Cross posted from PAFOA:
I was intrigued when I met someone shooting a 45 ACP bolt action rifle with a threaded barrel that used 1911 mags. I knew I needed one, but I didn't know such a thing existed. Well now I have one, and it almost works perfectly!
The company that makes the conversion kit is called Rhineland Arms: http://www.troupsystems.com/mauser45kits.htm
$160 gets you a 16" sporter or military (threaded) barrel with lock ring, mag well block with pins, and the ejector. The instructions that come with the kit are very good in my opinion with detailed steps, troubleshooting section, and drawings/pictures.
What you need to supply is a Mauser rifle (small or large ring) OR a Mauser action, stock, and magazine/trigger guard. You also need to source a 1911 mag and the three 1911 mag catch parts.
To do this build economically I started with a 1916 Spanish Oveido 7mm small ring Mauser. I found one for $150 with a bent barrel. I could of done all of this project myself in my garage but I wasn't able to get the old barrel out. My local gunsmith put the receiver and barrel in his lathe, turned down the barrel at the receiver to relieve pressure, and was able to easily thread it out. Knowing that now, I could probably have accomplished the same with a bench grinder but c'est la vie.
I also had him install the barrel and set the headspace while he had it and I was on the road for work. Normally, Mauser rifles are threaded into the action and headspace is decreased by removing material from the receiver end of the barrel. With this conversion kit you set the headspace and locate the barrel with a lock ring, so a no-go gauge for 45 ACP is used to install the barrel. Again I could of done this myself, because I would of done the same thing my gunsmith did. He used a 45ACP case with two pieces of scotch tape on the mouth as a no-go gauge. I applied a spot of tack weld to the bottom of the lock ring and receiver to keep everything in place. My original stock did have to be opened up and shortened to accommodate the shorter and fatter profile barrel.
Installing the mag block required some grinding on the inside of the magazine to fit the block as well as some grinding to clear the mag catch holes. Three 1/8" holes were cross drilled and roll pins were inserted. The 1911 mag patch was installed and the stock had to be relieved to clear the catch.
The bolt and action required the most time and troubleshooting. The bottom of the bolt in this particular action did need grinding to reshape it from square to round to clear the magazine. This isn't common on Mauser bolts. The extractor needs to be ground and profiled per the instructions. During test firing as warned in the instructions I found the firing pin was too long and puncturing primers. I removed it from the bolt, filed it down about 0.020" and rounded it.
The receiver needed no modifications for feeding rounds, but to install the ejector in this particular model a lot of grinding was needed to place the ejector where it needed to go. On most models it seems like this would have been much easier, but on the this model the ejector was farther back in the receiver. Because of this and the other special steps needed with this model I would advise someone about to start this project to buy a new large ring receiver. Unless you're like me and enjoy tinkering and consuming your time instead of your money.
I drilled and tapped the receiver for two 8-32 screws and mounted a piece of rail I had laying around. For now it has a cheap little red dot until I play with it some more and decide if it needs a low power scope or a better red dot. The barrel threads are straight and concentric. All 45ACP factory loads I've tried so far are subsonic and it's very quiet with my AAC TiRant 45.
I still have to tinker around and get it feeding 100%. Ejecting is working well with only a few rounds failing to leave the receiver, but I have a lot of rounds feeding in front of the extractor so the bolt won't close. More troubleshooting is needed but I'm still shooting it a lot and enjoying it. Also if I load a mag to full capacity the first round wants to nose dive. I may try to re-shape the feed ramp to help with this.
It's not the most beautiful thing, but this is a fun rifle to shoot. For me, it will get the most use banging steel and playing around in the back yard with night vision. Maybe it will wack a ground hog. It was also fun doing the amateur gunsmithing and continuing the troubleshooting.
Now go out and build your own!
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