Mauser Conversion

B

Bert223

New member
Hello everyone,

I have a question about mauser conversions. I have and old 8mm mauser (1938) and the barrel is in pretty rough shape. What calibers can I easily convert to and what is involved with changing over to a new caliber? I was looking to chamber it for a round such as 25-06, 7mm rem mag, or 300 win mag. Can I buy kits for doing this conversion and if so from who? Any imput is appreciated. Thanks :)
 


There are lots of options for calibers.

Unless you have access to a lathe, your only real option is Adams and Bennet. Be prepared to buy about $200-$300 in headspace gauges, reamers, barrel vice, etc. Do a lot of reading on how to get the chamber properly headspaced.

Or, go talk to a local smith.....




-tINY

 
Anything based on the 57mm case or the 308 case , that's a long list .A proper job is not for amateurs .
 
Mauser Conversions

Dear Shooter:
The 98 Mauser large ring (thds' 1.100X12, or Turkish thd' .980X12) - both of these are fine, as you've been told, if they check out inside with no set-back of the lugs - and if they both bear) - (rear lug is NOT to bear) - for any of the 30-06 head size of cartridge and if a good one (a VZ24 or Czeck) and some of the metric calibers.
One of the finest one is of course the 30-06 - or even, with a good bbl the 8X57JS. One of the ones I like the best is the 9.3X62.
BBl. can be had from Douglas in Charleston W,Va.
By opening the bolt face to accomodate the "magnum" calibers it can tolerate anything up to the 458!
I love the 06, the 280, the 9.3s' the 270 and with boltface opened the 7MM Mag, and the 416 Taylor.
Back to the 06 bolt-face add in the 338-06.
Harry B.
 
I was just looking to do a similiar project and came accross a Wilson 25-06 barrel from gunbroker that might be what you need http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=52888746 for 89 bucks! you will need to take the barrel and gun to a smith to have installed and head space checked, blued etc.. but you should be able to get it done fairly cheep, plus I would put on a new sporter stock and have the reciever drilled and tapped for scope mounts (leupold 1 or 2 piece is a good option). Built up a .243 a few years ago on what started out as just a 98 surplus reciever and bolt I cam across at a pawn shop for 45 bucks. Went with a Krieger barrel (expensive but worth it) and H-S stock and after every thing was finished (rebuilt the bolt and put in a timmney trigger) I had a tack driver for under 800 and it was built by me for me and just with what I wanted instead of having to get something that was mass produced and spend hundreds upgrading parts, and gunsmithing fees to get it where I want it. Strip the action and go with the reciver and bolt (rebuild the bolt and get a new trigger) and then build YOUR gun. Just do it.
 
SGN article

Sounds like a worthy project. I don't know about any kits - but Shotgun News had an issue this last year entitled "Mausers - The World's Greatest Bolt Rifle" that had a series on converting and sporterizing by Reid Coffield. He actually does a step by step conversion of an "as issued" mil mauser to a 30-06 with an Adams and Bennet barrel. You might try their web site http://www.shotgunnews.com to see if it is still available. Also Jerry Kuhnhausen's Mauser shop manual (available from Midway) is pretty good.

I am currently in the process of converting a commercial (Santa Barbara action) Mauser to 35 Whelen. The reamer and handle, headspace guages, barrel vise, and action wrench set me back close to $300. The trigger was another sixty or so. Then there will be the bluing - I am going to try Brownells new cold blue and see if the results are reasonable (if they aren't I will build a "swamp closet" and slow rust it). There is a lot of work involved but on the other hand, a labor of love is really good work...

