Cartridge for long commercial Mauser action?

Which cartridge?

  • 25-06

    Votes: 1 7.1%

  • 280AI

    Votes: 13 92.9%
  • Total voters
    14
  • Poll closed .
@BornFighting88

You're right comfortable carry weight of a rifle is ultimately decided by the end user. I will say mountain hunting is a lot different than hunting from a blind or stand. You have to be more mobile and you usually carry more equipment than what you might take to a blind or stand. It's the simple fact, the more weight you carry the more you're going to feel its effects.

Two things that hurt most resident and out state hunters most is what kind of physical shape they're in and altitude. I live at 4400 ft in CO, but where I hunt elk can range from 6000ft and up over 10,000 ft in elevation. So the less you and you and your gear weigh the longer and harder you can hunt, because altitude is very unforgiving to everyone.

So if std7mag wants to hunt with an 8-8.5 lbs rifle he has those as well as heavier. If he wants a sub 8lb rifle he can probably accomplish it with the route he is choosing. Sub 7 lbs with a Large Ring Mauser isn't impossible, but not cheap by any means. To remove metal from non-critical areas is expensive to say the least, because machinery to do it coupled with learning the skills or paying for it done is far from cheap.
 
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As always, Taylorce1 carrys wisdom in his words!

And now i have a plot twist....

Another friend wanted to do a 284 Win build on a Mauser action. But when he went to the shop that had 20+ Zastava Mausers the previous month, they were sold out.
So he ended up buying a Savage Axis II for his build.

I was considering doing a trade, giving him a Mauser action that he really wanted, and me a Savage action that is lighter & i'd have prefered.

Then i get a call from the friend that gave me the 2 Mausers.
He changed his mind and wants them back. Ya can't make this chit up!!!

So now i'm looking at getting myself a Savage Axis II for my build.
After cross posting on 3 different forums, the 280AI won out by a large margin!

So i'll build an Axis II with a 24" sporter in 280AI.
 
So we're talking light weight now? I've built a few lightweight rifles. Just last year I built a light weight rifle with the hope of going goat hunting here in WA state. Didn't get drawn, but now I have a Remington 700 in 308 with a 3-9 scope that weighs under 6 lbs. As taylorce says, light weight is expensive and there are a lot of ways to get below 7 lbs. Using a Mauser to begin with is not one of those ways. There's a reason all those old Mausers, Enfields and Springfields weighes 8-1/2 lbs, the action alone weighed about 3-3.5 lbs! But there are some pretty cool ways to get a lightweight rifle nowadays:
* Light stock- my carbon/kevlar stock weighed 17 oz before I started working on it, and 21 oz with a recoil pad, fully inletted and painted.
* I built a 24" aluminum sleeved barrel to keep weight down and velocity high. The barrel started at 3 lbs 2 oz, and finished it weighed in at 1 lb 3 oz.
* A light weight scope means nothing that looks like a telescope with knobs and big lenses. Fixed power or lower power scopes will be lighter. I used a 3-9 I already had.
* I added a detachable box magazine just because, not because it was lighter than a factory box mag.

All in all I was pretty happy with the results. Shoots OK, gotta work with the tensioned barrel a bit. I could walk all day with that thing, it seems to weigh nothing. But add 8,000' of altitude and it would start getting heavy, I bet.
 
Like stated earlier, "just to be different" I have a custom Mauser in 6.5-06.
It's an absolute tack driver. Brass is easy to form, it's a great shooter.
 
Actually, I'm mistaken, it's not on a Mauser action, but a Sako action. Doesn't make any difference in your case, but just wanting to be accurate with my description.
 
@std7mag

Savage Axis II vs. Savage 110 Ultralight, I know where I'd spend my money. From all accounts I've read and watched the Ultralights shoot amazingly well. I've also heard Proof Research is doing the barrels, but I don't know if they're just doing the CF wrap or supplying the barrels. I've heard it both ways.

@stagpanther

Just proof we know you're not afraid to spend money.
 
How much weight would you save if you looked at a G33/40 and started cutting on a standard '98?

An old, old, gunzine article commented "Nobody is buying 9 lb rifles unless they are going elephant hunting."
 
@Jim Watson,

Elephants and varmints. Bull barrel heavy tanks of rifles are great for sitting on the corner of a field and pasting any woodchuck that pops its unlucky head up.

Woodchucks and coyotes on midnight field cruises. And, of course, elephants…. Hahah
 
Too cheap, says the man that ordered a press from Germany!!

I'll have to check if they make the 110 Ultra Light in 280AI with a 24" barrel.
 
@std7mag

Don't get hung up on 22 vs. 24 inch barrels, deer and elk will not know the difference. Anything you gain on paper, won't be realized on game. An 18" barrel on my .308 didn't make it less effective than the original 22" on the elk I hunted this year.
 
Too cheap, says the man that ordered a press from Germany!!
Click to expand...
I don't mind spending money--where it's worth it. Paying a grand or two to shave a couple pounds off a rifle isn't, for me. If I can't haul the rifle in and out--I sure as heck am not going to be able to haul the meat out.;)
 
taylorce1, I read your post about mountain hunting. Kind of odd that you posted on 24 hr picture rifle used and you had mat layed out and shot rifle using bipods . Did you stage that photo.
 
@old roper,

What's your point? I posted that picture here as well. That picture is of me shooting on BLM ground in UT in August. It's just a picture of the rifle I hunted with, it's heavier than I normally hunt with but I wanted to use my suppressor.
 
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History is a teacher.

A big part of the 6.5mm Rem Mag and 350 Rem Mag not gaining more acceptance was the firearm they were developed for. The barrel were too short, resulting in quite a bit of muzzle blast. Many people just didn't like shooting them.

To me, increasing a cartridge to get more velocity, means you should use a barrel long enough to reap the benefits.
Kinda like a 22" or shorter barrel on a 7mm Rem Mag. To me it defeats the whole purpose of having a Rem Mag.

Were i to do a 22" barrel, i'd build another 7mm-08.
 
I bought the axis II in 280AI and pulled the barrel and put a criterion 280AI match barrel on, the stock savage barrel will go on one of my many other savages when one of those gets shot out. In a lightweight rifle I don't notice any difference in felt recoil between the 7-08 and 280AI, but the 280AI is going to bring a definite advantage in both size of bullet and range. Even in the axis there is plenty of room to seat the new bullets long, another advantage. The 110 is slightly better, mostly in terms of the lug and the rear screw arrangement, but you can still true the axis for good results.
 
Glad to hear the Axis "can be trued for good results".
Especially as my bench rest build is centered on one.

So with the Mauser action out. And the possability of a western hunt in. And the fact i no longer have the Forbes. I'm searching for light weight. Within my budget.

Kimber Hunter comes in lightest at 5.5lb.
Followed by the Tikka T3X Lite, Savage Ultra Lite, and surprisingly the Savage Axis II all at 6.3-6.4lb.

So thinking an Axis build. 280AI with 24" fluted sporter barrel.
Issue seems to be finding a light weight stock within my budget.

Has anyone tried one of the GRS chassis/stocks?
 
std7mag said:
Kimber Hunter comes in lightest at 5.5lb.
Followed by the Tikka T3X Lite, Savage Ultra Lite,
Click to expand...

Buy one of those three rifles mount a scope and go hunting. Don't waste your money trying to make an Axis into a better rifle than those three.

I don't have any experience with GRS stocks, they don't list Savage Axis as an inlet. 2.3± lbs or 36 ounces so they're going to add weight to most rifles.
 
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