Opening up 98 action
- Thread starter SuperCub
- Start date
It is possible despite the naysayers.Weatherby did it for many years as did H+H and other brits. I have 2 Weatherby's (factory) this way. Whitworth did a zillion 375's as well. I have opened them up at the back as well as a little in the front. When opened at rear your choice of triggers gets limited as does your mag box.The best(most expensive) way is to get 2 actions and cut them at different places, then weld opposites together. Results in 1 long and one short. I did this about 20 yr. ago mostly to prove to myself I could. The fellow who built my 505 Gibbs (P14 action)had done this and showed me the result. I still have these 2 actions, one is to be a 375 Wby and the other a 22 Cheetah. I have not finished the mag boxes or bottom metal but there's still time. It's a good do it yourself project but as has been said, prob. not cost effective considering the short mag cart.and others such as the AR line (Jeff Smith)which are Ultra cases cut to 2.65 and blown out. Work in a '98 with a bit of tweaking. IMHO these are the best designed wildcats in a long time. Good luck with your project, Paul. Mark
I have done two myself and I know several smiths who have done quite a few of them. Two of them are members here on this board. The reason they refuse to do this work any more is because of actions that failed after someone loaded stupid. That is the fly in the ointment and the reason it is so hard to find anyone to actually do the work.
I certainly understand that, because a smith has no control over how hot some idiot loads the ammo, yet is liable if the something happens. As has already been posted, Parker-Hale, Browning, FN, Interarms Mark X, Zastava and a host of others use the standard length Mauser for the 375 H&H, but they have deeper pockets than any gunsmith I know.
That is something you will have to remember if you do the work, and eventually sell the rifle. The problem is that the conversion is fine for factory ammo load levels, but marginal for hotter stuff, notwithstanding the fact that years ago Weatherby used Mausers for his 300. There is a guy up here who has an original 300 Wby on a 98 that he has owned since the late fifties. He hunts with it every year and shoots nothing but factory ammo.
Building 375s, 300s, 425s, 500s and other long and huge stuff on standard Mausers used to be done all the time. Harry Selby's 416 Rigby was built on a standard military 98 with the thumb cut-out on the side rail. It was built by Rigby themselves. Selby actually wore out the first barrel and had another installed, so it will certainly work if the pressures are kept sensible, in the low 40s like factory ammo.
Unfortunately, once lawyers got involved most gunsmiths stopped doing it. Even if you prove it was the loads and win in court, it cost a zillion to defend oneself, and you never get rid of the sullied reputation.
Ted
I certainly understand that, because a smith has no control over how hot some idiot loads the ammo, yet is liable if the something happens. As has already been posted, Parker-Hale, Browning, FN, Interarms Mark X, Zastava and a host of others use the standard length Mauser for the 375 H&H, but they have deeper pockets than any gunsmith I know.
That is something you will have to remember if you do the work, and eventually sell the rifle. The problem is that the conversion is fine for factory ammo load levels, but marginal for hotter stuff, notwithstanding the fact that years ago Weatherby used Mausers for his 300. There is a guy up here who has an original 300 Wby on a 98 that he has owned since the late fifties. He hunts with it every year and shoots nothing but factory ammo.
Building 375s, 300s, 425s, 500s and other long and huge stuff on standard Mausers used to be done all the time. Harry Selby's 416 Rigby was built on a standard military 98 with the thumb cut-out on the side rail. It was built by Rigby themselves. Selby actually wore out the first barrel and had another installed, so it will certainly work if the pressures are kept sensible, in the low 40s like factory ammo.
Unfortunately, once lawyers got involved most gunsmiths stopped doing it. Even if you prove it was the loads and win in court, it cost a zillion to defend oneself, and you never get rid of the sullied reputation.
Ted
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You hit the nail on the head, Ted. I have two .375s built on commercial Mausers, and they're served just fine for longer than I've been alive (and I rode a dinosaur to school!)
My next one, however, is going to be a 9.3x64 - just because! And it's going to be on an FN/Husqvarna.
My next one, however, is going to be a 9.3x64 - just because! And it's going to be on an FN/Husqvarna.
