Springfield 1903 Conversion

[DZurf14]

I’m not sure of this is a hairbrained idea or not so I wanted to put it up for discussion. I have been wanting to get a 6.5 PRC, 7mm or 30 cal magnum for hunting for the past few years. I primarily hunt open country in western Washington and shots range from 200-600 yards.

With the release of the 7mm PRC and it’s requirement for a long action I have the crazy idea to take a sporterized 1903 Springfield (with a shot out original barrel) to a local gunsmith to have him chamber and fit a carbon fiber barrel, and convert it to a 7mm PRC, and drill/tap the broken off scope mount bolt (potentially entirely re-tap the thing for a modern long action scope base). It has a wooden stock that is already cut to fit my length of pull and besides some wear marks and the barrel being shot out it is in great shape.

Is this a reasonable idea or I would be better off buying something like a Remage long action and building a 7 PRC from the ground up? Budget is a consideration.

 

[dieselchessy]

Is it of a serial number that doesn’t have metal heat treat issues?
You kind of lost me with Western Washington open country. You talking clear cuts?

I’d say forget the 1903 and start over with a quality modern action.

 

[DZurf14]

Is it of a serial number that doesn’t have metal heat treat issues?
You kind of lost me with Western Washington open country. You talking clear cuts?

I’d say forget the 1903 and start over with a quality modern action.

My bad - I am hunting eastern Washington in the hill country for elk and blue mountains for mule deer. Western Wa has some areas outside rainier or up north in the cascades that may get that far but you’re hard pressed to find that sort of distance with a clear and ethical shot.

Action, barrel, trigger, inner components are showing no signs of heat treat issues and when evaluated by a gunsmith when it was passed down (I was worried that the throat and barrel had rust issues and there was major copper corrosion) it seemed to be in great condition.

Thanks for the input!

 

[t_carlson]

I'm not sure Springfields are the best action for 65K psi. I know a lot of them were rebarreled to modern cartridges, but I think you'd really be better off starting with something more modern. And if you go to sell it someday, you're going to take a huge hit on the price.

 

[Wapiti1]

It's not an unreasonable notion. It won't have much resale value, and will cost a lot, but if it is for you, that may not matter.

If you don't have one, a new trigger will be needed. I would also install a 2 position Wisner safety, or have one installed. If you are serious, you might as well get it done right.

The lock time on the Springfield is pretty slow, so it's not going to be a benchrest action. I've built a few Springfield sporters and they always make a nice rifle. That said, I've only done them in a classic style. I install a Wisner safety, Timney trigger, hinge the bottom metal, and may weld up the rear bridge for integral scope mount. The front ring gets a custom screw on base. Sometimes, I just go with a standard drill and tap base front and back. Bed the stock and free float the barrel.

It can be trued and rebarrelled with a quality tube. Expect a finished product that shoots about MOA, maybe a little tighter. I wouldn't go carbon, but that's me. I have had better success with an accurate end product sticking with #3 contour steel tubes.

As for chambering. You are OK with a mag chambering, but it will be hard to get the PRC to feed. Not impossible, but it will take a skilled gunsmith to make it work. The rails will have to be machined, and the feed lips will need to be filed. Again, not impossible, but not something many gunsmiths do anymore. The bolt face will also need to be opened up and the extractor fit.

A much easier and substantially cheaper option would be a 280 AI on that action.

Jeremy