Hi,
Probably about 12 years ago I read an article on shortening a pre 64 Winchester Mod. 70 action and was wondering if anyone had any experience doing such things? It inspired me to start a similar project with a 1909 Argentine action, however, I was wondering if there were any legal issues with doing this? And after welding it back together should the action be heat treated? and if so can anyone recommend a good place to have it done?
Thanks in advance
Jeff
Shortening a Mod. 98 Action by 1 inch
I did this to a Mauser a number of years ago...
mostly as an experiment. One thing I learned was that the magazine needs a lot of rework. I removed the section from the area of the thumb cut, so the welding was way to the rear of the forward ring. The strength of the action is primarily the forward ring and there is no excuse for getting that hot enough to lose the heat treatment when welding at the rear. Kind of depends on how powerful a cartridge you would use it for whether I would re-heat treat; also whether it's solely for yourself or for someone else. If for someone else, I would re-heat treat from liability aspect. In fact, I probably wouldn't do it for any one else. I had a soft Argentine (might be a good idea to test yours) re-heat treated by a guy in Oregon but I can't remember his name. Cost $45 per furnace load whether one action or a bunch. If you're really interested, I can try to determine his name.
Re: Shortening a Mod. 98 Action by 1 inch
Before you do the first cut, by all means get ahold of a copy of "Gunsmithing" by Roy Dunlap. He goes into quite a bit of detail including photos on how to do it.
Al Messer
"One nation, under God"
"One nation, under God"
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Re: Shortening a Mod. 98 Action by 1 inch
Did several of these in the '80's- all to single shot configuration, of course! Make a mandrel that is a SNUG but not a press fit into the receiver bolt raceway to help keep it aligned and clamp it down on a plate. We used heli-arc at the time, but mig should work also. Small alternating tacks are the best to reduce overheating and warpage. Also fitted a block machined as a loading tray in the mag well and welded it in. Cut the bolt through the guide rib and make the joint a slip fit round tenon about 1/2" long and low temp silver solder- put mine on a mandrel with a clamp on the rib for alignment and soldered while turning in the lathe. Shorten the firing pin the same way, making sure to maintain alignment- just a little off makes it "hang". It worked great for me, but will use a "Fireball" next time!
Re: Shortening a Mod. 98 Action by 1 inch
For info on shortening the Mauser action, I'd suggest picking up a copy of Jerry Kuhnhausen's "The Mauser M91 through M98 Bolt Actions A shop manual". It has a detailed section on shortening the receiver and bolt, including pictures and information on heat treating. The publisher is Heritage Gun books.
Kuhnhausen's Books
When I needed to strip and rework a rusty M1A I bought Kuhnhausen's book from Brownell's for the M1 and M14 rifles. His books are excellent with lots of diagrams, instructions, lessons learned, etc. They are well worth every penney in my opinion. The only thing I did not do to this rifle was remove the barrel from the action.
Regards,
-Art K
Regards,
-Art K
Re: Kuhnhausen's Books
I'll second that. I have four of 'em, just wish he did more.
GsT
GsT
Re: Shortening a Mod. 98 Action by 1 inch
I remember reading about someone taking two mausers and cutting them in slightly different spots and switching halves and rewelding. Ended up with a short action and a magnum length action.
hart
hart