The 9MM Bolt action rifle.

[HotGuns]

Here's one that I thought would be fun...

Since .22 is still hard to get, and 9mm is still fairly cheap, I thought that having a 9mm rifle might be a fun thing to have. Having several cases of cheap 9mm, it would seem that a bolt action rifle would be accurate and if the barrel was threaded for a suppressor, it would be quiet too. With reloads and cast bullets, it would be something that one could play around with and have fun.

Only problem is...
there isn't much in the way of bolt action rifles. While there are several designs of semi-autos out there, to shoot suppressed rounds you are basically forced to shoot single shot only as the subsonic rounds just don't have enough energy in them to cycle that gas actions that are out there.

After a rather lengthy internet search showed no bolt action 9mm's anywhere, it became apparent that if I wanted one I was going to have to build it.

So, I settled on one of the Rock Island .22 TCM rifles. It stood to reason that since Rock Island is selling their Government model with two barrels, one chambered in .22 TCM and the other a 9mm, that the bolt face should be close enough to work.

I removed the barrel and using a Green Mountain 9mm barrel blank, I turned one out. Since I like a heavier,varmint weight barrel in which to hang a suppressor on, I kept the barrel straight and fluted it to save weight. I left the length as 17" and threaded the muzzle for a 5/8-24 thread for a suppressor.

The 9mm fit right on to the bolt face. In fact, the fit was so perfect that it refused to eject as the case didnt have enough clearance to allow the ejector to flip it out. You could cycle the bolt, fire it and the case stayed right on the bolt.

I had to take the bolt apart and chuck it up in the lathe. After dialing it in, I removed about .020 of of the inner diameter of the bolt face. That took care of the problem as it allowed the plunger to push against the case and let the case tilt out and to the right where the ejector tossed it right out of the action as it should.

The cases fed OK, but not perfectly. A few would feed and then one might hang up, the feed ramp just wasnt steep enough. Since the TCM is originally a .22 cartridge, the feed ramp needed to be opened up a bit. It wasn't hard to do as the feed ramp is just a small piece of metal that is screwed to the bottom of the action. Removing the screw that held it allowed it to come out and be placed in a vise where a Dremel tool made short work of it. A bit of an angle change and some polishing made all the difference in the world. After cycling a few hundred dummy rounds through it, the feeding was flawless. The change of angle and the enlargement of the top of the feed ramp cured any issues.

I mounted a Nikon scope on it. I'm not to crazy about the "tip off" mounts but they work. At some point in time I may actually drill and tap the receiver for some hard mounts. There's plenty of thickness on the top of the receiver so it would seem to be the way to go.

First shots out were using cast lead 150 grain 9MM bullets. With several grains of Red Dot it was both accurate and very quiet, in fact, I would put this one in the "stupid quiet" category. The predominate sound is the bullet slapping the berm. Even hitting a paper target is louder than the shot itself and its very cheap to shoot if you cast and reload your own...which I do.

This may become my favorite rifle. It quiet, there is slim to no recoil, its accurate and it looks good.The rifle feels good and its a lot lighter than it looks. I may develop a load using the Hornady XTP 147 grain hollowpoints that are designed to expand at low velocities. With supersonic rounds it does well too and either way it'll slap the little gongs all day long.

[Mongo]

I have been considering doing this for a long time but never got around to it. I'm glad you posted this so I now have a base line to consider the conversion. Is the action close to any more common action so it could be inletted into a better stock?


BTW your barrel is too long :P

[98_1LE]

That is cool!

[srt-4_uk]

that's awesome.

[chrismartin]

Nice!

[HotGuns]

Is the action close to any more common action so it could be inletted into a better stock?

Unfortunatley no.

That action is unlike anything out there.

[Stan1]

Very cool. I didn't know those were in the market.

Repped

[Gibal]

Originally Posted by Mongo

BTW your barrel is too long :P

Seconded.

Glorious still.

[Nathaniel Crunkleton]

This is an awesome project.

What is the magazine capacity? Is it well constructed?

[Twinsen]

Very neat.

[strobro32]

Good job. I would like one that fired from Glock mags.

[HotGuns]

Its about as solid as they come. The magazine holds 5 .

My only gripe is that is has "tip off" mounts that I am not fond off. I'm going to drill and tap them for regular scope mounts.

As for the long barrel...I may do another and chop that barrel off right at the end of the fore end. Of course it'll have to be SBR'ed but I think that it would look better.

[Mongo]

I have an old SCRC 9mm subgun can that is a thread on and I would want to cut the barrel at about 7" and mod the stock so it looks kind of integral. I have been considering doing a Ruger 357 bolt gun but they are expensive and I currently do not load for 357/38 special.

[ArevaloSOCOM]

Rep!!!

Very cool!!!

[9a91]

Originally Posted by ArevaloSOCOM

Rep!!!

Very cool!!!

Such many reps, indeed!

Originally Posted by HotGuns

Its about as solid as they come. The magazine holds 4 .

Supposedly the rifle will take the 22 TCM pistol magazines which are 17rds.

And if that is the case, those 22 TCM pistols mags are a Para type 1911 wide body mags...

So what does a 170mm Para stick hold?

[srt-4_uk]

should be around 30ish. plus you can get extensions.

[laxguy59]

Super cool, hopefully a project I can work on soon.

[Abiqua]

Very cool.

[jjreinke]

Where are the locking lugs on the bolt? Front (conventional) or rear (like a Destroyer carbine)? Could you post a pic?

[HotGuns]

It has a rear locking lug much like that of the Destroyer.

I went ahead and drilled and tapped it for mounts. It had plenty of meat to do so and the more I got to thinking about it, the more I figured I just needed to go ahead and get it done. I put a set or Warne rings on it an mounted a Nikon scope.

After several hundred rounds downrange I'm pleased. I took it to the range and everyone that was there had to shoot it. The 8 inch gong being slapped at 100 yards was louder than the shot itself.

Some observations...


Accurate Arms No 5 is more accurate than Red Dot. While Red Dot is OK, I suspect that AA# 5 is more accurate because it meters better.

The 147's arent as accurate as the 125's. It may be because of the twist or the fact that the 147's I used are Berrys Plated Bullets which arent really known for their accuracy but rather as plinking ammo.

This thing really likes my cast bullets. Which is a good thing since I have several thousand of them. After shooting a couple hundred, there is no leading and the suppressor dosent appear to be any worse for wear.

This thing is stupid quiet using an X-Caliber Seafire Diamond .45 can. I've got an ISIS 2 9mm can which I cant use on this because like an idiot I let someone talk me out of my 5/8-24 mount. Its already quiet enough that I cant imagine a 9mm can could be much quieter.

It really slaps whatever it hits. I haven't tried it on a Crow yet but it shouldn't be too long in coming.

Here's a couple of more pics.