Vetterli status question

in 41 swiss RF it is an antique till it is converted to CF .I would guess as 22RF is a no go cartridge so would say no longer has antique status
 
I am going to say it would remain antique by a small margin because it is unlikely it would be able to fire a centerfire cartridge. It is also not chambered to fire a 22 rimfire bulleted cartridge only to fire the shell as a primer. I think you would be far wiser to make up brass shells with an offset hole for either a 22 blank or a 27 cal Hilti shell as a primer. In response to Uglyduckling, pre 1898 rimfire repeating rifles are antiques except for 22 rimfires.

cheers mooncoon
 
I thought for a while, I might be able to chamber a second round from the magazine, and not have to align it. I'm agreeing with mooncoon, I would be wiser to offset the primer.
 
Caliber would be below 8.3 mm. Plus .22 is considered a modern caliber. Probably would not qualify an Antique anymore.
 
Sounds like you wish to keep its antique status. I have over ten rifles, some are parts only. I have one bolt changed to center fire. The head space is controlled by the bolt handle. I mix and match handles on one bolt to get other rifles working with center fire cases. As long as the bolt is not in any rifles they have antique status. Get a second bolt body and make it center fire. Your bolt handle should give you proper headspace. 45 minutes for me to change a bolt to center fire. Easy change and saves a lot of hassle. 348 Winchester or 8 Lebel cases are used depending on how tight your chamber is. Lebel have slightly smaller head diameter.
 
JP said:
Caliber would be below 8.3 mm. Plus .22 is considered a modern caliber. Probably would not qualify an Antique anymore.
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the key issue is that the gun is not chambered to shoot a 22 rimfire out of the barrel. The loss of antique status would only apply if the gun was permanently sleeved to shoot 22 caliber bullets. A Vetterli cartridge case turned on a lathe and modified to use 22 blanks as primers does not constitute being able to fire 22 rimfire bulleted cartridges out o the barrel in any meaningful way. If you did put a long rifle shell in the modified case and fired it, I suspect that what would happen is the 22 case itself would split and flare out on the inside of the modified case and the bullet would come from the barrel at 50 to 100 feet per second (maybe) and fly off in a wildly inaccurate way.

cheers mooncoon
 
at the end of the day having a valid PAL makes it a non issue if you convert it to CF or go with the off set priming method as it is still a non restricted ..just saying
 
Thank you for all the replies! I do have a spare bolt, as I did not want to modify my early Vetterli with double set trigger. Is there enough support in a case for a .25 blank, or would it get loose after reloading it several times? Also can a blank be used as is for a primer?
 
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