rechambering a 308 into a 3006

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  • Last Post 29 June 2013
biddulph posted this 02 December 2012

hi guys,

iv got an old Omark 44 in 308 Win. I'm unsure of how many rounds its had through it but I'm thinking of having the chamber recut to 3006 to allow a nice new throat and a new lease on life.''

can anyone think of any problems with this idea?

Cheers and thanks

James

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linoww posted this 02 December 2012

the 308 is wider up front and you will need to set it back first.

G-

"if it was easy we'd let women do it" don't tell my wife I said that!

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 02 December 2012

after a large amount of hot powder has been run through the barrel, the erosion at the ” throat ” may actually extend several inches down the barrel ... so sporter dimensioned barrels may not have enough steel left to set back enough to get a fresh chamber.

also, although drawings for the 2 cartridges may show a crutch job would work ....you should check chamber cast on YOUR rifle to see if there is a good chance it might work. it is not uncommon to find a factory cut chamber to be cut so out of whack that even a short setback will not clean up, and a long setback on a sporter wt. often runs out of breech end steel.

also, you can buy new takeoff barrels from gunsmiths, about 45$ for a remmy 700 or win 70 threads ...30-06, 308, and 270 w. are common. btw, win. 70 threads ( not the very latest type tho ) will screw into a ruger action .. might need an adapter spacer.

i would try to use a new takeoff barrel, if your present barrel is sporter wt. ...

just some thoughts ...

ken

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castaroo posted this 02 December 2012

why not just rebarrel it?, those old omarks shot f4 fmj's alrigth with a 1 in 14” twist , but their where so undersided and they did get worse , that nraa stopped using them before the projectides where stopped being made , but saiding that i,ve seen some omarks shooting cast (180gn) very well ,

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Clod Hopper posted this 02 December 2012

Will a .30-06 cartridge even feed through this action? Is the present barrel not accurate? I also have never heard of a one in 14 twist in a .30 caliber sporter. That may be your problem. I vote for a different barrel in .308 with a one in ten or one in 12 twist unless these are not readily available in your area.

Dale M. Lock

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tturner53 posted this 03 December 2012

Hi James. If the '06 rechamber job is cheap or free what the heck? You never know. I have a Jap T99 rechambered to '06, not worth much with factory ammo but cast reloads in fireformed brass shoot ok. Minute of camel anyway, sometimes better.!

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Mike H posted this 03 December 2012

For those that dont know,Omarks are a single shot target rifle,as they have been around for a long time and many have been re-barreled,it could have anything from a 1-12 to 1-14 twist.I have used 1-14 in two Omarks with good results from 155 and 175 grain projectiles,The 175s were Sierra match Kings.As an earlier reply said you would have to set the barrel back as the 308 case is fatter than the 30-06.I would forget the idea and use what you have,or look around for a better one,or a better barrel.The only thing to consider is that as the bolt-head locks into the barrel,an adaptor is needed if using a stainless barrel.Probably boils down to how much you are prepared to pay for the work. Mike.

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CB posted this 03 December 2012

linoww wrote: the 308 is wider up front and you will need to set it back first.

G- We tried this once on an old Israeli Mauser, and what George says is true. We had a line left where the original 308 shoulder was, and never fired it. We could have set the barrel back, but Midway had short chambered 30-06 Mauser barrels for around $75.00 in those days. We already had the reamer and the headspace gauges.

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Ed Harris posted this 03 December 2012

As FYI I have a 14 inch twist Douglas barrel which I had chambered in .30-'06 to fool with cast bullets in. It shoots GI 152-grain flatbased Ball M2 very well, and also does well with any flatbased bullets up to 200 grains. The 200-grain Speer spitzer requires a full-charge load and becomes marginal below freezing.

In brief trials it shot 174-grain FMJBT Match M72 “only OK,” and less accurately than my 03A4 2-groove Springfield with 10-inch twist. The 14 inch twist '06 does handle #311299 wonderfully with 16 grs. of #2400.

