Ok. This is a long shot as no-one seems to have done it before but chances are someone has done at least some groundwork so I'll have to ask.
What would it take to rechamber a Russian contract 1895 Winchester to .500S&W? The baseline dimensions, a rimmed cartridge, 7.62x54R, are awfully close to .500S&W as is the max pressure, meaning that if possible feeding issues with a shorter cartridge can be dealt with, it seems like a perfectly doable conversion.
I'm asking this because I gave my thumper (Marlin 1895XLR) to my son a while ago, I kind-of miss the knockdown power of .45-70 and I have a spare Winchester 1895 collecting dust, as an ideal starting point for a project like this. The 7.62x54R isn't a bad cartridge at all, quite the opposite, but its effective reach of 250yd+ would warrant using a scope and I both want to keep peep sights on the 'Win as well as have as much momentum as possible with a big bore caliber.
As a plus, .500S&W from a rifle-lenght barrel seems to be the ticket for the biggest moose out there as possibly some African big and even dangerous game. Am I daydreaming or am I onto something here?
What would it take to rechamber a Russian contract 1895 Winchester to .500S&W? The baseline dimensions, a rimmed cartridge, 7.62x54R, are awfully close to .500S&W as is the max pressure, meaning that if possible feeding issues with a shorter cartridge can be dealt with, it seems like a perfectly doable conversion.
I'm asking this because I gave my thumper (Marlin 1895XLR) to my son a while ago, I kind-of miss the knockdown power of .45-70 and I have a spare Winchester 1895 collecting dust, as an ideal starting point for a project like this. The 7.62x54R isn't a bad cartridge at all, quite the opposite, but its effective reach of 250yd+ would warrant using a scope and I both want to keep peep sights on the 'Win as well as have as much momentum as possible with a big bore caliber.
As a plus, .500S&W from a rifle-lenght barrel seems to be the ticket for the biggest moose out there as possibly some African big and even dangerous game. Am I daydreaming or am I onto something here?