"old school" varmint gun

[placek59]

Hey everyone,
I have a hankerin' to build a somewhat "old school" (to me at least) varmint gun. I was thinking of a .219 zipper or wasp (any other ideas, let me hear them). Has anyone tried this on a 10/110 action? I was wondering how it was to get a rimmed cartridge to feed, extract, or just plain work in a newer action. I have also thought about using a 340 action or one of its 'brothers' if need be. I hate to tear one of those apart though if I don't have to. I was just curious if anyone has done this and what action they used and what the results were. Let me know what you guys think.

[leather5to1]

Go with a 222, best old school varmint round and would work in 223 center or stagger feeds.

[bootsmcguire]

i believe someone posted a question like this before about building a 30-30 one a newer Savage action. And if I remember right the concensus here was it wasn't possible.

I would like to know what you decide as the 219 Zipper is a neat round. If you are going odd and oldschool I would recommend it. Brass forming is a challenge I am still working on. I have Grandpa's he had built on a Winchester Single shot falling block action with a 20" 1.5"dia bull barrel and dual set triggers. I need to play with it more but so far it does not disappoint. Keep us up to speed on what you decide to try.

222 is a fun round too, but I understand the need to march to the beat of a different drum.

[Uncle Jack]

220 Swift?

uj

[GaCop]

I wouldn't ruin a 340 action, especially if it's one of the rarer 222s. Rebarreling a 340 will be a bit expensive too. Your big problem is the rimmed case and getting a 10/110 Savage bolt head to work with it, even with machining. A 222 or 222 mag would work very well swith a standard .378" bolt head and 223 mag box. Talk to Northlander or Sinarms about a barrel in those calibers.

[MikeCTX]

maybe a 218 Bee

[thirty06]

225 Win. old school, simple and different.

[dcloco]

Go 222 Magnum....and neck UP 204 Ruger brass.

222 and 222 Magnum brass is expensive. :(

[Eric in NC]

You could use 30 Remington brass and make a rimless 219 Wasp or Zipper (has been done many times). A bolt head modified for the 6.7SPC would work just fine.

[GaCop]

Good one Eric, I didn't think about that.

[Blue Avenger]

.225 was a factory option in the 340. you would use the more common .30-30 actions.

[ellobo]

Does anyone know of a rimless cartridge case that could be used to make a rimless 22 hornet? That would make a neat little round for bolt gun conversion. Thats a round I could start my grandkids and greatgrandkids on.
El Lobo

[Blue Avenger]

.221 fireball is getting down there.

[Eric in NC]

Nope on the rimless hornet - too much body taper, not enough neck.

In the 50's folks necked down the 30 Carbine to 22 cal.

The new 5.7x28 FN (which Savage is supposed to chamber for 2011) might be something you could look at.

[placek59]

So many ideas, I had not thought about a rimless zipper... I already have a .222 so that one is out for me. I really am leaning toward a .219 or a .218 could work too. I thought I had read on here somewhere that it was not really feasible to use a rimmed cartridge on a 10/110 action, I could not find the thread on it though. Does anyone happen to know what the barrel threads are on a 340? I saw there was a 340 action on gunbroker yesterday, but I don't know if it sold or what. I don't really want to take one apart, because I don't like butchering things that aren't made any longer (like all the sporterized military stuff), but if I can find one that someone else has butchered, that would work great. Does anyone know if the bolts on the 340 family are one piece, or not? Lots of good ideas, keep 'em coming.

[Airedaleman]

So many ideas, I had not thought about a rimless zipper... I already have a .222 so that one is out for me. I really am leaning toward a .219 or a .218 could work too. I thought I had read on here somewhere that it was not really feasible to use a rimmed cartridge on a 10/110 action, I could not find the thread on it though. Does anyone happen to know what the barrel threads are on a 340? I saw there was a 340 action on gunbroker yesterday, but I don't know if it sold or what. I don't really want to take one apart, because I don't like butchering things that aren't made any longer (like all the sporterized military stuff), but if I can find one that someone else has butchered, that would work great. Does anyone know if the bolts on the 340 family are one piece, or not? Lots of good ideas, keep 'em coming.


340 bolts are many pieces. Think deHaas's book may have barrel shank and thread specs. Will check and get back...

[Airedaleman]

Checked deHaas. No info on the 340's shank/thread specs. Sorry...

Mike

[hailstone]

There are several wildcats that are a little more powerful than the 22 Hornet. Already mention are the Remington Fireballs in either 17 or 221 caliber. Another is the 30 Carbine necked down to either 17 or 22 caliber. It would also be similar to the 218 Bee in performance on a rimless bottle neck case which might have feeding issues without tinkering. I've done the carbine route which had commerical ammunition available at one time. Believe it was IMI made and imported as were the carbine rifles. Rifle could operate as a semi-auto or manual single shot by changing the gas piston. It goes by numberous names but most common is 5.7 MMJ named after the individual (Melvin M. Johnson) who was a proponet of its adpotion. Easy rebarrel of the 30 carbines in smaller caliber. Talked too a gunsmith who converted many for pilots during the Viet Nam war. They used them for survival if shot down. All this was under the table not DOD/USAF approved. Even making brass is a simple matter of necking 30 carbine brass to 22 caliber. No need for neck thinning or turning.

Problem with many vintage wildcats is there rimmed case basis as your aware. Moving to more recent by gone years there's a host of wildcats that could be used. Best too acquire one of the several books published on wildcats and persue the different ones until something strikes your fancy. You'll have a "one of" that will be a great conservational piece but unfortunately boat anchor if you want too sell. Then again that's the beauty of the Savage barrel nut system just remove the barrel and replace.

[placek59]

Well..... a year has gone by and I finally found an action to build this around. It is a Savage/Springfield 840e in .223. I got it cheap from of a friend of my brother's and it was at some point painted camoflauge and has a busted extractor which I need to order (numrich or brownells). If for any reason this gun is worth something, someone please let me know soon. So, I am going to go with something on a .223 bolt face. I am really leaning towards a .221 fireball, but re-reading this post has me re-thinking a rimless zipper or something of the like. I need to do some more research on something like that. I had also thought of a 6mm TCU, but that is getting away from my "Old School" start. I want the barrel to be a heavy sporter"ish" so I can use it as a walking varminter if I want to. If anyone has any ideas or sources for a few parts let me know. I plan on having to make my own barrel wrench and some other tools FYI.

Also, feel free to move this to the "other" section since it is no longer a 10/110 discussion.

[dcloco]

Thought about a 20 VarTarg or 221 Fireball?