Author Topic: '95 action question  (Read 640 times)

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Offline kevin.303

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'95 action question
« on: May 28, 2006, 08:05:57 PM »
can the winchester 95 action safely handle the pressure of the 7x57 Mauser? buying a complete action for $200 and had someone else offer me a 7x57 chambered barrel for $100, could make an interesting project
" oh we didn't sink the bismarck, and we didn't fight at all, we spent our time in Norfolk and we really had a ball. chasing after women while our ship was overhauled, living it up on grapefruit juice and sick bay alcohol"

Offline Rick Teal

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'95 action question
« Reply #1 on: May 29, 2006, 09:57:59 AM »
They were made in 30-06, and some were rebarrelled to .35 Whelens, so I'd expect no problem going to 7X57.  You probably could load the 7X57 right up to snuff, and not the reduced loads you find in most of your factory ammo.
Hunting is Exciting!  Bolt actions are BORING!!
Don't mix the two!

Offline 86er

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'95 action question
« Reply #2 on: May 29, 2006, 07:37:50 PM »
That sounds like my kind of project, kevin. I'd do that in a heartbeat. Perfect combination, in my book.
I get my kicks from an 1886.

Offline John Traveler1

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winchester '95 in 7x57
« Reply #3 on: May 29, 2006, 08:11:22 PM »
Kevin,

As a former disciple of the late, great P.O. Ackley, I have to put in my two cents:

P.O Ackley was probably the greatest riflesmith, experimenter, and wildcatter throughout the 1930's thru the 1970's until his death in the middle 80's.  His qualifications included an engineering degree from MIT,  supervision of ammo production at Ogden Arsenal during WWII, and running a highly sucessful barreling business and custom rifle shop for a comple generations.

He wrote that he had worked on many, many winchester 1895 .30-06 rifles, and a common problem was severe indentation of the breechface resulting in apparent excessive headspace from extended firing.  He believed the factory bolt material to be too soft, and remedied it by boring out the bolt face and silver soldering in a hardened insert.  

If you are going to rebarrel for the 7x57, moderate loads are probably an excellent idea.  We are not suggesting that the action is weak, but rather stating that the primary extraction is weak, without the gas handling safety of the mauser, and hotrodding a 100+ year old rifle action is probably not a good idea.  Other than that, I too, find the idea of a lever action for the 7x57 an intriguing idea.

Let us know how it works out.

HTH
John

Offline kevin.303

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'95 action question
« Reply #4 on: May 29, 2006, 08:56:15 PM »
the starting rifle was a .30-40 krag model, will this require a different bolt head, if thats even possible?
" oh we didn't sink the bismarck, and we didn't fight at all, we spent our time in Norfolk and we really had a ball. chasing after women while our ship was overhauled, living it up on grapefruit juice and sick bay alcohol"

Offline John Traveler1

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winchester 1895
« Reply #5 on: May 30, 2006, 10:48:47 AM »
That .30-40 bolt will work for .30-06 and 7x57 size cartridges, but you have to replace the extractor, as the .30-40 rim is somewhat larger than the .30-06 size case rims.  I had a .30-40 once that was rebarreled with a springfield 1903 barrel, but had the original extractor.  Case extraction was a "sometime" thing.

If the action were mine, I would simply rebarrel to it's original caliber of .30-40 krag.  There is not much difference in performance between the 7x57 and the .30-40 for the woods hunting ranges you probably have in mind for the gun, and it would be a completely reliable conversion.