I have an old 1891 Argentine Mauser that was tastefully bubba'd at some point in it's life (probably in the '50-'60s). I picked it up for really cheap off the misc rack at the LGS, for reasons which have now become apparent.
It'd be a great, lightweight field gun for me now except after trying to finally sight it in I realized the bore appears to be completely trashed (now understanding the low price). The bullets are actually tumbling and often hitting sideways at only 25 yards. I believe the barrel is probably shot out so I have been thinking about getting a replacement small ring Mauser barrel and re-chambering the gun to a more common round. I think it would be straight forward to find a barrel for this gun unless I'm missing something? Most commonly I have seen 6.5x55, 7x57, and .250 Savage available and recommended for small ring Mausers. I think the 6.5x55 would be a pretty cool and interesting round, and has a pretty good reputation for accuracy. However, I have heard some reports that the 6.5x55 has potential minor feeding issues in this particular gun/magazine system for some reason and may need feed rail tweaks. Of course my current magazine was not feeding that great anyway with the original rounds, but I am not sure how much frustration I am setting myself up for. I have not found any information about the suitability of the other rounds. I don't have a strong preference for caliber, although I would probably prefer to skip the .250 Savage as it seems to not be as commonly available where I buy ammo.
My issue now is whether to go with this rebarrel or scrap the project and cut my losses. The barrels I'm finding are running $270-300, plus the install and finishing, I am going to be in several times the gun's original cost. I'd want to do the job myself, but the cost of the tooling, headspace gauges, etc. are probably not going to make it worthwhile to attempt. Do people know of any good online/mail-in shops that do this sort of work (Mauser specialists, etc.)? I have had a hard time finding any local smiths who actually want to do real smithing, and those that do either jack up the price for one reason or another or don't have the experience with Mausers to do it right and cost effectively. I'm hoping to also determine a ballpark price to expect for this sort of a job. It would require a barrel install and finish chambering, front sight install, and bluing.
It'd be a great, lightweight field gun for me now except after trying to finally sight it in I realized the bore appears to be completely trashed (now understanding the low price). The bullets are actually tumbling and often hitting sideways at only 25 yards. I believe the barrel is probably shot out so I have been thinking about getting a replacement small ring Mauser barrel and re-chambering the gun to a more common round. I think it would be straight forward to find a barrel for this gun unless I'm missing something? Most commonly I have seen 6.5x55, 7x57, and .250 Savage available and recommended for small ring Mausers. I think the 6.5x55 would be a pretty cool and interesting round, and has a pretty good reputation for accuracy. However, I have heard some reports that the 6.5x55 has potential minor feeding issues in this particular gun/magazine system for some reason and may need feed rail tweaks. Of course my current magazine was not feeding that great anyway with the original rounds, but I am not sure how much frustration I am setting myself up for. I have not found any information about the suitability of the other rounds. I don't have a strong preference for caliber, although I would probably prefer to skip the .250 Savage as it seems to not be as commonly available where I buy ammo.
My issue now is whether to go with this rebarrel or scrap the project and cut my losses. The barrels I'm finding are running $270-300, plus the install and finishing, I am going to be in several times the gun's original cost. I'd want to do the job myself, but the cost of the tooling, headspace gauges, etc. are probably not going to make it worthwhile to attempt. Do people know of any good online/mail-in shops that do this sort of work (Mauser specialists, etc.)? I have had a hard time finding any local smiths who actually want to do real smithing, and those that do either jack up the price for one reason or another or don't have the experience with Mausers to do it right and cost effectively. I'm hoping to also determine a ballpark price to expect for this sort of a job. It would require a barrel install and finish chambering, front sight install, and bluing.