Judson

If you are intrested in Custom Rifles, Wildcat cartridges, or big bore guns, (over .30 cal) lets talk.

Judson

I am a custom rifle builder living in St.Albans Maine. I am, some say, alittle set in my ways, pig headed, you know, that stuff. However, I love talking guns and shareing information. If you have gunsmithing questions I will help if I can. If Wildcats are your bag, from the 4500 F.P.S. .224 Plumber to the .585 Nyati I will be glad to help so lets talk!!!!!!

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Judson

frizzellr

I have an off the wall question for you. I have a Marlin 336 in 30-30 Win just gathering dust in the corner. I absolutely detest the 30-30 Win. Other than reaming the chamber to 30-30 AI, do I have any other options for conversions? What I would really like is to rebarrel it to 375 Win but I am not sure if it would hold up to the 52000 cup that the cartridge produces. Any ideas?

Judson

The 336 is a very good lever gun and for a few years it was offered in the .375 Win chambering. They never really never caught on in this cartridge but they are out there. Your Idea is feasable and would require a new barrel and some carrier work but that would be about it.

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Jud

frizzellr

I suppose my best bet is to go ahead with the 30-30 Ackley Improved. I also read an article about converting a Marlin 336 in 35 Rem to the more potent 358 Win. I have a soft spot for semi obsolete cartridges I guess. I had a Winchester Big Bore in 375 Win but I have never liked the model 94. Angle eject my butt. I was getting brass in the face. Anyways I really liked the cartridge but hated the gun. Little did I know that when I sold it I would have a hard time getting another one. Its really more bullet than I need down here for deer but then again so is the 45-70. Makes great hog medicine though. Those pesky things can be tough at times and the 375 and the 45-70 knock them flat.

To change the subject slightly, if you were going to build a 98 Mauser on a VZ 24 action just for the pure satisfaction of doing it which cartridge would you choose. I already have a 270 Win, 7mm-08 Rem (my baby) 300 Win mag and 45-70 along with the 30-30 win doorstop. I was actually toying with the idea of either a 35 Whelan or a 338-06. I was leaning towards the 338-06 since I plan on possibly trying the 35 Rem to 358 Win project at a later date. Is a 30-06 length case the longest that will feed through a 98?

Judson

Yes the V.Z. 24, Some alittle rough but all strong. Good action and as you have probably discovered quite inexpensive. Some 98 actions are not the best to work with, you want one from a good manufacture such as F.N. Bruno, C.Z. and others. The V.Z. 24 falls into this class and if clean is a good start for a custom rifle.
Though some people open the standard 98 up to take .375 length cartridges it is not a good practice from the liability aspect as the action is weakened. There is a way to do this without weakining it but we can discus that another time. 3006 length is not a problem at all but there two length magazines and the shorter one has to be opened up a bit. So always check your feeding before you blue the beast.
35 whelen, and the .338-06 are good cartridges, if you like something different check out 9.3X62 and the .358 Norma mag. Yes if you open up the bolt face and the rails of the action standard length magnums up to the .458 Winchester are not a problem. I do not know what you are going to do about the bolt handle but if you are going to forge it down while you are at it you can stretck it about a quarter of an inch and reshape the knob, this gives a much better appearence. One other thing check out the Kiplinger single set trigger for these actions.
Hope I have been of some help.

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Jud