How does it matter?

First, always be careful with those converted rifles. There is NO WAY you can "rechamber" a 7x57 to a 7.62x51. You have to either replace the barrel, set it back so far as to make the rifle possibly unsafe, or rebore the barrel then drill out the back end to install a chamber insert and ream it for the 7.62 cartridge. Only the first option is a good choice. The others can introduce problems that would not occur if the rifle were simply left in 7x57, the cartridge it was made for.

I own 3 Spanish Mausers (one is German-made) and have fired them a fair amount with no problems. All are in the original caliber.

Yes, Spanish-made rifles tend to be soft, but they will still stand up OK within their design specs and really will take a lot more than most folks think. And most of the early Spanish Mausers were made in Germany, not Spain.

But the original question was about using one as a hunting rifle. I answered the OP's question on that basis, not on whether there are better rifles made today, or how much of an overload it would take to blow it up. The 7x57 is a perfectly adequate deer cartridge and a Spanish Mauser in that caliber and in decent shape can be a good and inexpensive hunting rifle.

Jim
 
this rifle was zeroed @ 300yds by the manufacturer. This ladder sight goes from 4 - 18
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Yeah, but with what ammo? The Spanish 7X57 started out with a 173 gr round-nose at about 2,300 fps, and switched to a 139 gr spitzer at 2,700 fps just before WW1.

With the closest mark 400 meters, it is going to shoot high, but you have no way of knowing where it will hit with any ammo without taking it to the range and trying it with the ammo you plan to hunt with.

The good news is that there are higher front sight blades available for most model Mausers, and you can probably work around it.
 
Quote:
But the original question was about using one as a hunting rifle. I answered the OP's question on that basis, not on whether there are better rifles made today, or how much of an overload it would take to blow it up. The 7x57 is a perfectly adequate deer cartridge and a Spanish Mauser in that caliber and in decent shape can be a good and inexpensive hunting rifle.

Yes James. It's like teetering on a fence top. Has to be my imagination but as mentioned before, this rifle is begging to get out of the house to explore again. In reality, I would like to use/experience it in action. A modern 7x57 to me wouldn't be much different than a modern 270, only maybe more reliable. I say maybe because I don't use them that often. At my rate of use, this mauser would easily last another decade. So, the mauser can hang on a wall to be forgotten...I don't see that happening. Maybe I have to learn and decide the hard way as I'm sure many people have been down this road with these older guns. I haven't fired this one yet so I'm sill at point A.
 
Yes James. It's like teetering on a fence top. Has to be my imagination but as mentioned before, this rifle is begging to get out of the house to explore again. In reality, I would like to use/experience it in action. A modern 7x57 to me wouldn't be much different than a modern 270, only maybe more reliable. I say maybe because I don't use them that often.
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Any modern rifle is reliable, I can't imagine why a 7x57 would be any more reliable than a .270.


At my rate of use, this mauser would easily last another decade. So, the mauser can hang on a wall to be forgotten...I don't see that happening. Maybe I have to learn and decide the hard way as I'm sure many people have been down this road with these older guns. I haven't fired this one yet so I'm sill at point A.
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It has lasted 100 years so far, you are going to wear it out in a decade? :D

The 7x57 should be fine for any game in North America, short of a big Bear, but keep in mind that metallurgy and manufacturing techniques have come a really long way in the past ~100 years. Even the cheapest hunting rifle from Wal Mart will most likely be more accurate.

Problems as a hunting rifle are the point of impact at short range I mentioned above, and weight. Most military Mausers are fairly heavy, with long barrels and full stocks.

There are 7mm carbines out there, something like this I think would make a fine hunting rifle: http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=310958814

If I didn't handload, I would probably try a box each of Privi Partisan 139gr sp and S&B 173gr SP and see how they shoot and where the hit, and use the better of the two.

Any US manufacturer probably won't be any better, and will cost twice as much.

And if you really want to mess with people, tell them it is .275 Rigby.:D
 
Okay, first of all, how do you get the quotes into a box?

Quote: Any modern rifle is reliable, I can't imagine why a 7x57 would be any more reliable than a .270. - What I was trying to say here is modern rifles are to me boring. Some have no kick while the 338mag made me feel like my eyeballs bounced off the back of my skull first time I pulled the trigger. One feels like the next otherwise. I'm hoping to understand anothers point of view on this so maybe I can adopt & enjoy in a different way.

Quote: It has lasted 100 years so far, you are going to wear it out in a decade?

Well, someone already got a good head start with it. As some mentioned, he has a milsurp that looks like it won the war by itself :)

As for hunting, yea they are heavy but heck, its only for a few days each season. Almost industrious compared to some of the modern ones I have used.

Cost twice as much and rising it seems...smilies arent working here either. Must be Windows 98.

Nice chat!
Have a good one,
John
 
emcon5 - Yea you know, I saw that rifle earlier today and wondered if a short rifle might be better but to be honest with you, I like that 1/4 acre of barrel and stock sticking out there along with the additional twist for what thats worth. That is a nice piece though.
 
Okay, first of all, how do you get the quotes into a box?
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When you reply, there is a button just above where you type your reply, looks like a text bubble from a comic strip. "Wrap {quote} tags around selected text"

What I was trying to say here is modern rifles are to me boring.
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I don't know that I would say boring, but to me the older stuff has a lot more character. I stand by my comments in this thread.

I like that 1/4 acre of barrel and stock sticking out there along with the additional twist for what thats worth. That is a nice piece though.
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I thought long and hard between one of those, and a ex-Brazilian VZ24. I was wanting a 7X57 short-ish rifle with a bent bolt, and chose poorly.

A bigger advantage, particularly if you are going to use iron sights is the longer sight radius. Makes the sight alignment a little easier.
 
As to the orginal post

about matching numbers...I don't know about you, but I've been told by some guy at the gun show that the bullets on an all matching rifle will go faster. :D
 
about matching numbers...I don't know about you, but I've been told by some guy at the gun show that the bullets on an all matching rifle will go faster.
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...... wanna see if this works, thank you!

My grandmother told me that once. One of the things she said that I always wondered after she passed, where that came from...she was German.
 
Was it the pitting that turned you off? I'm wondering because my mauser looked like the one in your pic. Pitting was above and below the wood in places but gave the barrel the appearance of still being functional. I'm going to have a smith check it over though as opposed to rigging it to a tire.
 
No, the pitting was ugly, but not as deep as the threaded holes you find for sights in some factory rifle barrels. It was under the wood anyway, and wasn't hurting anything.

What put me off was the accuracy, or rather lack thereof. It also had the closest sight setting of 400m, and when you combine the two you get an ~8 inch group, a foot and a half above point of aim at 100 yards, I just had no interest in shooting it.

I was considering getting these and trying to do something with it,

http://www.gunpartscorp.com/catalog/Detail.aspx?pid=1370200&catid=6962
http://www.gunpartscorp.com/catalog/Detail.aspx?pid=955300&catid=6961

But decided it was throwing good money after bad. I ended up losing about $50 on the deal, but I am OK with it.
 
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