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Thread: Helen Keller, eat your heart out

  1. #1
    Senior Member raxar's Avatar

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    Helen Keller, eat your heart out

    Hit an auction today on a whim, ended up with a pair of monkeyed with Mosin Nagants (they had half a dozen or so of them)

    Rifle 1 I bid on thinking it was one in .444 marlin (auction had two of them) it was actually listed as .300 WSM (they sold of couple in that caliber too) but it's actually an m44, converted to 8mm lebel, with a berthier carbine barrel, the magazine is slightly modded to feed the wider round, but I don't have any to try it out with. It needs a front sight, but I'm sure an adequate substitute can be had





    Rifle 2 has been converted to 45/70 with a Marlin 1895 barrel and oddly enough a 98 mauser rear sight and barrel band. Mag has been modded to work with 45/70's but it doesn't work very well. Seems fine as a single shot though. Built on a hex receiver tang dated 1935




  2. #2
    Site Admin & **Team Gunsnet Silver 12/2012** Richard Simmons's Avatar

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    Those are both very interesting pieces. Was the auction a gunsmith, gun shop or where these part of some ones collection? I've though about building a target rifle out of an MN but was thinking along the lines of a heavier barrel in the same caliber not rebarreling one to a new/different caliber. I guess as long as you stick to a rimmed cartridge and don't go too long you could work up some interesting combinations.

    I guess you could do .303 or .30-.40 Krag
    Last edited by Richard Simmons; 03-28-2015 at 02:34 PM.
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    Forum Administrator Schuetzenman's Avatar

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    WTF! 8 mm Lebel, why would anybody do an M44 in that archaic can't-find-ammo chambering? Clearly the gunsmith was psychotic or dropping acid. At least the 45-70 version is something that you can still readily find ammo for. Still, it is blowing my mind why anyone would put out that kind of effort and create such a Frankenrifle.

  4. #4
    Senior Member Helen Keller's Avatar

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    the 45-70 aint bad lookin.



    I'd put a 20rd lahti mag 9on it though.
    PRAISE KEK
    FATHER OF CHAOS
    BRINGER OF DAY
    IN THY WEBBED HANDS WE PLACE OUR FAITH
    SHADILAY, SHADILAY!

  5. #5
    Senior Member raxar's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by Richard Simmons View Post
    Those are both very interesting pieces. Was the auction a gunsmith, gun shop or where these part of some ones collection? I've though about building a target rifle out of an MN but was thinking along the lines of a heavier barrel in the same caliber not rebarreling one to a new/different caliber. I guess as long as you stick to a rimmed cartridge and don't go too long you could work up some interesting combinations.

    I guess you could do .303 or .30-.40 Krag
    Local auction house has gun auctions a few times a year. I'm guessing all the funky cartridge conversions were done by the same guy. These guns were sold at one of their ealier auctions and got brought back for whatever reason (sold for a loss BTW, I looked them up on the list of past auctions).

    Quote Originally Posted by Schuetzenman View Post
    WTF! 8 mm Lebel, why would anybody do an M44 in that archaic can't-find-ammo chambering? Clearly the gunsmith was psychotic or dropping acid. At least the 45-70 version is something that you can still readily find ammo for. Still, it is blowing my mind why anyone would put out that kind of effort and create such a Frankenrifle.
    I thought the exact same thing. He probably did it just to see if it could be done. A fair amount of effort went into it because the front sight and markings are still where they're supposed to be. Neither is a hack job. What's really interesting is that on the 91/30 he converted to .300 WSM he didn't re-barrel it, so it still has the larger russian bore diameter.

  6. #6
    Site Admin & **Team Gunsnet Silver 12/2012** Richard Simmons's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by Schuetzenman View Post
    WTF! 8 mm Lebel, why would anybody do an M44 in that archaic can't-find-ammo chambering? Clearly the gunsmith was psychotic or dropping acid. At least the 45-70 version is something that you can still readily find ammo for. Still, it is blowing my mind why anyone would put out that kind of effort and create such a Frankenrifle.
    You can reload 8x50r pretty easy so I'm guessing it was either a case of "can it be done" as Raxar stated or he had a decent barrel off a Lebel or Berthier and a MN that had a trashed bore.
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    Senior Member tank_monkey's Avatar

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    Raxar. You totally kicked ass on this score. Congratulations!

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    Senior Member abpt1's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by tank_monkey View Post
    Raxar. You totally kicked ass on this score. Congratulations!
    Agreed thats very cool !

  9. #9
    Senior Member Partisan1983's Avatar

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    I have to agree those are pretty cool as hell.
    Here's to pussy and gunpowder. One to live for, the other to die by.....Goddamn though, I do love the smell of 'em both !!!

  10. #10
    Senior Member raxar's Avatar

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    Range report from today.

    First for the "Lebel" I tried running some x54r cases though an 8mm lebel sizer, then loaded a couple of dummies to see if they would chamber, which they did. So I whipped up a few loaded with a 154 grain turk 8mm bullet. Took it to the range and tied it to the bench and fired it remotely. Cases swelled a lot and pushed the shoulder quite a bit forward. Looks like the chamber is sized for .300 WSM, but with a .327 bullet.

    The 45/70 was a different story. I used some stuff loaded with unique pistol powder and jacket bullets and the thing was a blast. Fired and ejected with no issues and had no kick at all. I did have to adjust the rear sight up to 800 to hit point of aim at 50 yards, but given the nature of the gun that isn't so bad. Didn't bench it though, so I can't say how accurate it is.

  11. #11
    Senior Member raxar's Avatar

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    yep just checked it, it chambers a .325 WSM case ( I knew holding on to those two boxes of brass for 8 years was a good idea).

    Who here wants to volunteer to pull the trigger on one of those?

  12. #12
    Senior Member NAPOTS's Avatar

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    Quote Originally Posted by raxar View Post
    yep just checked it, it chambers a .325 WSM case ( I knew holding on to those two boxes of brass for 8 years was a good idea).

    Who here wants to volunteer to pull the trigger on one of those?
    I have a set of saw horses, a vice, some scrap lumber and c-clamps which I'll volunteer.

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