So I have an H&R that has had a custom trigger job to give it a 3.5 to 3.75 pound crisp break...it is in .308 Winchester and is very accurate with heavier than 150 grain bullets. Loves the 174s. Well, I m assuming my daughter didn't clean it after last deer season well enough but the CHAMBER is pitted and it keeps splitting case shoulders. Maybe I just shot so many rounds from it I wore it out?

Anyone here rechamber a single shot 308 to 7.62X54R? I know the difference in the .308 and the .311/.312 but my SIG barreled Finn Mosin M28 is a .308 and remarkably accurate, AGAIN, with bullets 174 or larger.

No, I don't want a new gun, or a super caliber....this gun has killed so much attached to my backpack or collapsed into the pack....I even had to have the crown redone once after falling in the granite of the Sierra.

quote:

but my SIG barreled Finn Mosin M28 is a .308 and remarkably accurate, AGAIN, with bullets 174 or larger.

You should know that Finnish Mosin m28 has a tad smaller bore diameter than C.I.P -caliber 7,62x54R. That´s why it shoots very well with .308 caliber bullets. In Finnish Mosins caliber is marked as 7,62x53R which means that diameter .308 bullets goes well with them.

I believe you have a brass problem as opposed to a chamber issue, as long as the spent brass ejects Ok, I'd anneal the or replace the brass. Sticking brass after firing would be more indicative of a chamber issue, a good polishing should solve that issue.

So I take it no one has done this yet here?

The guns needs a new chamber period. I can see the pitted area and it splits harder less annealed brass right above that area. Softer cases stick, they DO NOT skip the ejector. The ejector just cannot eject cases when they are fire formed into the pits.

To keep it a 308 I will need to install a ramrod to eject rounds.

A very respected gunsmith told me the 7.62x54R will clean up the chamber. The ejector will have a nice thick rim to grab onto and the power is as good, even better, with some loads. The 54R handles heavier slugs better in my opinion with its longer neck and being designed for over 200 grain slugs.

I think that would be nice when in the dense brush on deer, bear, and boar.

The 308W to 7.62x54R rechamber has been done, gendoc's son did one in the link below. The other option is to convert it to a factory style mechanical extractor, I've done a bunch of them, see the FAQs sticky in the H&R Forum link I posted in on stock question. Another rechamber option would be 30-06AI which will clean up the 308 chamber.

http://www.go2gbo.com/forums/h...4r-handi-conversion/

Have you considered a rechamber to 300 WSM or 300 HH?

quote:

Originally posted by wrongtarget:
The 308W to 7.62x54R rechamber has been done, gendoc's son did one in the link below. The other option is to convert it to a factory style mechanical extractor, I've done a bunch of them, see the FAQs sticky in the H&R Forum link I posted in on stock question. Another rechamber option would be 30-06AI which will clean up the 308 chamber.

http://www.go2gbo.com/forums/h...4r-handi-conversion/

Excellent....I will post mine when done!

quote:

I also have a Finn SAKO marked 54R with .308 barrel..It has to do with the year made more than anything.

I would like to have fotos of that rifle. Rifle with x54R markings should be very late finnish Mosin.

Here is two links to C.I.P -table where you can check the difference between x53R ans x54R.

http://www.cip-bobp.org/homolo...biical-en-page28.pdf

http://www.cip-bobp.org/homolo...i/7-62-x-54-r-en.pdf

quote:

Originally posted by igorrock:

quote:

I also have a Finn SAKO marked 54R with .308 barrel..It has to do with the year made more than anything.

I would like to have fotos of that rifle. Rifle with x54R markings should be very late finnish Mosin.

Here is two links to C.I.P -table where you can check the difference between x53R ans x54R.

http://www.cip-bobp.org/homolo...biical-en-page28.pdf

http://www.cip-bobp.org/homolo...i/7-62-x-54-r-en.pdf

Chatellerault 1893 action. Commercial SAKO barrel. The stock is similar to the Vostok Biathlon or other similar early SAKO sporters. Front sight is an M39, but the rear is a Svenska Metallverken from Västerås that reads m/39. I have seen these on M96 swedes...this one shoots to the point with the calibration on the dial.

Extremely similar....calibrated to 600m.

http://s64.photobucket.com/use...ia/IMG_2655.jpg.html

309 JDJ ?

quote:

Originally posted by boom stick:
309 JDJ ?

OMG! Now you make sense? WTF! I had never thought of this one..seriously...crap!

quote:

Chatellerault 1893 action. Commercial SAKO barrel. The stock is similar to the Vostok Biathlon or other similar early SAKO sporters.

OK, I misunderstood that you talked about military rifle. SAKO used to make some custom works for private persons untill Beretta bought it.

I had a 30-30 H&R rechambered to .309JDJ. It is a 20 inch and runs with the ,308 but at less pressure. It is one of my favorites. I like it..deer don't!! 4350 seems to be the powder of choice.

309JD vs 7.62x54R

You all are killing me...thought I had a plan...so what does the 309 offer that the 54R doesn't or visa versa ???

The gun with hunt boar, bear, and deer and be on horse or pack or by back. And a ferl cattle hunt or two...we have one of those every 5 years or so due to the brush and deep canyons on our ranch...I usually use my 338.

