I've been given a lemon, and I want to make lemonade.

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jamesinalaska

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What is the biggest caliber bullet I can stuff into a 30.06 case? I've been given an old 30.06 Savage. And while the action on this rifle is strong, the barrel is horribly pitted. If I keep the rifle I'll have to rebarrel it, and -since I've never been keen on 30.06- I'm wondering about doing something new, and I'm looking here for some insight.

I'd like to cut a 30.06 case off at the shoulder and essentially make a straight-walled cartridge. What is the largest caliber bullet that would fit into such a case? How would such a cartridge headspace in a chamber? From the mouth of the case, like an pistol cartridge?

Thanks in advance.
 
The pitting could be due to the use of old military surplus ammo with corrosive primers. Lotta ol "03s" and "1917s" out there with pitted barrels that still drive tacks. I have one. Might be someone out there in need of a good gun that doesn't mind the pitting and doesn't have the monies to buy one. Maybe spread a little Christmas spirit.
 
I'd like to cut a 30.06 case off at the shoulder and essentially make a straight-walled cartridge. What is the largest caliber bullet that would fit into such a case? How would such a cartridge headspace in a chamber? From the mouth of the case, like an pistol cartridge?

.45 ACP, since cases for that can be made from .30-06, though a bit of case prep is involved. Yes, it would headspace on the case mouth.

Of course the action would be silly long for the cartridge, and feeding would be poor.......
 
I'm not sure that I understand the question. Swapping barrels on the Savage is a ten minute affair using a pre-fit from any one of a half-dozen different manufacturers and a headspace gauge set, and if you don't like the -06 you can substitute any chambering that fits in a long action and uses a (standard) .473 rim diameter. That's gotta give you dozens and dozens of existing choices.....

Are you saying that you want none of them, and you instead want to invent your own chambering?
 
If only the bore of the barrel is pitted, you could rebore to a larger chambering. I had this done a couple of years ago by JES. They rebored an old 1903 Springfield to 35 Whelen. It shoots like a champ.

338-06 is another popular option. The only other one that really comes to mind would be an 8mm-06, which I have in a Mauser rifle. I really like the 8mm caliber and think its underrated by many.

If you decide to rebarrel instead, your options become much larger but so does your budget. You could easily pick any .473 rim diameter cartridge in long action, or spend more $ to change your bolt face to something bigger like a magnum.
 
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I'm thinking 400 Whelen is as big as you can go from a practical standpoint. I think there are some options in 375 caliber too. But if I had a 30-06 and was thinking bigger I'd go 9.3X62. I've had 338-06 and 35 Whelen in the past and didn't feel either really offered me anything I couldn't do as well with 30-06 shooting 200gr and heavier bullets.

The 9.3 standard load is a 286 gr bullet and can be pushed fast enough to be a real step up over 30-06, 338-06 or 35 Whelen. It is an easy conversion and factory ammo is available but is just rare enough to be unique, at least in this country. It also meets the legal requirement for elephant in many parts of Africa. Not everywhere I don't believe, but it is used on elephant in some places.
 
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