Almost a year ago on the used rack of a gun shop I saw a sporterized M1917 Enfield, normally chambered in 30-06, that some gunsmith rechambered in 458 Win Mag to make an African rifle on the cheap.
It had iron sights and at first examination seemed in great conditions and the work well exectuted, action was smooth, etc...only few blemishes on the wood and blueing and it needed a butt recoil pad, the butt plate was missing.
The asking price was just a little over $200 (I do not remember the exact amount)..and it made me a little suspicious if the rifle was really safe to shoot, usually "African" rifles, even used, command very high prices.
Working pressure for the 458, accordingly to the SAAMI specs, is actually lower that a 30-06, still the jump in power and mechanical stress for the action seemed a bit extreme to me.
I did some research and I never found any info if this was a common conversion for that type of rifle.
So I did pass it up...but I'm still curious about it...did you ever heard of such conversion before???
It had iron sights and at first examination seemed in great conditions and the work well exectuted, action was smooth, etc...only few blemishes on the wood and blueing and it needed a butt recoil pad, the butt plate was missing.
The asking price was just a little over $200 (I do not remember the exact amount)..and it made me a little suspicious if the rifle was really safe to shoot, usually "African" rifles, even used, command very high prices.
Working pressure for the 458, accordingly to the SAAMI specs, is actually lower that a 30-06, still the jump in power and mechanical stress for the action seemed a bit extreme to me.
I did some research and I never found any info if this was a common conversion for that type of rifle.
So I did pass it up...but I'm still curious about it...did you ever heard of such conversion before???