Schmidt Rubin 96/11 straight pull in 308

[Hodr]

I have been offered a Schimdt Rubin 96/11 straight pull converted to 308.  Will take a look at it next week, about an hour and a half south of here.  Looks well kept and clean in picture with a stock cut down and mayby a shortened barrel. any advice appreciated.  Oh yeah, I am going to shoot it first and asking price $250, no scope.
Thanks for your time
 
Hodr

[tacklebury]

I don't think I would push one of these old critters to .308 level loads.  The Schmidt-Rubin action is very complex and fairly weak in the 1911 versions, which I have too.  I actually don't go as high as some of the factory loads do, but the 308 is a 60k cartridge and the 7.5x55 Swiss is a 48K maximum cartridge.  Some have pushed to about 52k in the later K-31 variations of the swiss rifles, but the action simply isn't set up for 308 pressures.  The cartridges are nearly identical in size, but there are some differences.  I just developed a good deer load for mine for field shooting in another thread.
 
http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/topic,242016.msg1099386140.html#msg1099386140
 
You might want to do some reading on the Swiss Rifles Forum also:
http://theswissriflesdotcommessageboard.yuku.com/topic/9041/7-5x55-Load-Tables

[Troyboy]

I would buy but only shoot reduced loads and I would not pay 250 for a non original.

[Hodr]

Did not like the man face to face, decided I could not trust the deal
 
Hodr

[Buckwheat Jack]

I love my Model 1911. It is still all original. i haven't tried anything very hot in it, but love the accuracy. I just have to remind myself that the iron sights in the bottom position are high at 100 yds so they come out right at around 300. $250 seems a bit high whether modified or not. But then I paid waaaaay less for mine about 40 years ago.
It's nice how great a gun built in 1915 can still shoot.

[tacklebury]

Yep, mine is vintage 1916 and I am not pushing it too hard either.  I just want to make it last.     One must remember that these were designed for trench warfare and that was the reason for the 300 yard deal, as I understand the original reasoning.  They do make a new front sight that can be re-staked on that corrects the height.    That's nice, but you have to remember to reduce all the other distances by 200 when calculating lift.  lol   If you can get her out to a 500 yard silhouette range, do it.  Super fun to hit that ram at 500 with irons. 

[coyotejoe]

I'd trust the rifle more than the conversion. The original Swiss cartridge has a larger base diameter. A correct conversion would require setting the barrel back to eliminate the oversize portion before rechambering. Forty years ago those .308 conversions were sold pretty cheap and I suspect they just ran a reamer into the original chamber without setting the barrel back which is a considerably more expensive job.