the rifle. You can replace it cheaper tha you can convert back. At a minimum you'd need a new bolt, then, a barrel (can't use the magnum barrel, can you?) that will have to match the carefully inletted stock you have. All in all, easier to build a new rifle. Do yours right, make sure it feeds 100% and enjoy. Make your dummy cartridges the max length you anticipate you will ever use. Also make up dummies in various lengths and with bullets you plan on using. Cuz some bullets will be shorter when seated properly. You may find that if you set things up with spitzers but later want to use Round nosed bullets, they may not feed. Best to check things now. -Mike

Actually it's a great idea. Then you can see where the round will stick in an unaltered action. Just as the cartridge comes out of the well about 1/2" in front of the feedramp where it is narrower than the case. All sarcasm aside, Don said it, how else will you know when all is right. Dummy rounds are a must when checking feeding.

The 240 Weatherby is damn near the same as a 30-06 case. Not what most consider a belted mag, meaning not the same base & belt dimensions as the H&H. As for this going back to -06 sized cases after altering for mangums if they work its because the action was not properly altered in the first place. Hell, even the great Mauser Werks made each action specific to the cartridge it was intend to use. The closest to what you are talking about is the Zastava actions which use identical bottom metal for (short) magnum and standard cartridges. If you look carefully at the rails and compare to a milsurp you'll notice there is quite a bit of difference. I've also noted more tendency for rounds to pop up on these actions than any other. And this tendency in unaltered actions.

It's a pretty simple matter to remove the crest. Why cover it up with mounts when you can make it disappear?

They are perfect for the intermediate actions. I don't see why one wouldn't work in a standard either. Me, I'm doing the hard one, the 9.3x64. I got a barrel in 9.3x62 that is heavier than I wanted so I am rechambering to 9.3x64. Oh Yeah! I may just make my M24 Yugo acton into a Steyr for fun. I don't know what else I'd build with it. Hmm. Shame on you!

At this point if you were set on a .375 in a mauser I'd opt for the styer. Lots of factory ammo still, cheap dies, hard hitter. If not, then I'd got 9.3x64. Less factory ammo but helluva cartridge. Or, wait and see what the Ruger turns out to be.

Super, thanks for sharing! Horsefly, I noted the siz eof that bucks neck too. Almost the first thing I noticed.

Richard's made that stock but like all their stocks I have used it is highly modified. Mostly consisting of shortening the fore end, removing the 45 degree tio and putting on decent 90 degree tip, and slimming the club down to a respectible size.

Alledgedly a .375 H&H duplicate in a shorter package. the round is supposed to be beltless, utilising the .532 rim size and case head. this gives it more capacity than a belted case of the same size would. God only knows when/if it will come out. Still, it sounds an interesting cartridge. Almost like a wildcat based off the 8x68 case but slightly larger.

Yeah, I like those crests. The 458 sounds good, or maybe the new Ruger 375?

Thanks for clearing that up. The nosler book shows the 8x57 propelling a 200 at 2600+. Hardly seems worth the effort. But then again, it would be kinda kool to be able to say. I have a peter longo! I wonder how many laughs that'll get you? Better yet, how many dirty looks? My mentor seems to think my guild gun was originally chambered for the 8x75. You gonna bid?

Scott, with heat treat the Turks will serve you well. they may not be a refined as the german or czech receivers but they are remarkably true. Better than the current crop of Yugoslav commercial imports. here is a Turk with 700 bbl I made. My dad likes it just fine. and it shoots great. Everyone else has seen this one a dozen times so I appologize to them. But, it shoots better than the 700 the barrel came off of, lol. I'm not into sporting the Kar's but would like one for my collection. They have their drawbacks, anyone doubting that should ask, "why did the Germans stop making them if they were so great?" Nice rifle you have. If you ever want to unload it let me know.

Please excuse my incessant questioning but these Turks you will find out come in more flavors than ice cream at Baskin Robins. When you say small ring 98's do you really mean small ring 98s or standard 98's with small ring threads? There is a difference and both models exist. The most frequently encountered is the so-called M38 which is marked on the front ring: K.Kale. These are indigenously made and are for all intents and purposes standard LR 98's with the exception that they have small ring threads. Then there is the true small ring 98 turk whose front ring measures 1.310" but it is threaded to accept large ring barrels. these are reworked Kar98a's. These are less desirable. Blanchards or Industrial Heat Treating of SLC, UT. Either can and do heat treat mausers.

I saw that Express barrel last night. Two things struck me: First, he claims the muzzle diameter to be something like .450". That would leave about .050" wall thickness. Second, who the heck woul want a 20" magum barrel. Just my purely biased opinion mind you, lol. The second is interesting but it could be any number of cartridges ranging from the 8x60 to the 8x75S. I would think the 8x71 and 8x75 would be too long for a standard 98 without opening up the magazine length. The 8x75 is listed at 3.5" thus the 8x71 being 4mm shorter might end up at an OAL of 3.343". And I'd query the seller as to bore diameter, .318" vs .323". I would imagine brass & dies for the 8x71 and 8x75 would be darned expensive.

Well, you really didn't answer my question: Is it a 98 or 93? If a 98 then you have all the safety features of it's German brethren. Unlike the springfields where in some early models the actions were made too hard, the turks tendency is toward the softer side. An action never blew up from being soft. In fact, it is softness that keeps these from grenading. However, as 724wd said, setback can be an issue. Excess headspace can lead to case head seperations which WILL detroy an action but luckily the mauser is designed to redirect the escaping gasses and protect the shooter. If you are concerned, do as 724wd said and have it recarburised. Send in several and the cost per receiver goes down. They usually charge for oven time so one or ten the cost is the same. Or buy a true standard 98. But they too can be soft. By the way, those Kimber 243's, We saw a lot of them come through the shop at Lassen, most had setback. Some pretty extreme. I wouldn't want to be behind the trigger when a case lets go in one of those!

Scott, please explain your trepidation? I assume you mean the turk 98's which utilize SR threaded barrels? You would be wise to be concerned about attach either barel to a pre-98 action but I wonder why you balk at puuting one on 98?

Hmm, SR shank = .980". LR shank = 1.100", Rem 700 shank 1.062". So, no. Unless you remove the entire shank, and recut a new one where the old chamber was. You may end up with a new chamber area that is awful thin. The caveat is that the area ahead of the shank would have to be at least 1.100" in order to thread it. You don't need a shoulder there but it looks odd without one.

Jim, I'm at a disadvantage since I'm not at home but 5/16" comes to mind. You want the radius to be about what is already on the underside of the bolt raceways. Study where the 8mm shoulder is in relation to the curvature down there and then compare to where the shoulder of the magnum case is. This will guide you as to where you want to remove metal. go slow.