Just bought 4 Rem 783's for $199 each!

[Deleted member 46119]

...
I am emotionally attached to this gun in a weird way.
...

That's a wonderful thing.

When you make a rifle your own, it is your own. A reflection of you.

but

I feel sad, I know your future purchases will include things like a lathe so you chamber them yourself. Your gonna be broke. LOL

I'm happy for you because you can spend a lifetime of hobby time making things. Your gonna be fulfilled.

 

[engineer40]

I'm going to throw a curve ball at you guys... Most of our whitetail hunting time is spent in the area of Michigan that is shotgun only. No centerfire rifles. My uncle has a few hundred acres and it's as much of a family thing for us guys as it is for hunting.

Over the last decade my Dad has has cancer twice. Because of that he is down probably 50lbs in body weight and complains about his 12 gauge slug gun recoiling. The area that we hunt you can also use pistol caliber rifles.

I'm contemplating trying to make one of these Remington 783 bolt actions shoot .460S&W Mag or .500S&W Mag. and giving it to my Dad. Seems like those would be as accurate as far as any shotgun slug and probably recoil less.

Out of a handgun there is .460 ammo that gets over 2300fps. So with a longer rifle barrel, that would be interesting...

Over the last couple days I've done a moderate amount of research and this seems feasible.


What are your thoughts on me building one of these into an accurate, bolt action .460S&W Magnum?

 

[shooter7]

I was a Michigan resident not too long ago and when I heard that they would allow rifles that shot pistol cartridges in the shotgun zone I had the same idea. If I'm not mistaken the state allows straight walled pistol cartridges with a maximum case length of 1.830 inches so the 460 s&w would be legal (please verify first, I'm not a lawyer). The big issue it sounds like to me is whether or not the magazine would feed the rimmed 460. But if it doesn't have to be a repeater then it sounds easy enough. Then again I have not yet had my hands on the 783 so it may be easier than I think. I would love to see it done though.

 

[HarryN]

The nice thing about the 460 SW is that it also allows use of "lighter", off the shelf loads like 454 casull and 45 colt.

460 / 454 are still nothing to sneeze at, even from a rifle, so he might want a muzzle brake.

There are some YouTube videos on recoil from most any caliber.

 

[HarryN]

I think that you are on the right track though to turn one into something bigger bore / shorter range in general though.

I was going to suggest .35 whelen, but in your area, the pistol cartridge makes perfect sense.

 

[HarryN]

There is another option that is very similar to .460 SW and that is 450 marlin. The official saami spec case is too long for MI rules, but in practice, hornady makes the case short and bullet a little long, so it is really close, not sure if close enough.

 

[shooter7]

A.35 caliber or larger rifle loaded with straight-walled cartridges with a minimum case length of 1.16 inches and a maximum case length of 1.80 inches.



Above is the wording straight out of the Michigan hunting and trapping guide.

 

[engineer40]

I was a Michigan resident not too long ago and when I heard that they would allow rifles that shot pistol cartridges in the shotgun zone I had the same idea. If I'm not mistaken the state allows straight walled pistol cartridges with a maximum case length of 1.830 inches so the 460 s&w would be legal (please verify first, I'm not a lawyer). The big issue it sounds like to me is whether or not the magazine would feed the rimmed 460. But if it doesn't have to be a repeater then it sounds easy enough. Then again I have not yet had my hands on the 783 so it may be easier than I think. I would love to see it done though.

Being a rimmed cartridge is the first thing that popped into my mind also with potential mag feeding issues. But I have a couple rimmed rifle cartridges (303 British and 7.62x54R) that feed fine in their respective mags so I don't believe it should be too hard to modify a mag to be reliable. Hopefully...

The nice thing about the 460 SW is that it also allows use of "lighter", off the shelf loads like 454 casull and 45 colt.

460 / 454 are still nothing to sneeze at, even from a rifle, so he might want a muzzle brake.

There are some YouTube videos on recoil from most any caliber.

Do you feel there is enough velocity from a .460 for a brake to work? I understand that the effectiveness of a brake is dependent on the weight of the projectile and the velocity as well. Usually heavier, slower moving cartridges don't benefit as much from a brake... from what I understand.

There is another option that is very similar to .460 SW and that is 450 marlin. The official saami spec case is too long for MI rules, but in practice, hornady makes the case short and bullet a little long, so it is really close, not sure if close enough.

I wasn't aware of the 450 Marlin. Although legally you are correct, it is just a bit too long. I like how it doesn't appear to be a rimmed cartridge though. And I believe this was developed as a rifle cartridge not a handgun cartridge, not sure if that makes a difference legally here in Michigan. I'll have to research more.

A.35 caliber or larger rifle loaded with straight-walled cartridges with a minimum case length of 1.16 inches and a maximum case length of 1.80 inches.

Above is the wording straight out of the Michigan hunting and trapping guide.

Thanks! From what I've found, it appears that .460 Magnum would be about the highest velocity and still very powerful cartridge to use for this application and still be legal. Though, I may be wrong.


Do you think there would be enough powder capacity to justify a 22 inch barrel?

Also, would this be a hand load only gun because the factory ammo is designed with pressures in mind for approx an 8 inch barrel?

 

[HarryN]

I am really just a student of this very fun hobby, so these are just some observations:
- Wikipedia has some good info on the .460, as well as other cartridges. Really a goldmine.
- The .460 appears to be loaded to rifle type pressures, not normal revolver pressures.
- Watch a few videos on YouTube of people firing the .460sw from a revolver and a rifle. It is really educational.

 

[HarryN]

Tome, it looks like an 8 inch barrel revolver does not efficiently capture the powder charge of the load. That sentence is a mixture of understatement and dry humor.

There is a rather dramatic amount of gas ejected sideways at the cylinder / barrel forcing cone, not to mention the fire ball in front of the barrel. I don't know how this translates into the optimal barrel length, but the 20 inch rifle barrel version on YouTube looks close.

 

[HarryN]

I think you will be fine with factory loads for your Dad. If I understand it correctly, both the casull round and 460 will fit and meet the hunting regulations. That covers a wide power range.

Sorry for the short multiple posts, doing this from my phone.

 

[shooter7]

From the digging I've done I have found that the 460 and the 308win have similar case capacity. The 460 is listed has holding 58.4 gr H2o while the 308 holds 55-57 gr H2O depending on the manufacturer. many manufacturers offer the 308 in 18-20 inch barreled rifles. The 308 burns a slower powder than the 460. In my mind a 22 inch barreled 460 should fully burn the powder offering increase velocity over their pistol counterparts. And the muzzle blast shouldn't be nearly as bad

 

[engineer40]

For the benefit of others who have Remington 783's, I just found out that MDT has aluminum chassis's for these rifles now also.

https://mdttac.com/lss-chassis-system.html

Only short actions were listed as available. I just called them. They said long actions should be available later this year.

None of the below rifles look like model 783 actions, but it is the chassis that are available from MDT for the 783's.

 

[Deleted member 46119]

Chassis are not my "thing" but those are sure nice....

I prefer thumbhole or drop grip.