Kyle

I'm building a Gew 88 sporter right now and I need some help decided what length the barrel should be. I intend for this rifle to be a light weight, fast handling brush gun that still packs a pretty big punch. I'm using the original barrel in 8x57 which I've now cut down to 20in. I plan to use moderate loads (because of the old action) with heavy bullets and most shots will probably be within 100 yards. I plan to mount either a red dot or an LER scope on it with low or no magnification. I've shortened and lightened the original stock and I've decided not to add a pistol grip or cheek piece to make it handle faster when hunting in thick brush. Right now the barrel is at 20in but I'm wondering if I should shorten it further still. In MN I can go as short as 16 inches. After I learned that barrel length doesn't necessarily have anything to do with accuracy and will only slightly lower muzzle velocity I'm thinking it might be better to shorten it further to make it slightly shorter and faster handling as well as making it a little lighter. I can't really see any negatives to having it at the minimum length other then perhaps added muzzle blast and recoil which will be non-issues for me (I'll be adding a rubber recoil pad and I don't mind muzzle blast) but their must be some reason why nobody builds their brush guns with that short a barrel so I figured I'd ask. Please give me your opinion on this.

I also think a Mauser sporter in .308 Norma Mag would be really cool. When I originally evaluated what I wanted in a rifle the closest match I found as far as caliber was the .300 Win Mag until I found the .308 Norma Mag. Not only would it suit my needs very well it would also give me something more unique then a rifle in .300 WM and it may actually turn out to cost less then buying a new rifle in that caliber. I thought about buying a Turk M38 with a Rem 700 barrel but I also have a Brazilian Mauser 08/34 that I'll probably use instead. I believe .308 Norma mag is very close in length to 30-06 and my 08/34 was converted at the arsenal to 30-06 from 7mm so I don't think I'll have to do any work at all with the feed ramp. I even acquired a K98 winter trigger guard/mag since it can get pretty chilly here in Minnesota during hunting season and that way I can wear gloves and fire the rifle more easily. I have a very nice 8mm-06 barrel that I'm hoping I can trade for a nice barrel in .308 or .30-06 for this project. I decided I'd rather have a .308 NM sporter then one in 8mm-06 at the present time and I don't have the cash for another project right now. As far as Turk projects, I have a 24in stainless 7mm Rem Mag barrel from a Remington 700 that I think would be cool to build on a Turk M38. I just turned 18 a few days ago so I can finally drive to the local store and pick up a Turk if they still sell them.

Does it make a difference whether I start with a 30-06 barrel or .308 barrel? Would I be able to do the work with a chamber reamer myself (I have access to a lathe if needed)?

Would it be possible for me to convert a 30-06 or .308 barrel to .308 Norma Mag similar to a conversion like 8x57 to 8mm-06? I'd really like to build a Mauser in .308 Norma Mag but that isn't a very common cartridge so the cheaper barrel makers like A&B don't carry it. A nice 30-06 or .308 barrel should be easy enough to find and if I could change it for less then the cost of a new barrel in .308 NM I'd be pretty happy. What do you think?

I'm not planning on using a Mauser for either actually. Both projects are Gew 88's while although they were built and used in Germany aren't mausers. They are basically a mannlicher design chambered in 8x57 and have a very smooth action. I plan to use the original chambering for both rifles.

Let me know if I have this right, a brush gun would be better with no pistol grip to allow faster handling but it would be best to add a flat tip commercial style pistol grip when using a scoped rifle for longer shots. I'm planning on making two Gew 88 sporters, one with a 21 inch barrel to make into a brush gun with a LER or red dot scope and one with a 24-26 inch barrel and a standard 3-9X scope for longer shooting. Do you think the best way to go about it would be to leave off the pistol grip and cheek piece on the brush gun and add a commercial style pistol grip and cheek piece on the other? What is your opinion of cheek pieces?

