Bliksem
Active Member
People have called me crazy but I love challenges and when I get bored and left unsupervised my mind goes down rabbit holes.
So a few years ago I traded a DPMS AR15 for a Ruger 77 tang safety in 458WM from a young man that had inherited this rifle from his late grandfather. The rifle had a few issues with the action being loose in the wood but this was taken care of with some JB Weld steel epoxy. After some load work-up this rifle has become my prime hunting rifle for anything from South Texas white tail, hogs and Nilgai using cast bullets. This rifle is not a safe queen and has dings and scratches but I have no doubts in it's ability to get the job done when needed as has been proven on a number of successful hunts.
As some of you may know I'm currently unsupervised as SWAMBO is out of the country visiting her sons and grand babies. A few days ago I was perusing the ads on Gunbroker and I came across a Ruger tang safety in 300WM that looks like it was used hard and put away wet. Perfect for a rescue project I thought and bid on it. Well a few days later I found I had won the sale so now for the rest of the story as the late Paul Harvey used to say.
I don't need another 300WM as I have a Winchester Model 70 in this caliber and have no real feels for it but my thinking was that the base rifle is a good starting point for a sequence of projects that will be a Ruger in 358 NM.
Backstory:
I have rust blued and refinished the wood on a number of Marlin 336 rifles and even though this was quite a bit of work the outcomes have been very satisfying.
Why 358NM? Well, I have a few hundred once fired 300WM cases as I have used some of these for fire forming for my 458WM and I'm also staring to cast and load for the 358Win. The 35 caliber rifles seem to be calling me...
I have never rebarreled a rifle myself yet have most of the tools needed for this in my shop and I love a challenge and it is time that I learn how to do this. Yes, this will cost me more than just sending it to a professional but what is the challenge in this? Any advice on books or other literature on the subject will be greatly appreciated.
I know some on this forum either have done this or similar or own and shoot 358NM (CW I know you do). This will be a longer term project for me as my workload has been crazy ever since the virus situation started in March 2020 so not too much time available.
Below a pic of 2 Marlins I refinished a few years ago. Both were truck guns when I got them with dings and rust. Below is a Revelation 200 and a 336 above. I'll add pics of the Ruger when I get it.
So a few years ago I traded a DPMS AR15 for a Ruger 77 tang safety in 458WM from a young man that had inherited this rifle from his late grandfather. The rifle had a few issues with the action being loose in the wood but this was taken care of with some JB Weld steel epoxy. After some load work-up this rifle has become my prime hunting rifle for anything from South Texas white tail, hogs and Nilgai using cast bullets. This rifle is not a safe queen and has dings and scratches but I have no doubts in it's ability to get the job done when needed as has been proven on a number of successful hunts.
As some of you may know I'm currently unsupervised as SWAMBO is out of the country visiting her sons and grand babies. A few days ago I was perusing the ads on Gunbroker and I came across a Ruger tang safety in 300WM that looks like it was used hard and put away wet. Perfect for a rescue project I thought and bid on it. Well a few days later I found I had won the sale so now for the rest of the story as the late Paul Harvey used to say.
I don't need another 300WM as I have a Winchester Model 70 in this caliber and have no real feels for it but my thinking was that the base rifle is a good starting point for a sequence of projects that will be a Ruger in 358 NM.
Backstory:
I have rust blued and refinished the wood on a number of Marlin 336 rifles and even though this was quite a bit of work the outcomes have been very satisfying.
Why 358NM? Well, I have a few hundred once fired 300WM cases as I have used some of these for fire forming for my 458WM and I'm also staring to cast and load for the 358Win. The 35 caliber rifles seem to be calling me...
I have never rebarreled a rifle myself yet have most of the tools needed for this in my shop and I love a challenge and it is time that I learn how to do this. Yes, this will cost me more than just sending it to a professional but what is the challenge in this? Any advice on books or other literature on the subject will be greatly appreciated.
I know some on this forum either have done this or similar or own and shoot 358NM (CW I know you do). This will be a longer term project for me as my workload has been crazy ever since the virus situation started in March 2020 so not too much time available.
Below a pic of 2 Marlins I refinished a few years ago. Both were truck guns when I got them with dings and rust. Below is a Revelation 200 and a 336 above. I'll add pics of the Ruger when I get it.