.30-06 to 7.92x57 or 7.62x54r

[tk421991]

Besides changing the barrel, is there anything I would need to do to convert a .30-06 Savage 110 to 8mm Mauser? Change the bolt head? Would the long-action 110 even work with the shorter cartridge?

I know 7.62x54r would be very hard, because its an intermediate action and 7.62x54r guns normally require a single stack mag, like the Vepr and Mosins.

[Westcliffe01]

I have done this exact thing, except I started with a 270 Win. Shilen made me an 8x57 custom varmint barrel which was a drop-in. I even got the barrel in less than 12 weeks... Mine has a detatchable magazine. I have been too busy to start load development for it, but now that winter is here, thats what I will be doing.

[1ShotKing]

The hardest part about converting to 7.62x54R would be the fact that it is a rimmed cartridge. This would require some major modifications to the bolt/bolt face in order for it to function properly. In all honestly, it is likely more trouble than it is worth.

[Westcliffe01]

7.62x54R is interesting, but being a rimmed cartridge it may need a custom bolt head. Very limited brass that I am aware of and no particular ballistic advantage compared to 308 / 30-06 ?

I would not be shooting steel core ammo down any match barrrel.

[tk421991]

7.62x54R is interesting, but being a rimmed cartridge it may need a custom bolt head. Very limited brass that I am aware of and no particular ballistic advantage compared to 308 / 30-06 ?

I would not be shooting steel core ammo down any match barrrel.

I already have hundreds of pieces of 7.62x54r brass. If you buy Sellier and Bellot, Winchester, or PPU ammo, it's brass cased and boxer primed, so you just have to separate the brass from the powder and bullet the fun way :)

I don't think there's a ballistic advantage that 7.62x54r has over .30-06. 7.62x54r does handle 174gr+ bullets better than .308 normally. I just have a .30-06 rifle that needs a new barrel and a large amount of 7.62x54r brass, so I was curious.

PS, surplus 7.62x54r that has a "steel core" is bimetal mild steel core.

[tk421991]

I have done this exact thing, except I started with a 270 Win. Shilen made me an 8x57 custom varmint barrel which was a drop-in. I even got the barrel in less than 12 weeks... Mine has a detatchable magazine. I have been too busy to start load development for it, but now that winter is here, thats what I will be doing.

Thanks for the info, how much was the barrel if you don't mind me asking?

[Westcliffe01]

I ordered it through Jim at NSS and it was the usual $339 if I recall. It was a 1:10 twist.

[Cycler]

Besides changing the barrel, is there anything I would need to do to convert a .30-06 Savage 110 to 8mm Mauser? Change the bolt head? Would the long-action 110 even work with the shorter cartridge?

The bolt heads for the 30-06 and 8 mm Mauser are identical so no change is needed there. Also, the Xx57 based series (7x57, 8x57, 6mm Rem, .257 Roberts, etc.) are all considered long action cartridges and their OAL is too long for a short action unless the bullets are seated excessively deep so your .30-06 action is already the correct one.

[Westcliffe01]

I originally spent $750 for a used 2004 Remington 700 "Classic" that was chambered in 8x57. It was a terrible waste of money. Awful trigger, bad bedding, bad sporter barrel. As I got it, it was 5MOA at best. Researched the trigger and found that I got the "post lawsuit" trigger which CANNOT be reduced to a reasonable pull without dissassembly and replacing springs etc. Looked at sending the barreled action to a smith in Colorado for a trigger job. Would have cost $95+ shipping.

Then discovered Shilen, and was able to get the Shilen trigger for $95 on Midway. That solved the trigger issue. Then bought a thumbhole stock that has a nice recoil pad. By now I had about $1000 into it. It was a 2.5MOA shooter at BEST. I knew by that time that Remington sporter barrels were junk and the combination of the light weight of the sporter barrel + the lightweight sporter stock + plastic butpad (what were they thinking ?) and shooting the 200gr pills at 2500fps made this a pretty nasty rifle to shoot. This past year after researching rebarreling it and waiting from Nov 2012 to April for a McGowan barrel that never showed up, it got traded on LRH. In its place, I got a Savage with a 308 1:10 Shilen barrel, which after being re-assembled properly, now shoots 1/4 MOA.

The quest for a "good" 8x57 remained, so I got a Savage model 10 in 270 Win for $385 (the seller was surprised when I gave him his ammo back, saying it was worth something). Paid $339 for the new barrel and it only took 20 min to open the package and install it. I had the GO gauge waiting of course ($30). I was surprised that the combination of the varmint barrel, model 12 type laminate stock with beavertail fore-end and a rubber recoil pad, it is now very mild to shoot. I have had a few teenagers shoot it on steel at 320 yards and not be intimidated at all.