roashooter
Moderator
mausers are fun....
Mauser?
- Thread starter Model12Win
- Start date
I don't know how old a fella you are, but if you have the eysight to shoot irons, go for it while the going is good.
I loved shooging old mausers right up until everything got fuzzy, now the only one I shoot is a "parts rescue" (no, I didn't bubba a nice gun, I rescued a collection of parts and made a shooter) that wears a three post scout scope.
I loved shooging old mausers right up until everything got fuzzy, now the only one I shoot is a "parts rescue" (no, I didn't bubba a nice gun, I rescued a collection of parts and made a shooter) that wears a three post scout scope.
I am always looking out for M98s. The best ones for my purposes are the rifles with rusted bores and cracked stocks, but unmodified actions.
I think the M98 Mauser from various makers is still the best all-around action for custom gunsmithing for nearly all bolt action purposes except for left hand guns and for shells with a smaller head then the standard 57 MM Mauser case. They don't make for very good 223s, and you max them out with the 404 Jeff and 416 Rigby size.
I have owned more Mausers bolt action that any other make over my years of gunsmithing and shooting. I currently own Mausers from 25-06 to 404 Jeffery. I have had 458s and 460s too, but I sold them off years ago after I had a period of 3 years in which I never fired a shot from them. I realized that everything I'd ever want to do with a powerful rifle from that point on in my life would be does as well or better with my 375H&H or the 404.
The largest caliber I have ever made on a Standard length Mauser is a 416 Rigby. I have made 460s and one 505 Gibbs, but they were made on Magnum Mausers, not military actions.
Other Mausers I have made for myself and loved at times have been some in 6MM Rem, 257 Roberts, 6.5 Swede, 7X57, 30-06, 308 Win, 300 Win Mag, 308 Norma mag, 338 Win mag, 338-06, and 416 Taylor.
I have also owned and used the 7X57 and the 8X57 in full military configuration. Today if and when I find unmodified military rifles in good shape I am loathe to do anything to them but shoot them. Unmodified Mausers are getting rare. But most I find have already been modified and so going from a "Buba" to a full blown custom rifle is a step in the right direction, not the wrong one Taking a $175 rifle and turning it into a $1500 - $2500 rifle is good. Taking a $600 rifle and turning it into a $200 is not.
As a side note, if asked "how accurate can military Mausers be?"
Well this is my full stocked 8X57. The barrel is a cut down and re-contoured military barrel. Made to look good, but the inside is unchanged since the day it left the Mauser factory.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA by Steve Zihn, on Flickr
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA by Steve Zihn, on Flickr
Here is how well it shoots with some Speer 200 grain bullets.
PC070001 by Steve Zihn, on Flickr
So, if you get a Mauser with a good bore, you can expect it to shoot better than you can with the irons sights. Not all are 5/8" shooters, but I have not seen a good (meaning not rusted or damaged) Mauser barrel yet that would not hold under 2" and many like this one go WAY under.
I think the M98 Mauser from various makers is still the best all-around action for custom gunsmithing for nearly all bolt action purposes except for left hand guns and for shells with a smaller head then the standard 57 MM Mauser case. They don't make for very good 223s, and you max them out with the 404 Jeff and 416 Rigby size.
I have owned more Mausers bolt action that any other make over my years of gunsmithing and shooting. I currently own Mausers from 25-06 to 404 Jeffery. I have had 458s and 460s too, but I sold them off years ago after I had a period of 3 years in which I never fired a shot from them. I realized that everything I'd ever want to do with a powerful rifle from that point on in my life would be does as well or better with my 375H&H or the 404.
The largest caliber I have ever made on a Standard length Mauser is a 416 Rigby. I have made 460s and one 505 Gibbs, but they were made on Magnum Mausers, not military actions.
