I have a swiss Schmidt-Rubin (89-11, I believe) that was sporterized by the import company back in the sixties. Now, the purists will consider this rifle a piece of trash because it isn't "all original condition" but you have to see this beauty to appreciate it. It's PERFECT in every way. And it's nearly 100 years old. It's the only rifle in my collection that my wife thinks is truly beautiful.
But we have a problem in paradise. The importer re-chambered the barrel in .308 winchester. Keep in mind, this is the ORIGINAL barrel we are talking about, since 7.5 Swiss and .308 winchester share a common diameter. The barrel still has the original serial number stamped on it near the receiver. Now, pay attention to that because it's important. This rifle, at the range, was exhibiting a problem where the brass was extremely hard to extract, requiring a mallet. Two shots of that is enough, so off to the gunsmith we go. The gunsmith diagnoses excessive headspace, and refused to cut a new .308 chamber because he says the old metal isn't up to the pressure. Ok, so I ask what about re-chambering it back to the original 7.5 Swiss? He humms and hawws and I let him think about it/ make some calls/ think about it some more. He comes back 2 weeks later and says he can't do it. I believe he doesn't have the skills, or the tools, or the profit margin to get it done (maybe a combo of all 3). The kicker here is that I don't want to lose the original serial number stamping on the barrel, meaning I don't want to swap out the barrel and I can't trim much (it's pretty darn close) off the receiver end of the barrel.
Suggestions? Comments? Any leads to someone with more knowledge? I know a 7.5 swiss chamber reamer is probably not the most common tool on a gunsmith's bench. I don't mind sending it off if it will get top-notch attention.
But we have a problem in paradise. The importer re-chambered the barrel in .308 winchester. Keep in mind, this is the ORIGINAL barrel we are talking about, since 7.5 Swiss and .308 winchester share a common diameter. The barrel still has the original serial number stamped on it near the receiver. Now, pay attention to that because it's important. This rifle, at the range, was exhibiting a problem where the brass was extremely hard to extract, requiring a mallet. Two shots of that is enough, so off to the gunsmith we go. The gunsmith diagnoses excessive headspace, and refused to cut a new .308 chamber because he says the old metal isn't up to the pressure. Ok, so I ask what about re-chambering it back to the original 7.5 Swiss? He humms and hawws and I let him think about it/ make some calls/ think about it some more. He comes back 2 weeks later and says he can't do it. I believe he doesn't have the skills, or the tools, or the profit margin to get it done (maybe a combo of all 3). The kicker here is that I don't want to lose the original serial number stamping on the barrel, meaning I don't want to swap out the barrel and I can't trim much (it's pretty darn close) off the receiver end of the barrel.
Suggestions? Comments? Any leads to someone with more knowledge? I know a 7.5 swiss chamber reamer is probably not the most common tool on a gunsmith's bench. I don't mind sending it off if it will get top-notch attention.