Browning BLR: rebarrel to different caliber

[ccw9mm]

Am wondering about rebarreling and what the limits are, on a given gun. Many folks seem to create wildcat setups and things end up working reasonably well. Magazines, for example, are often sold to cover a range of "long" or "short" actions (ie, the BLR "short" magazine covers .308, .243, etc). I would think that rebarreling to a completely different, non-factory caliber should work just fine, assuming minor tuning issues are able to be handled and smoothed out.

Consider the BLR, which comes from the factory in a small number of calibers. What if someone is attempting to standardize on a given caliber in one's guns, but in a caliber that's different than the one in the new/used gun being considered? Could, say, a .308 BLR be rebarreled to 7x57 Mauser and work without a hitch; or could a .30-06 BLR be redone in 8x57 Mauser? What about the cycling/timing, the magazine, ...?

Please: Do not debate calibers. Am simply looking to better understand what's involved in switching calibers in a gun. Assume that a gun's acquired and needs a new barrel/chamber, and assume an entire collection of other guns is already in a given, other caliber.

[bsaride]

I'm working on something along those lines now.

Considerations:

1. Do you want to alter the bolt face? No = same diameter cartridge heads.
2. Overall length must work within the action length. 30-06 won't work in 308 sized actions.

Great site for cartridge specs I found is:

http://ammoguide.com/cgi-bin/ai.cgi?sn=LgCrTnMnwJ

Worth the fee if you are serious about your project otherwise they limit your viewing pleasure.

[Rusty]

I think it was Skeeter Skelton that first said it, but I quote it to my son all the time... "given enough time and money anything can be done." That is within reason.

I'd say keeping the same bolt face would be the major factor to keeping the budget low as well. You might check as I'm not sure, but I would think that there is most likely someone out there who seems to like to specialize in doing work on BLRs just like there are smiths who like to focus on Marlins, Win 92s ( like our own Steve's guns) or Ruger #1s.

I think if I were wanting a 7mm I'd go with a 7mm-08 to keep the same bolt face.

[CowboyTutt]

I have a BLR that Mic McPherson "hot rodded" for me. It was disassembled and the bolt and inside parts NP3 plated. The tolerances were so tight, the gun would not function afterwards, and Mic had to hand fit everything! These guns are a finicky beast.

Also, the lock-up mechanism is different. The bolt locks into lug-receivers that are cut into the barrel itself, or a press-on bushing (I forget which exactly) requiring more work and perhaps even specialty tools to rebarrel it. Mic won't do another one as it was not cost effective of his time. The only person I know who might be qualified for this sort of work is Z-Hat Custom.

I would contact them with your request and see what they say. Personally, I would not recommend this rifle for such a conversion as you are just asking for a big headache.

-Tutt

[BenT]

If you order a factory replacement BLR barrel from Browning, it comes with the receiver. So it is not the best to hot rod.

The other thing in caliber changes in rifles is the shape of the cartridge affects the shape of the magazine floor plate and any cartridge guides that are involved to make sure the pointy end goes into the center of the chamber. The easiest is to stick with the parent cartridge of the rifle then the body taper will be the same to make sure moving it in and out of the chamber works without jamming. Ie 308 to 243, 260 rem , 7mm 08, 338 fed ,358 win. should just require a new barrel no other mechanical stuff.

[ccw9mm]

Thanks for the comments, all. Some platforms support caliber changes without much fuss.

Being a lefty, the BLR is one of a handful of firearms that "fits" well, is easy to handle, easy to manipulate. Too bad it doesn't come in a greater variety of calibers.

[BenT]

Well the BLR has been available in more than 16 different calibers over the years, including 222,257 roberts and many more. So if your looking for a specific caliber check Gunbroker or Guns America and see if you can find what your looking for.