Interested in this project......and would appreciate any leads.
Thanks.
Alex
aax1@bellsouth.net

I've done this double rifle conversion. Get a baikal or sabatti It will be way cheaper and better. You are looking at at least 100 hours of work. At 50bucks an hour, which is a screaming deal, it's cost prohibitive to do unless you do the work yourself

OK....understood ... thanks

You'll find hobbyists that do it; I doubt you'll find any full-time gunsmith interested in it unless you have deep pockets.

Almost all US doubles are too weak for conversion to a rifle cartridge, IMO. US doubles commonly use the rotating drum design for tightening & clamping the doll's head, with no or minimal underlugs and IMO it simply isn't enough to keep the flex out of the action. This weaker design includes Parker, Smith, Fox and others; all the high-class ones. The early Colts were about the only ones with a truly strong design but they weren't fit-up & heat-treated properly and soon got loose.

I would use a Euro design with locking underlug(s) and a solid lockup for the doll's head such as a Greener-style crossbolt.

Remember, the lowest-pressure rifle cartridge, even when loaded with black powder, is still twice the pressure of any shotgun cartridge. Usual smokeless loads can be up to 5 times the pressure of the shotgun shells.

There's a REASON why the original US factories didn't do this!
Regards, Joe

JD --
i also don't care for the construction of same US designed shotguns ... having done this a couple times, i am somewhat picky .. but butch did quite a few on BSS actions .. and did a BUNCH of work on them

"pressure" as a thing isn't the measure, its bolt thrust .. which is how one calculates the pressure on the breach ..

when people challenge this, i merely point to the thompson center contender .. a 223 has a higher pressure than the 308 ... ever wonder why the TC wasn't factory chambereed in 308?

quote:

Originally posted by jeffeosso:
JD --
i also don't care for the construction of same US designed shotguns ... having done this a couple times, i am somewhat picky .. but butch did quite a few on BSS actions .. and did a BUNCH of work on them

"pressure" as a thing isn't the measure, its bolt thrust .. which is how one calculates the pressure on the breach ..

when people challenge this, i merely point to the thompson center contender .. a 223 has a higher pressure than the 308 ... ever wonder why the TC wasn't factory chambereed in 308?

Very true as far as breech thrust is concerned, it's dependent upon the surface area of the thrusting cartridge. However there's also the question of A)how rapidly is that thrust applied, i.e. powder burning rate, and B)primer support against cratering and blowout.

IIRC the BSS is a double-underlug design with no doll's head and so IMO would be OK for medium-pressure cartridges IF the underlug materials were hardened & fitted correctly. The addition of a doll's head or crossbolt would make it almost perfect for a top-lever design but still not as strong as a Jones underlever with doll's head.

L.C.Smiths are by far my favorite US shotgun but I wouldn't even consider making a high-pressure rifle out of one. Probably not even a 45-70 for that matter; maybe a 50-70 Smith would be OK though since the cartridge is not factory-loaded.

I'm not saying that the thing would blow up or even be a real danger to the shooter (unless the firing pins weren't bushed). What I AM saying is that IMO a 45-70 US double will 'shoot loose' fairly quickly even with factory hunting loads.

Of course most double-rifle shooters don't shoot very much when compared to some other types, so maybe it wouldn't matter too much in some cases. But I'd still choose a Euro design with double underlugs and some sort of top extension.

The single exception to this IMO would be the Winchester 21; IMO it's one of the very ugliest doubles out there but it's quite strong when compared to the usual Parker, Smith or Fox. I personally don't like their looks but they are one of the strongest designs ever made in the US.
Regards, Joe

Actually, the s-gun I had in mind for this is an English hammer double. But, at end of day, I am being foolish. I don't NEED a double made from this. I have a perfectly fine double 9.3x74R that I found in a marvelous shop in Romorantin France (Lechtine Co.). If any of you folks wander France....you MUST see this shop....full of absolutely fabulous long guns....NO pretentious BS as found in the Paris shops, and an in-house gunsmithy run by a neurosurgeon of a master-smith. Price are VERY reasonable.

'Need'? NEED? NEED?

Whatever in the world gave you the idea that any of this stuff had anything at all to do with need?(VBG)

'Want' is usually a good and sufficient reason for me as long as I can afford it (and as long as My Bride agrees, grin)

Brownell's sells a fairly good book on making your own DR from a shotgun, it's well worth the price if you're gonna do the project.
Regards, Joe