Donor rifle

[terryjulie]

Going to the Wannamacher gun show in Tulsa April first, with a few things to sell, in order to buy a donor gun for a project. Perfect scenario, I end up with a SS model 77 Left Hand, in 308... end goal is a bolt gun in 358win. Question: should I look for a 77?? Or a RAR? A no. 1 would be peachy, but I still cling to the stupid dream of an Alaskan trip, therefore repeater. Any of the three should be a rather easy conversion, just enameled with the caliber. Very interesting idea to be able to "doink" a deer with a 185 gr. wfngc at 1800 fps, and power up to a 225-250 at 2300 for ....moose? caribou?? Anyway, any thoughts on a donor rifle? Narrowed to a 77, RAR, or a no.1. Barrel weight?, twist? Thanks, y'all!!

 

[22/45 Fan]

Another possibility is a stainless left-handed Ruger Gunsite Scout in .308. It's basically a 77/Hawkeye action and could be rebarreled to .358 W easily.

An all-weather left-handed RAR is also a good possibility and may cost less than a gun show find. CDNN has them for about $300 in compact form with a .308/.358 size bolt face. So a rebarrel and Boyd's stock and you are good to go.

 

[willk]

If Alaska hunting is in the plan, a 77MK II or a Hawkeye is what you need. The controlled round feeding won't let you down.

 

[terryjulie]

Ooohhh, I like the idea of a gunsite rifle. I wonder if the barrel would be drop-in?? Probably depend on the contour..... any guesses on twist??

 

[Big Old Boy]

Grice gun shop 77/358 $850 right hand only.

 

[22/45 Fan]

Ooohhh, I like the idea of a gunsite rifle. I wonder if the barrel would be drop-in?? Probably depend on the contour..... any guesses on twist??

The .308W/7.62 NATO chambered Gunsite Scouts have a 1:10 twist. The .223R/5.56 NATO guns have a 1:8 twist. If you rebarrel it to .358 you can have any twist you wish.

 

[pete44ru]

An all-weather left-handed RAR is also a good possibility and may cost less than a gun show find.

CDNN has them for about $300 in compact form with a .308/.358 size bolt face.

So a rebarrel and Boyd's stock and you are good to go.

FWIW, to get from .308 Winchester to .358 Winchester, re-barreling ($$$) isn't necessary.

A simple $245 re-bore ( www.35caliber.com ) will usually do the dirty deed, provided the re-bore leaves the minimum .125" barrel wall @ the muzzle.

(a .125" wall thickness translates to .125" + .125" + .358" = .608" barrel OD @ the muzzle)


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[22/45 Fan]

My RAR All-weather in .223 Rem with a 22" barrel mikes 0.590" at the muzzle so, assuming Ruger uses the same outside contour for all of the standard caliber RAR's (the largest caliber they offer is .308W/30-06) it's not quite big enough for a .358 rebore. Cutting the length to 20" gives a new muzzle diameter of 0.610" which is enough and 18" gives a diameter of 0.690.