73 de KE4SKY In Home Mix We Trust From the Home of Ed's Red in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia

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Chargar posted this 03 December 2012

My first really good cast bullet rifle was an 03 Springfield fitted with a 1-14 Phiefer barrel (30-06). It handled ever cast bullet fired in it, with excellent results.

It shot any 150 or 165 grain jacketed bullet very well. It did good with most 180s, but groups started to open up with others. I never tried anything heavier than 180.

Sadly, I no longer own that rifle.

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rojkoh posted this 12 April 2013

biddulph wrote: hi guys,

iv got an old Omark 44 in 308 Win. I'm unsure of how many rounds its had through it but I'm thinking of having the chamber recut to 3006 to allow a nice new throat and a new lease on life.''

can anyone think of any problems with this idea?

Cheers and thanks

James

Rebarrel it IF the action is long enough to do it. Remember on a lot of rifles, there are multiple actions to accommodate length of cartridge. With the barrel alone you'll have to move the chamber 1/2 longer and that also depends on the way the barrel is made. That's a safety issue.

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mckg posted this 12 April 2013

LEE makes 30/284 dies for the European market; “Very Limited Pace Setter 2 dies set"; $45 from the factory, less from friendly retailers. That takes some heat from a Wildcat's bill.

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rojkoh posted this 21 June 2013

biddulph wrote: hi guys,

iv got an old Omark 44 in 308 Win. I'm unsure of how many rounds its had through it but I'm thinking of having the chamber recut to 3006 to allow a nice new throat and a new lease on life.''

can anyone think of any problems with this idea?

Cheers and thanks

James

Aside from the barrel issue is the action medium or long?

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Mike H posted this 28 June 2013

rojkoh wrote: biddulph wrote: hi guys,

iv got an old Omark 44 in 308 Win. I'm unsure of how many rounds its had through it but I'm thinking of having the chamber recut to 3006 to allow a nice new throat and a new lease on life.''

can anyone think of any problems with this idea?

Cheers and thanks

James

Aside from the barrel issue is the action medium or long?

They were made for 7.62x51 cartridges so are not overly long.I dug one out this morning and checked the length with a surplus military round,there is enough length of the loading area to extract a fired case,but a loaded round would need bolt removal to clear the action. Mike.

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delmarskid1 posted this 29 June 2013

The barrel could be re-bored and re-rifled to make a .358 Winchester. This round is based on the 308 case.

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rojkoh posted this 29 June 2013

Mike H wrote: rojkoh wrote: biddulph wrote: hi guys,

iv got an old Omark 44 in 308 Win. I'm unsure of how many rounds its had through it but I'm thinking of having the chamber recut to 3006 to allow a nice new throat and a new lease on life.''

can anyone think of any problems with this idea?

Cheers and thanks

James

Aside from the barrel issue is the action medium or long?

They were made for 7.62x51 cartridges so are not overly long.I dug one out this morning and checked the length with a surplus military round,there is enough length of the loading area to extract a fired case,but a loaded round would need bolt removal to clear the action. Mike.

I can tell you the exact differences in dimension for the differences between 7.62 and .308 (I have the dimensions for a project i"m doing. Then we have the factor of which reamer was used to make it (there are differences). But it also depends on the barrel contour an if the area where the chamber is so it can actually safely be modified to take 30-06 safely. But if it's not a long action, and given that the 30-06 and .308 are fairly similar in certain aspects (performance, etc).. I'd suggest that you don't.

With one exception (heavy bullets), I'd keep it .308/7.62. Ed's loaded a few “Strange” rounds in .308 and in a bolt rifle, they're warm, but to hot for a gas gun. But it still performs as they were meant to.

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rojkoh posted this 29 June 2013

delmarskid1 wrote: The barrel could be re-bored and re-rifled to make a .358 Winchester. This round is based on the 308 case.

If he really wanted to go to something other than .308/30-06, than the 7/08 is an exceptional round and more common. But the down side is that people typically load it so hot, you get throat erosion problems.

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