Of course they “can†be rebarreled, but whether or not it is worth the money is going to be up to the person who owns the rifle. A new barrel (not even counting the cost of having it installed) is worth far more than the complete rifle is...and you are limited to the original 7.62 Russian round since that’s about the only round that will work in the action.
Posts: 4574 | Location: Valencia, California | Registered: 16 March 2005
Hey Spencer...did you get the info I sent you on the Pederson devices? I mailed it to the PO box in Santa Barbara you sent me.
Someone must really be in love with Nagant‘s in order to justify all that time, effort and money needed to convert one to 45-70...or anything else for that matter. I guess it might be fun if the object was just to see if you could do it.
Posts: 4574 | Location: Valencia, California | Registered: 16 March 2005
I had thought a little about a conversion after reading about the 45-70 job. I looked at cartridge drawings and it looks like a .480 Ruger MIGHT fit within the shoulder limits of the 7.62x54R. Then one could possibly use the mag with minor feeding mods, and make a nice woods gun to accompany your 480 on the hip. Just dreaming though, takes $$$ to realize my dreams...
Mike
Mike
Posts: 34 | Location: Galveston, Texas, USA | Registered: 23 January 2001
The 91/30 can be rebarrelled, and the Finns got a law that no can use military carridges. The Finn gunsmiths have converted the 91/30 to all kinds of calibers. The one Finn smith that told me about this mentioned 9x19mm, but cutting the bolt face so that the extractor will go closer to the center of the bolt.
I have done some work like that with 91/30s, but it is all single shot, and the resale is zip with the ugliest duckling.
There must be an extractor relief cut on the barrel breech, and that is at least as much work as cutting threads or cutting the chamber.
The Mauser has is all over the 91/30 for ease of re barrelling.
Posts: 9043 | Location: on the rock | Registered: 16 July 2005
Someone must really be in love with Nagant‘s in order to justify all that time, effort and money needed to convert one to 45-70...or anything else for that matter. I guess it might be fun if the object was just to see if you could do it.
I seem to recall a thread or two where questioning time money and effort on a rifle was taboo.
______________________ Always remember you're unique, just like everyone else.
Rick- Got the info awhile ago, makes great reading and makes me crazy to think of how hard it would be to make. I though I sent you a PM about receiving it.
I tried in an Enfield once to get the 405 to feed... no work necessary. Another upside was that factory ammo would fit in the magazine and stripper clips.
I seem to recall a thread or two where questioning time money and effort on a rifle was taboo.
I’m all for a guy doing what he wants to with both his time and his money. However, on this particular project one has to ask the question of what do you expect to have when you’re done.
Nagants have a bolt handle that is way too far forward to ever be comfortable or quick to operate, the safety is absolutely ridiculous, there is no gas venting feature at all, and other than an awkward side mount there is no practical way to mount either a scope or a receiver sight.
Like I said, someone would have to really be in love with these rifles (which is okay) in order to spend the amount of time and money it would take to do such a project.
Posts: 4574 | Location: Valencia, California | Registered: 16 March 2005
Gentlemen, as luck would have it, I was bored and just happened to have a Westinghouse Mosin Nagant that was laying around. Being blessed with a surplus of time that month, a take-off barrel, a .300WSM reamer and the required tools; I decided to play. After the work was finished, I tool the old gal out to the range, tied her to a tire and pulled the trigger with a LOOOOOONG string. After it didn’t grenade, I repeated the operation 19 more times. I then went home and reloaded the brass. All told, 130 rounds went downrange before I checked for an increase in headspace and took the barrel off to check for lug setback. To my surprise, there were no signs the rifle was damaged. I was stunned, but I never worked up the nerve to put my face next to it and pull the trigger. Yes, they can be re-barreled but unless you are bored or have a very specific purpose for doing so, I would ask “what is wrong with the 7.62X54R it came chambered in”? I have shot several of these that were outstandingly accurate and my son routinely hunts with one of his. He also handloads his hunting rounds.
Posts: 222 | Location: Central Iowa | Registered: 16 May 2009
Originally posted by ShopCartRacing: There was a thread awhile back about converting to 45-70.
Sorta like a poor man's Siamese.
There was a photo of one done on an older octagon receiver that looked pretty good.
-Spencer
The shape and dimensions of the M-N magazine box preclude the use of any caliber much bigger than .311". If you installed a 45/70 barrel, you'd have a single-shot bolt-action .45/70.....
