One more time with a stub

[Texas by God]

I’ve just finished my fourth conversion of a single shot shotgun to a rifle.
This one has a Tikka 7mm barrel chambered in 7-30 Waters.
I found that Minwax Red Oak stain matches the factory color fairly well. I had to take the stock down a trifle to mate up with the recoil pad, so I went ahead and refinished it.
This stub was cut off even with the forend like my first one- the 44-40.
I was fortunate enough to find a nice 70’s 490 Topper Jr. 20 gauge for this project.
From top to bottom in the pic is the 44-40 with a Weaver K1.5, the .218 Bee with a Tasco 4x, the .256 Win with a Valor 4x, and the 7-30 W with a Weaver K4.
The 44-40 is built on a 12 gauge and it is the heaviest of the four.
They are fun!



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[Hannibal]

Very nice! I've been kicking the idea around myself. I'm also thinking of going with a 7-30 Waters. Did you fit your barrel to the stub from the original? If not, how did you deal with the underlug?

I think you already answered this question, just making sure. I'd prefer to keep my original shotgun barrel and build a second one from a blank. Might decide that's more trouble than I want to deal with however.

[jdgabbard]

Good looking rifle there, Tex! I'm going to have to find another H&R to convert....

[Barry54]

That’s a collection to be proud of!!

I’ve got a 24” 9mm blank I want to get some use out of. I called Mike Bellem and went back and forth but he wouldn’t commit to doing my project.
Would you be willing to do a barrel stub project for a forum member, or know anyone who would?
Thanks!

[SSGOldfart]

awesome Job love the finish as well

[jdgabbard]

That’s a collection to be proud of!!

I’ve got a 24” 9mm blank I want to get some use out of. I called Mike Bellem and went back and forth but he wouldn’t commit to doing my project.
Would you be willing to do a barrel stub project for a forum member, or know anyone who would?
Thanks!

If Texas by God can't do one for you, and you can't find someone else to do it, Chaszel makes 18" inserts for the 12ga and 20ga. I used one for my 7.62x25 build, and have been very surprised at how accurate it is after I notched the insert to slip past the ejector. Using 2x o-rings on the insert with the notch the insert is rock solid. And takes a wooden dowel and a deadblow to remove. I've been very happy with the combo so far. But would eventually like to find a stub to have turned into a more permanent solution.

[Txcowboy52]

Beautiful finish Thomas ! You do some great work ! I’m curious what’s your next project?

[Shawlerbrook]

Fantastic work ! I would check with John Taylor to do the job. Problem with just a member doing the work is that a an ffl is required to receive and do gunsmith work for hire.

[Texas by God]

My brother the machinist has retired and sold his buisiness - so if I ever do another I will probably go the Chazsel liner route.
H&R shotgun barrels online have gone way up in price; even rough condition ones are expensive.
And the Topper shotgun itself is getting harder to find and costly when you do find them. My .256 is made on a 20 ga stub and also has the original .410 barrel.
The Topper/ Pardner are good actions for this as they use a smaller firing pin than other break open actions.

TXcowboy- I’m putting the final coats on the stock for a Mauser 93/Rem700 mix breed 7x57- Lord knows I need another deer rifle!


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[Nobade]

Fantastic work ! I would check with John Taylor to do the job. Problem with just a member doing the work is that a an ffl is required to receive and do gunsmith work for hire.

Only if the receiver is involved. Anyone can work on a barrel for anyone else.

[Barry54]

Only if the receiver is involved. Anyone can work on a barrel for anyone else.

That was my thoughts on the matter too.

[Txcowboy52]

Lol ! Good caliber choice!

[405grain]

Texas, nice work (as always). I used some of that Minwax red oak stain on a military Mauser stock once and it really looks nice. Post up about the 93 Mauser when you can because I don't think there's a better round for that action than the original (and very classic) 7x57. Plus - its not possible for a man to have too many deer rifles.

[poppy42]

I love it I have one in 357 max!

[Texas by God]

I loaded the fireformed brass with 29 grs of H4895 and some unknown brand 140gr btsp.
And one more with a 154gr cast bullet over 10.4 grs Unique.
It hit center and low, and the 140grs hit dead on @40yards.
I’m liking it.


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[Earl54]

The Chaszel adapters are very well made, I have 3 - 45acp/45 cowboy -18 inch, 327 magnum - 16 inch, and 45/70 -18 inch. All are accurate , glued (jb weld) the 327 insert into a 18 inch 410 barrel and with temporary sights I got a 1 inch group at 25 yards. The other 2 inserts are for a 19 inch 12 gauge barrel project gun,soon to be a cased travel gun.

[jdgabbard]

And the Topper shotgun itself is getting harder to find and costly when you do find them.

Texas by God, I actually discovered something while looking into building my own. This may be something that can help out in the future if anyone is looking at doing a build.

The Savage 301 and Stevens 301 are clones of the H&R/NEF. I have no idea as to what strengths they have, or if they have a large or small firing pin hole. They also have added a safety, and it appears the furniture may be incompatible. But as for the action, and the barrel lug, they are direct clones. And from what I can tell looking through the Graybeard forums, there is at least one person who said the barrels between his SB1 and Savage would interchange, and locked up tight.

That said, no clue if these would hold up to rifle caliber stresses. But they may be fine for some smaller wildcat calibers, as well as pistol caliber builds. But they're still being made, and are priced in the $180-200 range from what I can gather. Which is about what I paid for my Topper 88 a few months back. But it's new, not used....