is this gun safe to shoot

[minker]

a friend showed me a rifle i beleive isn't safe to shoot . it was his fathers .  it is an old husqavarna bolt action that was originally chambered for 7 x 57 .  his dad had it rechambered to shoot 7m/m remington magnuns .   he showed me probably 15-20 boxes of empty remington fired cases .  i tried several from differnt boxes in the action , no problems chambering . looking at them , no signs of damage to cases or primers .   i wouldn't think that old husky action would be strong enough for the 7 mag.

any thoughts ?

mark

[Rangr44]

It depends upon which Husqavarna action the rifle was built on - the older, softer, less-safe, cock-on-closing 1896 Mauser, or the plenty-safe, cock-on-opening, 98 Mauser.

Most 98 Mauser Husky's were small-ring Mausers, IIRC.

I'd feel a little better if any belted mag was housed in a large-ring M-98, but the small-rings are plenty strong enough.

It's easy enough to tell the difference, between large & small ring 98 Mausers - the large-ring action's front receiver ring is larger than the left action sidewall, while the small-ring's front receiver ring is flush with the sidewall.

96 Mausers are also small-ring types, but they cock on closing, and have fewer safety features built into the action (like a 3rd bolt lug & a gas blow-back shield that the 98 Mauser does).
96 Mausers are not suitable, nor safe, with any cartridges other than their originally chambered ones.

[minker]

i don't remember wether it was a small ring or a large ring foresure . not worried about him ever shooting it but his sons know far less about guns than him and his grandkids even less. just don't want someone to have it blow up in there faces.  if i ever see the gun again , i'll make sure which model mauser it is.

thanks ,  mark

[STUMPJMPR]

There is also a device to convert a cock on close to cock on open....If they ever decide to shoot it take it to a gunsmith...