I have decided to take the middle ground on getting my 300 H&H project up and running. I almost bought a 70 XTR push feed and then a no name custom gun for 4k. Ideally I'd like to build a nice custom 300 H&H rifle with fancy stock and all the nice upgrades but I don't have 10k lying around and I don't want to wait for 3 years. Here's my plan I'm going to rebarrel a Win mod 70 classic CRF rifle in 300 H&H throw a supergrade stock on it and go hunting. My question is in looking for a donor gun to use what caliber would be the best to use for this conversion. What I would like to do is minimize the amount of gunsmithing(mainly rail work) needed to get it to work. If anyone has been down this road before I'd apprieciate their input. I'm also planning on using an aftermarket mag box to hold an extra round. My thoughts are if I can keep the project fairly simple I can have a gun to use hopefully in a few months rather than waiting years to get it set up.

Thanks Brad

I would look for a 375 H&H doner. The cartridge is the same except for bullet diameter. Rail set up should be the same and you could have it set up as a switch barrel rifle.
Just my .02 cents.

I would look for a 7mmstw, 300 ultra, 300 weatherby, 375 H&H or a 416Rem classic. All of these used the magnum action.
I also believe all of them have the same feed rail dimensions with the only difference being the mag boxes.

The 300ultra is a wider feed rail set up, fatter case.

I have read that all classics have the same feed rail dimensions. Different mag boxes were used to provide for proper feeding. And looking at the 270 win and 300 ultra classics in front this appears to be correct. FWIW The ultra does use a mag box with windows cut into it.

quote:

Originally posted by Ben Walker:
I have read that all classics have the same feed rail dimensions. Different mag boxes were used to provide for proper feeding.

Thanks for pointing this out. This is one of my concerns since I'm not a gunsmith and I only have a 300 RUM to look at right now I'm not sure how I could sort this one out. I understand that different feed boxes are used for different cartridge lengths but are the internal dimensions of the rails the same or not? Does anyone have the ability to measure this or know this from experience?

Thanks Brad

I bought a model 70 xtr (push feed) that was a factory chambered in 300 H&H. It worked fine but I traded it for something I thought I needed worse. I was wrong so I had a 338 win mag xtr push feed rebarreled to a 300 H&H (Douglas air guage premium). We took the spacer out of the magazine and it feeds just fine. I am currently building another 300 H&H on stainless model 70 classic action that will be more lightweight and weather proof. That doner rifle was a 300 win mag. Again, only had to remove the spacer out of the magazine to make it work. It is about a 30 day project at the gunsmiths to have the barrel installed.

quote:

Originally posted by Brad aka Pill Shooter:

quote:

Originally posted by Ben Walker:
I have read that all classics have the same feed rail dimensions. Different mag boxes were used to provide for proper feeding.

Thanks for pointing this out. This is one of my concerns since I'm not a gunsmith and I only have a 300 RUM to look at right now I'm not sure how I could sort this one out. I understand that different feed boxes are used for different cartridge lengths but are the internal dimensions of the rails the same or not? Does anyone have the ability to measure this or know this from experience?

Thanks Brad

The 270 winchester and 300 ultra classics I have, appear identical in the rail dimension department.
Win classic mag boxes are all the same length. Some have spacers added to the rear, some have windows cut into the side, some have the top portion of the box bent inward and some of the rear of the box pinched in.

Ben:

Thanks for the info. I think I may start shopping for a 7mm,300wm,338wm to serve as a donor action since the bolt would be good to go and I planned on a new mag box any how to get the rifle to hold 4 down. I may call a local gunsmith to get some input on the project.

Thanks Brad

I was lucky enough to walk in to a local gunshop in the mid 80's and find my 70 300 H+H on the shelf. Its an XTR but shoots great and came with nice wood. I would maybe look around for one, unless you have to have CRF.
scoped rifle is the 300 Super

quote:

Originally posted by Brad aka Pill Shooter:
Ben:

Thanks for the info. I think I may start shopping for a 7mm,300wm,338wm to serve as a donor action since the bolt would be good to go and I planned on a new mag box any how to get the rifle to hold 4 down. I may call a local gunsmith to get some input on the project.

Thanks Brad

FYI the loading port on the stw wtby,ultra and H&H winchesters is longer and uses a different rear scope mount base. You may run into problems ejecting loaded rounds with a standard magnum action.

Are you set on using the Classic? I have 2 pre-64 H&H rifles and would consider selling 1 if you are interested. It has been reblued. I'm at work and can't remember the details on the stock.

Mrfudd

PM Sent

Thanks everyone for the info so far. I'd still like to hear from someone who has done a conversion regarding how they did it and how it worked out. I'm not dead set on going in this direction (ie Classic conv to 300 H&H) its just I'd like to get a nice shooting grade 300 H&H to take hunting and see if I like how it shoots/handles...

Thanks Brad

I am doing a 300ultra to 375 H&H conversion in the near future. I will let you know how it works out.