swiss 69/71 vetterli

[portlybowlofpigfat]

greetings from a new guy .

like a lot of new guys i need some help.
i recently bought a 69/71 vetterli rifle and i am not 100% sure where i should go with it .
i bought the rifle sight unseen for a very reasonable price , outside it looks very nice metal is all in good shape along with the furniture .
the bore on the other hand looks a good bit like a sewer pipe , i have started brushing it and i can see lands and grooves again .
i do think after i get all of the crud removed there might be a useable bore , even if pitted .

so my first question is ... how rough is to rough ? i have never had a rifle with a bore that wasn't bright and shiny to guage this one off of .

my next question is on converting it to centerfire . i am on a fixed income and sending the bolt out to be converted is not an option, i could use some advice on converting with a drill press . using the origonal firing pin as a holder and what to use for a pin .

[Texas Tinker]

My advice for a good looking Vetterli would be to treat her to an honored retirement above a mantel. It will be far safer to research history on this interesting old black powder miltary rifle and then use it for a conversation piece and keep looking for another stronger mil-surp rifle for a shooter :)

[mroliver77]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?198396-Vetterli-41&highlight=vetterli

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?197628-My-Vetterli-barks&highlight=vetterli

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?191200-41-Swiss-reloading-problems&highlight=vetterli

[Texas Tinker]

WOW! - I humbely bow to superior desire, ingenuity and intestinal fortitude. I have gone to what I considered great lengths to make ammo for a few obsolete calibers in the past but ya'll have me beat. I will stand by my original recommendation for all however. I have been lucky enough to be allowed access to PMI equipment and checked several examples of 19th centurty weapons and most of the samples I have seen (barrels and recievers ) vary greatly in composition and hardness. "Please, be careful out there". These old military rifles are really interesting projects and are great fun to shoot. Just never forget the technology and more importantly the materials are in most cases well over 100 years old.

[Nobade]

While I very much enjoy shooting my Vetterli, if your barrel is that bad it might not be worth trying to get it to work. And I would not attempt to convert one with a drill press. Using a lathe the job is a piece of cake, but you stand a very good chance of messing up if you use a drill press. Remember, you can't get parts for these rifles any more so you have to do it right the first time out! Plus a lathe really helps to trim your cases to the right length. And make a bullet mould.

-Nobade

[portlybowlofpigfat]

thanks mroliver ... that took care of a few questions i had planned a bit further down the line .

nobade you made one point that is why i hesitate to just hang it up on the wall , "they dont make them any more"
the bore may not be to terrible bad once i get it as clean is it is going to get , it shows nice deep rifling from the chamber to the muzzle . but make no mistake there is going to be some pitting .
i hear lots of stories of trapdoors that look bad but still shoot good .
my problem is i have no experiance to draw from to say if it a lost cause or whatever . i have never had a barrel fouled this bad to contend with . and i dont expect it to be a tack driver ... minute of pie plate @100 would make me happy .

as to using a drill press , well i dont have a lathe or access to one , so it comes down to doing the best i can with what i have to work with , worse that can happen is i screw it up .

[jonk]

There's no problem with shooting it. Use a case full of FFG black powder or light loads of trail boss or SR 4759- surprisingly there is a fair amount of data out there including on this board.

If the bore is roached, that's another story.

As for the CF conversion, it's pretty easy. Using a drill press is fine, so long as you can be sure you are drilling straight into the very center. I have done 3 that way and it wasn't an issue.

[Old Iron Sights]

I used a drill press on my bolt but the hole came out at a slight angle. I think I put too much pressure on the small bit. I modified my pin holder a little and it still works just fine. It's doable but if I modified another, it would be on a lathe.

[Argentino]

Can you try to take some pictures of the bore, before and after you do all the cleaning?
Some people around here may give you a really good advice by looking at some pics.

BTW, my Vetterli is quite the opposite to yours: It´s really ugly on the outside but has an unbelievable shiny bore. I didn´t have time to shoot it yet.

For your reference: this is how it looks like when viewed from the muzzle end:

http://postimg.org/image/9fk07rt9f/

[UBER7MM]

Portly,
.
Welcome to the forum. As others have stated, center fire conversion is a possibility. The one that I fired, used modified and fire-formed 348 Winchester brass and 44 Mag Keith style cast bullets, IIRC. It was about 15 years ago, I don't remember if there were any details regarding the bullets, reloading or loads. Fun to shoot and a definite conversation piece.

Safe shooting, reloading, shooting.... (Generally in that order),

[portlybowlofpigfat]

i am going to try to get a few pics of the bore this weekend when my girlfriend comes over , i am a bit techno challenged myself , i dont do the cell phone thing and my camera still takes film .

old ironsights brings up one of my concerns , how to keep everything in a straight line when drilling the bolt face .
and a good method of finding center to start with

[texassako]

Drill a hole the diameter of the bolt or slightly smaller in a block of wood and split it by sawing. It becomes a set of soft jaws and holds the bolt vertically in the drill press. Use a center drill to start it so the bit does not wander. If you think your drill press might not drill it vertically, put a mark on the wood block and drill press table to index them. If you match them back up when ready to drill the bolt, the firing pin hole will be along the axis of the bolt.

[portlybowlofpigfat]

texassako

brilliant ... simple and easy

[portlybowlofpigfat]

i tried my best to take a pic of the bore and failed miserably .
but i did spend the weekend scrubbing it ... i think it might just shoot ok
the worst of the pitting is in the first 4 inches and now that it is clean i would say its moderate but not severly pitted . past that it looks pretty good , dark but smooth . much much better then i expected it to . the rifling is strong its entire lenght and to the naked eye looks to have sharp and square edges still .
i think once i find some soft lead i'm going to slug the bore and move ahead with converting it to center fire

[Battis]

I converted mine to center fire using a drill press. I measured and marked and measured some more, then got my inspiration from the "So Easy a Caveman Can Do It", commercial, and good advice on the Swiss rifle forum ( and of course, here, too). Fitting the length of the firing pin (made from a headed decapping pin) took some time but now it's great. Forming the brass from .348 Winchester, using the Lee dies, took some time and some wasted brass but...now it's all good.
The bore of my Springfield 50-70 is not great but I still shoot it with some success.
Get the Vetterli up and running - you will not regret it.

[portlybowlofpigfat]

well it is converted . following texassako's advice it was easy to do . i had a few moments wondering how to drill the pin carrier in the right spot , then common sense kicked in and i just put it where it belonged back in the bolt and drilled away . everything looks nice centered and straight .

if anyone has an extra .348 and 8mm case they can part with i would be very happy to pay for them and postage . i only need 1 of each to check what one will fit my chamber and extracter best
before i plunk down the cash for new cases

[Battis]

I can send you a formed and fired .348 case. PM me with your info.

[portlybowlofpigfat]

thank you battis , i will pm you with my info .

i am going to make an extension for the front sight ... can anyone give me a rough idea how much i need to raise it to get close to a 100 yd zero

[mroliver77]

Did you get the soft lead? I have some I will treat you right on.
J

[portlybowlofpigfat]

thank you for the offer mroliver77 . i do need to buy some pure lead , but my budget says its needs to wait .
i know i have a few ingots left from the last time i made round ball if i can just remember exactly where i stashed em at ... c r s has kicked in .. i cant even find the round ball i made or the mold .
a safe bet is all three are in the same spot

[Charley]

My chamber is a bit tight for .348 cases, I need to turn the bases down a few thousands. 8x50 Lebel cases work fine, don't need to turn them for my rifle.