Swiss Vetterli

[mtnman31]

I recently received my first Swiss Vetterli. It is a very nice 1881 - has not been converted to center fire and has all matching numbers. Externally it is gorgeous but, the bore is a mess. While the rifing is nice and sharp, there is some pitted rust right at the throat. It looks like something must have sat in there and accelerated the rust. I have been scrubbing the bejezzus out of it in an attempt to clean it up. The rest of the bore looks nice except for a few very tiny patches of pitting near the muzzle. I slugged the bore and it's measurements are the reason for this post. My slugs measured .405" bore and .421" groove. I pushed the slug from muzzle to bore becasue the barrel is so long that the rod I was using didn't have enough length to go from the receiver/chamber end. From what I have read, these measurements are much smaller than others'. I have a Lee 430-310 mold that is pretty popular for this rifle, but this just seems like it is going to be too big for this rifle's dimensions. Any suggestions on bullets for this??? Ideally I don't want to have to load singly - it has a tube and I intend to fill that tube with rounds. At this point I am not too keen on a custom mold. I'd hate to invest the money into the mold only to have the rifle not shoot worth a hoot.

I do have some Lee dies on the way, so, I still need to form my brass as well as convert the bolt. It is a shame that such a nice rifle was allowed to get that rust patch in the barrel.

Any help and direction as far as bullet selection is appreciated.

[Trapshooter]

Welcome to the Vetterli Club! Mine was similar with a nasty spot or two in the bore. I worked on it pretty hard for a while with limited success, but it polished out nicely with some shooting. There are some very helpful members, and quite a few good threads on the board. I suggest using the search, and going from there with specific questions. I've had satisfactory results with the Lee 310 grain, and intend to spend some time with some other 44 pistol bullets, but haven't had time to load & test them. If your bore is .421, maybe a standard 44-40 sizer would work, if not a custom Lee push through isn't too spendy.

Trapshooter

[dubber123]

The one my brother and I have been fooling with I think has a tighter than average bore too, (we just tapped a slug part way into the muzzle, so not a great measurement). Anyway, the Lee boolit sized to .431 chambered fine, so thats what we have been shooting, letting the bore do the sizing for us. We plan on taking it out tomorrow actually.

Some of the more Vetterli saavy guys may disagree, but I would shoot it if it will chamber.