Barrel swap BLR take down

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wallz

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Looking for a smith in Canada that can re-barrel a browning BLR take down, stainless. Looking to go to 45 raptor.

They are the same case head as 308, so I would supply either a 308 or 6.5 CM rifle with a bullet diameter of .452". Basically off a 460 S&W round.

Would ultimately like to keep the stock barrel, and add a second, possibly a third as a quick switch barrel set up.

Yes I know the barrels come with a sleeve similar to AR type, and from what I can track down they are removable.

Anyone have any recommendations, besides find another project? I know there are other platforms, and looking at those as well, but at this point the BLR I would like to pursue for now.
 
Good luck.
This is one of the situations more money than brains I think lol.

Why don’t you just buy a 460 S&W lever action and call it a day? Will the deer know a difference ? Because you obviously aren’t target shooting or anything else with a lever gun lol

But at the end of the day, to each their own.
 
RyoTHC said:
Good luck.
This is one of the situations more money than brains I think lol.

Why don’t you just buy a 460 S&W lever action and call it a day? Will the deer know a difference ? Because you obviously aren’t target shooting or anything else with a lever gun lol

But at the end of the day, to each their own.
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I guess you missed the part: "Anyone have any recommendations, besides find another project?"
 
There's no doubt that there are individuals who will tackle this project. The first name I thought of was Barry Jensen's.

Bits of Pieces
#5B Tilbury Center,
7621 Vantage Way,
Delta BC,
Canada V4G 1A6
 
Hand Skills said:
Following, I know a guy in the states who has done it.

He said once tooled up for it, there's really not much to it.

Honestly, I'm surprised switch barrel BLR's not more of a 'thing'.

Re-boring is another idea, but .45 is a pretty big hole.
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I'm quite surprised myself seeing how long the BLR has been around.

Was able to find some info on a smith in Alaska and Australia of all places that have done them, but nothing remotely in Canada.

I really can't see the issue with the AR type sleeves as there are millions of AR's getting barrel swaps all the time, granted mostly in the US but still it should be easier to dig up info on them.
 
Was able to get some feed back from one of the smiths I have contacted, and that sounded promising. More on this as it becomes reality, but I might get some of the TD barrel sleeves so a quick caliber swap might still be in the works. Fingers crossed. They have built a 223, 300 AAC swap blr rifle that I happened across that got me going on this goose chase to begin with.

I'll write things up as they become reality because I'm sure others might find this info helpful and embark on adventures of their own with the BLR.

Plan will eventually buy a few fore ends and have them bedded on the front barrel so I can get rid of the barrel clamp, and have an ultimate switch barrel lever action rifle.

45 Raptor is the priority, and I'm looking into if the 44 mag will work on the .473 bolt face. One blurb I read is it will work on the short action bolt face, but more digging is still warranted for that outcome. Maybe a 44 variant, or an altered case base to get the 44 to work, but I really don't see why it couldn't.

Could you imagine barrel swaps faster than the TC encore and in a lever action. NOT for the faint of heart!




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Just a quick update for anyone wanting to know.

I now have two barrel extension mailed to me and on the way. These screw onto the barrel, just like the stock BLR ones do. Had a great conversation with the smith about this. They make 4 different sizes of these to fit the different cartridges.
Not so much different bolt head configs as more of a length and feeding ramp type difference. The 30-06 being the longest, 300 WSM, 308 family and the smaller 223 family of cartridges. They would provide these with their barrels if it were not for the difficulty of getting barrels into Canada lately, so have no problems providing the extensions as they are with no barrel.

This they ran into when they tried to use them on the different cartridges and ran into issues so ended up getting all four rifles and could build to suite. I guess there are a few guys out there with the same thought of, its a great take down rifle, but why is it sooo difficult to get other calibers to make it a true take down switch barrel.

Seems like finding a smith to actually make a barrel in the cartridges I want is the hardest part of this project. Go figure.
Wanting a heavier than stock barrel, and I realize that the fore end wood will need to be opened up a bit, and have a new one to work with still turns smiths away and not really wanting to work projects like this. I understand that most only want to work on fast money makers, but when I guy is willing to pay it should be no problems. Should be!

I'm sure I'll be able to track down a smith eventually and get er done!
 
Well the barrel nuts have landed.

Was able to purchase a 450 marlin magazine that will work perfect for my needs. Tracked down some 45 raptor brass as well.

