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What does it measure from breechface to end of go gage? What caliber is this and what go gage? Just to be doubly sure.

You could use a smaller reamer like a .243 to ream a .308 chamber. But, you'd have to have a removable pilot reamer and substitute the correct pilot for the caliber. Then, you'd have to go back and use a throating remaer to cut the proper neck and throat.

Partly the same reason M1917's are so tight. The extractor groove is cut then the barrel screwed on and guess what, it don't match. So, the guy takes off the barrel, chucks it up in a lathe and adjusts it, right? No, what is more likely is that the guy tightens the hell out of it until it aligns. Just try screwing that barrel on and you can prove it to yourself. It will get tight well before the extractor cut lines up where it should.

This is the combo stone I'd probably get: http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT?PMAKA...39704&PMCTLG=00 it's a coarse & fine india stone. the crystalon wears quickly. they are good for the really rough crests but wear quickly and loose thier shape. get the cheap ones if you have a lot of roughing to do. then follow up with the india stones.

I formed most of mine from .30-06 brass but I also have some Norma brass I got from some Norma loads I picked up. Grafs also sells loaded ammo made by Hornady I think. That should be good brass. It might be the same as the unprimed brass thay are selling. Some of grafs brass is made by Prvi Partzan in yugoslavia or what's left of it.

Looks good! Save me the trouble of looking up the old post and refresh my memory please. Was this a SR bbl ro LR bbl? i have a beautiful SR 7.65x53 bbl and was thinking of the same type of project.

I also know a guy in TX that charges about $75 I believe. He has quite a few pattern stocks on hand too. If interested let me know and I'll get you his contact info.

If I had a nice blank I wouldn't let richards or boyds turn it. Not for that kind of money. Dennis Olson charges about $100 and his work is great. If Donnie was really at Fajen then I'd also consider him. They used to make a great product. Remember that the nicest piece of wood in the world will look like crap with bad inletting!

the problem with sand paper and buffers is that most folks, until they are very very experienced, tend to round off corners that should be sharp. Buffers also tend to give metal a wavey look, again, unless the polisher is very experienced. Here's a quick way to prove my point. take a flat piece of steel maybe 1/8" in thickness and drill ahole through it. Then, using paper, polish it up to say 320. Now look at the edges of the hole. they will be rounded. Do the same using stones and they will be square. That's why I use stones. Keeps the straight parts straight. Since I rust blue, I only polish to 320. The parts I keep in the white will get polished up to 1000 if I want a shiney look. If you want to caustic blue and want a highley polished look then you can go higher, say to 600 or so. Any more is lost during the rusting process. A buffer is faster though and for some folks that's all that matters.

If you really want to get serious about polishing you'll skip the buffer. You're more likely to mess up the finish than improve it. In the old days at S&W they made a guy apprentice for like 6 years before they ever let him touch a gun with the buffer. That was when S&W finishes were to die for. Baldors are nice but you can get a pedestal arbor from Brownells for cheap that you can hook up to something like a washing machine motor.

If you like your finish on the wood then Spray on Poly would be good. But, if you like your finish IN the wood, then use a spar varnishand or modified tung oil finish. Another good product is called Ben Matte. One is quick, the other lasts and actually protects the wood. Here is a laminate I did with the spar varnish finish. It is virtually impervious to weather and the finish didn't appreciably alter the coloration of the wood.

You will only be required to open the bolftace if the rims do not fit. Some bolts were cut with enough clearance to fit the swede rim with no problems. Others aren't. You could maximize your chances of not having to do any work by using American made brass which usually is undersized.

Gotta second jimro's advice. The new Stevens 200, a stripped down savage, sells for a mere $279 round these parts. You could easily buy a pre-threaded premium barrel and for less than $500 have a really nice rig, or just buy the 10fp.

Jerry, Yes, those are Brownells handles. My least favorite. Well, actually I like them better than those Farrell industries handles.

