Whats-his-name
Member
- Joined
- Sep 7, 2008
- Messages
- 43
Howdo all,
I'll put this one out there, more for academic discussion than anything else.
I have a Yugo M76, a nice semi-auto 'sniper' rifle, for informal target shooting. As many of you know it fires the 8mm Mauser (8x57mm IS).
While this is a good round I've always liked the 6.5x55mm Swedish for obvious reasons (less recoil, more accurate, etc.). The cartridges are very similar in size give or take a little, with the total length being about the same (about 0.5 to 1mm [0.005 to 0.01"] shorter in the Swedish, depending on the bullet used).
I've always thought that it might be possible to convert the M76 to fire 6.5x55mm (if it can be done with a K98 then why not...).
Other than the obvious barrel change (with appropriate machining for the gas port and other bits), the only changes that appear to be required are possibly the reshaping of the extractor claw, possible opening up of the gas port a little, while the bolt face may need a very slight widening (by 0.25mm [0.001"]) overall if at all, to accomodate the very slightly wider base of the 6.5mm. Not sure about the magazine - the 6.5x55 round is very close to the 8x57mm in width (I think about 0.25mm [0.001"] slimmer at the rear and 0.1mm [0.004"] fatter at the front). The cartridge is shorter in the 6.5x55mm but its overall length is made up by the longer bullet. With this in mind, I'm guessing the magazine does not need to be modified but I stand to be corrected on this.
What do you lot think?
I'm probably missing something out and I'm very willing to be educated.
I'll put this one out there, more for academic discussion than anything else.
I have a Yugo M76, a nice semi-auto 'sniper' rifle, for informal target shooting. As many of you know it fires the 8mm Mauser (8x57mm IS).
While this is a good round I've always liked the 6.5x55mm Swedish for obvious reasons (less recoil, more accurate, etc.). The cartridges are very similar in size give or take a little, with the total length being about the same (about 0.5 to 1mm [0.005 to 0.01"] shorter in the Swedish, depending on the bullet used).
I've always thought that it might be possible to convert the M76 to fire 6.5x55mm (if it can be done with a K98 then why not...).
Other than the obvious barrel change (with appropriate machining for the gas port and other bits), the only changes that appear to be required are possibly the reshaping of the extractor claw, possible opening up of the gas port a little, while the bolt face may need a very slight widening (by 0.25mm [0.001"]) overall if at all, to accomodate the very slightly wider base of the 6.5mm. Not sure about the magazine - the 6.5x55 round is very close to the 8x57mm in width (I think about 0.25mm [0.001"] slimmer at the rear and 0.1mm [0.004"] fatter at the front). The cartridge is shorter in the 6.5x55mm but its overall length is made up by the longer bullet. With this in mind, I'm guessing the magazine does not need to be modified but I stand to be corrected on this.
What do you lot think?
I'm probably missing something out and I'm very willing to be educated.
Last edited: