Well I have a couple decisions to make (long term projects) and would like to get a little feedback and some more information before I do. My wife says I like to over analyze things. But then again that is what I get paid to do for a living so it does tend to cross into my personal life.

I want to round out my rifle collection to include cartridges more suitable for predators/varmints and for Big Bears/Africa. At present I am well suited for Medium to large non-dangerous game. I have a 30-06 in the works and just picked up a sporterized 03A3 in 30-06, a Weatherby 7mm-08, a Mauser K98 in 7mm-08; I also have a little 30 Carbine for a fun gun.

My thought is to use my 03A3 and K98 to go both larger and smaller. Reloading is definitely doable for either so wildcats are in consideration. I was thinking that the K-98 might be better served for my small bore rifle. That leaves the longer 03A3 for the bigger bore. Is there any reason I might want to use the K-98 for the larger bore and the 03A3 for the small bore? Now my question becomes one of suitable caliber/cartridges for my intended purposes.

My small-bore rifle would be used for coyote, bobcat, and occasional groundhog. My intitial considerations are 257 Roberts and 6mm Remington for my smaller bore. What other cartridges should I be considering? Since the action has been modified from its original chambering to accept a 308-based cartridge is it even feasible to �go back� to the 57mm based rounds? Any pitfalls in �going back�? Should I just re-barrel to 22-250 or .243 and call it a day? A 57mm based round would of course make better utilization of the action as the 308-based rounds leave a lot of room in the box. The markings on this action are Danzig 1918 and then 1920. I was told these represent the original manufacture date and the date of refurbishment.

My options for the larger bore are a little more ambiguous. Again, I do not know what options are viable and again I will consider wildcats. I know the Springfield action has been used as the basis for .338 Win Mags and such so I am not worried about strength. I am really looking for something without a belt if possible. I could go 35 Whelan which should take care of my Alaskan big bear requirement as it nips at the heels of the .338 Win Mag. But that still leaves me �needing� another rifle for the dangerous stuff in Africa. Is there a large standard round or wildcat between .375 and .416 (with or without a belt) that might do double duty in a standard length action? Or would I just be better off getting another action for this dual-purpose rifle and doing something else entirely with the 03A3 action? Which also leaves open the option of not trying to make a dual-purpose rifle and having separate large-medium and large bore rifles.

As I said these are both long term projects and I have a lot of time to decide. Right now I want to get more educated and explore possibilities.

Since the Springfield 30-06 and Mauser 7mm-08 already have barrels on them you should use them as they are.

Just buy a 375 HH and then your battery is all set.

Tom, a 9,3X62 although not between the .375 and .416 being .366 is legal in Africa in most places and will fit well. No major remodel of the box or bolt. The 9l3 X 64 Brenneke is the power house cousin but the brass is expensive.



In varmint type of calibers I am sold on the .223 Remington but you will not get that in any of those actions. The brass is almost a give away and if you get out this way for a shoot, 500 rounds a day is not unheard of. You could always barter one of those Springfields to me. It won't bother me to take a barrel off of it, nothing Salvage99 says has ever influenced me.

You could always barter one of those Springfields to me.

Springfields do not usually like to co-habit with Mausers. One way I have found to make them get along better in the same gun safe is to put Springfield triggerguards on the Mausers.

In answer to the original question, I would consider either a 400 Whelen or a 411 Hawk for a heavy round and a 257 Roberts for the light one. Either would look great in a Springfield. But then, I like classical rounds. The 411 Hawk is very similar to the 400 Whelen which to me is definately a classic, and we all know the 257 Roberts easily qualifies as one.

I was just waiting until this site came back up because I knew I could get some great advice. So apparently there are no concerns with changing the Mauser back to 257Roberts, 6.5X55, 7X57, or anything else?

Sav 99, The idea is definately to do something different. I may or may not change the Mauser but it nice to know what my options are. The 03A3 will definately be made into something different. The current barrel needs to go anyway since it has a really ugle pear shapped muzzlebreak installed.

