What would be a good surplus rifle to convert to .243 Winchester? I own mostly 03 and 03A3's. Would a 6.5 Swede Mauser have a more appropriate size action for the .243?

Thanks

Need to watch out for the higher chamber pressures of modern cartridges in the older military actions. The 'Swedes were made for approx. 40K pressure, while the .243 Win develops around 50 - 55K pressures. Newer Mod 38 actions MAY be able to handle this - the older pre-1900's Mod 94/96's may not.

A 1903A3 action would be a nice candidate for this conversion.

Lots of folks get very angry with the thought of converting an old military rifle into a customized sporter. I'm not one of those. :D

Any of the 98 Mauser actions should work, but have the receiver rockwell checked if using the small ring Mexican Mausers, as they had a tendency to be a little soft. The 1917 Enfields make good conversions, after the action has had the rear bridge reshaped. Since I like the 6.5 Sweed better than the .243 all of the Model 38's (8) I've converted to sporters have been left in the 6.5 chambering.

Lee L.

For a .243, I would look at one of the medium length 1898 actions like the Yugo M48. Will handle .243 pressure levels with no problems. Only drawback of medium length actions is that parts and stocks are not as common as they are for standard length 98 actions.

If you research the rifle you want build on first, building a sporter is no problem. My heartburn comes from Bubba butchering a historicly important rifle that might be a rare or unusual varient. If you are not careful, you can easily turn a $750 collectable into a $100 shooter. Please don't build on your 1903s or 03A3s, for instance. If they are as issued, they are worth far more as historical artifacts (not to mention cash value!) than they ever will as a sporter. Plenty of 1903 actions still around if you look, and sportered rifles from earlier times to build on.

I'm not against building sporters on military rifles, I recently finished a .257 Roberts on a 96 Swede action I had. It came from a poorly done sporter, no reason to cut an original.

I gotta agree with Charlie. Never bubba a milsurp in original condition. I would even hesitate to bubba a 48, 48A, and especially not an 03, 03A3, 98, 98K or 96. Find one where someone has already done the unthinkable; there are plenty around on the net and most gun shops and the bubba-ized ones can be had very cheaply.
People always want to alter the milsurps and I don't understand why. Have you ever shot a 96 6.5 x55 or a 98 8mm? My goodness, they don't need to be changed a bit. A 6.5 x 55 will reach out and touch something in a 96 Swede without doing a thing to it and an 8mm in a 48, 48A, or 98 is no slouch either. They are great hunting rounds if you reload them appropriately or buy decent hunting ammo for them. I cannot figure for the life of me why people want to take an old action and modernize it. Why not start with a new current made action or buy a new rifle if it is tinkering you like and cost is not a concern. If money is a concern, you can buy a new rifle for less than it costs to change a milsurp and do it correctly. Current make used rifles can be had in almost any caliber you want for between $300 and $400 used. By the time you send $100 on a milsurp, another $50-$100 on a stock, $150 to $300 on a new barrel and having it chambered, headspaced and finished, then having scope rings and bases put on it along with a decent trigger and having the bolt handle turned down, you are way past saving any money and still have an old action which many may not be heat treated correctly.
But hey, it's is your money after all so it's really none of my business. Just thinking out loud.

As Big Bore said there are a lot of actions and butchered rifles out there, and the good thing is that they are cheap. I have been able to find actions as cheap as $35.00 and Bubba-ized rifles as cheap as $45.00. if the barrel hasn't been cut and the sights removed, I just get a stock and hardware from Gun Parts and return it to mil condition. sometimes get a $35.00 Stock cut and crown the barrel ( if allready cut ) install sights rework bolt handle drill and tap for sights, drill and tap for scope and have a cheap sporter. My last two Model 38's were actions that had been drilled and tapped for scopes. Got a new barrels from Gun Parts and a cheap stocks. Total cost less than $150.00 each. Built one as a 7X57, and the other as a 7.62X39, so as you can see there is always a good supply of used parts out there. Saw a 1903A3 at the gun show yesterday, Looked in mint condition untill I got close, someone had had the receiver and about the first three inches of the barrel had been engraved, as well as the trigger guard and floor plate taken from a 1903. The owner didn't know who did the engraving, Looked German as it was Oak leaves and Acorns. Stock was a C-Stock, that looked like it had just been oil finished. $800.00 was too high.

Lee L.

Thanks for the replies and "diatribes". I have 3 03/03As's that were sporterized over 50 years ago, I'm 47. People rarely convert these guns anymore with prices startng at $450 or so. It was appropriate at one time and produced some fine rifles while increasing the present day value of military issue condition guns by reducing supply . Anyway, I could never sit in a tree all day looking at an ugly orignal military 03.

I am new to Mausers, hence my question about suitability to converting to a 243. The 03 just seems a little on the heavy side for a little 243. I have a Mark X Mausuer in 25-06 so the 6.5 would be too close to that. I guess I'll keep figuing what I really want my next project to be.

Anyway, I could never sit in a tree all day looking at an ugly orignal military 03.

LOL, beauty is in the eye of the beholder! I hope you didn't mistake some of the opinions here as diatribes. Some conversions are OK, some are not, IMO. Most of my rifles are straight military, some are commercial, and some are sportered military rifles. Most of the sporters were built in the same time period as yours. As long as you do your research and pick the right rifle or action, who cares? Is it something you want to do? Then go ahead!

[QUOTE=Charley]Anyway, I could never sit in a tree all day looking at an ugly orignal military 03.

LOL, beauty is in the eye of the beholder! I hope you didn't mistake some of the opinions here as diatribes. Some conversions are OK, some are not, IMO. Most of my rifles are straight military, some are commercial, and some are sportered military rifles. Most of the sporters were built in the same time period as yours. As long as you do your research and pick the right rifle or action, who cares? Is it something you want to do? Then go ahead![/QUOT

Charley, does that mean I can customize my great uncle's WWII personal side arm (a perfect 1911A1) and dye the original holster a different color? Just kidding!

I agree with all you said. I guess I get a little pissed when people refer to my father as a Bubba for having an ugly $25 03 turned into a 1 MOA beauty 45 years ago (as well as dis my favorite rifle). They remind my of that snob Kerry....

48A, Turk, or Bosnian (same as 48A) with a rotten barrel. If you have a good barrel on one, you'd be surprised how well they may shoot.

My dad built a few 1917 Enfields, way back when, but they're too expensive now.

One of my favorites, an '09 in 7.65 Arg. Good action and good caliber, has accounted for lots of deer. It had been sorta bastardized when i got it, but had a perfect barrel so into a sporter stock it went. Never regretted that decision at all.

Always thought the 7.65 Mauser was kinda like Rodney Dangerfield...no respect. Here's a cartridge dating back over 100 years that doesn't fall too short of the 7.62x51/.308 Winchester. Bit longer case, and in a 98 action (like your '09) can be loaded to equal pressures.

My boss bought a "pawnshop rifle", as a backup hunter. It was one of the Century Import Argentine M1909s that the 'wizards" had sporterized and rechambered to .30/06. Of course the bore is still .312. I have heard reports that some of the rifles will shoot factory .30/06 well, but this one sure doesn't! I loaded some .31/06 to try, and it still doesn't shoot worth a hoot. I suspect the chamber is misalligned with the bore. I'll see if I can talk him into selling me the rifle, and then I'll rebarrel it.