Right now I believe the 54R brass may be eaiser to find than the .444 brass for the .309. They both will handle the heavies well. The .309 has an Ackley style body with no taper and a sharp shoulder that in my opinion is better and produces less back thrust on the breach of single shots like the H&R. I also have a Handi that was a .357 mag. that I rechambered to .358 BB. a full length 30-30 case opened up to 35 caliber with a short neck. These two handis are amoung the most accurate single shots I have. I also have one in 30-30AI.

quote:

Originally posted by shortgun:
Right now I believe the 54R brass may be eaiser to find than the .444 brass for the .309. They both will handle the heavies well. The .309 has an Ackley style body with no taper and a sharp shoulder that in my opinion is better and produces less back thrust on the breach of single shots like the H&R. I also have a Handi that was a .357 mag. that I rechambered to .358 BB. a full length 30-30 case opened up to 35 caliber with a short neck. These two handis are amoung the most accurate single shots I have. I also have one in 30-30AI.

Thank you! I do have a few hundred 7.62x54r PPU brass...

Love the design of that 309

The .444 brass is likely stronger and the case design will probably have the capacity advantage and likely give a little higher speeds. But performance wise they are peas in a pod I would think.

I think the thrust issue is a good point considering the action.

Sir..now yer cookin with peanut oil!!
I think the 309 would be the better of the two.

Check the specs for the chambers before you do *Anything*... The 308 is essentially a rimless 7.62x54R....

They are so close dimensionally that you wouldn't believe it...

So.. It's not going to get you anything useful...

Thanks

7.62x54R Improved 32 degree

So what I make of this is NOT, that many rounds caused pitting in the chamber, my read is that it is likely shooting corrosive rounds without adequate cleaning caused pitting.

Just an internet SWAG mind you.

Never looked at chamber drawings, but if it works, it works . . .

Or

NOT.

Let us know how this project goes forward.

Okay, sorry, but I went with the standard 7.62x53R/54R chamber. Yes the Finnish Army 'usually' used the 0.309" bore, but only in the middle years. I had the bore mic'd for the M39 I sold with a SAKO barrel and it is a little over 0.311", my M28 with SIG barrel is a little under 0.309" and to my horror I have been shooting and and all ammo from it for over 10 years.

I bought LAPUA MEGA 185 grain loads as well as S&B 180 and Winchester 180 and they are all under 0.311"

I am sure it will prove to be a cannon, but I also know that modern loads do not flash and kick like Soviet loads...God knows what powder they used.

Oh and the 53R vs 54R has nothing to do with anything but rounding....it is a 53.5R in both chamberings, only the Russians went with a larger than 7.62 slug

Done

Dood!
Sweet!
Love the stock.

OMG the muzzle flash and BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! that this has surpasses the noise my 338 Win Mag we were shooting...

I had a H&R Ultra Hunter SB2 in 308 rechambered to the 7.62x54R and barrel cut and recrowned by another gunsmith whom is reputable.

The base looks to be press fit into the chamber on closing. I have extraction problems now and the fired cases have a short step down in neck diameter from the original .308 Win.

Shot cases stick if put back in and some loaded rounds as well. I put Dykem layout blue steel on a case and put it in and out. It show contact enough over most the case that it scrapped the blue, especially the neck and base by rim. Steel cases extract much easier and sometimes on their own. Ejector will not extract nor eject brass. I never planned on shooting steel but now the nickel platted steel like Silver Bear seem my only choice and even those hang up???? I never wanted that.

So the barrel is back at the same gunsmith...I had to wait as he moved his shop to a new location. At first I went back to the bottom of the heap as if a new order..I got that rectified. He was supposed to look it over and work on it last weekend, but not contact on if it is fixed.

My worry is that the barrel will no longer be accurate as it was when a .308 darned chamber

Was it chambered to headspace on the rim or the shoulder?

quote:

Originally posted by Grenadier:
Was it chambered to headspace on the rim or the shoulder?

I got no idea?

I have noticed large variations in the rim thickness of several different factory loads.

it was the base diameter that was causing issues.

quote:

Originally posted by just-a-hunter:
Is it up and running?

Todd

Nope...was told we are waiting on a different reamer to come in...I KIND OF REGRET DOING ALL THIS NOW...

I am away but barrel arrived...I was told by the gunsmith her actually fired it to make sure it worked this time...we will see. Barrel was really accurate and now after three reamers I am worried.

NOPE! Won't kick spent shells out! Still!

MY GOD, it is loud with one hell of a flash!

I have already ground that salt so deep that a little extra doesn't hurt! LOL

If I can get the one 'smith to refund the money on his failures then a little more and maybe it gets fixed? HELL IDK!

I need a new barrel!

An easy remedy for the sticking brass is to add a manual ejector notch to flick the round out of the chamber with the tip of a pocket knife blade, or convert it to a factory extractor, I've done dozens of the conversions, Numrich still sells the extractor, cam and spring.

quote:

Originally posted by wrongtarget:
An easy remedy for the sticking brass is to add a manual ejector notch to flick the round out of the chamber with the tip of a pocket knife blade, or convert it to a factory extractor, I've done dozens of the conversions, Numrich still sells the extractor, cam and spring.

That was mentioned by a gunsmith whom I contacted. I am so used to it chucking the shells though