Convert A 20Ga Bolt Action

[Good Cheer]

Are there any cartridges suitable to rebarreling a bolt action 20 gauge?
Perhaps something that uses FFg and minie ball molds?
:bigsmyl2:

[firefly1957]

The 2 3/4" black powder version of the .577 nitro express looks promising along with the .577 Snyder.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.577_Nitro_Express

[Jedman]

You could make it into a inline muzzleloader. If you use a 4140 steel barrel and the proper breech plug it could be a smokeless muzzleloader as the bolt takes none of the thrust . Or you could rebarrel it to a smaller bore shotgun using a shotgun hull shooting a mini ball, such as a 50 cal. Barrel/ 32 ga. hull, 54 cal./ 28 ga. 58 cal./ 24 ga.
I built a break action H&R Huntsman 58 cal. muzzleloader that shoots round balls and mini balls from 24 ga. shotgun hulls. It uses light smokeless charges and has taken deer and hogs.
Your bolt action could be made to be a single shot rifle of sorts like what I am mentioning.

Whatever cartridge or casing you use you would need to make / adapt some sort of extractor.

Jedman

[ofitg]

The 2 3/4" black powder version of the .577 nitro express looks promising along with the .577 Snyder.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.577_Nitro_Express

The 577/450 Martini Henry might be another option, if a smaller bore is desired.

[firefly1957]

The 577/450 Martini Henry might be another option, if a smaller bore is desired.

Yes it would be a choice I was looking at rim diameters that may work in existing bolt .

He did not say who made the gun My father had a old Mossberg bolt 20 gauge it had bolt setback from 20 gauge loads alone ! The action only locks on the bolt handle I scrapped the gun about 1990 as case rims were blowing out!

I have another old gun I do not intend to shoot much either it was my grandfathers goose gun a Geha (Mauser) 12 gage the bolt is plenty strong BUT the bolt face has a habit of ejecting with the shell and the gun can still fire that way ! Here is some stuff I found online .....NOT MY WORDS BELOW....

GEHA shotguns were converted from GEW 98 Mauser rifles after WWI around 1919-1929, maybe later. These were made from surplus Mausers, in an attempt to "jump-start" the German firearms industry under the Versailles military arms restrictions. Shotguns in safe working condition might be safe to shoot if used with light loads only. A lot of metal and wood was removed in the modification to a shotgun. Current shotgun shell pressure specs are as much as two times what they were once loaded to and may not be safe with this shotgun. GEHA shotguns were made in 12, 16 & 20 gauge. In the conversion process the forward locking area of the receiver was removed in order to allow fitting a 12 gauge barrel, leaving the third "safety" lug as the primary locking lug, along with the portion of the bolt handle that fits into the receiver. Guns converted to 16 and 20 gauge had portions of the forward locking lugs remaining (more on the 20 than the 16 gauge) so the actions on these guns are stronger yet than the 12. One potential problem with these guns is the removable bolt head that was fitted to the modified bolt. They are held in place by spring tension - the bolt head can sometimes be ejected with a fired hull, so one should be careful with rapid follow up shots, perhaps limiting the rifle to use as a single shot. On the stock a good bit of material was removed around the magazine area in order to make them function with the rimmed 12 gauge shell, so another reason to consider using light loads only. Pictured is a "Hard Hit Heart" Brand shotgun with the HHH logo. Pictures provided by Stacy Wilson. A beautiful example!


There was a young man killed while shooting a 12ga GEHA near Midland, Michigan in the 1960's. The locking lug failed and the bolt,or parts of it, entered his brain through his eye. The gun was inspected and the blame was placed on a poor heat treat and parts failure.

We were pheasant hunting in the area and came upon the scene before the ambulance arrived. There was a MD with our party and he provided firstaid. The kid was a real mess and the father was a real wreck. He thought that he had saved some money buy buying a $35 gun.

That was one unhappy user. I own a 20ga GEHA but I will never shoot it. In my opinion, these guns are a good example of asking a gun to do something that it was never ment to do. Also, Im have inspected a few of the modified Mausers over the years and have noticed a big difference in the quality of work in these guns.

Nothing personal, just my experience and my opinion. I will never forget the wound that killed that kid.

[John Taylor]

I had a customer that was using 20 gauge shells in his Snider. They were cut down a bit and he was shooting round balls.