http://rvbprecision.com/shooting/rossi- ... rsion.html
With the recent posts of neat ideas to keep us busy such as rebarreling a Mod 8 to 7.62x39, I thought the membership would appreciate this idea. One of the features I like about our 8`s and 81`s is the takedown design.In the above link this fellow converts a Rossi carbine to takedown and provides good photos and explanation.I had originally seen this idea in the NRA Gunsmithing Guide-Updated page 273 "A Takedown Carbine" by Pete Dickey. Mr Dickey converted a Winchester 94 30-30 and mentions that the same process will work on a Marlin 336.Should anyone care to try this I would suggest you read Mr.Dickey`s article. He provides a more in depth explanation and also some sketches and measurements that would prove useful. If you can`t find the NRA Guide, PM me and I`ll mail you a copy of the article. Soon as I can find a clear spot on the bench I`m going to give this a try on a 94. Yes Mitch, there will be pictures.
Joe
Takedown Carbine Rossi-Winchester-Marlin
Takedown Carbine Rossi-Winchester-Marlin
".......ain't many troubles that a man cain't fix
With seven hundred dollars and a thirty ought six."
With seven hundred dollars and a thirty ought six."
Re: Takedown Carbine Rossi-Winchester-Marlin
Great link and cool - pics! (At least coming.)
Though defensive violence will always be “a sad necessity” in the eyes of men of principle, it would be still more unfortunate if wrongdoers should dominate just men. - St. Augustine
Re: Takedown Carbine Rossi-Winchester-Marlin
Takedown shotguns are very common, rifles not so much, and for a good reason. There are some high-end bolt action rifles on the market still that tout multi-caliber capability by simply and easily changing barrels, but these are not takedowns. Then there is that famous (or infamous) Japanese Type 99 takedown rifle often seen in the movies as an assassination weapon. Back in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, most lever action rifles were available in either takedown or standard versions. I myself have an early Savage Model 99 in .303 Savage which is a takedown model (plus of course my M81). The main reason for having a takedown rifle or shotgun back then was for compactness in transportation as hunters would often travel by rail, etc. instead of by automobile. Try carrying a rifle that way on a train or bus today.
My Savage 99 is typical of the earlier takedown lever-action rifles in having a barrel that simply unscrews from the receiver. There is no tubular magazine under the barrel to complicate the construction. The Savage barrel is intended to be removable from the action by hand, and without the use of tools, and there is sort of a key device in the wooden fore-end to keep the barrel from unscrewing in use. After a number of barrel dismounting-remounting cycles, the joint between the barrel and receiver wears and becomes sloppy. That definitely degrades accuracy. It may not impair the rifle's utility for close-range hunting, but it will certainly never be a target gun. My Savage 99, even though it has a mint-condition barrel, does well to shoot a 3" 5-shot group at 50 yards, about the same performance as my Remington M81, which also has a mint-condition bore. I would never use either rifle for hunting at ranges much beyond 100 yards, as luck would play too much of a role in achieving a hit at longer ranges. For both rifles, I believe that better grouping performance is not possible simply because the fit of the barrel to the action cannot be nearly as solid as it is in a typical bolt-action rifle having a barrel tightly screwed into to the receiver.
While a more modern successor to the Remington M81 exists in the form of the Remington M740/742/7400 (which cannot be considered as takedowns due to the difficulty of barrel removal), the method of barrel-receiver attachment is somewhat similar to that of the M8/81, but the barrel does not move under recoil. These newer Remington designs are also noted for having mediocre accuracy, probably for much the same reason. I own both a M740 and a M7400, and I know whereof I speak. Both are good and capable guns, but neither is up to the accuracy standards of most any good bolt-action rifle (however, i will say that the M7400 comes closer).
Moral to the story - If you are interested in the novelty of a take-down rifle, or really need compactness for storage or transportation, they are fine and will do the job most of the time. If you expect consistent good grouping accuracy, you really do not want a takedown rifle. There is obviously no choice in the matter regarding a Model 8/81.
My Savage 99 is typical of the earlier takedown lever-action rifles in having a barrel that simply unscrews from the receiver. There is no tubular magazine under the barrel to complicate the construction. The Savage barrel is intended to be removable from the action by hand, and without the use of tools, and there is sort of a key device in the wooden fore-end to keep the barrel from unscrewing in use. After a number of barrel dismounting-remounting cycles, the joint between the barrel and receiver wears and becomes sloppy. That definitely degrades accuracy. It may not impair the rifle's utility for close-range hunting, but it will certainly never be a target gun. My Savage 99, even though it has a mint-condition barrel, does well to shoot a 3" 5-shot group at 50 yards, about the same performance as my Remington M81, which also has a mint-condition bore. I would never use either rifle for hunting at ranges much beyond 100 yards, as luck would play too much of a role in achieving a hit at longer ranges. For both rifles, I believe that better grouping performance is not possible simply because the fit of the barrel to the action cannot be nearly as solid as it is in a typical bolt-action rifle having a barrel tightly screwed into to the receiver.
While a more modern successor to the Remington M81 exists in the form of the Remington M740/742/7400 (which cannot be considered as takedowns due to the difficulty of barrel removal), the method of barrel-receiver attachment is somewhat similar to that of the M8/81, but the barrel does not move under recoil. These newer Remington designs are also noted for having mediocre accuracy, probably for much the same reason. I own both a M740 and a M7400, and I know whereof I speak. Both are good and capable guns, but neither is up to the accuracy standards of most any good bolt-action rifle (however, i will say that the M7400 comes closer).
Moral to the story - If you are interested in the novelty of a take-down rifle, or really need compactness for storage or transportation, they are fine and will do the job most of the time. If you expect consistent good grouping accuracy, you really do not want a takedown rifle. There is obviously no choice in the matter regarding a Model 8/81.