I actually once saw an artical where an Italian Carcano carbine (Model 38 I think) was converted to 7.62x39 and it used AK mags. It was pretty cool and apparently worked very well. To tell you guys the truth the 8mm Carcanos don't really have much collector value. I was interested in getting one for a while and I watched the online gun auctions and most sold around $150. Carcano collectors believe that the conversions were not even done during WWII but instead after the war in an attempt to make them more attractive to potential buyers like Isreal and the surrounding Arab states in need of weapons at the time. If I had one with a really cruddy barrel I wouldn't think twice about attempting some sort of project with it.

The Gew 88 I'm working on has a straight stock like that of the Spainish 93. Do you think I should leave it straight or would there be an advantage to adding a pistol grip (other then looks)?

I'm just curious as to why most stocks on bolt action sporters have a tiny pistol grip sticking out just behind the trigger guard instead of a full size pistol grip like those seen on many semi-auto rifles. I'm modifying a straight military stock to a sporter stock and I'm planning on adding some sort of pistol grip. Would I gain any sort of advantage to just making the little pistol grip that juts out of the stock if I was to add a real pistol grip from an AK-47 or something like with the Mosin sporter below? Would adding a true pistol grip as shown below put you at some sort of disadvantage when using a bolt action rifle or is it just not usually used because of looks and tradition? It seems to me that it would be easier to just screw on a synthectic AK pistol grip but I'm thinking there is probably some reasons that usually isn't used.

Thats a very cool looking rifle. Some of the problems faced with building a carcano sporter are also prescent on the Gew 88 project I'm working on (both mannlicher type rifles). The bolt on my Gew 88 will probably look very similar. As far as the problem of the enbloc clips, I work with CNC machines so I plan on milling a small notch on the side of the receiver and building a clip retainer with a spring to hold the cartridges in and make it feed reliably without the clips. Or you could just use an LER scope mounted further forward as to allow loading with the clips and you wouldn't have to mess with the bolt handle. I don't think a project with a Type 1 Carcano is really the same though as it was build specifically for the Japanese navy just before WWII and it is a different design then most carcanos and I believe has many features found on the Arisaka. I don't even know if it even feeds with clips originally.

I'm just wondering if anyone has ever thought of sporterizing a Gew 71/84. A shipment just came in from South America with the Gew 88's and can be purchased for $40 each. These are bolt action rifles with 8-round tubular magazines based on those of Winchesters lever actions. They fire 11mm Mauser but should only be used with black powder loads due to action strength. I'm already working on a Gew 88 sporter and I was wondering if anyone has ever thought of taking on a Gew 71/84 project considering how cheap they are. If not a sporter then how about a restoration project? I probably won't attempt a 71/84 sporter project but I'm curious as to how well it would work. I've seen sporters built on rolling block rifles which I believe are from the same time period and fire a similar caliber. Has anyone thought about tackling one of these project rifles or wouldn't it be worth the effort of re-building the rifle, finding missing parts and loading in an uncommon caliber? Would a Gew 71/84 sporter have any place as a hunting gun and if so what could you possibly use it for effectively?

Thanks Tinker, I don't know much about the barrel besides that it is from a late model Model 70, is 24 inches long and it is in .338 Win Mag. I'm hoping I can use it with a large ring action since I know people mostly frown upon building a small-ring magnum. Here are some photos:

I'm planning on making my own vise but I'm curious as to what the purpose of the bushings is. Why do I need bushings and can I make them myself?

Is it possible to re-thread a barrel from a Winchester late model 70 rifle to fit a LR mauser? If not how about a SR mauser?

Doble Troble, Not an AR but I have an AMD-65, Polish Underfolder AKM, Romainan AKM and a Browning 1919A4. I guess you guys are right as far as anti-gun legislation but I still don't think they would ever go as far as banning all firearms. I'm on your side with opposing anti-gun legislation and that kind of thing but I don't think it is right to vote one way and ignore the other issues. The democratic party is a massive organization with people from all over the left wing, I'm sure they have their share of hunters and gun owners and not all are out to take away your guns.

