Useless info?

[jmoore]

The barrel extention of a Johnson threads right onto an L1a1 (British FAL) barrel like it was made for it! Hmmmm.....

Information

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[smellie]

JMOORE, NO information is useless, believe me!

My Johnson has a bore which only can be described, most charitably, as "toast". A .303 bullet may be inserted into the muzzle and it accelerates all the way to the floor: not even a HINT of slowing down. And Johnson barrels, in this neck of the woods, are a little less common than chicken-teeth. On the other hand, FAL barrels CAN be had..... and I really want to shoot this Johnson that I got, many years ago.

Do YOU think this would work?

[emmagee1917]

..if the FAL bbls are not " short chambered " for final headspacing they will not work. A .308 / 7.62 case is shorter than an '06 case , but is slightly larger in OD at a point along it's sidewall. If you were to rechamber the .308 to '06 , your '06 chamber would end up with a buldge in it which would hinder extraction.
If the FAL bbls are short chambered , it MAY put the larger section back far enough for it to work. You'd still have to do the outside fitting for the collar , bayo-lug , and sights . All in all , it might be cheeper to start with a close contoured bbl blank in '06.
BTW...isn't the FAL gas operated , as in a gas port drilled in the bbl.? Another strike.
Chris

[smellie]

Gas-ports can be plugged and I am willing to work within the strictures of that silly 7.62 casing: I hapen to have about 1,000 rounds of brass lying around for it, now that I am no longer trusted by our Government to take my FAL out to the range.

Apart from the gas-port, can anyone think of why it WOULDN'T work?

To me, this sounds like a way to get my Johnson onto the range at last.
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[browningautorifle]

I understand where you are with this one, but we had some success with a 1903 barrel. Much less work than using an FN I would think?

[marysdad]

One consideration would be weight. Because the Johnson is recoil-operated, the overall weight of the recoiling part has to be right. That's why they adopted the skeltonized bayonet for the Johnson. Made it as light as possible.

[smellie]

Guys, I do thank you for what is up here so far.

I have a part-worn Springfield 1903 barrel here (cone breeching?) (Remington, December 1941) which has been abused past restoration. It is a legacy of sorts from a very close friend; I know that he wouldn't mind.

How do I make this one work?

Thanks in advance. This is exciting: I have been looking at that pot-bellied thing for 35 years!
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[emmagee1917]

...johnsonautomatics.com and asked over there. Joseph Scott , the Johnson whiz should post a reply. It's in his thread about shipping bbls to Canada. Where are you , anyways?
Chris

[smellie]

I'm in Virden, Manitoba, Canada. My position is about 4 nautical miles SE of Longitude 101 West and Latitude 50 North. The Johnson is in the vault downstairs and the barrel is standing up in the corner, so no problems shipping things. We do have a couple of good machine-shops; this is oilfield country.

Can't thank you guys enough for your input; it will be back on the range in time for its 70th birthday! THAT is going to be a PARTY!
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[emmagee1917]

...but a used bbl poped up over there for $500. HTH.
Chris