I've done quite a bit of machine work but am NOT a gunsmith. I say this because I will likely understand the terms used although I will not be doing the work!

What alterations, other than installing and headspacing the barrel, would be necessary to convert the Ruger MK II action from .30-06 to 9.3x62mm (maybe an RSI!)?

I just can't find what I want. Oh, it is advertised but nobody seems to have one. So...

BTT

What exactly DO you want? Okie John.

My best guess would be practically nothing needed. I haven't ever had the opportunity to look at the underbelly of a Ruger, so I'm not sure if the feeding is guided by receiver rails or lips of the magazine box -- in any event, a file and a stone would probably be all that was needed IF finetuning was required.

I have played around feeding various cartridges from an unmodified 1909 Argentine Mauser -- 7x57, 8x57, 270, 30-06 -- all would clear the magazine and pop up under the extractor ok [allright I'll be honest, the mag box was filed front and back for extra length]. I lost one round of mag capacity with the longer 270 & 30-06.

Sounds like a neat idea -- I like the look of the Ruger actions.

Good luck,
Todd

Hobie

The RSI uses an 18" Ultralight barrel to fit into that thin stock. I doubt you will find a barrel over .338 that has a slim enough profile to fit. Even then you will have to do some inletting to the wood and forend cap.

What exactly are you looking for? I have 9.3's passing thru here all the time.

you are so lucky you are Americian----all you have to do is contact "Z Hat" . I have been reading this guys web page for so long now,I`m amazed all Yanks don`t ring this guy immediately for their inquires. I`m Aussie and for us to get hold of your stuff is big bucks.
For God`s sake ---let`s all Pro -Gun`s stick together----Yanks--Aussie--Brits---Kiwi`s--
Malcolm---------Pro gun regardless.

The RSI uses the ultralight barrel!?! Umm, I thought it used a 20" Medium Weight barrel. But, looking at the RSI Page I can see that I'm wrong.

What I want is a 20-22 inch CRF 9.3x62mm, blued steel, walnut or laminated stock, weighing 8-8.5 pounds with scope. I intend to mount a 1.5-5 Leupold and I'd like it to have QR rings and back up iron sights (aperture, preferably). I am of average height, arm length and neck length and I want to be able to look right down the sights (whichever are in use). I'd prefer the scope be mounted as low as possible. Classic looks are acceptable, Brit, Euro or American. Outlandish is not. I don't want stainless or synthetic for this rifle. My local dealer says that he can't get the CZ 550 FS plus the American will be $200 more than the fellow on GunBroker sells them for. While I don't begrudge him a sale and went to him with that in mind, $200 for the privilege seems a bit stiff.

In truth, I don't care how much I actually spend but that's the addict talking. Reality dictates that as the price goes up so does the wait time as I raise the money (selling other guns, etc.).

I think it possible that I might come across a Ruger .30-06 at the end of the season here in VA. Regardless of condition, I can maybe get one for a "good" price and then rebarrel. Yeah, the .30-06 is a good cartridge but did I mention the addiction?

This rifle would be used for Elk, maybe Moose, maybe even in Africa (you guys on the Africa Hunting forum will be the death of my marriage yet!). I've got an "Elk and Moose rifle" but, well it is that much maligned .45-70 (in a Contender carbine 24" yet. BTW is that a stopping rifle? )

I am concerned about the mag/feed lip modifications and am surprised by the post about feeding of the multiple cartridge "types" through the 1909 magazine. That's certainly not my experience. For example, the 8x57mm cartridges will not stay in the magazines I've seen until fireformed to the 7.65x54mm case dimensions. There is less body taper with that cartridge. The 7.65x54 will not feed well from M98 mags for the 8x57mm cartridge. I think that a similar situation could exist with the .30-06 and 9.3x62mm cartridges and that was the point of my question.

So what do you think? Am I out of my gourd? Should I even be asking any of you? After all you probably have the same disease I have.

Thanks for the help.

[ 10-16-2002, 18:54: Message edited by: Hobie ]

Of course you shouldn't ask us--we'll tell you how to do it so when you're single again you can go to Africa whenever you want.

A local dealer got my 550 from RSR, but Phil at the CZ Connection in Atlanta has them for less. You can get his contact information by searching here. A 550 American should run about $450 with shipping, and if it's like mine it will be as nice as a Supergrade Model 70. Several 9.3 threads on the Medium Bore board describe these rifles and this cartridge, but you can sum them up by saying that the rifles are great and the cartridge splits the difference between the 35 Whelen and the 375 H&H in factory loads.

