At the gunshow I picked up a Schmidt-Rubin 1911 action in nice shape. It came with the bolt, magazine, trigger, and that's about it. The seller told me that someone had botched a barrel lining job to convert the gun to a 22 centerfire years ago and never put the barrel back into the receiver. The stock and other parts not attached to the receiver had been lost over the years.
The question now is, what do I do with it. I have two possibilities that I have thought of.
Easiest one is to chamber it in 308 Winchester. The obvious problem is that of action strength and cartridge pressure, but the 7.5x55 cartrige had a MAP of 55,000 PSI and I handload so I can load to lower pressures. Not ideal, but a possibility. Any other calibers that could be made to easily fit the action? Case life is going to suffer no matter what because of the bottle-necked cartrige and rear locking action.
The other, more radical and fun, idea would be to chamber it in 45 ACP and have an adapter made to take 1911 magazines, I have the original magazine, so it could be used as a template. (I'm sure some Schmidt-Rubin collector would find me and beat me up if I planned to cut up the magazine itself.) I could also make this into an SBR and have it threaded for my 45 can. The rear locking action makes feeding the stubby 45 ACP cartridges much more reliable than a front locking action since it doesn't have to jump over the locking lug recesses as I have found with 45 ACP Mauser and Enfield conversion. I personally like this idea best, even if I might have to accept it being a single shot.
Other possibility: How well would a 45 Win Mag feed from a SR 1911 magazine?
However, back to the fact that I have the action and nothing else, no stock, no sights, nothing. Who in the world would I contact about a project like this?
Thanks for any help you can give.
The question now is, what do I do with it. I have two possibilities that I have thought of.
Easiest one is to chamber it in 308 Winchester. The obvious problem is that of action strength and cartridge pressure, but the 7.5x55 cartrige had a MAP of 55,000 PSI and I handload so I can load to lower pressures. Not ideal, but a possibility. Any other calibers that could be made to easily fit the action? Case life is going to suffer no matter what because of the bottle-necked cartrige and rear locking action.
The other, more radical and fun, idea would be to chamber it in 45 ACP and have an adapter made to take 1911 magazines, I have the original magazine, so it could be used as a template. (I'm sure some Schmidt-Rubin collector would find me and beat me up if I planned to cut up the magazine itself.) I could also make this into an SBR and have it threaded for my 45 can. The rear locking action makes feeding the stubby 45 ACP cartridges much more reliable than a front locking action since it doesn't have to jump over the locking lug recesses as I have found with 45 ACP Mauser and Enfield conversion. I personally like this idea best, even if I might have to accept it being a single shot.
Other possibility: How well would a 45 Win Mag feed from a SR 1911 magazine?
However, back to the fact that I have the action and nothing else, no stock, no sights, nothing. Who in the world would I contact about a project like this?
Thanks for any help you can give.