Other Mausers I have made for myself and loved at times have been some in 6MM Rem, 257 Roberts, 6.5 Swede, 7X57, 30-06, 308 Win, 300 Win Mag, 308 Norma mag, 338 Win mag, 338-06, and 416 Taylor.
I have also owned and used the 7X57 and the 8X57 in full military configuration. Today if and when I find unmodified military rifles in good shape I am loathe to do anything to them but shoot them. Unmodified Mausers are getting rare. But most I find have already been modified and so going from a "Buba" to a full blown custom rifle is a step in the right direction, not the wrong one Taking a $175 rifle and turning it into a $1500 - $2500 rifle is good. Taking a $600 rifle and turning it into a $200 is not.
As a side note, if asked "how accurate can military Mausers be?"
Well this is my full stocked 8X57. The barrel is a cut down and re-contoured military barrel. Made to look good, but the inside is unchanged since the day it left the Mauser factory.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA by Steve Zihn, on FlickrOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA by Steve Zihn, on FlickrHere is how well it shoots with some Speer 200 grain bullets.
PC070001 by Steve Zihn, on FlickrSo, if you get a Mauser with a good bore, you can expect it to shoot better than you can with the irons sights. Not all are 5/8" shooters, but I have not seen a good (meaning not rusted or damaged) Mauser barrel yet that would not hold under 2" and many like this one go WAY under.
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I have an original M98k from Brno, Czechoslovakia in 8x57mm and as Wyosmith says, it is a shooter. It will hold a tad less than 2" at 200 yds with open sights.
The only thing I have done to it is refinish the stock a long time ago.
My Dad bought for my birthday in 1962 at Monkey Wards and paid $14.95 for it. Things have changed some since that time. I still shoot it on occasion.
The only thing I have done to it is refinish the stock a long time ago.
My Dad bought for my birthday in 1962 at Monkey Wards and paid $14.95 for it. Things have changed some since that time. I still shoot it on occasion.
I agree, but there is an upside to Bubba's poor craftsmanship.
It makes the ones Bubba didn't get more valuable. Strange how people never seem to appreciate this.
many today look at the GI issue condition milsurp as valuable and bemoan the fact that "bubba" wrecked so many of them, but don't realize (or won't admit) that back when they were ALL GI issue milsurps they weren't valuable.
I remember the barrels full of Mausers and others, and $15-20 prices for them. Barely.
I remember well the first "custom" Mauser I bought, rebarreled to .308 Win, Fajen stock, Williams iron sights, weaver "tip off" bases and rings and a 3x9 Tasco scope, put together by a local gunsmith. $140 and about $40 cheaper than a new Remingtion with no scope. still had the GI trigger and safety, which I replaced with a Jaeger trigger and a Numrich safety. bringing the total cost to within a few dollars of a Remington 700 or Win 70. (plus the smith allowed my $90 for the Win .22 I traded in
)Not a really high end gun but far from a bubba job, just one example of what a lot of people did with cheap Mausers, Springfields, and others, back then.
Here is how the 9.3X57 project is going as of last Saturday.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA by Steve Zihn, on Flickr
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA by Steve Zihn, on Flickr
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA by Steve Zihn, on Flickr
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA by Steve Zihn, on Flickr
Now I have to make the under-lug, both front and rear sling swivels, silver grip cap, and silver nose cap. I may use a classic checkered butt plate, but I am torn between a plate of going to a good pad. The 9.3X57 is not known for sharp or heavy recoil, but still, a 250 grain bullet at 2300 to 2400 is no joke.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA by Steve Zihn, on FlickrOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA by Steve Zihn, on FlickrOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA by Steve Zihn, on FlickrOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA by Steve Zihn, on FlickrNow I have to make the under-lug, both front and rear sling swivels, silver grip cap, and silver nose cap. I may use a classic checkered butt plate, but I am torn between a plate of going to a good pad. The 9.3X57 is not known for sharp or heavy recoil, but still, a 250 grain bullet at 2300 to 2400 is no joke.