Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Winchester Collectors converting a pre 64 30-06 action to accept 300 H&H length cartridges

I am looking for some info on what is involved in converting a std (06 length) pre 64 action to take the H&H length cases. (7mm Mashburn or more likely 300 H&H) Also, some learned advice on the advisability of going that route could prove helpful.
I currently have a couple "extra" barrelled actions (both 270s) but with a very good 270 and 30-06 fwt already there is some redundancy so I am looking into my options!

There were pics and a discussion about such a gun on this forum several years back. Don’t remember specifics, but at the very least the bolt face was opened up. BSA will probably recall the gun.

Why would anybody want to do that when there are plenty of mag actions available? curious minds want to know...

I'm with Hubert. Why?

Not many pre 64 H&H actions up here and they bring a real premium when you find one.

Might be easier to find a 300H&H that has had the Weatherby treatment done to it. They seem to be easier to find, but not a lot either way.

I have a "real nice" 700 here in Super 30 if that blows yur hair back.

BobinNH used a 270 Classic action for his 7mm Mashburn Super. Simillion built his rifle and said by the time he works over an action the little extra to make it longer to accept a 3.6” cartridge isn’t too awfully much more. Kevin Weaver is another that’ll do the machine work to make everything work nicely.

Anyone that has a lead on where magnum P64’s are please post them up. I don’t see them regularly in my searches.

As you probably know, the actions themselves are the same length. Opening a standard cartridge action to H&H length cartridges involves “opening” the back of the action, bolt face and receiver rails, as well as the mag box itself. Al and Roger Biesen told me it was not a difficult task. At current shop rates, however, it will no doubt run into folding money.

GF1: I think the magazine follower and extractor (from a pre-64 Winchester Model 70 in 270 Winchester caliber) would also need to be "changed out" and those costs and the costs/parts you mention convinces me that in todays market of exorbitant riflesmithing costs the OP would be much better off finding the correct pre-64 Winchester Model 70 "action/Rifle" to begin with.
Best of luck to the original poster with his project.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

just within the past few weeks, Darcy Echols has put a "detailed and very long" post on his blog about doing just that. I agree with the others that it would be "far" less expensive to just buy a long magnum action to start with. If it were me, I'd buy the whole gun and sell the barrel and stock and go from there.

Exactamundo..^^^^

What they said...

Yeah, Ken (elkhunterNM) has one. Maybe he will chime in....There may have also been another one we saw that was converted. The sad thing about when someone does this conversion is sometimes the buyer may not be aware. It totally devalues the rifle. I'm with the guys that are saying just find an H&H receiver or complete rifle to build on. Sometimes its much easier to just find the complete rifle. If you have to, buy the complete rifle and part out what you don't use. I'd much rather see that happen, then seeing what used to be a standard action converted to an H&H cartridge. And yes, there are H&H rifles out there to be had at great deals. The last one I bought was $600.00....:



The one before that cost me $499.00, because it had been rechambered to 300WBY. I love the rifle though and plan on keeping it:

All good info, thanks. Just checking to see if it was a viable option. The search continues!

If you want something different, why dont you send your rifle to JES and let them turn it into a Whelen or 9.3x62?

Not sure it’s as easy as that given his residence in Canada. Lots of paperwork I believe ...

Oh, that sucks.

Most of the paperwork has to be completed on the States side of the border, bet JES is familiar with the deal.

Nearly 35 yrs. ago I sent a tired .30-06 to Randall Redman who at the time was considered the Dean of the old time rebore men. I have shot all manner of handloads thru the rifle, it never disappoints accuracywise. It has been my go to whitetail rifle for many years. Interesting story about a .300 H & H, back in the late 70's I attended a gun show in Highland, IL there was a vendor there with several tables of handguns. I had seen him at several gun shows in the area over the years and he nearly always had strictly handguns. This particular time there on the end of his table sat a lone M/70, I inquired what caliber it was and he told me it was a .300 H & H and that if I were interested he'd make me a good deal as IL was not rifle country. To my surprise the price was $400.00 OTD which I gladly paid, it was the least I ever paid for a long magnum M/70.

As an aside I've thought about a rebore. There is only one outfit this side of the border that does it and when all is said and done you would save a couple hundred over a decent new barrel installed.