I was in a gun store last week and they had a decent looking mauser 71/84 for sale for $450. From what I can tell the gun looks pretty solid, but is there anything in particular I should look for to tell if it is safe to shoot or not? I am a bit nervous about shooting something this old. I can't find a headspace gauge for the 11mm cartridge which seems like the most obvious thing I would want to check.
The other reason I am hesitant about buying this gun is the availability of ammo. The only commercial ammo I could find for this gun comes from buffalo arms, and it is loaded with black powder.
https://www.buffaloarms.com/43-maus...wder-ammo-385-grain-fn-box-of-20-amo43mauserb
I figure that I can start out buying a few boxes of this and then reload the brass (since new brass cost almost as much as loaded ammo.) I have a lot of experience reloading for smokeless cartridges, however I have never tried black powder. I am not sure if I would want to continue loading BP or find a smokeless load. Either way I can not find any published loading info in any manuals for this cartridge. Any advice?
The other reason I am hesitant about buying this gun is the availability of ammo. The only commercial ammo I could find for this gun comes from buffalo arms, and it is loaded with black powder.
https://www.buffaloarms.com/43-maus...wder-ammo-385-grain-fn-box-of-20-amo43mauserb
I figure that I can start out buying a few boxes of this and then reload the brass (since new brass cost almost as much as loaded ammo.) I have a lot of experience reloading for smokeless cartridges, however I have never tried black powder. I am not sure if I would want to continue loading BP or find a smokeless load. Either way I can not find any published loading info in any manuals for this cartridge. Any advice?
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