Chic, Yes I agree the .223 is probably all I will ever need in the varminter catagory (just have to find it in an action that will be at home with Mausers and Springfields). It has good ballistics and is very mild. As an asside (old "war" story) it is possible to shoot it one-handed through an M16 resting the butt on your nose and NOT bloody anything. Your eyes may water a little but that is all. My sergeants thought I was nuts but the kid no longer fear the dreaded recoil and the range safety officer about had a cow but I out ranked him at the time. You should be seeing one of those Springfields shortly. I mailed the SA 03 action to Jim last week with my deposite. So once all the parts come in he can perform some of his magic, it then makes a detour to Roger for some of his magic as well it should be making its way to your gunsafe at least tempoarilly.

Grandview, Idared; Wow the 400 Whelan and 411 Hawk are definately intersting. 375H&H performance in an 06 case. Looks like the trick would be getting the chamber cut correctly and correct dies based on the chamber. Does the Hawk correct some of the shoulder issues as is?

54JNoll:

My own opinion, but in my view the 35 Whelen is about the upper limit caliber wise for the '06 case. There just isn't enough case volume for the bigger calibers.

I built a 375 Whelen years ago. I always considered it a rather anemic round. I was getting 2100 fps with a 270 grainer. Even the improved versions of this case have a case capacity limit.

I'm not a real big fan of the 9.3x62 cartridge, but that may be the one for you if you are looking for horsepower without going to a "magnum" case.

Roger,

That brings up another point for consideration. That of bullet design.

Will 411 bullets perform reliably at the velocities represented by the 411 Hawk data?

How do these numbers compare to the 404 Jeffery?

Another option which has not been tossed arround yet is the "Taylor" wildcats such as the 416 Taylor. What is required to go this route?

How about the 400 or 416 Hoffman?

I'm not familier with the 411 Hawk. If it is on the '06 case the bullet will be slow.

The 416 Taylor is based on the short Win. magnum case. That one has some poop to it. Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe 2300+ fps with 400 grainer.

Don't get me wrong. I am not condeming the bigger caliber cartridges based on the '06 case. But, they are in a very specialized niche.

Yes the Hawk still uses an 06 case. From what I gather it along with the Whelan use a cylindrical 06 case then necked down to for m the correct shoulder which provides greater powder capacity.

The data I am looking at is claiming 2500+ fps with a 300 grain RN bullet, 2300+ for a 350 grain Swift A-frame and around 2150 fps for a 400 grain bullet.

I guess what I really need is a book that has the data for the 35, 375 and 400 Whelans, the 375 and 411 Hawks, 416 and other Taylors, Hoffmans and Jeffery rounds.

Then again I am just trying to decifer what I have read in the last couple of days. I have zero experience with any of these rounds.

I am looking for a practicle DG chambering to use in a Springfield and am keeping all options open at present.

Thanks

54

Just a consideration.

I have never had the good fortune to hunt big bears in Alaska as many on this forum have. But I would think that it might be a good idea to consider a stainless rifle for those hunts, as I have read may stories about alaska bear hunting and all of them seemed to speak quite a bit about wet conditions.

Why not a good Model 70 Stainless in .338 for the big bears?

Blue

Sure glad I don't hunt in wet condition's

I've only spent about 45 years doing this with blued guns and never had a problem.

But since GOD has spoken, guess I will have to sell off all that old blue stuff since I can't use it in wet conditions.

Jimmy

All I said was "just a consideration".

Blue

Gee blue, I heard ya the first time

These are all neat suggestions.
If you are trying to build something that you can go after grizzlies with, just keep in mind that there is no such thing as 'too big' and I would air on the side of a large caliber, rather than something borderline such as a 35 Whelen or something of that sort.
Whoever brought up the prospect of the 416 Taylor may be on to something.
The 416 caliber, in my opinion, seems quite suitable for larger game.
Another plus would be that I have a set of brand new RCBS 416 Taylor dies in my store.

Whatever you choose, I wish you the best of luck.

Lots of options to consider yet but stainless and tupperware are definately not among them.

Thus far my short list consists of:

376 Steyer
375 Hawk/Skovil
400 Whelan
411 Hawk
416 Howel
416 Taylor

I am leaning towards the 400/411 and 416's but I still need to collect more information.