.44 Automag conversion?

twowheelinjim

twowheelinjim

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Good evening all. I had the pleasure to find a couple of boxes of a peculiar round. It is the .44 Automag for an AMT pistol. The brass is made from either 30.06 or .308 cases. My intention for this ammo is to build a rifle to shoot this round. I have an old Mauser rifle collecting dust in the back of the shop waiting to be utilized. It would make a good brush gun typical for the area I live in. I'm figuring with the weight of the perspective carbine I want to build, the recoil from even a hot load should be minimal. Has anyone attempted or even heard of a conversion like this? I was told that several years ago someone offered a kit to convert old mausers to fire .45 ACP that even used a 1911 magazine. I was thinking a .44 would simply be nastier...Any thoughts?
 
Other than using a magazine filler to reduce the length to the OAL of the loaded 44automag, and fixing the magazine lips for good cartridge control, just about any rifle/carbine can be used. Remember that the Mauser magazines are cartridge specific so it will help to start with a 308 based rifle.

I would not use any blowback system, which you are not. I would only trust a locked bolt, although the Ruger 44 Carbine did work using 44 Mag cartridges. What you need to find is a short action bolt gun.

Here in Canada, Elwood Epps made many caliber conversion on SMLEs, some were similar to the 44 Automag in design, but usually longer cases. More like the 458 Win or American type for example.
Pierre
 
what is the oal of the 44amp cartridge? at one time rhineland arms made a m1 carbine magazine adapter for mauser rifles. if the 45amp will fit in a carbine magazine that might hept out with the feeding.
other than that its just a standard rebarrel.

on the other hand original automag ammo sells for big bucks, but if its reloads i would pull the bullet and dump the powder. shooting unknown reloads is not worth the risk for me.


i almost bought one of the amt 44 automags from a pawnshop near baytown texas a few years ago but i got transfered to a differnt jobsite and by the time i came back it was gone.


rhineland also makes 45 auto mauser conversion kits.
 
I haven't gave thought about the internal magazine. I'll have to check if it's possible to use an M1 magazine. Dirtyjim, thanks for pointing to the Rhineland folks, I think that's where I saw the .45 ACP conversions. Pdentrem, thanks for pointing out to use the .308 brass, I have a small bucket full that I will be experimenting on. As dirtyjim pointed out I'll have to pull the bullets and start with fresh powder using load data. It's a good thing the 8MM mauser bolt face is very similar to a .308 taking out the need to modify it. I was originally thinking of cutting the action in half and taking out a section to shorten it for the cartrige but I scrapped those plans since the bolt would also need to be cut. Hopefully adjusting the feed lips will work if a M1 magazine doesn't. Since I'm working with a turkish action, threading a new barrel will be a task. From reading a few articles on mausers, I have discovered that turkish actions don't have the same thread pattern as typical german actions. I believe the have an unusual pitch. If it's metric, I'm screwed. No pun intended. :nuts:
 
Most Turks use the small ring mauser thread, if it's a 1903 high hump action it will also have a slightly longer thread shank. Still 12tpi
 
I would go with the desert eagle magazine. It is a better choice then trying to convert a carbine magazine. In England they are converting enfields to 44 rem mag.
 
The M1 magazine is reputed to work with the .50AE, which has the same overall length as the .44 AMP. They're available from 5 to 30 round sizes, and cheap.

You shouldn't have any problem with the Mauser. If it was any common Mauser caliber, the bolt face and extractor will work fine. You'll have to look at the feed lip arrangement before deciding whether to strip the cartridges from the front or back of the magazine; best guess, you'd strip them from the back, where the extractor claw expects the groove to be when the bolt is cycled.

.44 AMP dies are available for $75-ish from Hornady, or expensive from RCBS or Eagle.

Be aware that factory .44 AMP ammunition is collectible in its own right; if you have very much of it, you might want to think about selling it and buying a bag of .44 AMP brass from Starline.

You can chamber with a D-bit; I have the .44 AMP chamber reamer print around here somewhere.
 
I grabbed some 44 auto mag tonight and then tried them in a m-1 carbine magazine. You will need a new follower design. The magazine may be long enough however, it will not hold more then one round.
 
Well that's a bummer! What's the issue with the follower?
 
Due to the design of the magazine and follower the second round of 44 mag pops out of the carbine magazine. A new follower might work or not. It would have to be made and tried. Personally I would just use a magazine from a desert eagle instead.
 
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