.338 Imperial Magnum components in Canada bringing to South Africa

[PerH]

A cz550 would be good to build on , and true up to the very long .338 bullets around now .

 

[Gert Odendaal]

A cz550 would be good to build on , and true up to the very long .338 bullets around now .

Yes, PerH, for sure the CZ 550 would be another choice as well, thank you for you suggestion, it is much appreciated. I am currently looking around for any donor rifles available to buy that have a magnum length action to accommodate a long OAL round . There is still time, I am working on other rifle projects currently , will then move onto the .338 Imperial Magnum rifle build. Since I want to build this barreled action on a chassis , I need to find an action that is compatible to the chassis inletting as well..

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Ontario I would take what I can get. Actions are not freely available in South Africa at all. The old Mauser 98 actions is still available, I need to use a new era /technology steel that is in today`s new rifles like the Weatherby, the HOWA or TIKKA action,

it needs to be a Long action to enable me to open it up so it can feed reliable and have a few rounds in the magazine at least.
It will be a long range hunting /gong shooting rifle , it will be build on a chassis , so you will certainly not use it to walk and stalk hunt with it ...
Buying local high tech actions in South Africa that is made locally is extremely expensive ...
I am thinking of buying a used rifle in a .375 cal that I can use as a donor action in the new rifle brands .

I'm not sure why you would think a good Mauser 98 action could not handle 338 Imperial. Many 375 and 416 Rigby (including Harry Selby's 416) have been built on standard 98 Mauser. 338 Imp has slightly shorter case than 404J. Shoulder is further forward on 338 but not as far forward as 416 (2.339 vs 2.4). It would appear that 416 Rigby has significantly more case volume and a larger projectile. So how does a smaller caliber shorter case 338 Imp generate more pressure than 416 Rigby?

If I can fit 404J into a standard 98 Mauser without changing the locking ring, you should be able to do it with 338 Imp. Modifying the loading ramp would essentially be the same. I used pre-made 416 Rem bottom metal but you should be able to find someone who can modify existing magazine box to Paul Mauser's cos 30 specs. Bolt face can be opened on 8mm Mauser to 404 (with same rim as 338 Imp) ... and even 416 Rigby (but that is pushing the envelope in my opinion). Modifying the feeding rails will be the real challenge but it will be a challenge no matter which donor action you pick. I did it and I'm no gunsmith.

 

[Gert Odendaal]

I need an action that is accurate, fine tolerances of the moving parts, the locking lugs need to be blue printed, making the rounds feed and opening up the feeding rails , enlarging the magazine box and milling out a bottom metal magazine plate is not difficult at all..the Mauser 98 action can take high pressures , the .500 Jeffery is build with Mauser 98 actions..

I will build my .500 Jeffery on a Mauser 98 action as well in the near future.

I need a new technology/CNC cut action with very fine tolerance , it will make for a more accurate long range hunting/gong shooting rifle ...

The Weatherby actions are another possibility , Tikka and CZ 550 as well even a HOWA action may be able to work in my set up..

 

[PerH]

Yes, PerH, for sure the CZ 550 would be another choice as well, thank you for you suggestion, it is much appreciated. I am currently looking around for any donor rifles available to buy that have a magnum length action to accommodate a long OAL round . There is still time, I am working on other rifle projects currently , will then move onto the .338 Imperial Magnum rifle build. Since I want to build this barreled action on a chassis , I need to find an action that is compatible to the chassis inletting as well..

I came across a 602 in .338-378 Norwegian Imp
With a laminated bench rest stock . As I were not able to get project done sadly , I sold it to one that got it to fixed and shot it . With a 34 mm at muzzle barrel , just barrel and action was 5 kg at 26 inch . Sometimes I wish I had kept it . But the gunsmith that built it had thrown away the reamers , so
No chance of keeping barrel as part of switch system with a .416 Rigby or so .

With scope , ammo etc 9 kg .
Something out of Stephen Hunter or Desmond Bsgley « Running Blind «

250 grain 3300 fps + , group sizes quite small New owner told me .

Sometimes I miss the large .338 ones around . But always something different to focus on , and the .338 CAD would been one I would looked at if I could .

I would have made such on .378 Wby next or so .

Now over to the legend the 7x61 which i made a post about for the fever to fokus on .

 

[Gert Odendaal]

I came across a 602 in .338-378 Norwegian Imp
With a laminated bench rest stock . As I were not able to get project done sadly , I sold it to one that got it to fixed and shot it . With a 34 mm at muzzle barrel , just barrel and action was 5 kg at 26 inch . Sometimes I wish I had kept it . But the gunsmith that built it had thrown away the reamers , so
No chance of keeping barrel as part of switch system with a .416 Rigby or so .

With scope , ammo etc 9 kg .
Something out of Stephen Hunter or Desmond Bsgley « Running Blind «

250 grain 3300 fps + , group sizes quite small New owner told me .

Sometimes I miss the large .338 ones around . But always something different to focus on , and the .338 CAD would been one I would looked at if I could .

I would have made such on .378 Wby next or so .

Now over to the legend the 7x61 which i made a post about for the fever to fokus on .

This is what I want to achieve with the .338 Imperial Magnum as well...it is neck down using a 404 Jeffery case without any modifications to the case itself..it gives quite a fast muzzle velocity using a 250gn bullet as well..I still need to work out what grain/type/brand of bullet I want to use when completed the build ..looking forward to the project...