Come on, do you really think their is any chance our gun rights will be taken away if the democrats gain control? The party itself has members from all over the left-wing but those that actually take office are very moderate with a slightly more liberal view of things, otherwise there is no way they could get elected. In our system change is gradual for the most part and to fear rapid and radical change when power switches from one of our two major parties to the other is somewhat ignorant in my opinion. Many people always vote Republican simply because they are anti-abortion and even when Republicans have the presidancy and control of the house and senate they still do nothing to try and change it because they know that change would be strongly opposed. It is the same with the democrats, I'm sure many far left-wingers vote democrat only because they think gun ownership should be banned. Does that mean that as soon as the democrats gain control they intend to take all our guns away? No, certainly not for the same reasons. And here is something else to think about... in our democratic system we elect officials who hold views that we agree with to represent us so the majority rules. If officials where elected on the platform of taking away guns and banning private gun ownership it would mean that the majority of Americans believe in that. If you truely love our system of democracy would you respect the voice of the American people and turn in your guns?

Please post photos and descriptions about your sporter builds. I think we really need a photo section on the forum so everyone can show off their work but maybe this thread can be made a sticky at the top of the forum. I really look forward to seeing a bunch of sporter rifles and hearing about your build. I think it would be really cool if you post a photo of the rifle before you sporterized it and one after the project was complete.

I've heard a lot about things like opening the bolt face, modifying the feed ramp, etc when dealing with magnum conversions but I don't really understand the process. Does anyone have a link showing the process of a magnum build? If not does someone possibly have step by step photos of their magnum build? How difficult is it really if you have the proper equipment and good instructions? Is it something that would be easy to mess up?

I'm sure you are correct. I have seen a magazine for the 08/34 and it was longer then the standard 8x57 magazine. I was hoping I could somehow lengthen the K98 mag I have instead of trying to search for the mag specifically for that model. What do you think?

I have a Brazilian 08/34 receiver which I'm building off of. I bought a K98 trigger guard/mag assembly thinking it should fit perfectly but since the feed ramp was modified on the Brazilian Mauser when it was converted to 30-06 from 7x57 there is a gap inbetween the end of the mag and where the feed ramp starts. How can I modify the mag to work with this receiver?

Right now I'm torn between building a rifle in 8mm-06 or not. If I decide not to I'll contact you MS8mm. It seems like a very nice barrel though. It is 24 inches long, threaded for LR Mauser, in very good condition and has a very nice blue on it. It is stamped 8mm-06 I assume someone didn't think it was a standard 8x57 Mauser. I don't reload right now but I'm planning on eventually picking up one of those Lee kits and start so hopeuflly I'll be reloading by the this time next year. How hard would it be for me to ream the chamber to 8mm-06 Ackley Improved myself? I have access to a lathe and it might be possible to borrow or rent the reamer I'd need. That would make it a little more practical I think.

So the 8mm-06 is just a little better performer then 30-06? Is it even worth building a rifle in 8mm-06 from a practical standpoint or should I just re-sell the barrel and go with a different caliber? Would it make a more noticable improvement if I was to change it to 8mm-06 Ackley Improved to make it more worth while? How exactly would I go about doing that?

Does anyone have a Mauser chambered in 8mm-06? I just bought a LR barrel in 8mm-06 and am planning to build a rifle chambered in it and I'm wondering if anyone has any experience with it.

Has anyone ever tried building a Turkish Mauser M38 (K.Kale) into a magnum cartridge? I have a Remington 700 barrel in 7mm Magnum that I'd like to re-thread to fit a Turk Mauser but I'd like to make sure it would be safe. I know the M38 should be just as strong as other 98 actions but I'd like to be sure the different threads wouldn't pose a problem.

Can you give me instructions on how can I make my own barrel vise and action wrench?