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mauser 7.62X54 project

jptatumjptatum Member Posts: 1,911 ✭✭✭✭✭
edited January 2012 in Ask the Experts
Is it feasable and/or practical to convert a 8X57 mauser rifle to one chambered for the 7.62X54 cartridge? You would need a new barrel and could one be obtained?

Comments

  • rufe-snowrufe-snow Member Posts: 18,649 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    The 7.62 X 54 Mosin-Nagant cartridge is rimmed, with a substantial taper from base to shoulder. IMHO the only Mauser type rifles that could be possibly converted would be the Siamese Mausers, or the 1914 Enfields made in the U.S. for the Brits during the First World War. Even then it would take a skilled gunsmith, and probably cost way more then the rifle would be ever worth.
  • martinicadetmartinicadet Member Posts: 273 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    anything is possible, you would need a .30 barrel and the bolt face would need to be modified for the larger rim size. The rimmed 7.65 x 54 might be too long for the magazine and may not feed properly because of the rim. I'd stick with a rimless cartridge if you don't like the 8mm.
  • charliemeyer007charliemeyer007 Member Posts: 6,579 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    The bore of an 8mm is 32 cal, be really loose for a 30 cal to bounce down. The rim will be a problem in rimless action design. If you have enough money I'm sure it could be done.
  • beantownshootahbeantownshootah Member Posts: 12,776 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by jptatum
    Is it feasable and/or practical to convert a 8X57 mauser rifle to one chambered for the 7.62X54 cartridge? You would need a new barrel and could one be obtained?


    Possible, sure, given enough time, effort, and money.

    Practical. . .IMO, not really.

    In terms of energy and money, you'd probably be WAY better off starting with a Mosin-Nagant rifle and customizing that into whatever you like with custom stock, trigger, etc, rather than starting with a Mauser.
  • sandwarriorsandwarrior Member Posts: 5,453 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Personally, I wouldn't waste a Mauser action doing that. I would do as Beantown suggested and convert a Mosin-Nagant 91/30 for that.
  • nononsensenononsense Member Posts: 10,928 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    jptatum,

    "Is it feasable and/or practical to convert a 8X57 mauser rifle to one chambered for the 7.62X54 cartridge?"

    Feasible, yes. Practical, no.

    Although in reality, I can't imagine anyone wanting to waste a perfectly good Mauser action with this conversion. Is it just the cheap ammo?

    I can tell you from experience that feasible is slightly (small exaggeration) misleading also because the the labor involved and therefore the cost of doing the conversion would be excessively high. This is also made more problematic to afford since the Mosin-Nagant is still readily available. The much larger rimmed diameter is what would plague the gunsmith in the magazine, follower, rails and feed ramp. This rim is nearly the diameter of the super magnum Weatherby cartridges. Yes, these have been put into Mauser actions, again, at a significantly higher cost of conversion. I can tell you from experience as well that there won't be much of a rim around the bolt head when you're finished. It's thin and easily distorted if you aren't careful.

    "You would need a new barrel and could one be obtained?"

    I'm sure that Lothar Walther Precision Tools, Inc. can make you an accurate rendition of the proper barrel if you feel that you can't live without this project. Here are the barrel specs:

    7.62x54R barrel technical specifications:

    The American shoulder angle is at alpha/2 #8776; 18.5 degrees. The common rifling twist rate for 7.62x54R is 240 mm (1 in 9.45 in), 4 grooves, O lands = 7.62 mm (0.300 in), O grooves = 7.92 mm (0.312 in), land width = 3.81 mm

    Surplus 7.62x54r Primer type is typically Berdan, or very less commonly large rifle. The 7.62x54R case can handle up to 390 MPa (56,564 psi) piezo pressure. C.I.P. regulated countries require every rifle cartridge combo to be proofed at 125% of this maximum C.I.P. pressure to certify for sale to consumers.

    - from an outside source -

    Best.
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