I have a pretty nice Eddystone Arsnal sporter that I am thinking about rechambering to 30-338 or .308 Norma Mag.I welcome any comments about this.

I had an 03 Springfield rechambered to .308 Norma. With the standard 24" military barrel, it would produce 3150 FPS with 78 grains of original H4831 and 180 grain Nosler Partition (old style) bullets. It was very accurate and plenty powerful!! With the 26" tube of the M1917, it would do even better!! The .308 Norma is a great cartridge. I used to make cases from .300 Win. mag. brass by running them through an RCBS .308 Norma die, and then trimming.

some Eddystone receiver have internal cracks inside so before to start modification send the receiver and bolt for X RAY inspection rather to burst the receiver or the bolt .

30/338 is less costly than 308 Norma because case came from 7 REM MAG open to 30 cal , both caliber give same range of velocity and are very accurate on long range .

Good shooting

DAN TEC

Actually, you can make 308 Norma cases from all the medium (what used to be short) magnum cases (7mm Rem Mag, 338 Win Mag, etc). The neck ends up just a bit short, but still very usable, and you don't have to trim as often. Having said that, the supply of 308 Norma brass and ammo is better now then it has been for years (which really isn't saying much, at least in this neck of the woods), and it is a factory cartridge if that matters to you. I have one of each, and there isn't a whiskers worth of difference between the two. The advice about X-raying the Eddystone receiver is well given. Some of them were very brittle (excessively hardened). Of course, some weren't. I don't have data handy concerning serial numbers and such, perhaps another poster could help us. If the action checks out safely, I would go ahead and do it, you'll be surprised at what an accurate and powerful cartridge you'll end up with. - Dan

Thanks to all for the input. I need to back up just a second. I THINK I have a eddystone, but it could be a Remington. It has USMC stamped on the bolt. The barrel wqas turned , polished, and left in the white. No floor plate, just a blind magizine.And a brass trigger guard.And the "ears" were removed very nicely.If there isn't that much difference in the 308 Norma and the 30-338, I believe I would opt for the latter, as I have a set of dies for it.But will admit, there is a certain"mystique" about the Norma.And on another note. The barrel has been cut to 23".How much will this affect performance? I am not a marksman, but am a little better than a mediocre marksman. This rifle, with me pulling the trigger, groups about 1 1/2 inch at 100.I just removed the action from the stock and went over it with a fine tooth comb, and found no markings but the flaming bomb in a couple of places, the letters NS on the bottom of the bolt release, a tiny logo that I cannot read with the naked eye on the underside of the reciever, and one other pair of letters on the side of the reciever where the mag fits into the action.Not a single R any where.

[ 08-08-2002, 19:33: Message edited by: Bubba John ]

Bubba, is there a hole where the rear sight used to be, or has one been filled? If so, you have a Winchester or Eddystone. The Remingtons were solid under the sight, or so I'm told. Anyway, the one I have is. Without the description on the side of the receiver, it's pretty hard to tell, otherwise. Perhaps Robgunbuilder has some more info on these, he's built some. - Dan

The Eddystone actions should all have "ERA" on the side of the receiver close to the serial #.The Winchesters serial # will start with a "W". The Remingtons will have an "RE" on the top of the receiver or an "R"on the side of the receiver.

See, everyone helps out here. How you doing, Snowman? As for the 23" barrel, I don't think it will be much of a problem. Most manuals list the 308 Norma/30-338 with a 24" barrel, so figure maybe 25-50 fps loss. Basically, still the equal of the 300 Win Mag. - Dan

Just a bit of trivia here but the hole under the rear sight ladder is known as the "bird bath"

Still looking at it and finding little things. No hole that I can see where the rear sight would have been, but a fold down has been added and could have covered it. There is part of a letter on top the reciever in front of the bolt, and a partial letter near the muzzle. Neither readable, but possibly the curved portion of a R. I feel strongly that this is a Remington and am going to rent a reamer and make a 30-338 out of it. Thanks to all.

Have fun Bubba. You'll find it's a great calber to use. - Dan

30-338 and 308 norma, for all intents and purposes (other than direct measurement) are the same beast, and awesome rounds.. BUT.. if you have an 1917, you could go to 300hh, 300 winnie, or 300 weatherby.... the action can take all the length you can throw. I wish the a3 had teh length, as my 300 winnie OAL is determined by the longest it can extract loaded.
Jeffe

Bubba John---

If a super-thin P-17 action has been polished so much as to take off the markings......it's up to you, but if you ask me to safety check it I'd probably not charge you for it and advise against altering it. The square threads allow for a very thin receiver ring. They also build stress risers. Heat-treating is borderline too hard and the bolt lugs advance on closing.

P-14/17 actions need to be treated with care so some of it's shortcomings aren't magnified.

ALWAYS Magnaflux ALL P-14/17 receivers. Don't use the cracked ones. Most cracks are found in Eddystone receivers, but certainly not all.

Very good advice from Jack. We (I) sometimes forget the safety aspect in our interest in these old rifles. if it checks out safe, you also have the action length for a 30-378 (or any other 30 mag I ever heard of), but not really enough barrel, - Dan

I had a P-17 that had been chambered for the 300 Win Mag. The guy I bought it from said it wouldn't shoot because of the military barrel. After bedding, floating and a new 11* crown it was shooting a little over 1" at 100 yards. On the down side it was real heavy. I currently have a 03A3 4 groove barrel with a 308 Norma Mag chamber from a project I never completed. If someone is interested in converting a Springfield as they are much lighter and the 308 will fit in the box better let me know.

John

OK, next question. Who is qualified to Magnaflux? I have had engine heads done, and there is a Aerospace parts manufactuer here in my town that could probably do it.I guess my question is can anyone with a machine/ cabinet do it?Would I need to pull the barrel?

[ 08-13-2002, 12:36: Message edited by: Bubba John ]

I've never done this with the barrel attached (lack of room) but I just use the same method we use on engine blocks and axles. I figure if the tools will pick up cracks in a 700 pound locomotive axle, it should be able to find them in a receiver. There are other methods that use sound waves as well as the magnetic material, too. The local aerospace guys you mentioned should be set up to check this, ask them how their tooling is set up, and modify (ie; remove the barrel) if required. - Dan

Oh, there is also the spray coatings from Met-Al-Chek that you spray on and check with a black light. You can do this right in your garage, if you have a black light (find an old hippy); just be very thorough when you clean the receiver and when you clean between coatings. Hope this helps - Dan

35 years ago I went with a friend to have his Model 1917 Eddystone rechambered to .308 Norma Magnum. We went to Parker Ackley's shop. Old P.O. told my friend that he wound never rechamber an Eddystone to a magnum cartridge. They don't have a good reputation as a quality firearm.