BRNO HYBRID 7.62x51 / 308 WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGES

[zain]

I always wished to have a bolt action hunting rifle chambered in 308/7.62x51 being a round of my choice. But the prices of bolt action rifles chambered in 7.62x51/308 are insanely high in this part of world. Some friends came up with the suggestion of re-barreling a rifle in to 308. The idea seemed workable but since a 308 round generates an enormous chamber pressure thus it was a genuine matter of concern to select a rifle and design to withstand the gigantic pressure of 308 round . Finally , with the help and advice of a very knowledgeable friend , located overseas , having a practical experience of gunsmithing , the design of mauser 98 and caliber of 7x57 was chosen.

I had 2 rifles in 7x57 , a parker hale and a BRNO ZKK600, I always love BRNOs and selected the BRNO for rebarreling, though my friend opined that the bolt of a Parker Hale is nearer to the original mauser 98 bolt design. The integrated dovetail to mount scope was another plus in BRNO so I proceeded with it. My friend also gave a nod and told me that the action of ZKK 600 was the standard action that BRNO used in many calibers including 30-06.

The Barrel

The barrel of 308/7.62x51 was hardest thing to come by. Another friend told me availability of machine gun barrels, coming from Afghanistan (presumably supplied by NATO to Afghan Government Army who sale them subsequently) in the area bordering with Afghanistan. The area was extremely volatile and unstable, yet my craze for the gun drove me there. I remained there for several days and heard something horrible every day, but finally I got the job done and the task of re-barreling was accomplished. Here is the result

 

[zain]

Chapter 2
The people live in a primitive style here. Houses made from Mud. No electricity for days even weeks is a routine matter. The mobile coverage is the recent blessing of modern times but they are charged on batteries and money is charged on mobile charging. the village I went to zero the gun is situated at a buffer zone between civilization and stone age style of life as the dirt tracks end here and rough mountain tracks lead to rest of human dwellings situated deep down in the mountains . The distance is measured in nights on camel back. I had visited the caves those contain very old pictures made by their pre-historic residents. These caves of Stone Age human dwellings are located at the distance of two nights on camel back.
The modern life articles ( which are no more modern for all of any more) are a scare commodity here . Such scarcity so intense that there was not a proper table to be used as a rest. but I am used to it now and have adapted to use our cradle to grave companion, “the Cot” as a rest. This cot is very multi-dimensional tool. It is used as Chair, as a sofa, as a resting chair, as a table , as a dining table ,as a bed , as a hospital sick bed and yes, as a rest to zero a gun too. After one has breathed his last, his body is taken to grave on a cot also. Ashes to ashes , dust to dust . You may say that we are born and taken to be buried on a cot.

Due to lack of recreational facilities , everything that is done in a village is collective event and is watched upon with open eyes and dropped jaws keenly. Not only this but the event is talked about for days , weeks and months. If something extra-ordinary happens, it survives through the generation as an anecdote and every narrator adds the spices of his choice . so one has to be very careful in doing anything in any such like event if he does not want to be funny character of local folk lore .
I was well aware of the tradition and did not get bothered when a mob of all aged
villagers gathered around me when I started the process of zeroing my gun.


It is obvious that when I cannot get a table and chair to be used as a rest so there is no question of availability of paper targets and stands to hold them. So I went a traditional way
I gathered five stones, wrapped a white tissue on them and placed one at the distance of 200 meters.
The stone wrapped in white tissue to enhance the visibility


Sighted the gun through bore at first stage and then inserted the bolt and fired first shot. it was bit low and on left side, so I clicked the required increments up and right and in this way in 10 to 12 shots I hit the stone . It turned in to dust. second stone was put and was hit it as well. Then I put 5 stones and loaded 5 bullets in a row and started to hit one by one. 4were hit out of 5and missed only one. There were some stones which puffed away like s smoke or powder but there were some stone stubborn enough just to bounce away having a scar of P.O.I only.

Here is one.


The stone puffed away by bullet impacts. The craters caused by bullet force




On my return I started my favorite hunt. “waterfowling with a .22LR” my friends were quick to point at Gad-walls sitting at a distance that was even beyond the reach of .22LR . the distance was no less than 225 meters . we were standing at an angle that was about 60 degree inclination and the bullet must have hit ground and there was tens of miles of un -inhabited area ahead of our fire . So I took the rifle , loaded a 7.62x51 round in it , put the gun on the roof of my vehicle and aimed . At the very same moment, the bird I was aiming at, started to feed. It was moving randomly and was very hard to shoot . I kept waiting in that posture for nearly 6 to 8 minutes and finally the bird started to move in straight line of my fire . I aimed at his “dead centre chest “and fired. I saw , in scope the bird blowing up with the power of bullet and turned to its side. It was retrieved by my hunting buddies and this is what remains out of it.

Graphic images removed.

Chapter 3
We proceeded further and saw other birds at the nearly same distance. These birds were sitting quietly. I again aimed at one and fired. This time the bullet just zipped through it. Perhaps the difference between the result of two shots is caused by movement and stationary states of birds .These two shots made me to feel intoxicated for several days .
While at the village I saw a sig Saur bolt action 308 rifle which won of the resident of village had one in a long range shooting competition few days ago. I did not have the chance to shoot it side by side mine as the owner was not there and he had zeroed his rifle at the palce in same manner by hitting the stones . I didn’t miss , however, the chance of photographing the same side by side . The bolt of this rifle is not a traditional mauser action rather a push feed as shown in photographs.

 

[barnbwt]

I always like hearing about gunsmithing overseas. It reminds me that guns and shooting are universally fun the world over, though sadly restricted by either laws or economics in too many places. You said on the other forum that this didn't come from an MG3 barrel, and it doesn't look like an HK21 or 1919 barrel, so where did it come from?

Rebarreling Mauser actions like the BRNO is a time-honored tradition here in the US. The Mauser action has been chambered for probably every single cartridge ever conceived by this point in time, 308 high in the running for most popular . As a fan of Czech weapons, the one Mauser I'll probably end up buying will very likely be a VZ24, as many have said, one of the best Mausers made. With a good barrel, sights, and some fitting, probably as accurate as the Swedish Mausers that typically hold that record.

TCB

 

[zain]

It is definitely a German MG barrel , but the model I was told by the Gun smith can not be recollected for now . But it shoots excellently . I have gotten a SKS converted into A 5.56 semiautomatic rifle too , and as far as my poor internet searching skills show, it might be the first of any winking converted rifles seen on Internet