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.243 rifle change to 7mm mag
Big Julie
Member Posts: 20 ✭
Hey everybody-
while my user name is an old pool playing nickname - Big Julie, my name is John.
I have always dreamed of making my “best” rifle. Back in the mid 70’s I found a nice blank walnut rifle stock for a Mauser at Herter’s in Glenwood, Mn. I really should have spent the extra $50 for a really, really super looking one... oh well.
Around 1980, I found a rifle on consignment. It was a Mauser FN action with a Douglas premium barrel on a kinda junky stock. It had a weatherby 2-12 scope. Based on the stock and scope, i estimated that it was put together in the 50’s.
in the mid 80;s I became friends with a gunsmith- Al. We talked about the gun and I had him put the stock on the gun. I had spent lots of time learning about putting together and accurizing a rifle. I had Al make everything the shape etc. that i dreamed of. He glass bedded the action and free floated the barrel. It shot fair.
i also had a good friend Lee who was a gun enthusiast. He took his .45-70 Sharps out to Montana and shot the 10 shots in 10” at 1000 yards. He loved guns and was ultra precise.
He played with reloading a good round for my rifle playing with various bullets, powders and powder weights. We ended up with 3 “best” rounds; 1 shooting .224” C to C at 100 yards.
i spent a lot of time at the range having a blast.
Fast forward to today I am wanting to rebarrel the gun for 7mm mag. Douglas will replicate my exact barrel dimensions for $500 and open up the bolt face for the 7mm for an additional $50.
For the sake of discussion, if I shot .224” groups, what might i hope to shoot at 400?
Sorry, but I’m retired and have nothing better to do... 🤔
while my user name is an old pool playing nickname - Big Julie, my name is John.
I have always dreamed of making my “best” rifle. Back in the mid 70’s I found a nice blank walnut rifle stock for a Mauser at Herter’s in Glenwood, Mn. I really should have spent the extra $50 for a really, really super looking one... oh well.
Around 1980, I found a rifle on consignment. It was a Mauser FN action with a Douglas premium barrel on a kinda junky stock. It had a weatherby 2-12 scope. Based on the stock and scope, i estimated that it was put together in the 50’s.
in the mid 80;s I became friends with a gunsmith- Al. We talked about the gun and I had him put the stock on the gun. I had spent lots of time learning about putting together and accurizing a rifle. I had Al make everything the shape etc. that i dreamed of. He glass bedded the action and free floated the barrel. It shot fair.
i also had a good friend Lee who was a gun enthusiast. He took his .45-70 Sharps out to Montana and shot the 10 shots in 10” at 1000 yards. He loved guns and was ultra precise.
He played with reloading a good round for my rifle playing with various bullets, powders and powder weights. We ended up with 3 “best” rounds; 1 shooting .224” C to C at 100 yards.
i spent a lot of time at the range having a blast.
Fast forward to today I am wanting to rebarrel the gun for 7mm mag. Douglas will replicate my exact barrel dimensions for $500 and open up the bolt face for the 7mm for an additional $50.
For the sake of discussion, if I shot .224” groups, what might i hope to shoot at 400?
Sorry, but I’m retired and have nothing better to do... 🤔
Comments
Welcome to the GB forums!
Here’s a brief list of work necessary to get the 7mm Rem Mag to feed from the rifles current state:
- New barrel, chamber, thread and crown.
- Open the feed rails and feed ramp to accommodate the longer, fatter cartridge.
- Open the bolt face AND the extractor for the magnum rim diameter.
- Fix or replace the magazine box and bottom metal (trigger guard) with the longer box for 7mm.
- Tune for feeding and extraction. The ejector blade will need to be shortened.
Best.
I wouldn’t , to much, all kinds of custom rifles had on here or vintage rifles and now you have two. The 7 mag for me is a great round but you know it’s in front of you when you pull the trigger and as I age.
If it shoots that good, LEAVE IT THE H... ALONE!
Build yourself another rifle and either sell this one or, better yet, give it a place of honor on your wall, holding it in reserve for when your 7mmmmm kicks your shoulder out of socket.
I'm finding many factory rifles are super accurate nowadays unless you just want to tinker with a build. Ruger and Savage, in particular, are producing extremely accurate rifles at very reasonable prices (< $500 in most cases).
I spent lots of time and money, in the old days searching for the right combination to produce < 1.5" groups.
More recently, I have shot factory ammo through several brand new rifles producing 3/4" or better groups.
You could have knocked me over with a feather.
the gun stays as is. It’s my dream gun.
Is a belted magnum the best choice for a rifle you want to tinker around with? It could be shot out before you even use it once.
I can’t have enjoyed a gun more. It will stay .243.
I started way back when with a red field wide field 2-7. I recently upgraded to a Nikon 3-10.
I found a range an hour away where one can shoot crazy distances, I’d like to spend some at 200, 300 and just for kicks 400. (It goes to 1200.)
I have somewhere around 200 rounds of 50 and 70 grain sierras and 200 or so nobler 100 gr. Partitions that were matched for my gun that he will never shoot.
I realize that energy wise 300 yards is max on a deer.
It’s all fun!
i recently also bought a Walther PPK/S in a .380; and an H&K P9S in 9mm. Also 100 rounds of personal defense and 300 rounds of target ammo for each. And a few extra mags.
There might be one place in town where i can shoot them. Whatever happened to going out to the local gravel pit? The good old days. Sigh...
anyway sorry for the long post. I miss chatting with my peers.
Thanks
John
i once had a book with all the wildcats. I would read it for hours.