30 cal big boy toy

[Jamesb570]

Hi, I am kicking around the idea of building a larger 30 cal on a barrelled M17 action I already have. I was looking at something like a 300 win mag or larger.
The main purpose would be for the occasional large game hunting trip or longer range target shooting 500-800+m .
I already have a .308 as a hunting/range rifle so this would be a pure toy for fun, only shooting about 50-100 rounds a year (if that).
Having said that I don't want to spend a fortune on a build so want to stay with the original barrel and not do any major reworking of the mag etc but I am not worried about resale value. I reload so the cost of factory ammo and availability at a LGS if on the road isn't a worry.
So knowing all this (and that it may never happen) - what big bang .30 cal would you go for and why? Thanks

[Tripod]

If you want to stick with the 30 cal and want to go big then do a 30-378. I have a Beautifully sporterised P14 action that I hope to open up to do a 9.3x74R on.

[Heckler303]

If you want to stick with the 30 cal and want to go big then do a 30-378. I have a Beautifully sporterised P14 action that I hope to open up to do a 9.3x74R on.

Ahh, a fellow sporterized P14 owner, might you have any pics of your lovely acquisition? My one's a 303 EPPS, basically the 303 cartridge with straight walls and a shorter neck, so I guess it qualifies as a 'magnum'

[sandgroperbill]

Hmmmm...asking for pics, are we?

[duncan61]

sandgroper.We are going ambushing tommorrow at Waroona can you come and help.I could do with one more and I will give you the best spot

[duncan61]

I tried to PM but have not sorted it yet

[duncan61]

The 375 H and H case would make a big game chambering that would go and is easy to get.Has this been done before?

[sandgroperbill]

Duncan, pm sent

[Tripod]

If you want to stick with the 30 cal and want to go big then do a 30-378. I have a Beautifully sporterised P14 action that I hope to open up to do a 9.3x74R on.

Ahh, a fellow sporterized P14 owner, might you have any pics of your lovely acquisition? My one's a 303 EPPS, basically the 303 cartridge with straight walls and a shorter neck, so I guess it qualifies as a 'magnum'

Sorry I have no idea how to put up pics. What part of Tas are you in?

[wade06]

Sorry I have no idea how to put up pics.

Tripod, there are several ways to do it.

The simplest for me is using a cloud service (dropbox, sugarsync, google photos etc) you can copy the public link or link address of your photo from the website or your computer. In dropbox with file explorer you right click on a file and click "copy dropbox link".
Then use the full editor to post a message > click the green Img tab at the top > paste the link between the brackets. (don't delete the photo from the cloud). I try to keep files under 500KB or so to reduce load times.

[Heckler303]

If you want to stick with the 30 cal and want to go big then do a 30-378. I have a Beautifully sporterised P14 action that I hope to open up to do a 9.3x74R on.

Ahh, a fellow sporterized P14 owner, might you have any pics of your lovely acquisition? My one's a 303 EPPS, basically the 303 cartridge with straight walls and a shorter neck, so I guess it qualifies as a 'magnum'

Sorry I have no idea how to put up pics. What part of Tas are you in?

You can use Imgur for uploading things with, and putting the links to the images here. Website: http://imgur.com/


I'll PM you a little more detail.

[<<Genesis93>>]

You're wanting to rechamber only.....keeping the barrel

In that case you can rechamber to 300winmag which is the same length as the '06 (by design)...

Which is a great way to launch a 30cal...and the 300WinMag round will fit in the mag and feed (may need minor work) will need to open up the bolt face to mag size

Or you can go hard (or go home) with a supermag.... but a bit more barrel might be more ideal for the greater powder

RUM will clean up the '06 chamber as well, same mag bolt face but length without mods would be a single feed..

300 Norma Mag (as opposed to 308NM) is a bit longer than the RUM in COAL but shorter case, so (I guess) designed for longer more stream lined bullets?? it has the larger rim size (338LapuaMag size) so that might be an issue.

30-378 similar to the above with rim, also length is long at 95+mm and barrel length issue...

You could even 'old skool' it with a H&H...similar to the win mag in performance but mag length cartridge like the RUM. So a skinny tapered RUM with a belt...

[Wylie27]

You win the Internet today

Hmmmm...asking for pics, are we?

[Jamesb570]

Thanks for the responses - spoke to a local gunsmith today re 300 win mag rechamber & he said rechambering was no probs and only a $100 job but reckons the boltface would be a prohibitively expensive to open up to accept the 300 win mag base, also said metalurgy was a bit poor and two lug bolt may be an issue. I have read about the tempering/burnt steel issues with Eddystone M17's and am not too worried. Everything else I know about these rifles is that they are rock solid and strong as an ox.
The bolt face would need to go from 11.9-12 mm for the .308/30-06 base diameter to 13.5mm for the next class of 30 cals i.e. 300 win mag, 300 wsm/300 RUM. The .303 appears to have the larger base diameter the same as a 300 win mag etc so would a swap to a .303 bolt face work? ( might have one of those in some spares of the old man).
Does he have a point or just not wanting the work? What can the bolt face take re expansion? Tripod, Heckler303 - Your thoughts given lived experience?

[Heckler303]

Jumping in under my son's avatar here, I had an M17 re-chambered to 300 win mag back in 1976 by a 'smith in Brisbane. Did a great job, and i had the same idea as you i;e keep the original 30 cal barrel but rechamber to something with more oomph than the 30-06. I simply wanted a Buffalo rifle without having to buy a commercial big cal. one I don't recall the bolt face being a problem though. fast forward 40 years, and I have 5 m17/p14 rifles of varying calibres, all based on 303 wildcat variations. On 3 of them, the bolt face has been opened up to accept the larger rimmed base of the 303 cartridge over the smaller rimless case of the '06, but the work was done before I bought the rifles, so can't comment on price/difficulty etc. I've read/been told/heard that the P14 bolt is easier to use because of its more open face being compatible with larger magnums, but getting a P14 bolt would jack the price up somewhat. For what its worth, my P14 303 Epps is the most accurate hunting rifle we own, and my own M17 and P14 rifles outshoot any of my mauser or Lee enfield rifles, past and present. They are a great action to use for a project. Contact Allan Swan in Brisbane ( he has a web page) for a quote as well before going too much further. He has an enormous amount of experience and a big fan of the M17. Let us all know how you get on, cheers, Michael

[Jamesb570]

Thanks Michael, I have Allan Swan's details and even have his facebook page open to start messaging him now. I may have a P14 bolt available at no cost - just need to check & confirm if it is a P14 or another M17. Oh well, the dreaming and design process is more than half the fun of the journey anyway. Appreciate the input.

[Tripod]

P14 bolt if you can get one is the best way. Allan Swan is a great bloke to deal with, I have 3 geting rebarreled by him atm and he did another 3 for me earlier in the year. He starts shaking his head every time I walk in his door and mumbling something about crazy Tasmanians and strange wildcats.

[Heckler303]

P14 bolt if you can get one is the best way. Allan Swan is a great bloke to deal with, I have 3 geting rebarreled by him atm and he did another 3 for me earlier in the year. He starts shaking his head every time I walk in his door and mumbling something about crazy Tasmanians and strange wildcats.

I wonder who he could be referring to