Replacing a 30-06 mauser barrel with a 308 barrel
I bouught a 30-06 Mauser the persn i bought the gun from said it had a good action and the switch would be fairly easy is this true
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If this is something you plan on doing yourself...? You'd best have all the Tools to do this job with..Lathe, Barrel and Action Clamps and a Big enough Vise to hold the Parts,Head Spaceing Guages and a bunch more small items that slip my mind at the moment...Theres Gunsmiths out there who can do the Job for a nominal fee...probably be cheaper to just Buy an operating 308....but then again the choice is Yours...
Captain Kirk, Tech Staff0 -
can i just buy a 308 barrel an just use the mauser action and the stock and how expensive is this project. Thanks for the reply 0 -
It's not hard for a gunsmith to do it, davel, but you might want to think twice about doing it if the existing '06 barrel is still good. The .308 is a great cartridge but it won't do all of the things a 30-06 will do, especially with heavy bullets.
OleDuk0 -
Thanks OleDuk for the reply Iforgot to tell everbody is that the gun has been i guess you call it sportizer it has the Mauser barrel with a new stock and a scope.If i scrap this project what grain bullet should i use in this gun. I would like to use it on Whitetail deer and varnmit hunting to. Thanks Dave 0 -
davel, everybody on this forum seems to have a favorite bullet. Some lean toward the lighter .30 caliber bullets for whitetails, but you'll hardly go wrong with 150 grain bullets in commercial loadings. If you are or ever get around to loading your own, you might want to use the 120/125 grain bullets, or go up to my favorite which is the 165 grain Sierra.
Best regards and good hunting,
OleDuk0 -
Might think about using a .308 chamber insert ($15.00). They can be found in Shotgun news. They press in and out useing a case extractor($10.00). There is a small "jump" of the bullet to the rifleing which affects shot placement. They are not so good for autos (this is why the US military stoped using them in the M-1 Gurands). Price of surplus .308 ammo is great and you can always go back to the 30.`06 when needed. Best, Robert
"Endurance"0 -
If youre going to use a chamber insert, be careful and pay attention to every round comming out. They have been know to eject with a spent case before. 0 -
I'm afraid that DAVEL has NO idea as to what is involved to change Barrels and set Head Space.....Its not a simple case of unscrewing one barrel and screwing in another...!My suggestion to DAVEL is to contact a Good gunsmith in His area, and have a Chat with Him about how to make this switch...Maybe He can learn something and have an understanding as to the Problems and difficulties envolved...Tools and Experiance is the Answer..and I don't mean a Pipe Wrench and 4" bench Vise...There's absolutly nothing wrong with the venerable old 30-06...
I've taken every Large Animal on the American Continent with the -06..and used the 06 in Africa on Everything up to the size of Wildebeast...As for these Inserts go...I've heard nothing but Horror Stories..I won't go into that Topic at this juncture..But let it suffice to say...You have a Shooting 30-06...Keep it and use it..If you think you need a 308...then look up J & G Gunsales in Prescott, Arizona...They have 308 Enfields on Sale for around a Hundred Dollars...
Captain Kirk, Tech Staff0 -
In addition to replacing the barrel, you will have to do stock inletting work as it's unlikely the new barrel will have the same outside profile. Another option might be to set the existing barrel back and rechamber it. The fit of the barrel to the stock would not look so hot but it could be glass bedded or left free floating 0 -
Those Enfields are NOT NOT NOT .308 Winchester guns, they are chambered for 7.62 NATO, and some people, myself among them, have grave concerns about shooting .308 Win ammo in them. Davel, I urge you most strongly to go pack a few pages and read the posts on the distinctions between .308 Win and 7.62 NATO; one was titled "dangerous misinformation" (my opinion); I believe there are a couple of others that include the cartridge names in the title so they should be easy to find. There was a lively debate indeed. Then study the subject yourself so you can make an informed decision.
Otherwise, I agree with the posts to the effect that the .30-06 is a more versatile cartridge than the .308 Winchester, and capable of slightly better performance. What purpose are you trying to achieve by the change?
redcedars
"The true art of war lies in so sapping your opponent's will to fight that he surrenders without battle." Sun Tzu0 -
My Thanks,to all the replies i think i am going to scrap this project and leave the gun as a 06 .But i do plan on checking out the place spoke about in the forum that has the .308 for sale and go maybe that way. Thanks again everbody for the replies Dave 0 -
You'll very likely be able to find a K98 Mauser already in .308. The Israelis had K98's converted to .308/7.62 as did several other countries. Mind you, your Mauser has already been converted from 8x57 to .30-06 so it's kinda redundant. And don'tworry abhoutthedifference between .308 and 7.62. It's not enougfh to worry about. It's a load thing and since you're using a military rifle to start withit's no big deal. I can't for the life of me figure out what redcedars is on about though. No mention of Enfields here at all. 0 -
Sunray:
Capt. K mentioned ".308 Enfields" which is a misnomer. As for the suggestion that there is no significant difference between 7.62 NATO and .308 Win, I disagree. Since the whole issue was gone over in different threads here recently, rather than go over the whole damn thing again, I have suggested to davel that he look them up and decide for himself.
I am urging caution.
redcedars
"The true art of war lies in so sapping your opponent's will to fight that he surrenders without battle." Sun Tzu0
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