Posted on 04/09/2002 12:19:09 PM PDT by 7.63Broom
No,they are both 30 caliber.
the Ruskie is rimmed the NATO is rimless and the NATO pressure is WAY higher.
They are loaded to similiar pressure levels. The 762x54R is actually between the 762 Nato and the old 30/06 is power. The NATO round is a 762x51,and IF I remember correctly,the 30/06 is a 7.62x63.
Having said all this,why bother? It's really not worth the expense,especially when there is plenty of 762x54R ammo around,and it is slightly more powerful than the 7.62 NATO to begin with.
If you absolutly,positively have to have a .308 Winchester rifle,buy a Savage bolt action with the heavy barrell. Do NOT buy one of the converted M95 or M96 Mausers with only 2 locking lugs. The old 7X57 Mauser round they were made for IS loaded to a much lower pressure than current 7.62 NATO ammo,and the rifles are unsafe when altered.
Do NOT do this! SMLE's only have one locking lug at the rear,and are NOT safe to convert over to higher pressure cartridges,and I don't give a damn WHO tells you they are.
and getting a 1903 Springfield (30-06) from the Civilian Marksmanship Program.
Good luck,there! If you do happen to get a 03A3 from CMP,do NOT covert it over! You can probably sell it as is to a collector for enough to buy a new Savage.
The easiest and cheapest military rifle to convert over to 308 is the old 7.7 Japanese Arisaka. Same case head diameter,and same bolt face dimensions. You don't even need to modify the feed rails or the magazine. About all you need is a surplus Springfield barrell to thread and chamber. Good luck finding one today,though. They are also getting pretty scarce and pricey now. If you have to pay somebody else to thread and chamber the barrell,it would be cheaper to go ahead and buy a new Savage and be done with it. It just doesn't pay to modify surplus military rifles anymore.
Damn fine steel,and a strong action,even if it isn't all that attractive. Many of these things were even made by Winchester before and during WW-2,and I THINK a bunch of them were made by Remington during WW-1. Never heard of one blowing up.
It doesn't matter. Like all SMLE's,it still only has the one locking lug at the rear,which means there is no margin for error. If they one lug breaks,you end up with a new eye accessory,a rifle bolt. LOTS bigger than the trendiest ear rings,and a fashion accessory I don't think will really catch on.
Winchester did something similiar years ago,when they chambered Model 70's in .264 Winchester Magnum. Throat erosion and barrel wear was a problem,as this created severe overbore. Some antelope hunters out west swore by it,though.
So what? The chamber pressure in the 7.62x54R is similiar. I don't have my Hatcher's Notebook or Cartridges of the World handy right now,but the best I can remember,all the various 30-32 cal military loads were loaded to similiar pressures.
The "x63/54/63" is the case length, it has nothing to do with chamber pressure.
Well,Duhhhhh!
No. Not a chance this is economically feasable. Even if you could do all the work yourself and owned the chamber reamers and lathe,it would be tough to do it for what you could just buy a whole brand new 308 Savage for. Let's not forget that simply changing and rechambering the barrell isn't the end of it. You now have a barrelled action that no longer fits the stock you have for it. This means you either have to scratch-build a new stock from a blank,or buy a semi-inletted stock from someplace like Bishop,and then inlet and finish it yourself. What you your trigger? Are you still going to be satisfied with that old heavy "2-stage" military trigger and safety? Oh,did I mention sling swivels and a sling for your new stock? You will also still need to either install iron sights or drill and tap for scope mount. Do YOU have a jig that fits Nagant receivers? Know anybody that does? Yeah,I know.I've drilled and tapped receivers by hand,too. Back when I was younger,had better eyesight,and my hands were steadier. AND back when I didn't have any better sense.
If you have a original Nagant good for shooting as is,keep shooting it as is. If nothing but a 308 Win will satisfy you,buy a new rifle. You will be glad you did.
So I would skip that one
The .303 Brit is only rated at 42,000, so I would never consider anything with any higher pressure than that.
I am not saying that the rifle will not hold together, or that the steel is bad,etc.
I am saying that it is an extremely bad idea to chamber a rifle for a cartridge with greater pressure than it was designed for, with a few notable exceptions.
You only have one face.
For long range competition (besides Palma) the 6.5-.284 wildcat still reigns supreme.
I meant to say the Enfields chambered for the Brit .303, just to clarify a bit.
If you want an accurate bolt gun in the $350-$400 range, look at the Savage Model 110(?).
I have one that I took apart to degrease. I just have to finish the degreasing and figure out where all of those little parts go.
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