Rechambering 8mm

A

Aardvark

New member
Is it practical to rechamber a model 98 Turk barreled action to .338Mag? I am not concerned so much with the cost of doing it, but I would like to keep the original barrel and shorten it to 24 inches. It doesn't seem like much of a jump in bore diameter, so maybe it would not thin the walls of the barrel too much.
What kind of reamer would I need to get and can my local gunsmith handle it?
 
The 8x57 JS bore measures .323 the 338 Win Mag measures .336 I would think if you are wanting to do this it would be best to change barrels.
I've heard of magnums being made on 98 actions however I've never actually seen or shot one.
I do have a couple of 98 8x57 JS bore rifles one is a very beautiful custom rifle made by an old rifle smith. The handloads I have for my JS bore guns are right up there with 3006 ballistics.
Regards
Bob Hunter
www.huntercustoms.com
 
Winchester went with the 325WSM that uses the 8mm bullet. You could rechamber it to the 325 using a reamer and the same caliber as what you have now. Performance is right there with the .338.
 
Winchester went with the 325WSM that uses the 8mm bullet. You could rechamber it to the 325 using a reamer and the same caliber as what you have now. Performance is right there with the .338.
Click to expand...

Hmmmmm, now, there's an interesting prospect. What is the SAAMI chamber pressure on the 325 vs. the 8x57?

Pops
 
rechamber to 338wm.

Dear Shooter:
You will need a new barrel. I'll give you the Forum page number and date of my article on Mauser actions which will answer your questions:
On Page 7, date 2/2/05 you will find my post under the smithy. Patriot Arms was kind enough to post it for me.
I've built 416 Taylors' 9.3X62, 30-06, 25-06, 7MM Mag, etc on this action. Bear in mind it has a large Ring (1.400) but a small thread (.980X12). This action is, as all Mausers are, hard internally, but fairly "soft" on the outside (?) - this does vary with Mausers. If it takes the 416 Taylor it is AOK!. Don't worry about the thread size!
Harry B.
 
Thank you Harry Bonar

I can read that article on page 7 a lot of times, which I am sure that I will as I have saved it on my hard drive...In the mean time, allow me to act as a lay person and ask this question...Simply put, can I send this to a gunsmith to have the bolt trued or lapped? After that, have the new barrel installed?
Is there more to this...Regarding the bolt handle, it is to be bent and swept back...Will that take care of that part of the operation where it is to be removed and welded back...
Even simpler put...If I send this barreled action off to have it rebarreled, will this all be done at the same place?
 
good questions

Yes a smith can handle all of the above questions. He should be able to give you a qoute before the work, but not the actual price. He will need to have the reciever and bolt before he could rechamber the barrel. The bending and sweeping back of the bolt handle will take the place of cutting it off and welding on a new handle. As far as all the work being done in-house will be determined by how much the smith actually knows and has tools to do the work. His price will be higher for sure if he has to farm out any of the work. One more reason to get atleast two qoutes for the work from different smiths

I would go with a bull barrel for the 8mm no matter what caliber in 8mm you decide to go with, but that is my opinion not a fact. You have several choices in 8mm. You could go with the 8mm remington mag or the .325. The Remington 8mm magnum is an excellent moose round as well as a good all around hunting caliber. The .325 WSM will also need the feed rails as well as the bolt face opened up to handle the magnum case. I would shop the cost of either caliber before putting any money down for the job. Either of these are close to the .338 in power. I agree with Mr Bonar about the Mauser being able to handle the pressure of larger calibers. It should be ok with either caliber. I am thinking of doing the same conversion myself with one the recievers I have. Good luck.
 
Is money an object?
You cannot have that Mauser made into a nice sporting rifle in a non-Mauser caliber for anywhere near the price of a new gun.
 
not about cost

No, it is not about cost. it is about HOBBY. I am 50 years young and semi retired. I don't fish as much as I used to....I have built one custom 280 Rem from a M98 action I bought from my brother...That started it all..Since then I have built a custom Swede, converted a VZ24 into a sniper rifle,working on a second Swede, and now will start on a Turk...There is nothing quite like the feeling I get when one is finished and I look back at the work and planing that went into it and then go to the range and air them out...True, I could go down to the shop and pick out a new Weatherby or Remington, but that is too simple and easy....Although I couldn't pass up buying a new Remington 700 Classic when they came out with the 8x57....No, it is definitely not about monetary value here....
 
amredandsafe

I beleive the SAAMI specs are right around 62000. I would have to look it up. I am thinking seriously about using one of the VZ24 actions I have to try a conversion for it. I know the SAAMI specs are higher than the mauser, but I think it should be ok to handle the pressure.
 
Plan B

Is to rechamber it for 8mm-06...Can be done, I'm told, without removing barrel. Have to handload though, but performance is getting real close to .338 Win Mag. Planning in doing this to a VZ24 I've got that has excellent action, and good bore (except right at the muzzle, which will be cut and recrowned. I, however, have a very tight budget, so you have other shoices as mentioned.
 
My Speer manual lists the 8mm-06 and shows that it is the equivalent to factory -06 in the limited range of bullets available for it. It looks like a pretty nifty cartridge.

Pops
 
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