Having now pulled the action from the 8mm military barrel and working on cleaning it up, I am trying to decide on a caliber. It should be European, I think, or an old American classic. I am leaning towards something like a 9.3x57, or perhaps another 8x57 or 7x57. Either of the latter two would be nice and easy, no new dies etc needed, as I have large herds of both.

The high charger hump and winged bolt stop will be left intact, and the rifle will be open sights only. I was toying with the idea of filing a rear sight 'V' in the top of the charger hump -- I kind of like it as it is though, so I'll probably go with a rear sight on the barrel. I also like the pear shaped bolt handle, and I think I have figured out a way to cut it almost off, bend it, and then fill in the gap with weld and get a handle that isn't too short, and also avoid having to notch the receiver for clearance. I am still trying to decide what to do with the clearance notch that was milled in the rear of the front ring -- I'm leaning towards having it TIGed in, and reshaping, since I was planning on a re-heat treat anyway.

Despite being a Turk action, this one has no pitting or other roughness, and has numerous Oberndorf factory inspection marks on the underside. It is cleaning up nicely.

Any input / suggestions appreciated. I am hoping to find a Mauser / Rem / Ruger take-off barrel to keep expenses down - this is a small ring thread action, so any would work. Tips / leads on this also appreciated.

Todd

Todd,
Sounds like a fun project. I'd go 7x57, but stamp the barrel .275 Rigby just for shits and grins.

I would opt for something a little odd ball and go for the 10.75x68 Mauser. Horneber have brass and woodleigh make bullets.

Or just a 9.3x62 (or will these not fit ??)

Todd,

Sounds like you must have lucked up and got one of the German made models. It should be as well made as any of its contemporaries.

Most of the posts I have seen mention grinding/machining back the lip on the receiver and recontouring the receiver face to a commercial appearance. My local gunsmith uses the Brownells forging blocks and can draw out the handle to make it longer. He has done four bolts for me and none require notching the receiver. They come out looking like a slightly shorter version of an FN bolt.

My preference for caliber would be the 9x57 Mauser. It is a legendary African caliber and would be easy to form from plentiful 8x57 brass.

Todd you might consider leaveing cut out for the bullet nose in the rear of the receiver ring as is. This is part of what makes that action unique.
IMHO.

Todd,
Do it in 9x57, but use a .358 barrel. Don't even bother with the AI, as the smaller 358 win can hit 2500 with 225gr sierra gamekings...

jeffe

Todd, I don't normal post here in gunsmithing, but, i would build it up in 9x57 like the other post stated, i have one built on a Persain that has a little 20" bbl and full mannlicher stock with the old redfield pep sight and sour-do front and it seems to work just as well as the 358win i have, but its more fun to shoot i make brass just by running 8x57 into the 9x57 die

Todd,

I would suggest that if you don't intend to use an aperture sight it would be better to move the rear sight out onto the barrel. As we get older (over 40 or so) our eyes lose some of their ability to accommodate, and this makes objects that are closer to our eyes blurry. With an aperture sight this is not a problem, but a notch type sight will be "fuzzy" and difficult to align exactly the same from shot to shot. This is a simplified explanation, but nonetheless pretty accurate (this is a good reason why in the pre-scope days the open rear sights on sporting rifles were still placed further out on the barrel even though this reduced the sight radius).

Jim

I put a 244 Rem. 722 barrel on a Turk. Just an idea. Hey, its an old classic!

7.65 Belgium Mauser