Rebarrel k98 to 308

[Oldgunfan]

I have a Belgian commercial k98 in 30-06. I use it for target and silhouette/gong smacking using trailboss with subsonic 230 grain cast with iron sights as I don’t need 2900 fps if I don’t hunt. Seeing as trailboss is gone my next option looks to be red dot loads .. subsonic up to “the load” 1500 ish fps.
Being a noticeably smaller case using pistol powder I’m leaning towards rebarrelling to 308 rather than 30-06 .. I actually ordered both barrels from brownells as the barrel I have is now slugging at .312 !!
Anyone converted one ? I put 5 rounds of factory 308 in the internal mag to check function. All five fit but waaaay too tight to cycle/strip the top round due to 308 being fatter than 06 ! Had to drop the floor plate on them (no I had no intention of trying to fire a 308 in an 06 chamber). Not sure how to get around this without opening up the mag rails which I’m not too keen on .. I’m not sure what the Israelis did to make their 308 Mauser work as 8mm like 30-06 is a thinner case than 308 ? hope you all can help with input cheers

[dnedative]

The Israelis didnt do much, put a block in the front of the magazine and that was is.
Tightness is probably down to your rifle and tolerance stack, my german K98 in 8x57 will take 5 rounds of 308 in the magazine and strip them out without issue.

[bladeracer]

I have a Belgian commercial k98 in 30-06. I use it for target and silhouette/gong smacking using trailboss with subsonic 230 grain cast with iron sights as I don’t need 2900 fps if I don’t hunt. Seeing as trailboss is gone my next option looks to be red dot loads .. subsonic up to “the load” 1500 ish fps.
Being a noticeably smaller case using pistol powder I’m leaning towards rebarrelling to 308 rather than 30-06 .. I actually ordered both barrels from brownells as the barrel I have is now slugging at .312 !!
Anyone converted one ? I put 5 rounds of factory 308 in the internal mag to check function. All five fit but waaaay too tight to cycle/strip the top round due to 308 being fatter than 06 ! Had to drop the floor plate on them (no I had no intention of trying to fire a 308 in an 06 chamber). Not sure how to get around this without opening up the mag rails which I’m not too keen on .. I’m not sure what the Israelis did to make their 308 Mauser work as 8mm like 30-06 is a thinner case than 308 ? hope you all can help with input cheers

Use AR2206H for your reduced and subsonic loads, it's still readily available. Around 18gn will be subsonic behind a 180gn bullet - depending on your barrel length. I prefer to be around 1700fps for my plinking loads in the .30-06.

I'm surprised the .308 don't fit as they're only half a thousandth larger than the .30-06 in diameter.

[No1Mk3]

Agree with bladeracer,
The 30-06 is .471 base .4728 rim, 308W is .4709 base .4728 base and 8x57 .470 base .470 rim. All should interchange in Mauser 98 magazine, I just tried 5 7.62NATO in my 8mm Israeli Mauser, then the same 5 in my 30-06 FN M1950 Congo Mauser without issue. I would suggest you may need to block the mag well to prevent forward movement of the follower, or slightly modify the feed rails.

[Oldgunfan]

Thanks for the replies .. Might just have a tight mag box or wobbly follower ? I’ll get the gunsmith to check it out when it gets rebarreled

[Oldgunfan]

I’ll try AR2206H as it seems red dot is only available at one particular shop in Queensland and nowhere else ! I’ll start with 15gn and work up .. it will probably fill very little of the case but beats just looking at the rifle in the safe ! Thanks again guys

[Oldgunfan]

There’s definately something weird going on with my mag/follower. Just received my Swedish Mauser stripper clips yesterday. Tried a few out and sometimes the bolt won’t pick up the top round (30-06). Never happens when I individually load 5 rounds. Not sure if I need to file down the tabs on the side of the clips to get the whole lot down deeper in the clip slot ? I’m sure it’s an easy fix whatever it is but it very confusing atm

[bladeracer]

I’ll try AR2206H as it seems red dot is only available at one particular shop in Queensland and nowhere else ! I’ll start with 15gn and work up .. it will probably fill very little of the case but beats just looking at the rifle in the safe ! Thanks again guys

I would start with 25gn if you're using 230gn bullets and work down if you have to. Even a full-house load of about 41gn is likely to only be around 2200fps with a 230gn bullet.

[JohnV]

Maybe just try 4 rounds in the internal mag . It's difficult to accurately diagnose feeding issues unless you have the gun in your hands to see what's going on .

[Oldgunfan]

As is with the old barrel in 30-06 it feeds perfectly when 5 rounds are loaded one at a time it just hiccups for some reason when loading 5 with a stripper clip .. not my most pressing issue though .. if I can get 2206h loads to work well I’ll put the new 30-06 barrel in and save the 308 barrel for another project. At least then I won’t have to muck around with the magazine. A friend of mine wants to sell me an Israeli 308 with a worn barrel that I know first hand feeds 308 perfectly.