Re barreling a bcd 4

[fishn861]

I have a BCD 4 probably a Yugo capture.It is import marked. All parts/numbers match except for the bolt. It has a Yugo style sight hood. The Nazi Eagles have been peened. The bore is prety washed out I can see rifleing but itis fairly rounded and I can push a loaded round into the muzzle all the way to the rim of the cartidge. It doesnt keyhole but wont shoot tight groups either. I was thinking about rebarreling. I have been looking at K98 8x57 barrels on gunbroker. Cole distributing has Norwegia K98 barrels for $99.in 7.62 Nato. Thinking about one of these maybe even having my smith ream it to 30 06 as this may feed better from the Mag. Not making a sporter just a shooter. Any suggestions? Thanks Fishn


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[vintage hunter]

What do you consider a tight group to be? If your rifle is shooting 3-4 inch groups at 100 yds thats about as good as its going to get. These rifles were never ment to be tack drivers. Simply screwing on a new barrel then putting everything back in the military stock is not likely to make a noticeable difference in group size. Make sure the bore is clean, no copper fouling and/or rust build up in the grooves then think about having the muzzle counterbored.

[Patrick Chadwick]

I can push a loaded round into the muzzle all the way to the rim of the cartidge.

So why not just try bullets a thou or so larger? Nominal 8mm bullets are available up to about 0.323", for the Austro-Hungarian Mannlicher M95 and 8mm Lebel cartridges.

It doesnt keyhole

So it's not hopeless. The bullets are actually taking the rifling. But in combination with the first statement, the rifle may have a "blunderbuss" muzzle, in which case rebarreling makes shooting sense, if not economic sense.

but wont shoot tight groups either

As has already been pointed out, this statement is not very helpful. Please indicate the size of the groups, and the range at which they were shot.

Cole distributing has Norwegia K98 barrels for $99.in 7.62 Nato.

That is a reasonable alteration - especially as it still corresponds to an actual Mauser type.

But this is not:

Thinking about one of these maybe even having my smith ream it to 30 06 as this may feed better from the Mag.

????
Have you measured up a 30-06 cartridge against the Mauser magazine? It's a no-go.

Summary: get hold of a larger bullet and see how it fits.
If the muzzle swallows a .323", then the barrel is useless (counterboring is NOT guaranteed to restore useful accuracy).
For rebarreling, go for the 7.62x51.

[rich v]

I reload using all .323 dia bullets for my '98's in 8X57mm, seating the bullets just a wee bit back so they fit in the magazine, i like the 8X57 cartridge and maybe you just need a really good 3 day barrel clean&soak proceedure with a little agressive bore cleaner and have the crown checked; you would be suprised what a nice clean barrel and a crown job can due for loss of accuracy in an old warhorse.Don't think hoppes#9 will get that barrel clean cause it won't. use a more aggresive bore cleaning agent... hoppes #9 is only good as an aftershave period.

[vintage hunter]

The 8x56R Hungarian M95 cartridge uses .330 dia. bullets not .323. I had a really nice M95 carbine years ago but sold it because back then nobody made the correct size projectiles to reload it. Standard .323'' 8mm's would slide right down the bore. Remington 40X bore cleaner works wonders for cleaning badly fouled or slightly rusty bores. Be careful using overly strong chemical cleaners because they can actually do more harm than good, especailly in stainless steel barrels.

[Patrick Chadwick]

The 8x56R Hungarian M95 cartridge uses .330 dia. bullets not .323.

I stand corrected for lack of precision! The original Austro-Hungarian M95s used the 8x50R cartridge, for which 0.323" would be appropriate. The later 8x56R cartridge - sometimes given as 8x56R(M30) - was introduced when Austro-Hungary had been long been dissolved, and did indeed use the even larger bullet.

[Calif-Steve]

You need to find a really good gunsmith. The Norwegian barrel is a good idea, but keep it in 7.62mm. But not every guy can do the job. Try Chuckindenver, I think he can/will do you right.

[vintage hunter]

I stand corrected for failing to pay attention to details. I READ one thing and THOUGHT another. Totally forgot about the 8x50R chambering. Things like this happen when you've had an extremely frustrating day at work.