Good luck on the project - post some pics when you are done.
 
mauser conversion

Dear Shooter.
Yea! The 35 Whelen is a great cartridge! That would work great - I like to keep my Mausers with the standard head size cartridges too.
The 35 will be cheaper to feed - the 338-06 (virtually even with the 35) will cost more because only Weatherby sells ammo.
(But the 9.3X62 suffers the same fate - only A-Square and Norma has ammo for it).
I think your 35 Whelen is the best choice. I see you're a big bullet man +++.
Douglas makes an FTC bbl. that only takes a few thousandths to fit and a machinist can do that.
Adams & Bennet is good too - I made a 416 Taylor for a Savage (that one is easy).
Have fun.
Harry B.
 
Thanks everyone :)

I'll probably go with 25-06. I have access to a machine shop and friends that are pretty competant machinists as well. What is involved with converting it to a 7mm rem mag or 300 win mag? Just resizing the bolt face or do I need to get a new bolt? I noticed that the overall lengths were really close on 30-06 and 7mm mag. Would I need a new floor plate and magazine spring then as well? The 7mm and 300 still headspace off the chamber rather than the case belt so I would imagine that its just a matter of reaming the chamber to the right length. I looked at adams and bennet barrels, thats probably what I would go with because they are prechambered. I'm looking for more of a flat shooting hard hitting round. Thanks for the input everyone. :)
 
El Paso Joe is right. Read up on it first. You cannot learn gunsmithing one question at a time on the internet. The Mauser rifle is the gunsmith's full employment plan. These days if you cannot do it yourself, you will pay a lot to make a foreign army surplus rifle into a decent sporter.
 
I'll third the motion to do some reading. In the case of 30-06, the round is too long for stripper clip feeding and a notch has to be put in the receiver to clear the nose if you want to be able to use strippers. About 15 years ago Springfield Sporters had a bunch of 30-06 converted Columbian Mausers that all had this mod.

If the prospects of learning enough gunsmithing to grow a tool chest that will cost you more than your gun doesn't phase you, if you just love working with your hands, or if you have someone to teach you and you really want to learn, then by all means give it a try. You might want a second "parts" rifle available if it is your first time. Owning the tools is awfully hard to justify if you are only going to do this once, anyway.

If you want the gunsmithing done for you, I can recommend a fellow here in Ohio who specializes in Mausers. His name is Jim Caudill, nicknamed The Mauser Man. He always has a table at the bigger gun shows here. He built a nice .270 Winchester/35 Whelen changebarrel gun on one of the Columbian actions for a friend of mine.

The advantage to you of having someone like Jim do the work is that he will have Mauser specific tools beyond the essentials the others have already named, and things it isn’t likely your machinist friends would have in hand. Items like 55 degree Whitworth threading tools, or a receiver truing mandrel, and etc. 740-965-2185 was his number, last time I looked.

Nick
 
Bert223-
There are many good options for barrels and calibers when sporterizing a Mauser. Be aware that short-chambered and long-chambered barrels can be bought from many barrel makers, not just A&B. You can rent reamers and headspace guages, or for about the same amount of money you can take it to a gunsmith and have him mount the barrel.

If you intend to mount a scope, you will have to bend the bolt handle. A gunsmith will do this also. You will need to drill and tap the action for scope bases. A gunsmith can do this easier than you can do it unless you have the proper jigs.

You will also need to replace the safety and install a new trigger. Visit Brownells.

Then you will be ready to blue the rifle. A gunsmith will do this for you.

A drop-in stock is not exactly drop in, but you can likely do that part. Or let a gunsmith do it.

And when you finish the wood, use a good sealer.

It may seem like I keep pointing to a gunsmith. That's because I used to be one. A good smith can save you lots of headaches and heartaches. It may cost a bit, but not as much as doing it over.
 
Great info thanks guys

Any suggestions on where I can get a quality bull barrel in 300 win mag for my mauser. I got the mauser bench guide on order and I checked and its a vz24 mauser action in 8mm.
 
That all depends on how good of a barrel you want. For a hunting-grade barrel with plenty of accuracy at a reasonable price, visit ER Shaw
www.ershawbarrels.com
and look at their offerings. Good barrel, reasonable price.
 
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