doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com reboring

Rocky mtn Bill,
If you just have to have it rebored, I agree with Joe that the best caliber would be 9.5x57. The Whelen would be OK,but you would likely have to open up the mag.box. I had trouble getting one of my 9x57s to shoot and tracked down the problem to a crack in the stock through the recoil shoulder and from behind the mag.to the trigger.These cracks weren't too obvious, but opened in recoil. I epoxied a cross bolt across each crack and it settled down. Large calibers aren't all that sensitive to throat erosion. Just a hint, switch to 3 round groups and they will look better.It won't cost anything to check the stock before deciding what to do.
Mike

Der Ami, I will definitely check the stock for recoil lug fit and cracks. I will also try some other loads. I was using 40 grs of 4064, a mild load, but I wanted to see if .358" bullets gave any pressure problems in the .356" bore. They didn't.The neck of the chamber is tight enough that bullets can just be hand seated in a fired case. I'll try to figure out a charge for Varget or maybe 4895.

Bill,
Did you slug the barrel yourself? All the ones I slugged were .358. I have heard of some being .356, but don't know if that came from actual measurements or from a "book". A German friend loaded for his Mod 88, 9x57, using.358 bullets and 358 Win. data. This is what started me checking.
Mike

Hey Bill,
as an add on to Mikes post. Those guns always split behind the mag. In addition, make sure of your clearance between the bottom metal and the action. If it going to touch anywhere that it shouldn't, its going to be at the front of the box or at the front screw. My guess is that it has a stock ferule(sp?) at the rear action screw so it shouldn't happen there.

Tom

Tom, Thanks for the tip. I had checked and found the magazine box needed to be reduced a bit in height. I also lapped the crown a bit and slugged the bore. Just returned from the range. The first two 5-shot groups were 2 1/2- 3", not too bad for open sights, but the next two groups opened badly as the bore fouled.Accuracy is adequate for hunting. Ten shots would probably suffice for ten years the way things are going here nowadays. Still, I'm tempted to see if firelapping using only fine grit would reduce the fouling problem.PS: Today's loads were RE-15; groups were slightly better than with 4064.

Bill,a .356 Lee size die will reduce your .358's,no sweat.It should reduce fouling too.I size them down to .353 for my 9x56 MS,worked for me.

R, Does Lee sell dies to size jacketed bullets? I was shooting 250 gr Hornadys.I suspect you're right about the oversize bullets adding to the fouling problem.

Yes Bill,I use their standard bullet sizing die in a rockchucker press.With a good lube 250 grain Hornadys slip right through the .356 die,it gets more difficult as you go smaller.
The die will set you back about $20.00 shipped on their website.

I'll Look into getting one of these. Thanks for putting me on to it. I had no idea sizing jacketed bullets was so simple.

Yeah, it's simple but sometimes when sizing down, the jacket will spring back enough to cause it to separate from the core slightly. Not a problem with sizing small amounts or with 'soldered' jackets, but a definite consideration when sizing large differences or some standard-design jackets.

'Bumping up' OTOH tends to lock the jacket more firmly to the core, since the jacket will spring back slightly and the lead won't.
Regards, Joe