Steyr Mod. 1912 .308

[freedomlover]

Last year I purchased a Steyr Mod. 1912 which had been rebarreled to .308. The gun is in fine overall condition and the bore was decent--I took it to the range and ran some surplus Argentine ammo through it and was pleased with the rifle's performance. I was recently told that since these rifles weren't originally designed for the pressure of the .308 round, they're not exactly safe to shoot. I thought (though I may be wrong) that these rifles were originally produced in 8mm Mauser, a round that is ballistically similar to the .308 and operates in the same pressure range, if I'm not mistaken. Since I bought this rifle as a shooter, and since my gunsmith gave the rifle an inspection and thumbs-up, I'm planning on continuing to shoot it until I hear a definite, specific reason why I shouldn't. Does anybody have any information I should be interested in? Thanks for the help!

Sic semper tyrannis

freedomlover

 

[byrdman]

I also own in a Steyr 12/61 in .308. They were originally chambered for the 7mm Mauser.
I shoot mine with no problem. The 98 action, which the 12/61 is, has more than enough strength for the .308. The troubles comes when you get 93/95 mausers rebarreled to .308.