Recommendations for Bush Pig Rifle build on BSA Monarch 22/250 donor Action

Been offered a old abused & shot out BSA Monarch 22/250 in return for helping a old couple look after their farm over the years,action is good but exterior & stock are buggered.

I have never had anything much to do with the caliber or BSA actions,Bolt face caliber options,magazine lengths etc , so was wondering what are options & whether anyone has used the same combo to make a dedicated Bush Pig rifle to be used mainly for hunting my favorite species Sika & White Tail in thick scrub ,Max range 250-300 mtrs.

Looking at a building a balanced ,handy,light rifle build even when suppressed ,like my current rifles with fluted barrels so recommendations on barrels ,lengths for particular caliber recommended Stocks that will take getting knocked about in our typical Bush hunting environment,( hated my Sako 75 synthetic stocks that would scratch up just looking at them & old rattly Ramlines ) etc . Currently Run/using for here a Rem Model 7 in 284W & 7/08 (missus rifle),Rem MRSS in 06,Winchester EW in 270WSM,Sako 270 & 300 Weatherby Magnum.

So open for suggestions,TIA :thumbsup:

Rebarrel it 308 or 708, bolt head won't need working that way. 22250 is a splendid round for open country but twigs, leaves etc can ruin your day by blowing the bullet up.
Restocking may be an issue I don't know if any plastic, or glass stocks for them are available.

Was faced with a similar problem and the sad fact is by the time you put a new barrel on and restock it you may as well have gone and bought a Tikka, Howa etc all ready to go.
Have said that its not always about money, and if it has significant sentimental value to you because it was a gift then 308 or even 338 Federal would be cool.

Yeah a rebarrel on an old action will cost more than a new stainless howa in the same caliber.
See if you can find a second hand 308 barrel to fit, chop it to 16 inches and load for your twist rate
The logical thing is to trade or sell the bsa and buy what you want in standard configuration, not that i enjoy raining on your parade but I only rebarrel what I'm really into to get something non standard that's worth sinking the $1000-$1100 it costs to rebarrel

Ask your local gunsmith if he can help with a barrel replacement. I got a brand new 22-250 barrel for an old Rem 788 for a few hundred bucks fitted.

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Originally Posted by bunji

Been offered a old abused & shot out BSA Monarch 22/250 in return for helping a old couple look after their farm over the years,action is good but exterior & stock are buggered.

I have never had anything much to do with the caliber or BSA actions,Bolt face caliber options,magazine lengths etc , so was wondering what are options & whether anyone has used the same combo to make a dedicated Bush Pig rifle to be used mainly for hunting my favorite species Sika & White Tail in thick scrub ,Max range 250-300 mtrs.

Looking at a building a balanced ,handy,light rifle build even when suppressed ,like my current rifles with fluted barrels so recommendations on barrels ,lengths for particular caliber recommended Stocks that will take getting knocked about in our typical Bush hunting environment,( hated my Sako 75 synthetic stocks that would scratch up just looking at them & old rattly Ramlines ) etc . Currently Run/using for here a Rem Model 7 in 284W & 7/08 (missus rifle),Rem MRSS in 06,Winchester EW in 270WSM,Sako 270 & 300 Weatherby Magnum.

So open for suggestions,TIA :thumbsup:

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Greetings Bunji,
Looking up some data on the Monarch shows that your short action is quite light and has a decent mag length so would make a good basis for a rifle project. Difficulties might be getting scope rings to fit the dovetails (unless it is one of the later round top models) and getting a decent trigger pull. You can check both of these out prior to laying out any bucks. The main advantage is that it is not one of the go too actions that most people use, should that be important to you. It would ring my bell.
Regards Grandpamac.

would be a cracking rifle in 7x57. Just a classic and the feed rails etc would be fine. Maybe find a take off barrel for something.
Do the BSA's have a thread pattern the same as anything else?
Maybe just a cheap take off rethreaded.
If the stock is already a bit naff, give it a bit of a basic refinish and no harm no foul. Wont be hurting anything special.
Doing that to the Parker Hale I have to a lesser degree.
Was going to leave all the bumps and scrapes but ended up taking a bit much off here and there as some nice colour was coming through.
went through some of the "home done with a stanley knife" checkering. Out to the garage to kae a very rough checkering tool from a triangle file.
Not a very nice job as i am trying to follow what was left, its my first try with a rough tool, so definitely not show piece but will be more functional than what it ever was.

