Got a M95 Mexican action ready to go, but am having second thoughts on keeping the 7mm barrel. I've got a 7mag now, so I don't really need another 7mm bore. I have all the small bore sizes pretty well covered now.

Who has a line on a .457 or a .357 barrel on the cheap?

Buckshot's short .45 acp sounds mildly interesting, using a heavy bullet and a small powder space to get your circa 1,650 fps cast bullet speed. Buckshot, did you ever scope out a cheap barrel for that contraption?

The .308 case adaptations to .357 also sound good to me. A .358 Winchester would be appropriate.

Any thoughts or sources for some really cheap barrels?

Got any gunsmiths with a barrel full of old take-off barrels in your neighborhood? I used to call Springfield Sporters for this sort of stuff, but they seem to be defunct now.

Oldfeller

There's always Numrich or whatever they call themselves now, and there's always barrels of every caliber and price range on EBAY.

I think that Hart Barrels also sells all the take offs.

........Oldfeller. "Buckshot's short .45 acp sounds mildly interesting, using a heavy bullet and a small powder space to get your circa 1,650 fps cast bullet speed. Buckshot, did you ever scope out a cheap barrel for that contraption?"

The one on the Destroyer came from GPC as a leftover blank (apparently) from their Thompson subgun manufacture. I don't recall the price but it doen't matter since they're NLA.

For the NEW 45 ACP deal on a sectioned SR Mauser, I called Montana Rifleman. They make thier own barrels there in house. I asked about a barrel blank for a 45 ACP. For an uncontoured, unthreaded or chambered blank I believe it was $115. Or maybe that WAS threaded and chambered? Whatever. I don't recall, other than it sounded friendly enough.

What was nice is that you have a choice of twist available to you. I believe I was quoted from 10" to a 24" twist. For my needs that was on a .442"x.450" bore-groove bbl. Blanks are 28" long.

These folks did 2 rifles for me. One was a M1884 Trapdoor where they fitted a new 6 groove 32" bbl. They used a tracer lathe to match the old barrel. The new one dropped right in and the barrel bands were a nice snug fit. The other was the 375 Whelen Improved on a M98 action. They supplied the barrel and did all the work. The 35 Rem I built on a SR Mauser action has a barrel from them that was shipped to the gunsmith who installed it.

You can find them on the web. Just do a search for Montana Rifleman. I don't know what experience other's have had, but my 3 have been positive.

.........Buckshot

Kelly,

My Midway flyer came last night. They had barrels for I believe $94. These weren't chambered or threaded.

Mike

Sometimes Midway has barrels on sale, remember the 35whelen barrels they had for $55?

Oldfeller, whatcha gona do with that 7mm barrel if you take it off?
I have a VZ24 with a bad 7mm barrel. I'm looking for something to replace it with. I'm also looking for an 8mm barrel.

Anybody have any old barrels laying around?

Lar, the 7x57 barrel was a "better one" from Springfield Sporters. It is NOT pristine, simply not worn out and not pitted up from rust. It shows wear (all mausers that actually went through a war or two are worn to some degree). This one is still packed with storeage grease and the rifling is strong but the bore is NOT pristine. On a scale of 1-10 it is only a 7-8. The outside of the barrel is stripped of all sights and thus only rates a 5-6 in appearance.

Now, let me tell you why you shouldn't buy it. 7x57 isn't all that great a caliber to work with cast, it really isn't. If you are going to hunt with it, you would have to struggle to get enough bullet mass in any of the commercial molds.

The 6.5 Swede bullet equals the weight of anything you can buy for a 7mm cast bullet mold. The 8mm bullets outclass it on all fronts, weight size etc.

But, if you want it anyway add $35 to your bolt order. That's what I paid for it from Springfield Sporters.

Oldfeller

......Oldfeller said, "7x57 isn't all that great a caliber to work with cast, it really isn't. If you are going to hunt with it, you would have to struggle to get enough bullet mass in any of the commercial molds."

(Doing double take) HUH? Say what? :-) I gotsta say that the 7x57 should be an outstanding hunting cast cartridge if the user understands smallbore cast limitations. I have to qualify that by saying it would probably do it's best in a 'breaking down' shot vs a heart/lung disruptive shot. For the later, unless of at least .357" diameter and cast fairly soft I honestly think in the majority of situations the animal will survive long enough to put lots of real estate between it and you.

Further, "The 6.5 Swede bullet equals the weight of anything you can buy for a 7mm cast bullet mold."

Not in a common commercial 6.5 mould it doesn't! Yup your custom bullet dropped for me at 167grs, and my RCBS 7mm-168 drops in a comparable alloy at 172grs. That's close enough to be the real world same. But the difference comes in in the velocity department. Forget the .008" diameter difference.

I've gotten very excellent accuracy from my M98/08 Brazilain with the RCBS bullet over a full caseload of WC872 at 2400 fps. I'm talking 1.5" or less @ 50 yards. Maybe, just maybe you could drive the 6.5mm to 1800 fps and get near that. Maybe!

For real actual field use by an ethical hunter the 7x57 and the 6.5x55 may be close to 2 peas in a pod. Minimal diameter difference, and the velocity spread probably is no big deal at the ranges we'd be concerned with.

..........Buckshot

Gotta side with Buckshot on this one. I have an RCBS 168FN, (No I don't want to sell it, try Midways Cast Bullet Specialty catalog. It's in the special order RCBS moulds I think.), and if that isn't a penetrating SOB I don't know what is. In my '93 Spainyard-might-have-shot-at-T.R.-rifle, it does pretty well in the accuracy dept. Might do better than 2 1/2 - 3" at 100yds if I fool with the loads more. The 7X57 is about the friendliest round around. The rifles aren't as sweet as the Swede's is all.

OK, Lar. My unwarranted undeserved anti-7mm cast bullet comments have all been corrected now and it is safe for me to sell you my recently purchased (used) 100 year old 7mm barrel if you want to buy it.

I was just being conservative, I hate it when folks pump up something they are trying to sell, so I tend to do the opposite.

God help us all if I had a 6.5mm Swede barrel to sell, I could say some really nasty stuff about that rotten fast-arsed twist that lives inside that pretty looking tube. It does shoot jacketed pretty good though.

Oldfeller

Ever see this comment before?

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What did we do, overload the server with too many posts all at the same time?

Oldfeller

........Yup, I saw it when trying to register (or re-register) here when I finally realized Shooters demise wasn't just a hiccup in my old PC.

........Buckshot