Feasibility of a ruger No.1 barrel on a 98 mauser
- Thread starter Slimbo
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I have one here that was a 375 H+H on a #1, was cut and threaded to a K98 and chambered for 375 Taylor. The 1/4 rib was removed but I would have preferred it stay. Also has the barrel band swivel which is a nice touch.Great work, I got it from a g/n several yr. ago. It was my first purchase here. Wouldn't part with it. Mark
I asked about the same thing on another forum, but using a Siamese Mauser with a Ruger 45-70/458 bbl.
The answer was "The threads on a Siamese mauser are smaller than a std LR mauser. I don't have the thread dimensions in front of me but I'm sure someone out there could provide them. You are correct in stating that take off barrels are often found at "cheap" prices. Did it ever occur to you that is because that is all they are worth. In most cases factory barrels are as cheaply made as possible and often are not very good barrels. In most cases you start with a take of barrel and ask a gunsmith to fit it to an action you have. Usually the threads on the take off barrel in no way match your action so the first thing the smith does is cut the threaded section off the barrel and re-thread it to your action. Now the smith has to re-chamber the barrel because the rear 3/4 inch of the chamber was machined off with the original threads. Sometimes there is not enough material left in the chamber area of the barrel to safely re-chamber. So by the time your smith is finished you have almost the price of a new barrel in labour charges in the take off barrel. In most cases you would have been further ahead to purchase a new chambered barrel from manufacturer and have your smith install it. I would suggest it will cost you about the same in the long run and you will have a better quality barrel that will likely shoot better groups. You asked for comments so there is my 2 cents."
Just thought I would pass it along...
LeRoy
ps...thank you snowman for you answer....just passing it on, no offense intended
The answer was "The threads on a Siamese mauser are smaller than a std LR mauser. I don't have the thread dimensions in front of me but I'm sure someone out there could provide them. You are correct in stating that take off barrels are often found at "cheap" prices. Did it ever occur to you that is because that is all they are worth. In most cases factory barrels are as cheaply made as possible and often are not very good barrels. In most cases you start with a take of barrel and ask a gunsmith to fit it to an action you have. Usually the threads on the take off barrel in no way match your action so the first thing the smith does is cut the threaded section off the barrel and re-thread it to your action. Now the smith has to re-chamber the barrel because the rear 3/4 inch of the chamber was machined off with the original threads. Sometimes there is not enough material left in the chamber area of the barrel to safely re-chamber. So by the time your smith is finished you have almost the price of a new barrel in labour charges in the take off barrel. In most cases you would have been further ahead to purchase a new chambered barrel from manufacturer and have your smith install it. I would suggest it will cost you about the same in the long run and you will have a better quality barrel that will likely shoot better groups. You asked for comments so there is my 2 cents."
Just thought I would pass it along...
LeRoy
ps...thank you snowman for you answer....just passing it on, no offense intended
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Most factory rifles shoot well enough that writing off factory barrels as inferior doesn't make much sense.
You want to know why the factory barrel became a takeoff. I have bought and fitted brand new takeoff barrels because new factory rifles were broken for their actions to make up custom rifles. A used barrel is a pig in a poke.
I do my own 'smithing, so the cost of fitting a barrel is irrelevant.
Ruger shank threads are nominally 1"x16 tpi. If the action being fitted has incompatible diameter or threads, close to an inch of the breech will be cut off.
You want to know why the factory barrel became a takeoff. I have bought and fitted brand new takeoff barrels because new factory rifles were broken for their actions to make up custom rifles. A used barrel is a pig in a poke.
I do my own 'smithing, so the cost of fitting a barrel is irrelevant.
Ruger shank threads are nominally 1"x16 tpi. If the action being fitted has incompatible diameter or threads, close to an inch of the breech will be cut off.
My Ruger #1V .22-250 has a takeoff barrel that that I bought for $45. The gunsmith charged me about $150 to install it. Visual inspection says that it is excellent and there isn't load it won't put under 1 inch. 40 grain V-Maxs go into 5/8". There may be some bad factory barrels but I'd have no qualms about buying one that appeared to be good. Using a Ruger barrel on a Mauser sounds like a good idea to me.
Another example of a takeoff barrel working is the common practice of rem.700 barrels fitted to a '96 mauser. This can be done in less than 1 hr, and sometimes without a reamer. Prob. not as common now as the '96 rifles have a lot of value in milsurp circles but 20 yr. ago were avail. for 20 bucks. I have at least a dozen of these and most of my grandkids and nephews have 1 or 2. Is it worth the trouble, depends on which way you look at it. In our case I had a pretty good hunting rifle for a few hr. work and less than $100. The rem barrels also work on any large ring, small shank Mauser such as the Turks. In all cases it's a matter of turning off the rem threads, rethreading and machine off the 'third ring of steel. Sometimes the headspace is within tolerance as is, sometimes not, and then sight alignment issues. Works for me, Mark