"Bitte, trinks du nicht das Wasser. Dahin haben die Kuhen gesheissen."
Posts: 4386 | Location: New Woodstock, Madison County, Central NY | Registered: 04 January 2005
Originally posted by Rick 0311: Nagants have a bolt handle that is way too far forward to ever be comfortable or quick to operate, the safety is absolutely ridiculous, there is no gas venting feature at all, and other than an awkward side mount there is no practical way to mount either a scope or a receiver sight..
Same thing was true of the Mannlicher-Schoenauer rifles, look at a Greek military 1903 sometime. However, through stubbornness and genius, the Austrians managed to make it into a fairly decent sporter; I like the cute little Lyman swinging peeps and the M-S sporter DSTs are unsurpassed IMO.
Not saying that the Russian M-N would ever make up into a thing of beauty like the M-S, but there ARE a few things that can be done with it to perhaps lessen its ugliness a trifle. Regards, Joe
__________________________ You can lead a human to logic but you can't make him think. NRA Life since 1976. God bless America!
Posts: 2756 | Location: deep South | Registered: 09 December 2008
My 91/30 45/70 is single shot, and built with a barrel blank, weighs 20 pounds, and can barely get from the car to the shooting bench.
There is a mod to a 91/30 that moves the bolt handle back and welds over the rear bridge. That allows a 2 piece scope mount, instead of the one piece cantilevered back from the large ring.
I shook a 2x7 Vari X II apart with the cantilever. Leupold sent me a new replacement 2x7VXI.
I have a friend who operated a mill at Boeing for 30 years, and in the slow times, made himself many flavors of 91/30 scope mounts. He often ties to the receiver in the rear left with a finger that picks up a hole he drills and taps. But if I remember correctly from Jet fighter cannon fire simulated vibration, screws in shear are not there to high frequency vibration.
Posts: 9043 | Location: on the rock | Registered: 16 July 2005
I read an article about an international sniper competition and their was a 300 win mag in a M-N. In shotgun news in the gun smith article they made sporterized one an it came out fairly well and was quite accurate with just a shortened and recrowned barrel. The safety just plain sucks, but the trigger can be made "OK". Although they look like they came from planet of the ape's they actually feel quite natural shooting with iron sights. To me with a midway barrel, you could have a fun little project, that would not cost an arm and a leg.
Posts: 656 | Location: Nebraska | Registered: 06 January 2007
Some notable sniper kills have been made with M-N rifles in the original chambering, using side-mounted scopes of several types. Nothing wrong with the inherent accuracy of the cartridge, and the power is right up there with the 308/7.62 Nato. Kinda hard to get past the awkward magazine and general clunkiness, though. Regards, Joe
__________________________ You can lead a human to logic but you can't make him think. NRA Life since 1976. God bless America!
Posts: 2756 | Location: deep South | Registered: 09 December 2008
In my earlier post, I mentioned a Mosin that I had chambered for .300 WSM. I still have the action and a spare .257 barrel. I am looking for chamber and cartridge dimensions for the 6.5X54r Russian cartridge. I believe it was called the "Vostok" or "Vostock"; any help would be appreciated
Posts: 222 | Location: Central Iowa | Registered: 16 May 2009
Originally posted by impingement: In my earlier post, I mentioned a Mosin that I had chambered for .300 WSM. I still have the action and a spare .257 barrel. I am looking for chamber and cartridge dimensions for the 6.5X54r Russian cartridge. I believe it was called the "Vostok" or "Vostock"; any help would be appreciated
pacific has that reamer on file. a guy on another forum had the make him one about 6 months ago. i think it was called the 6.5-7.62x54r russian
But the reason for the picture is an idea to make new magazine mixed Mosin own and Lahti-Saloranta light machine guns which has been made for 7,62x53R too.
L-S magazine is so broad that cartridges goes in two ranges so I think it could be possible to make a short magazine which fully goes inside of stock, like Mauser m98 on m96.
During WWI Westinghouse made a lot of MNs for the Czar's goverment, after the 1917 Revolution Russia defaulted on the deal and the US took the guns, selling them off cheap to NRA members aftrer the war. So in the 1920s to the early 1940s there was a lot in the American Rifleman about sporterizing MNs. I vaguely recall, if memory is not delusional, that at least one was stocked and sportered up by none other than Alvin Linden. Wonder who has it today.