Jason, Not sure where you got the notion that anyone said Mig produced a useless weld??? I said Tig or gas give you more control. Mig has the advantage like Tig of laying in the fill without getting the surrounding metal very hot. But, it doesn't allow you to play with the puddle like Tig or Gas. that was my point. If you can do it well then good on you. I've seen more than a few handles done with a stick welder and they hold but you can tell they were welded on. FM, I don't do much aluminum so I got a Miller SD185. Easily welds all my smithing needs and then some without popping my 220 30 amp dryer circuit. relatively inexpensive machine. There are cheaper but most are scratch start. Check out the specs on it. Anything comparable should serve you well. Sounds like Rod is a more rounded and likely better weldor than I so his experience is helpful.

These were tigged. Here are some handles I've done. Both the traditional and Brownells style. And some pics showing clearance to the scope bell. The handle on this old sporter was gas welded. Tig or gas is the way to go with tig the much prefered method. Either of these will give you the control needed to make a nice weld. Other methods just lay in too much filler and give you no fince control. Tig is to be prefered over gas because of the heat control you have. It is posible for a good weldor to tig a handle on and not change the temper of the hardened parts.

Just think of it as inspiration. It ought to be fun to prove me wrong.

LW has 6mm (243) blanks. Why not email them directly? I'm pretty sure they can chamber in it even if it isn't listed in their art 72* series barrels.

Which is why the guys that do this charge better than $265. If there were an economical way to do this we'd be able to buy surplus barrels that have been rebored or re-rifled.

Widening the mag where it needs it will not hurt. The rounds must stack correctly before they will feed properly. To do otherwise is simply putting a bandaid on it. I'd wait on the feedrails though until after I widened the mag. If that doesn't help then try a new spring and or follower first. The feedrails should only be touched when all else fails. You can't put it back on once it comes off. See if you can find a swede 96 follower.

I doubt you'd notice the affects of a slightly over stabilized bullet in .338. Besides, it would likely be somewhat beneficial if you felt like loading up some long 300's.

Good reboring costs about $265 + up. Most folks tell me there is a minimum step up in size required to clean out the existing markings and or stresses imparted to the barrel. Most would not go from .323 to .338. I know of one that will. You could do it provided you have the right tools. There are books out there. It would be cost effective if you could do it yourself. Otherwise, it is generally cheaper just to rebarrel. About the only thing that justifies the cost of reboring is if the original barrel is unique like an octagonal or integrated rib or some such.

If it is already marked ABOVE the woodline, this includes 12 o'clock, then I wouldn't mark it again as long as it was legible. Mainly because two caliber markings looks bad and stamped markings rarely look very good. Now, if one of those happened to end up below the woodline then I have to agree with Morgansboss in that you should remark it. I just send mine to an engraver, Roger Kehr. But, even the trophy shop types can mark your barrel easily and cheaply. Cheaper than having a stamp made. I have stamped a few but really hate the variability associated with it.

If you have the blanks and the reamer I would think it is a no brainer. I would expect ballistics in the AI version to be on par with the 9.3x62. I don't see how you could go wrong. Expect maybe a little attention to the feedrails. Me, I'd try to finish the barrel as long as possible 26" perhaps or 25.5" to get max velocity. No, I don't have one but am I am putting together my 9.3x62. Any animal shot with either would never know the difference if one even exists.

As big a fan as I am of the 9.3x62 the shoulder difference or rather advantage it offers over the 375 whelen is hooey. The Whelen has plenty of shoulder for headspacing. How much shoulder does the 45 acp have? That said, I'd pass on the whelen too and just build a 9.3x62. As others have said, one big advantage it has is factory loadings. Of course, if you have to build a whelen, I'd imagine it would be pretty darn effective and there is no shortage of good bullets & brass to choose from. Either round would be easy to make work in a standard 98. The 9.3x64 is a real go getter. every bit as effective as the .375 H&H and much easier to fit into a standard mauser action. I was an RCH away from building a 9.3x64 but since the rifle I'm rebarrelling is open sight only I didn't see the real need and went with the 9.3x62 instead.