Next project is from a 1917 Enfield action. My gunsmith says it is suitable for a magnum round. Recoil is not an issue. I am a believer in fast and flat. I am currenty in possesion of a .280 and a 6.5x55 Ruger and we have another hunter coming up and he will get the 6.5. Then wifey roles into my beautiful Custom Mauser .280. Now it's my turn again. Now i'm looking at something that will take moose and bear and deer too. I was looking at a .30-338. Maybe 6.5-.338..... Anyone had some experience with those? However I do like that 06 case but already got the .280. Oh the dilemna. I've got 2 months before it is scheduled to begin.

Thats kind of a waste of a good action that can be modified to a 500, 505 or 460 Wby...

That action is too big for the smaller belted and standard cartridges...Trade it off for a nice Mauser action that will build up into a nice light rifle...

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com

I agree with Ray. You can build the 30-338 on a Mauser 98 action. The P-17 is a better choice for the Big'uns.

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"If you can keep your head about you when all others are loosing theirs and blaiming it on you..."

Oddball,

If you like flat and fast and want to make good use of a large action you might consider the 7 MM RUM. It is fatter than the standard belted mag case and will probably become much more popular than the 7 MM STW. PPG is already making chamber reamers and head space guages (just bought them) and Remington already has factory ammo available.

Good Shooting,
Craftsman

I can see the reason to build an action to it's max capacity. But if you don't need that big of a gun. I think any 06 based cartridge is a good choice for deer etc.

I agree with Ray, as usual, the P-14 is wasted unless you are going to build something big on it. Not that I buy the gobbledegook about CRF actions being inherently less accurate then pushfeeds, but if I were to build a fast and flat accurate gun, I would use a modern action as a basis, and likely a standard length one.

Since you say recoil isn't an issue, what you need is a 505 gibbs, it will take moose and deer with aplomb. I'm having a P-14 turned into a 500 Jeffrey, to see if that addage about moose not showing response to powerful rifles holds true or not.

So recoil isn't a problem? OK. .338, .375 or .416 RUM. Any of which will take any North Amaerican game animal.

The .338 RUM has terrific ballistics, has proven very accurate, and has more energy at 200 yards than a 30-06 at two inches. I find a milder load with a lighter bullet, say a Nosler BT at 3000 fps to be very accurate and is more than adaquate for deer and hogs. A 250 gr Swift A Frame can easily be driven to the same speed, although I have found that Nosler Partitions are more accurate. Load developement can become tiring after forty or fifty rounds however, and time consuming to wait for things to cool off. Bring a couple of extra rifles to the range and make a day of it.

That just seems alot more gun than I need for hunting deer up to moose in MN. I am willing to trade the enfield action. I just want to be sure what my options are. If I could find a sturdy mauser I might jump on it.

The 1917 enfield action has a small problem. When the action is cocked and safety is engaged. If you then Pull and release the trigger then disengage the safety, the sear drops and the firing pin is engaged by the striker. Please bear with me on actual parts names. Seems it should be an easy fix. What should I look for?

Hello,
Elswhere on this site, there has been discusssion of the 30-338 burning barrels. Hopefully one of the guys like Saeed will weigh in on this. Were it me, I would go with the 6.5-284, right now it is one of the kings of the long range matches.

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Safety & Ethics,Accuracy, Velocity, Energy
Joe M

Oddball,

This safety problem once occurred to me (I regularly check safety function) On examination by a gunsmith it proved to be a pin drifting loose causing the trigger to drag. It's a worrying fact that safeties can go for a long time without this sort of thing being detected.

Why not try say a 7mm Vom Hoffe (0ver 4000ft lbs from a 7mm) which will be long in length and short in barrel life allowing you to change it for something else with a clear conscience! I say that because I detect the same sort of reasoning for getting another rifle as I use (Clue - 3 rifles, 3 kids and I'm hankering after a 404 now.........)

You must temper some of our comments with the fact that what some of us consider big, is really big, and when you say you recoil isn't an issue, you are really setting yourself up. Also, there aren't that many actions suitable for the really big cartridges, so when we hear someone has one of the actions suitable for such a beast, it is our automatic response.

Something you might want to consider is a 358 STA, depeding on how you want to look at it, its a 375 H&H necked down, with the body blown out and sholder sharpened. I'm a huge fan of 35 bores, and also despise the light and fast guns for larger animals. When you push small bullets really fast, you are really trying to make them do things that they weren't designed for, and are less then ideal for.

With the 358 STA, you can shoot some of the lighter X bullets and outrageos speeds, like a 225 gr @ 3100-3200 fps. You could also load the 280 gr A-frame at 2700 fps, and have something that will equal the 375 H&H for all intents and purposes. You can also shoot all the .357" pistol bullets, either at subsonic recoiless pistol levels, or real fast for impressive varmint bullets. 35's are a great choice for cast bullets as well.

I know lots of folks say moose and bears (I'm assuming blacks) aren't that hard to kill, and thats true enough. That said, if you have to track one, you'll be worlds ahead if you poked them with a medium bore, 33-40 then with a small bore, 30 and under.

After much soul searching and internal conflict. I have decided to trade the 1917 for a VZ-24 action. I try to weigh all reasonable opinions and attempt to cypher through the B.S. Not that I heard any here on this topic. It seems to me that the rifle I want to build needs to be more compact and lighter than the 1917 has to offer. Where someone who wants an action for their .577 monsterblaster improved may have a use for it. I guess when I say that recoil is not an issue, I don't mean 460 wby mag recoil. However I do enjoy shooting my .45-70 marlin w/400 gr. bullets and after 20 of those i'm pretty much done with that gun for the day.

Thanks for the info

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Endeavor to persevere

I have a P14 I am rebarreling to a small cartridge just to "waste" it! So there! Regards, Bill.

Oddball,
I recently built a .30/.338 on a new stainless Ruger 77 MKII action with a Pac-Nor 24" lightweight sporter barrel. It weighs 7lbs.6oz with a Leupold 2.5x8 scope and shoots 1 MOA or better with just about any load. It duplicates .300 Win Mag velocities, sometimes with less powder, but has a longer neck and more room to handle heavy bullets without seating them deep in the case...the shortcoming of the Win Mag. I see no reason why the .30/.338 would not enjoy barrel life comparable to the .300 Win Mag.
Good luck.

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Phil- Life Member NRA & SCI