It was discussed in another thread about what you can and cant do with a surplus Mauser. So, instead of hijacking that guys thread anymore than I did, which model would be a good platform for say a 450 Rigby(just to throw a number out there)?

A .450 Rigby is a .416 Rigby necked up, yes?? It has been discussed before, and opinions differ. I personally think you'll have a hard time fitting a case as long as that into a surplus Mauser.

If you could find a magnum Mauser, that would be a different kettle of fish... But I guess that was not what you asked about...

Was your question more directed at the size of the bore, and would you be happy to go with a smaller case?? If so, a 9.3x64 was built to be fit in a Mauser without too much trouble. A .458 Win Mag would also be possible without too much work.

- mike

Now you're talking full length magnum Mauser:
Oberndorf #20
Brno ZKK-602
CZ-550
BBK-02
Brevex
Granite Mountain
Prechtl
Enfield
Vektor
Montana PH

or just build a 458 ar on a mauser...

450 rigby, please listen to me, is ONLY going to be under 2k if you buy a cz in it, already done.

jeffe

Ah yes, the 458 AR. I was just throwing the 450 Rigby out there to give an example of what size of cartridge I was looking for. OK, enough of that. Which year model or wahtever would be the most structurally sound platform for the 458 AR? 1909? 98K? Actually my bro has a Yugo in 8mm I believe, and I could talk him out of it for about $50.

Harry Selby Hunted with a 416 Rigby based on a std98,and did it for some time,He didnt seem to complain. Nor did I hear John Taylor say that there was a problem with Harrys gun. The fact is,it can and has been done.
IF you can fit a 375H&H in it you can fit a Rigby in it. Federal loads its Rigby round at 3.60". Holland and Holland is building its 400H&H on stdlength/modified98 actions.So the Rigby is slightly longer (.050"), Big deal, just swallows the bullet a little more.
The Yugo is intermmediate rather than std, right? that is a problem.

I would pass on a yugo for an AR, as wood jack mentions, it's an intermediate


Woodjack,
yep, shelby's rifle was a "standard" mauser... and the 550 express was done on one...

the issue is, i would have no problem building another 550 express on one, as it's single stanck and fairly short.

if the rigby was such a grand idea, people would have been building them all over the place... it wasn't easy, it was a master work... and beyound my current skill level to repeat a rigby in a 98

jeffe

Just read an arcticle in a German hunting magazin about chambering a Mauser standart system to 460 A-Square. It was possible without any problems.

Burkhard

I've done some of those, It's takes about 2 1/2 days to do one. I take .095 off the back of the Receiver,mag area. Then .110 off the bolt stop. I cut the std box in 2 places and weld it. take some from the bottom of the feed ramp and back of the E.port. It works makes a Rigby for less than some, kinda fun too, hacksaw,weld &mill it into submission.
timan

The other thing you can do is to purchase two identical actions. Vapodog says he knows where you can get VZ-24s for a hundred bucks apiece. You could purchase two of those actions, take 1/2 inch out of one of the actions and weld it into the other action. Then you would have an action for your Rigby and also you could make a cute little .250 savage lightweight moutain rifle that would be just right for those strenuous goat and sheep hunts in the high country!!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Timan:
I've done some of those, It's takes about 2 1/2 days to do one. I take .095 off the back of the Receiver,mag area. Then .110 off the bolt stop. I cut the std box in 2 places and weld it. take some from the bottom of the feed ramp and back of the E.port. It works makes a Rigby for less than some, kinda fun too, hacksaw,weld &mill it into submission.
timan

sounds like MAJOR cash for that sort of work, defeats the purpose of buying the inexpensive rifle to begin with.

So then any model besides a Yugo, Mex, and German would work for a 458 AR? Let me reword that question. which surplus Mauser would YOU buy for a donor action for a 458 AR?

if it were me there would be no question. I would pick up a nice 1909 Argentine and spend the extra cash to have it carburized. Blanchards or Pacific Metal Corp can do it for you.

Reason. David Miller used 1909 actions extensively for this type of rifle.

For the Rigby round or case of that size I really thing that a Magnum action shouldbe used. I have neally finished a .404 J on an M98 and in hind site I should have used a magnum action I feel. I beleive the .404 J case size pushs the barrow with the 98 mauser action let alone the Rigby case size.

Just my 2c worth.

I would guess a .416 Taylor would fit very well. How about some of our smiths comments?

The 416 taylor works perfectly in a mauser..

no major mods, whatever...

for those that hate wildcats and then might jump in and say "it will take a 416 rem"... but that's lots of cuts and $$$

jeffe

quote:

Originally posted by RaySendero:
I would guess a .416 Taylor would fit very well. How about some of our smiths comments?

This should be a standard cartridge....and yes...it fits the '98 Mauser very well.....

quote:

Originally posted by tnekkcc:
http://www.deerstalker.com/mauser_action.htm

Wow, what an excellent article!

I wonder if there is anything else on that website?? The http://www.deerstalker.com URL seems to lead to a page with no live links, and no way to go anywhere else??

- mike

Hi Mike

Give it another try (and be patient -- it seems to be a very slow website, at least today!).

Try this

I could get lots of other interesting links, so it is worth a try!

John

quote:

Originally posted by mho:

quote:

Originally posted by tnekkcc:
http://www.deerstalker.com/mauser_action.htm

Wow, what an excellent article!

I wonder if there is anything else on that website?? The http://www.deerstalker.com URL seems to lead to a page with no live links, and no way to go anywhere else??

- mike

quote:

if the rigby was such a grand idea, people would have been building them all over the place... it wasn't easy, it was a master work... and beyound my current skill level to repeat a rigby in a 98

Jeffe,

Straight up honesty but with no BS involoved..REFESHING

I consider myself a student of the mauser 98 also and I agree with you about 200% on this one. Yes a Rigby can be done on a standard 98, for certain it is a royal PIA to pull off correctly. I am not just talking about my skill set, I have talked to literally dozens of smiths over the years on this, and have yet to get a volunteer to jump on this bandwagon.

Problems with a standard 98 are several. The boltface is small, the action is too short. Cutting two actions in half is part of the fix. As I understand it, two identical actions are cut apart, one long, one short to the rear. Then the long to the rear and short to the front are welded together, the other two pieces can be put together to make a short action also.

Then long bottom metal, and the small bolt face need to be addressed. This is a labor of love, unless you do this wok yourself it costs way more than its worth t get this done right.

If you read a post on one of the 404 jeff posts, the guy is building a beautiful 98 and said straight up, if he was going to do it over he would have started with a magnum 98 action.

This isn't one of those scientic laws defying physics, yes it can be done, its all about how much money you want to dump into it, and finding somebody that is comfortable with the conversion.

If you really want one of these there was a listing on gunbroker about a week ago, a welded up 98 was listed, in 416 Rigby. Resale value of spit, I have no idea the quality of workmanship, but you might want to check it out. There is a gunshow in Lewiston this weekend so if your really interested you should get a hussle on, as I would beat a dollar to a doughnut its on a guntable as I type this, as the guy who listed it is from Lewiston.

quote:

Originally posted by jpb:
Hi Mike

Give it another try (and be patient -- it seems to be a very slow website, at least today!).

Try this

I could get lots of other interesting links, so it is worth a try!

John

Cool, that page has a bunch of stuff on it!

I had guessed at http://www.deerstalker.com/index - and it turns out the magic URL is http://www.deerstalker.com/site_index - boy, when do providers start to standardize...

Thanks John!
- mike