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Originally Posted by csmiffy

would be a cracking rifle in 7x57. Just a classic and the feed rails etc would be fine.

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what this guy said ..... if youve been gifted the rifle dont trade it , yes you can pick up a howa or other new rifle for what it will cost or less but going down the shop and buying a rifle is not the same as rebuilding a classic in a classic calibre........ how many brands out there are offering 7x57 off the shelf
once your done rebuilding it you will appreciate it more and you can pass it on to the next generation ......one day someone will be saying "my grandad saved and rebuilt this)

https://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co....-thread-45458/
just for shitz and gigs

Stock - difficult to get hold of a stock for an old BSA action. So just get your orbital sander with 120grit then 220grit and sand all the marks out of the stock. Five coats of Linseed oil then 3 coats of Sikkens Cetol Clearcoat HB (any marks you get on it just sand out and put some Cetol on it).

Caliber - you've already got .270, 2x 7mm, and a .30 cal. Go for the 6mm Creedmoor as you are using it for Sika and Whitetail. Chop the barrel at 18" not 16" and use the 110grain Sierras (they work well on Sika even though classed as a match rather than a hunting bullet).

Barrel - Vulcan barrels in ChCh will supply you with a fitted barrel in 1:7", fitted to the BSA action and reamed out to 6mm Creedmoor for under $1000.

Done.

You can ‘steam’ out a lot of damage to a stock works a treat though not so well where the fibers have been broken/cut.

Would love to see pictures and progress reports if you end up going and restoring it, have heard a lot about the older BSAs, would be cool to see a restored one!

7x57, 8x57, 9.3x57, 7.5x55 there are lots of ‘classic’ calibers which will fit on the action. I have a mini action ‘hunter’ on a McMillan stock it took a bit of creativity to make it work but it does.

go back to 22-250 and PLEASE try it first...give it a really hard out cleaning,consider filling barrel with likes of crc overnight then get stuck in with brush,then rag etc and go shoot it and see....you have NOTHING to loose...it MIGHT surprise you ....
looking at what you already have in cabinet,the 22-250 is something diferent...its on lighter end of range,ideal for the open country and one heck of a lot of fun on small stuff like hares n wallabies. with smart ammunition choice it will do big stuff too...after all its really just a 223 on steroids,anything 222 or 223 can do it can do better and slightly further....if it shots like crap...first option would be recrown and thread it to length you like look of and go try it again,one of you other suppressors will be fine for testing...you may just find it shoots ok,again NOTHING TO LOOSE....recrown and thread should be $100ish.

I’ve got a mint Monarch in .243W I bought for my son about 5 years back. Great push feed action, good trigger, stock design and ergonomics.

The short action for the 250 and .243 is a medium length so 7mm Mauser will fit as pointed out above.

Only issue Bunji is, while not that common they sell cheaply $550 -600 for a good shooter so a rebarrel is over capitalising given your in for close to 1k to supply and fit a new tube. Plus the stock. Parts access is getting difficult too.

I agree with Mickey Duck, clean and recrown. I would polish with bore paste once it is clean, that can do wonders along with a modern re crown.
As far as stocks, there may well be a synthetic stock from another brand that will fit. I recently did that to a BSA CF2, inletted into a winchester stock and converted to blind mag, made it lighter and better balanced. In fairness though, if the wood stock works then new recoil pad, clean and re oil with boiled linseed and carry on.

@bunji I have a similar project coming up in the next year or two. My old man has a old BSA Monarch in .270 which I intend to tidy up. First job will be a damn good clean of the barrel and followed by a re-crown.

As above, I'd be given your barrel of the 22-250 a good scrub first, as a minimum at least you'll know what you're dealing with. Also how bad is the stock? As long has it is not cracked or split, then it can be perfectly serviceable with bit of love and elbow grease.