To make a long story short, I've been looking for a 7600 for a few months now. Used ones are surprisingly expensive (especially compared to what they go for in the US) and the only model readily available new locally is rifle-length synthetic .308.
What I really want is walnut or laminate .30-06.
Stock and forend are easy enough to change, but I'm still a bit confused about what's required for changing the caliber, especially when .30-06 is a fair bit longer than .308. Magazine and magazine catch are a given, of course, but am I correct assuming that simply having a gunsmith rechamber the barrel with a .30-06 reamer and headspacing it accordingly would suffice? Action length should be identical for both and shorter .308-based magazines use filler blocks, .30-06-based ones don't.
Otherwise the small(ish) difference between the two calibers wouldn't really matter, but what I have in mind is getting a spare barrel extension from Lumley and having a 9.3x62 barrel installed for easy switch-caliber capability. The bolt head and cartridge length are interchangeable with .30-06 so that's a really tempting option for hunts that require a bit more punch than smaller caliber can deliver. Or, alternatively, a .25-06 or .270 barrels for longer shots on smaller game.
Getting a .30-06 to start with would solve this problem, but the amount of red tape involved in importing one is almost prohibitive compared to just buying a .308 and having a gunsmith convert it locally.
What I really want is walnut or laminate .30-06.
Stock and forend are easy enough to change, but I'm still a bit confused about what's required for changing the caliber, especially when .30-06 is a fair bit longer than .308. Magazine and magazine catch are a given, of course, but am I correct assuming that simply having a gunsmith rechamber the barrel with a .30-06 reamer and headspacing it accordingly would suffice? Action length should be identical for both and shorter .308-based magazines use filler blocks, .30-06-based ones don't.
Otherwise the small(ish) difference between the two calibers wouldn't really matter, but what I have in mind is getting a spare barrel extension from Lumley and having a 9.3x62 barrel installed for easy switch-caliber capability. The bolt head and cartridge length are interchangeable with .30-06 so that's a really tempting option for hunts that require a bit more punch than smaller caliber can deliver. Or, alternatively, a .25-06 or .270 barrels for longer shots on smaller game.
Getting a .30-06 to start with would solve this problem, but the amount of red tape involved in importing one is almost prohibitive compared to just buying a .308 and having a gunsmith convert it locally.