Rechambering question

[TRAP55]

You try putting a .308 cal bullet down a .284 bore, on that action, and you'll have first hand knowledge of what a grenade going off in your face is like.
You basically have a 7x57, that has been re-chambered to 7mm-06/.280 Rem/ 7mm Express, and most likely not exact enough for any of them to work, even "IF" the rolling block could handle those SAAMI pressures.
You really only have two choices, leave it as a wall hanging '06 blank firing gun, or re-barrel it.

[gunboat]

No, -- Sorry, I was not clear, I meant a chamber sleeve to return it to 7x57 -
Constructed like the chamber sleeves to convert 06 garands to 308 --

[toby]

Hang it on the wall just for the Cool factor,

[gun toting monkeyboy]

The problem with .308 is that the pressures are significantly higher than the original cartridge that the gun was made for. And the action itself is likely over a century old. So trying to play games like that is likely to result in a high-speed-come-apart sooner or later. Never a wise choice.

-Mb

[1lowluv]

I emailed them to see if the have a sleeve to go back to the original 7x57 round. If not I'll look into anothe barrel.

[TRAP55]

You might get lucky on the sleeve adapter, they have a bunch they don't list. They'll get right back to you on an email too.

[ROOS_HAPPENS]

I have a #5 identical to yours. If it has a movie production provenance, I'd advise keeping it as is. Buy yourself another action or rifle if you want a shooter.
I wouldn't advise using a chamber reduction sleeve. Even though commercial 7x57 ammo is supposed to generate low pressures, specifically for these old actions, there have been numerous reports of RRB's failing. Here's something to increase your paranoia.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHwqlksYFO0

BTW, the links that TRAP55 provided are excellent ones. W.H. Wescombe of Glencoe, CA was da man when it came to RRB's, and I bought numerous parts from him years ago. It's good to know that the biz continues even today under different ownership.

[gunboat]

That video, like so much internet info today, was absolutely worthless --

There was no first hand information, only speculation on what caused the accident.
I could just as well speculate a 308 or 300 savage cartridge got inserted by mistake or several other scenerios.
He was "reportedly" using old ammo, perhaps a squib load sticking in the bore, followed by a good round.
my point is there is no info as to what may have caused the accident.

While I know there have been a number of recorded accidents with the older black powder models, I have not seen a lot of recorded instances of the 01s failing.
However, It is always wise to be cautious with older weapons and the 7mm rb's are no exception -- There is tons of good and bad info available about their chambering and it only takes a few minutes with a headspace gage to confirm the chamber size.
When I got my RB in the 50's there was not a lot of surplus ammo available so it became a reloading project reforming plentiful (cheap = $1/100) 30/06 brass to fit. Never had an issue using standard reloading tables of the time.
my tuppence

[ROOS_HAPPENS]

Basically, the video relayed the info that a 7x57mm RRB blew up at a range, and that the person firing it was horribly injured.
It also conjectured that a round generating chamber pressures far in excess of the design & metallurgy of the action, was to blame.
That information is always useful.

When I got my #5, back in the mid 70's, I bought some brass, a 7x57mm Lee Loader, and a Lyman mold.
The bore was dark & pitted, so for plinking with cast bullets, I was perfectly happy.

I've also got a #1. There were a bunch of dimensional changes, but the most important difference is that #5 actions are steel, not iron.

The bottom line here, folks, is that we're dealing with 110 year old technology & a firearm which has been grossly modified.

I'd say that more than a little bit of caution is justified.

[1lowluv]

Well I'm not in a hurry to run out and shoot it, but to make it fire again would be awesome. But if I can't do that safely then I won't do it at all. The bore is really nice on this and it still has strong rifling and looks to have no pitting. I wouldn't care if I could only shoot 22lr out of it. It would be awesome to shoot. I know there's gotta be some lower powered rounds that would work.