Consider this... take the Savage 10 platform, now shrink the action length to 2" but leave all the beef of the bolt and action and receiver ring in place, just make the distance covered by mag well 2". Chamber them in .45ACP, .460 Rowland and .45 Winchester Magnum. Now make them feed from 1911 mags for the .45acp and Rowland and from LAR Grizzly mags for the .45winmag. You'd end up with a rifle that can take .452" bullets and launch them anywhere from a sedate 700fps to a bone shattering 2000fps.

I took a Swedish Mauser and built one and IIRC there's at least 1 member here that's doing the same thing with an Axis.

Here's my sporter barrel unit:


I have 10 and 15 round mags for it too but 7-8 is just fine. It's chambered for .45acp and feeds from 1911 mags.

I launch 200gr jacketed bullets at 2000fps from a .45acp length .460 rowland brass loaded with a way past book max powder charge and a MLPP. I have lead loads that run out at 1600+ FPS. When shooting .45acp pressure ammo there's almost no recoil and it's super quiet (been asked if my heavy barrel unit was suppressed). A child of the youngest years could shoot this thing and it's lethal on small game up to small deer.

The upside of a real rifle with real pressure holding capacity is that you can unhinge the power vault and unleash a substantial amount of whooparse in a super light and handy rifle with a tiny short bolt throw. I hit what is estimated to be around 55K psi with my top loads but even standard .460 loads cruise out at 1400-1700fps with 200-230gr bullets. That's .44mag power in a .45acp case and without a rimmed case.

I have gone pretty far with pressures and found where it gets too high and starts loosening primer pockets. Suffice it to say that with appropriate powders (a bit slower burning than normal .45acp powders) you can darn near fill the case if you keep it in a bolt action rifle. Yes I'm way off the reservation with my rifle only loads but my pistol loads work in it too. This ends up as a great brush gun and plenty for hitting a black bear (if you use expanding bullets at top speeds, use bonded bullets or they'll come apart on impact) and it'll take your pistol ammo too. I think of my .45 mauser and my glock 21 as a bit like a modern interpretation of the old Winchester 1874 and a Peacemaker in identical chamberings.

While I load rifle only versions which are NEVER for use in a pistol and are headstamped differently than my pistol rounds for that reason, there's no "need" to do so other than that I limit my game size to deer size critters and pull bears right off the list if pressures are kept to pistol safe levels.

Here's an early pic of my heavy barrel unit. We were still in testing phase and so I used a 1" scope ring and screwed on a bit of picatinny rail to mount a red-dot on it. The heavy barrel model is now sitting in a gunsmiths shop waiting for him to get off his laggin butt and drill and tap the receiver and put a set of dove tail iron sights on it. Might get it back this year.



I have a 28" heavy barrel sitting in the wings waiting for a rifle to go onto. I'm thinking of retro-fitting it into a Savage 10 and using my spare 10FP stock for it.