Gettin myself in trouble....again..

Suzanne

Long story short...no...I bought an old rolling block a while back that I wanted to rebarrel to 45-70...things just haven't worked out, it's too expensive and questionable and expensive...it costs too much too. So I dug into the recesses of the gun cabinet and came up with two to sell to make cash for buying a really nice Swedish rolling block I saw on-line in 8x58r Danish. The gun was previously chambered in 11mm then they decided to go smaller and faster so they put better barrels on and case hardened receivers and internals. Sounded like a better idea to me for a conversion to 45-70 than my first purchase was. (I bought cheap and got cheap in return on that rifle)

Anyway I did some research today on the 8x58r Danish and a few places say it's the same as the Krag caliber and Cartridges OT World says it's not the same. To top it all off the place where I bought the rifle says it's got a .315 bore dia. One source says it should also have a .329 groove. So I'm lost as to what to do now for ammo.

Yes you can read all about what other people have done for making brass from 45-70 (they're too short and you have to trim the rims) or 45-90 and resizing 323 bullets, or just using Krag brass and get a reloading die for the 8mm and on and on.....I'm lost, I don't do multiplication....

Any body here have an easy solution? Other than rebarrel? to get this thing shooting? Oh and I don't have the gun yet so don't tell me to slug the barrel...I'll be doin that when I get it. If ya know something tell me, if yer guessing....I'm getting a switch ready....you know...I'm gettin tired, I just want a rolling block i can shoot dmit! Jeeeez as much money as I've circulated I coulda hada nice one, but I like the antiques.

Suz

PaulS

I don't have much for resources but what I found was that the cartridge (8x58R Danish Krag) was configured from the Krag case. I am unsure if the Krag-Jorgensen is the same as the 8x58R Danish Krag or not but it is the only dimensioned drawing that I could find.

Suzanne

Thanks Paul, I also found some technical info on another gun board for Swedish rollers...no mention of the .315 bore dia. but they all seem to point to the caliber as Danish Krag. There's data from Norma too and some case forming info with much argument and division....think I'm gonna haveta rebarrel to feel safe shooting it.

Suz

SingleShotLover

At the risk of your switch (and I am truly terrified!), don't stress out until you have the chance to slug the bore. If the seller is saying .315" bore, is that to the top of the lands or the bottom of the grooves? If it is the lands, the actual bore may well be for the .318" bullet - the original size of the 8mm Mauser in the so-called "J" bore - later changed to .323" as the "S" bore. .315" would leave .015" for groove depth - a bit shallow but not impossible if for the .318" bullet. I would be inclined to think this might be the case since that was the common size circa 1888 and would fit with the era of your Rolling Block.

It is not at all uncommon for rifles of the same caliber (and often same manufacturer) of that era to have wildly differing bore diameters. See what you get and then you can make real plans.

Good luck and certainly keep us posted!

Vince

Sage words SSL. Don't stress over something that you don't know the details of yet Suz...just enjoy the anticipation of a new rifle coming mate.

fnuser

Since it is a s.s. slugging the bore would be pretty easy? Clean the bore, spray it with rem oil and jam some over sized soft lead through. Just make sure its soft pure lead. I've done this hundreds of times and its pretty fun. use less than a 5/16th dowel and start with a short one like a tight muzzle loader does to get it started. I've also pounded .50 cal round balls into muzzles using nearly the same technique, let a 50 cal ball center itself then strike it with a rawhide mallet until most of it goes into the bore it will leave a lead washer on top then with a cleaning rod poke it out from the breech. (it won't take much) The muzzle technique is quicker but a rougher measurement. Most quality barrels are tightest at the muzzle. Ain't Ka-Boomed one yet!