What can I do with a winchester 7mm mag barrel?

[HT308]

I have a winchester 7mm mag barrel that I got in trade a year ago, and I need some low budget ideas for it. Winchester receivers are too costly, so what would be a good Milsurp receiver for this project that can handle the pressures?

[MAINER]

An FN classic long action can be had for $399. By the time you get an old milsurp 98 Mauser up to snuff with bolt bending. drilled and tapped for scope mount, and refinished you will have exceded the cost of the FN and still have a Military converson rifle worth $300. Add $50 to that for a decent single-stage trigger.

Not to mention good Mauser actions arn't exactly plentiful or cheap anymore. :(

Thats my outlook on it, others may have a rosier picture for ya!

Good luck with 7 Maggie, good cartridge.

[HT308]

I was thinking of trying a yugo 48 action. As far as cost Mainer, I am trying to stay uder the 300.00 range. Most of the work I can do myself except for the handle welding.

[MAINER]

The only milsurp action I would consider would be some form of Model 98 Mauser. Finding one in buildable condition is getting tough these days. Commercial actions can usually be bought cheaper.

The Yugo action should be fine. It is an "intermediate length" action and shorter than the Model 98 but the 8MM Mauser is longer than the 7MM Rem. so that shouldn't be a problem. I believe you will need to make an extractor cut in the barrel for it to work properly, not positive on this.

Hope you can find a good one.

Gunsmiths charge about $10 per hole to drill and tap, so doing your own work is a big plus.

[Clark]

I have over 100 rifle barrels lying around, including unfired 7mmMag barrels from M70 and Rem700 take offs. I got them from Ebay for ~ $20 ~ $60, back when Ebay allowed barrels to be sold.

After 10 years of amateur gunsmithing, I have now rebarrelled ~ 30 rifles, and my brother, with whom I work with on these project has rebarrelled ~ 20 rifles.

I have decided that I am no longer working on barrels like these. They were taken off without firing for a reason: the quality is not there.

I am now working with Shilen Stainless Select Match and Lothar Walther Chrome moly barrels. These barrels are cheap and meet or exceed all my quality expectations.

Converting a VZ24 to magnum length, bolt face, feed lips, and feed ramp is hard enough.
Don't do it with a Yugo.

What does it all mean?
If I were you, I would either use the barrel as gunsmithing practice, or if you don't need any more practice, sell it to someone who does.