Thank you Phil. I'm glad you approve. That helps me know I made a good choice.
I sent the barrel off today to McGowan so they can copy the profile. I look forward to seeing their work.
For now, I'm going to leave the barrel without a dovetail and without being drilled and tapped for a front sight. I may choose to add those later, but of course only after the barrel has been properly headspaced and tested. Then I'll know where the proper timing is for those sights if I want to add them.
I realize your project has started, did you consider a 6.5x55? Great old cartridge, but not 7mm. You can always AI the 7x57, As I recall, PO said the 7x57AI gains about as much as any and is definitely more efficient. That is one great looking rifle.
Bill
Thanks Bill. I agree. This is the only one of this vintage I've seen with a hand-checkered walnut (and not some other wood) stock. I'm sure they exist, but it was the stock that really grabbed my attention. That stock only weighs 1 lb. 15 oz. even with the recoil pad on it.
I did consider the venerable 6.5x55. I've owned two of those now. They are sweet shooters. But I wanted to stick with a 7mm since I also load for a 7mm-08, and soon, a .284 Winchester. Some might ask why all the redundancy. I guess I just like 7mm's!
Thanks. I guess I could have sent in the action with the barrel and had them install it and then cut the dovetail and tap it for the front sight, but honestly I wanted to see what it looked like without the sights, shoot it a while, then decide. I can have that work done locally pretty easily, anytime I want to.
I'll be sure to post pics of the assembled rifle once I get the barrel installed.
7mm is a great choice, in addition to 7RM, I also load for 7-08 and 280. Mine also has hand cut checkering and what I believe to be walnut, but no cheek rest.
Looking forward to upgrade pics!
No, don’t re barrel it. Keep 1 box of 30-06 150gn corlokts and shoot a deer every few years. It’s perfect the way it is.
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I thought about that. But I just don't trust hunting rifles that aren't consistently accurate, and that old '06 barrel was toast. Plus, I have a soft spot for 7x57 (anything 7mm really) and that's an even more classic cartridge than the '06, so to me it fits the intended purpose very well.
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