Not bieng a gunsmith, this might be a silly question;

Can a .30-06 barrel just be reamed out to .338?

I ask because I have a .30-06 double rifle that I will work just fine on African plains game but would be better with a little more punch. If it is just a matter of reaming out the barrels and reloading my own ammo...well, bob's your uncle!

(oh, and re-regulating the barrels is a non-issue. Its a baikal and I can regulate it myself!)
TIA,

quote:

Can a .30-06 barrel just be reamed out to .338?

The answer is yes.....however it may be extremely difficult to get the rifling in the barrels when they are attached together.

I suggest you ask this question in the gunsmithing forum. There's several folks there that can direct you to folks that rebore and rifle barrels.

Thanks! Will do

Re-boring and re-refiling is possible but any machinist will tell you very difficult and some times not possible. For starters, a well used barrel is much harder and brittle than a fresh barrel which was bored and rifled prior to treatment. Besides and perhaps most importantly, I can guarantee you that a new Shilen or Kreiger barrel will be cheaper than re-working your old barrel!

If it can be done, this guy can do it, and do it right. http://www.redmansrifling.com/ He's probably done 20 rebores for me, and they have all been VERY good.

Keep in mind, you are NOT going to beable to use those screaming .338-06 loads you read all the time about here, as it's not a bolt action rifle.

DM

Thanks for the info guys, do appreciate it. I have been doing some more perusing and if I rebore it, might just go whole hog and go for a .375 Hawk (.375 on .30-06 brass necked out.)

Don't need it to go particularly fast. A sedate 2300fps with 400gr of knockdown is what I am after

quote:

...A sedate 2300fps with 400gr of knockdown is what I am after...

You won't get those ballistics with any cartridge based on the .30-06 case. That's 4700 fpe, more than a .375 H&H provides. But 2300 fps with 300 grain bullets? Certainly possible.

My M7600 Remington was rebored from .30-06 to .338-06 over twenty years ago and it's still going strong.



.

Whoops! Mistyped, I did mean 300g, not 400g

I did a lot of the maths last night and I think by rebarreling (or boring) to .375 for the Hawk/Scovill I get what I need in ME and sectional density for dangerous game. Will have a PH with "stop dead in tracks, if you please" gun behind me for backup

quote:

Originally posted by TX Nimrod:

quote:

...A sedate 2300fps with 400gr of knockdown is what I am after...

You won't get those ballistics with any cartridge based on the .30-06 case. That's 4700 fpe, more than a .375 H&H provides. But 2300 fps with 300 grain bullets? Certainly possible.

My M7600 Remington was rebored from .30-06 to .338-06 over twenty years ago and it's still going strong.

.

He won't get 2,300 with a 300 grain bullet with a DR, and he will be very lucky to get it with a bolt gun!

DM

From the Z-hat Hawk website:

300 Hornady H-4895 56.0 g. 2385 fps AAC-2015 53.5 gr. 2380 fps
AAC-2495 55.0 gr. 2358 fps RL-15 56.0 gr. 2397 very good

Why would would a DR not get the same ballistics? Not being facetious, really asking...

cheers!

quote:

Originally posted by sfhr:
From the Z-hat Hawk website:

300 Hornady H-4895 56.0 g. 2385 fps AAC-2015 53.5 gr. 2380 fps
AAC-2495 55.0 gr. 2358 fps RL-15 56.0 gr. 2397 very good

Why would would a DR not get the same ballistics? Not being facetious, really asking...

cheers!

Do you know the pressure on those loads??? I bet they are hot in a bolt gun, and a DR won't take near the pressure a bolt gun will take.

Is there enough meat in the bbls to bore out all the way to .375"?

I'm betting you are in for an expensive lesson.

DM

The 375 Hawk is 50,000 CUP which is fine for the gun. My 30-06 isn't a 45-70 which is relegated down to the 28,000 CUP Gov't loads. the whole point of the Hawk rounds are to keep them in 30-06 brass at reasonable pressures, without the need for belts and magnum actions.

No, the barrels won't take rebore that big. They would would have to be replaced (screwed out of the chopper lump, new ones put in, re-regulated). Just would be a little more expensive because its two barrels. Still, compared to 100,000 pounds sterling for a Holland and Holland double, it would be well worth it.

2x pre-threaded and reamed barrels @ 400 ea. = 800. + oh, say a grand at the gunsmiths and just because no plan ever survives first contact, double the whole thing. Say, 3600 for a cool .375 double rifle capable of killing dangerous game with an easy push recoil (compared to a .375 H&H Mag). Not a bad deal. Besides, my momma said "Its just as easy to fall in love with a rich girl as a poor one." She was right, it doesn't hurt to marry well but even my good lady Dr. wife has limits and 100K on a gun is waaaaay over it.

Or, you just track down a 9.3x74 DR that will probably cost about the same as the conversion or possibly less, it won't be a wildcat, and it'll be the performance mark you are looking for.

Like many things, on paper is sounds good, then reality sets in...

I've done a bit of this kind of thing, so i'll stick with my last post...

DM