Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Poormans Takedown

Hello Guys

I've been scheming a practical inexpensive take down bolt action for a long time and have looked at a lot of ideas (and rifles). Nothing I've seen that meets my requirements is avaliable to us here in NZ without spending 2 or 3 times the price of a good hunting rifle. Blasers and SHR's are well out of my price range.

So . . . . I've been pondering alternatives. I posted this idea up at AR but it got pooh-poohed, but the reasons given didn't stack to me.

What I'd like to try is to take a stock bolt action with a largish front reciever ring, say a Rem 700 or Savage. The reciever ring would be opened up until it is only about 1.6mm (0.063) thick, with no threads.

A "barrel extension", incorporating the rabbet for the bolt locking lugs would be threaded up to take the barrel and fitted to the inside of the bored out reciever, and fastened so it can be taken out with a hand tool such as a hex key. It would need to be carefully dimensioned and use the right material to ensure adequet strenght. maybe the action would have to be limited to non magnum cartridges (I'm thinking 243 or 6 mm).

The recoil lug would be welded to the reciever ring. Stock etc altered to suit.

What think you all ??

Cheers - Foster

Just a thought; double pin the recoil lug the a 700 action, have all of your barrels contoured and headspaced to that action, have a witness mark just to make sure, and just change them out.????????

I too have pondered this idea. I think between myself and Alberta Tactical Rifle Supply we have it figured out. Now to get off my duff and do it.

Foster,

Isn't the poor man's takedown rifle just taking the barrel & action out of the stock? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

jim

Thanks for your thoughts.

Jim, yes, but putting it back together is not a 10 second job, (even for the Holland and Holland system, which works like your suggestion), and the repeatability is not that good with ordinary stocks. I'd like to try it with a stock fitted with an aluminum chassis.

BUM (oops is that deliberate ??) I had a look at ATRS site but it doesn't give any details - can you elaborate a bit on your thoughts ??

Like2shoot - I have this as a last resort, but its not an elegant solution, and I want to take this rifle down a lot, and I wonder about the wear over a large number of assembly/disassemblies. If someone can comment on the wear in such a system I'd e real interested.

Thanks - Foster

Tentman; I have two switch barrel rifles, one is a xp-100 rifle and other is a rem. 700. I change barrels all the time and have no problems. When i put a different barrel on i put a little bit of anti-seize on the threads and screw on the barrel and hand tighten. Its know big deal. My barrels don't have the same contour so i have to take off the stock. But thats no big deal either. The lug is double pinned, and all barrels have been head space the same. Its as simple as it can get.

Thanks TA

Thats really useful. Does the point of impact remain the same (e.g. to "minute of deer") from swap to swap ??

If I was to place a block on the barrel reinforce, cut off the forend and fasten it to the barrel block, all finished appropiately, then maybe I'd be getting pretty close to where I want to be.

Is there anywhere on the net I can see an example of the double pinned recoil lug for the Remington 700 ??

Cheers - Foster

Here is a picture; http://www.gretanrifles.com/doublepinlug.asp

I think a plain old Savage bolt action would be the simple and economical solution. Simply clean up the treads so that they thread on and off easily.

Weagle

The Sigarsm SHR-970 sells NIB for between $600 and 700.00.
Common calibers are .30-06, .270 Win, .280 Rem, 7mm Rem Mag, and .300 Win Mag.

I have pondered this dilemma in the past, only to shrug and grab my Savage 99 TD and hit the woods.

I have ruminated about a bolt action TD, and came up with this idea. Any pros or cons or potential changes are welcome.

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Take your favorite BA model and stock of choice. I recommend composite or laminate. Glassbed the receiver lug and the first 4" of the barrel. Free float the rest of the barrel.

Have new action screws turned with hex heads of 3/8" or whatever will clear the fingerguard.

To assemble, place action in stock, tighten hex screws finger tight, then tighten with a torque wrench to the desired pressure and record that pressure.

To take down, unscrew hex bolts. To reassemble, tightened to previous torque readings.

A rifle with a 20-22" bbl should breakdown into a compact package. No pins or interrupted threads.

This should work in theory.

Questions? Comments?

I'd like to try it.

I have packed my 270 Husqvarna 4000 rolled up in a bedroll a few times, Every time I reassembled it, it was certainly close enough to hunt without worrying about missing any big game animal at any reasonable range.

Ted

Hatari,

It is coincidence that Harald Wolf published in Hatari Times #13 his article "The Jungle Carbine", wherein he describes a .458 Win Mag carbine he built for a jungle hunt in Cameroon. The rifle is based on an Oberndorf-made Argentine Mauser action, and Harold made a 5-round magazine box and the stock from a laminated-beech blank.

His "simple takedown" system is simple indeed. "To make a takedown Mauser is simplicity itself. All you need is an Allen-wrench and two Allen-screws with enough flesh on to be trimmed on a lathe to be re-cut for Mauser threads."

So all you need is the two guard screws and the wrench, and you are good to go.

jim

Now I've gotta love this guy. The concept behind the torque wrench is to get the pressure the same each time. If the glass bedding is done well, witness marks might suffice. I'll hunt for "Hatari Times". Great name for a magazine. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Hatari,

You will find the Hatari Times website if you search. Harald has four issues a year, each on built around one African country. He was going to issue a CD for the first 12 issues, but I don't know where that project is now. You can subscribe via the website.

jim

I have an interesting 30-06 takedown, built from a WW2 Arisaka paratrooper take-down carbine. by a US military (Marines) firearms instructor. It has a new Amer. walnut stock set, new 30-06 barrel and open sights....I think it is drilled/tapped fror scope mounts (it's put away right now). It is absolutely mint, and can be assembled/dissembled in 10 seconds. If anyone might be interested in pics and details, please e-mail me at aax1@bellsouth.net

as in the above mentioned 'take-down' method, I have packed a synthetic stocked Sako 375 carbine pulled out of the stock with witness marks on the action screws. Repeatability was well under 1 moa. Good bedding is the key to this working conistently.

When I fly, an advantage (to me) is that it fits into a short pelican case that doesn't look like a rifle case, and fits into small fixed wings and helicopters easier. Before the tightened restrictions, I used to wrap it in a bedroll as Yukoner mentioned and stuff it in my hockey bag.

Foster

Rick and I are old cronies. His main game is LR hunting and precision rifles. I'm lucky in that I know him and he's open to trying new things for me. We talked about a take-down rifle last summer when I thought I might be going to work on our Relief Section which travels to the communities to fill in for guys that are out on medical leave, holidays or W.H.Y. But I digress. Rick and I talked about a system for a takedown that would consist of a perfectly mated barrel and action face with it being witness-marked. Thread the barrel into the action until the witness mark lines up and then run a set-screw through the bottom on the action up against a milled flat on the barrel shank. We talked about using an over sized recoil lug and running the set-screw through the stock and it to mate the whole works together.

Damn, now that you've got me talking about it I feel a frivolous expenditure coming on again. Build it on a nice little Ti action and a Wildcat Composited stock... DAMMIT!

I believe muledeer wrote an article on his "takedown" mausers. Just glass bedded rifles really, he ground his swiss army knife blade to fit mauser guard screws. To take down, remove screws, remove stock, replace trigger guard-magazine on barreled action and replace screws. The whole unit now fits in a takedown rifle case.

NEF's are poorboys take downs...