Convert Rem 788 to .44 Auto Mag?

[lgm270]

The now discontinued Remington M-788 bolt action rifle was chambered for .44 Rem magnum, but copies of this are rare, hard to find and very expensive.

I like the .44 Rem Mag because I can shoot it in local, indoor pistol ranges in the metropolitan area in which I live and I don't have to drive for hours to shoot.

Going through an old cartridge collection box, I came accross a .44 Auto Mag round.  The .44 Auto Mag was a .308/30-06 casing shortened to 1.3" and loaded with .44 caliber (.429") bullets for use in the now defunct Auto Mag pistol.  It provided .44 Rem Mag ballistics in an autoloader.

It hit me:  Why couldn't I re-barrel a Rem 788 in .308 caliber to .44 Automag?   They have the same case head and the Automag should fit in .308 magazines even though it's shorter in length.  

I would have my bolt action .44 mag that I could shoot in indoor pistol ranges.  

Anyone have any thoughts on this idea?

[Ramrod]

Why not? Looks like you will only need to shorten the magazine box after the re-barrel. But a 788 in .308 is not going to be real cheap either, unless the finish is gone, so add the price of a re-blue to this project, and then compare to a new .44 rifle.