Was able to push some of my 290 gr barnes TEZ tips into the brass for a comparison with the 450 bushmaster I shoot currently. I lucked out and the longer of them just happens to be magazine max and I can load out uptown there if required. Worst case I might need to fiddle with the feed ramp to get it to run smooth.

Now I just need a rifle and 45 raptor barrel.

IMG_7381.jpg

IMG_7384.jpgIMG_7385.jpg
 
This project looks very interesting. What size is the barrel thread that mates to the extension?

Do you have feeding problem with the flat nose bullet? i.e. the one on the left. I tried a 358 win setup in my Savage straight pull but it doesn't like flat nose bullet in terms of feeding.
 
diegocn said:
This project looks very interesting. What size is the barrel thread that mates to the extension?

Do you have feeding problem with the flat nose bullet? i.e. the one on the left. I tried a 358 win setup in my Savage straight pull but it doesn't like flat nose bullet in terms of feeding.
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No idea on the thread pitch/size as that info was not presented to me even though I asked. I'm pretty sure my smith will be able to figure it out when I get that far.

Well I don't have any feeding problems, as I don't have a BLR rifle yet, just all the parts and pcs for the project. That flat nose round is what I use for range fodder in the current 450 BM ruger #1, so it feeds just fine being a single shot. I will use the same tips for the 45 raptor when I get that far.
I figured I would start on the harder to get things first. Just happened to be travelling and stopped in at a dealer and saw they have the 450 mags and bought one. Save me some shipping as no local shops had any.

You can clearly see the feed ramp in the 450 marlin mag, and when I get that far I can file/adjust it as required for feeding.

I initially started thinking on this project for use in a savage 99, but figured I would get better tracking with a new model like the BLR.
 
I love this idea; I've had a couple of TD BLR's in the past and often toyed with the notion, but never moved ahead. I do recall following a thread on the Accurate Reloading forum years back, in which the guy was looking at doing a switch-barrel on his BLR with the second barrel being a .416Ruger. :) A two-barrel BLR in .300WinMag and .416Ruger would have made an interesting African safari rifle, which was what he envisioned.

I'm looking forward to following along with this project! :)
 
interesting project. are you considering one big bore and then the other a small bore like 243 ?

I read a reference to using 308 mags for the Raptor as the body is similar ?
also said where flat nose can be a problem in arrangements with the feed ramp in the mag, like blr

so you need a short action blr t/d?
 
Yea, big bore is going to be 45 raptor. Basically a 450 BM on steroids. Bit more powder column as the brass is slightly longer by .2". Pics above. I use a 450BM right now in a ruger single shot so I have the round moving around 2265 fps, (290 gr) and have figured I'm golden out to 350m with it for elk/moose. The 45 raptor I'm hoping to be just a bit more umph.

The other I'm toying with is a 44 mag alternative. I know the 44 mag is a lipped rim so will not work, so the alternative being a rimless cartridge, so 45 win mag or 44 AMP. (44 auto mag). That one might be a bit harder to figure out the magazine for, but I'll work on that. Maybe a 450 mag with a stopper on the back so the rounds don't sit too far back.

Yep looking at the 308 or 6.5 CM to start off with and make an ultimate quick switch barrel rifle. The same rim diameter on most of those at .473" bolt head options.
 
RyoTHC said:
Good luck.
This is one of the situations more money than brains I think lol.

Why don’t you just buy a 460 S&W lever action and call it a day? Will the deer know a difference ? Because you obviously aren’t target shooting or anything else with a lever gun lol

But at the end of the day, to each their own.
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Lol, really?

I hunt everything with my 444 marlin, it's fast and hard hitting, took a great whitetail at 350 with it. It has the range and power to take anything, including stopping a charging bear if needed

Some of us just love leverguns, just because you don't and are uninformed of their capabilities, doesn't mean you need to bash the guy

I think he has a great idea for a project
 
Cool build, I’m curious as to the machining challenges on this build, please continue to share pictures as it progresses.

Also,why not rebore something like a 38 to 40 caliber barrel for a BLR TD?
 
cody c said:
Cool build, I’m curious as to the machining challenges on this build, please continue to share pictures as it progresses.

Also,why not rebore something like a 38 to 40 caliber barrel for a BLR TD?
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I want to shorten the stock barrel length and go with a bit bigger profile. Plus if I rebore, it takes away from being multi caliber.

Only machining that I foresee at this point is to open up the fore stock for the larger barrel.

I'm actually going to pick up a 308 TD BLR this weekend. Will keep up the thread for sure for those that are following.
 
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