National ordinance

[jersurf101]

I found an o3a3 converted to .35 whelen. It is a conversion on a National ordinance receiver. I realize these are cast el cheapo receivers. I am thinking about trading my Mosin Nagant for an even trade. The receiver is not drilled and the barrel is about 20". Unless YOU have personally seen one blow up there is no need to comment on the strength of the receiver. This would be a hunting rifle for our healthy sized eastern NC black bear. Thoughts from the experts?

 

[Paul B.]

I had one still in the 1903a3 configuration. It shot OK but someone wanted it more than I did. Factory level .35 Whelen ammo is not loaded to it's full potentiial so should be just fine in your rifle. That nice .35 caliber bore goes a long way toward keeping pressures down a bit. A friend of mine in Canada hunts moose and when he can get a tag, Grizzly Bear with his .35 Whelen. He told he he loads the 250 gr. Speer Hot Core to duplicate factory ammo and it's worked just fine on deer, moose and Griz. My use has been a bit less mundane as all I've shot with mine are cow elk. Four so far, all one shot kills with a fairly hot load using the Barnes 225 gr. TSX at 2710 FPS. It's safe in my custom Mauser but too hot for use in my Remington M700 Classic. I haven't tried it in a Ruger M77 I have. Yes, I really am a fan of the .35 Whelen. If you have some, Re15 works quite well in the Whelen.
Paul B.

 

[Mobuck]

It costs just as much to build on a good action as it does on a not-so-good action but heh, anything is an improvement over a MN.

 

[jersurf101]

Thanks for the replies. I am considering scrapping the receiver and having a gunsmith install the .35 barrel on a Smith Corona that I have that has already been sporterized. It wouldn't be a bad thing at all to have the spare parts anyway.

 

[jonnyc]

I had one for a few years and it shot great with HXP ammo. In deference to all the internet hoopla I did check the headspace after every 30-40 rounds. After hundreds of rounds there was no change at all and I had confidence in the rifle. I did eventually trade it away for a neat 10/22 after I bought a nice M1903 MkI.

 

[F. Guffey]

I was at a gun show in Mesquite, TX. A dealer was informing a seller of a rifle what he thought of the rifle he was selling. The dealer had done a lot of memory work, to my benefit, the dealer was scared and refused to make an offer. I explained to the dealer he had first refusal and I felt obligated to ask permission to talk to the seller. The rifle was an 03 Remington before the A3 was added. The rifle was like new, magnificent in everyway. I purchased the rifle for $150.00, the seller threw in two boxes of R-P 30/06 ammo. He purchased the rifle with ammo from Sears and fired it twice.

I have the stock, trigger guard and barrel for an 03A4 that is chambered to 308 Norma Magnum, if the Remington A3 did not impress me at the range I was going to turn it into a 308 Norma Mag. The $150.00 rifle exceeded all expectation. It is the second most accurate rifle I have with open sights, the most accurate is a 1905 303 Ross.

While at the gun show I was informed of a special presentation Mauser. finally in the far back corner I found the dealer, a most happy man, someone informed him his cheap Mauser was very rare. He decided not to sell the rifle, I asked to see it. The receiver had what looked like a large circle with the AMERICAN EAGLE stamped on it.

Curiosity: I ask him what was the price at the beginning of the day, he told me and I said that was fair and almost too much. He then informed me what he was told by experts as in his go to guys. I informed him he had a national Ordnance Mauser. In all fairness I told him National Ordinance could have scrubbed the receiver. I also told him about the scary stories. I doubt he was taking notes but I took the time to inform him of bolts that were used. I have two with the lugs sheared off. I have never read of a problem with Mauser bolts used by Santa Fe/National ordinance etc.. There is a smith in the area that can pick them out of a bucket of bolts.

F. Guffey