I want the same sight/scope setup that you do and I have gone into a fair amount of detail about how I'm solving the problem on a couple of those threads so I won't repeat the information there. Suffice it to say that my rifle is now at the gunsmiths having those alterations made and I'll report back here when I get it back in a month or so.

With the CZ's being common and cheap, I see no reason to convert an existing rifle unless you just have to have a specific action that isn't made in 9.3. The barrel work alone will run more than the cost of a new CZ, and if you decide you don't like the 9.3 in a few weeks, selling a 550 will be far less painful than selling a custom rifle.

If you get a 9.3, order bullets and dies now, as the distributors who claim to have them in stock may have trouble filling your order. In the meantime, check out 9.3 threads on the European Hunting and Medium Bore boards. email me at okiejohn45@hotmail.com if you have questions. I'll answer them to the best of my limited ability. Hope this helps, Okie John.

Oh, yeah, I forgot two things: My local dealer says Sellier & Bellot 9.3 ammo will be here in the next few weeks. I'll report when it arrives.

Also, Graf & Sons is working with Hornady to get us ammo and components for old metric military rifle cartridges. When I emailed jeff@grafs.com to ask about 9.3x62 ammo, he replied that they're seriously considering it. Why not drop ol' Jeff a line and tell him you're buying a 9.3x62? Might speed things up for all of us... Regards, Okie John.

Okie John is right about Phil at the Gun Shop just north of Atlanta. I have purchased 4 CZ's from him and have found him to have the best prices. Also a good guy to deal with. Bob

Okie John,

I think I've read every posting here on the 9.3x62mm thanks to the search engine on site. The problems I have with the American are the lack of "iron" sights and the barrel length. You're points are well made and the up-side of the American is the stock form. I'd like to hear more about your modifications and sources for parts.

I generally look at all options before making the decision and I thank all of you for the additional info.

Hobie, my 9.2x62 has two jobs: hunting black bear and elk in western Washington and shooting snared hogs in Hawaii. Also, I may use it in Alaska or Africa some day. For hogs, I want my primary sight to be a peep since I grew up on them and used them for many years in the military. Since this is the primary system, a folding sight is not acceptable. Also, I lose things, so I want the rear sight stuck to the rifle at all times.

I may also use irons for bears and elk in bad weather, but the primary sight for them will be a 4x or stronger scope, and that has to ride on the receiver. I have modified Weaver and Redfield bases over the years and managed to get good folding peeps on a QD base that returns to zero, but they are still folding peeps and thus not what I want.

For several years, the only way I could figure out how to have a standing peep and a scope at the same time was a Scout rifle. I used one for several years and learned that 2.5x is not enough power for me to hit partially obscured targets much past 175m. I exchanged several letters with Jeff Cooper about this, but nothing he wrote could help me make 2.5x work better. I seriously considered a Scout scope for this rifle, but a 250 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip shoots as flat as a 30-06/180 in this cartridge and I didn't want the scope to limit the rifle, so I ruled it out.

Then Ashley Outdoors (now XS Sight Systems) introduced a Weaver-type scope base for the Remington 700 that incorporates one of their excellent standing peep sights. The CZ 550 is a double square bridge action, which Mauser originally made to ease scope mounting, so I called XS. Their gunsmith said the Remington sight would work fine, so I ordered it. Last weekend, I took it and the rifle to a gunsmith. I also asked him to cut the barrel to 22" and attach a Precision Metalsmithing banded ramp up front.

I like short barrels, so I seriously considered the FS. I didn't get it for two reasons: I think the ideal is 22", and the bolt action carbines I own don't balance as well as the 22" rifles. CZ sells American stocks for $125, so I also considered getting an FS rifle and dropping it into an American stock. But it's easier to cut a barrel than to grow it, so I got the American. (This may be one of those decisions I second-guess for a long time. A 20" 9.3 has a lot of appeal...)

As for other modifications, I don't think the 550 needs any. I'd like a Parkerized finish (or stainless) and a guide rib on the bolt, but those are perfect-world requests. If all of this works out as planned, I'll probably get another 550 in 7x57 or 30-06 (or both) and have it made up to match the 9.3.

I'll know in a month whether I have ruined an otherwise perfectly good rifle, and I'll keep you posted. Please let me know if you have any other questions. Hope this helps, Okie John.

JBelk,

Nice photos! Prove my point and substantiate MY experience with the 8x57 and 7.65x54 cases. Thanks!

**********

Okie John,

That is almost EXACTLY what I want. Think I'll start gathering things (and the $$$$) together.

I wanted to solve the scope power problem with a variable, 1.5-5X Leupold. Not a big fan of the variables but think this is as close to a reason for them as I'm likely to find.

Thanks again.

[ 10-17-2002, 04:50: Message edited by: Hobie ]