Siamese Mauser 45/70 conversion with feeding issues [Pics added]

Panic

Panic

CGN Regular
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Location
Burnaby, BC
EDIT - Original seller made contact and took it back. He was unaware of the feed issues as he hadn't fired it after getting it back from the gunsmith. Solid guy!


Hi guys,

Apologies if this is in the wrong section now....

I traded for a 45/70 Siamese conversion from the EE last year. Stock came looking worse than the pictures I'd but I let that slide as I had the intention or restocking it in a sporter. After racking the bolt and checking the safety worked I set it in the safe with plans to replace the beaten looking cut down stock it came with and carried on with a different project.

Fast forward to today. A buddy brought over some rounds so I could check how many will fit in the mag and this is when I discovered that the bolt doest pick them up correctly, it pushes them half way into the chamber and locks up. I tried inserting individually and the same thing...half way in and it jams up. If I remove the magazine and bolt, then place a round directly onto the bolt face and slide it back into the rifle it will chamber perfectly.

Pictures have been added for evaluation. I'd like to ask your opinions on what price I can realistically ask for the rifle at the current stage of "conversion" its in?

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If you are unsure what you are doing ,pay someone who is as to tweaking the feed rails etc..........Harold
 
For sure. I'm not playing around with any of the workings. Fitting and bedding a stock is one thing, machining the working parts of a firearm is a completely different ball game.

As weathered and beaten as it might be, I want to keep my face...playing around with rifles in areas I don't understand might make me lose it in one trigger squeeze.

There's a gunsmith in Delta that several people on here have recommended in other posts so I'd take it down there for any work. I just want to know the possible scope of work and wallet damage I'd be looking at.
 
Did it chamber fine when in the old stock?, are you still able to try the old stock?.

Sounds like the feed ramp angle is off, bedding height issue?
 
Both the 8x50R and the 8x52R Siamese cartridges had a rim diameter of .550 " The 45-70 case has a rim diam of .600 to .608". That is your problem. If you are going to make a 45-70 out of this action you will need to open up the bolt face and open up the feedrails a little. This is best left to someone who knows what they are doing. If you are creating some other wildcat the 45-70 cases can have the rims turned down about .050" to make them work with your action as is. The Russian 7.62x53 or54 has a rim diameter of .445" and can be used as a parent case for a number of wildcats. Hope that helps.
 
I've built two 45/70's on Siamese Mausers over the years . The feeding problem you have is exactly what I experienced . The feed rails will have to be relieved in the front portion of the mag well . You'd be surprised how little needs to be removed . I did mine myself , but if you're not comfortable doing it , definitely send it to a smith . A little warning in advance , you might have to work on the front of the mag / feed ramp to get reliable feeding with blunt / sharp shouldered bullets . Nothing major , but it is a bit fiddly .
 
you might check that the magazine spring is in the correct way. A friend had a 303 Lee Enfield that would not feed and the problem was that the magazine spring had to be rotated 180 degrees. It sounds as if your magazine is not pushing the base of the shell high enough into the bolt face

cheers mooncoon
 
mooncoon said:
you might check that the magazine spring is in the correct way. A friend had a 303 Lee Enfield that would not feed and the problem was that the magazine spring had to be rotated 180 degrees. It sounds as if your magazine is not pushing the base of the shell high enough into the bolt face

cheers mooncoon
Click to expand...

The Siamese Mauser spring (and possibly all others) will only sit one way. It has a notch on the floor plate that need one end of the spring to be relieved.

The problem appears to be that the feed rails were not modified when the rest of the work was done.
 
Figure out case angle marked from centerline on 45/70 vs original caliber. That'll be the general difference. Run a slight chamfer on chamber edge to eliminate that then spot in the feed rails with a dummy and prussian blue, files, etc.
 
Just an idea, try contacting Gary Flach (G.E. FLACH on CGN). He's a gunsmith in Langley, he does good work at a fair price (with a quick turnaround). Maybe he can help.
 
I've been told that an easy conversion for the Pattern 14 rifle is to rebarrel it to .45/70 and turn down the case rims a bit. The .45/70 has a generous rim and could lose some.
Perhaps that would be an easy, or easier fix than removing metal from the rails. Certainly modifying a few cases will cause less anxiety.
 
The very large rim on the 45-70 does create some of the problems with getting the cartridges to stack well but that isn't the issue in the original post. If the rails are opened up it should function reasonably well. I've built a couple and although they fed OK they didn't feed all that smoothly. the magazine dimensions are just too far off and while the receiver is easily modified, the mag box is not. They worked but I was never happy with them. I think the 7.64x54R might be the best cartridge for these. Contrary to what Frank deHaas said, the 30/40 Krag is not.
 
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