I took my old Mauser out of the safe today and gave it a little exercise. It's the first time in years that it has seen action. Despite my best efforts, it refused to hit the 10" x 18" steel plate at 200 yards with 15 rounds fired.
This old man is one of the infamous Spanish Mausers in 308. It was my first gun and followed me home from a pawn shop in 1990 at the whopping price of $90 and no tax.
I've put all manner of stuff through this thing. It's seen surplus, factory, and reloaded ammo. It's never missed a beat, is nice cosmetically, and all the numbers match.
The bad part is that the last few inches of the barrel, the most critical part, are wasted. A few bazillion strokes with the steel mil-spec cleaning rod has killed the tube. I ran a bore scope down there and the rifling simply disappears.
Before the naysayers start bashing the weak, dangerous, blah blah blah about the Spanish Mausers let it be known that the action is sufficiently strong for a 308. However, it's not a good idea to run a heavy charge because if a case ruptures there is nothing to prevent the gasses from running back to the shooter's face. The receiver is ported out the side but high pressure gasses have a bad habit of blasting out in a 360 degree pattern.
I'm troubled on what to do with this thing. There is a sentimental attachment since it was my first gun and I bought it when I was 18 years old. It still looks nice on the outside but the bore is gone.
Running the gun isn't very pleasant since the screw sits a bit proud of the steel butt plate. I've actually had a screw head shaped bruise after an enthusiastic shooting session.
I have far more accurate rifles but haven't come to a decision on what to do with this old friend. I cant sell it in good faith because of the bore and taking it apart or destroying it would just feel wrong.
I've thought long and hard about building a lightweight 45 ACP bolt action carbine for hunting tin cans and stray rocks. The 308 bolt face would be a perfect fit for the 45 but the effort required to close the bolt on this thing is a bit excessive.
So, what do I do with it?
Sell it?
Kill it?
Rebarrel for something else?
Put it back in the safe for another 10 years or so?
This old man is one of the infamous Spanish Mausers in 308. It was my first gun and followed me home from a pawn shop in 1990 at the whopping price of $90 and no tax.
I've put all manner of stuff through this thing. It's seen surplus, factory, and reloaded ammo. It's never missed a beat, is nice cosmetically, and all the numbers match.
The bad part is that the last few inches of the barrel, the most critical part, are wasted. A few bazillion strokes with the steel mil-spec cleaning rod has killed the tube. I ran a bore scope down there and the rifling simply disappears.
Before the naysayers start bashing the weak, dangerous, blah blah blah about the Spanish Mausers let it be known that the action is sufficiently strong for a 308. However, it's not a good idea to run a heavy charge because if a case ruptures there is nothing to prevent the gasses from running back to the shooter's face. The receiver is ported out the side but high pressure gasses have a bad habit of blasting out in a 360 degree pattern.
I'm troubled on what to do with this thing. There is a sentimental attachment since it was my first gun and I bought it when I was 18 years old. It still looks nice on the outside but the bore is gone.
Running the gun isn't very pleasant since the screw sits a bit proud of the steel butt plate. I've actually had a screw head shaped bruise after an enthusiastic shooting session.
I have far more accurate rifles but haven't come to a decision on what to do with this old friend. I cant sell it in good faith because of the bore and taking it apart or destroying it would just feel wrong.
I've thought long and hard about building a lightweight 45 ACP bolt action carbine for hunting tin cans and stray rocks. The 308 bolt face would be a perfect fit for the 45 but the effort required to close the bolt on this thing is a bit excessive.
So, what do I do with it?
Sell it?
Kill it?
Rebarrel for something else?
Put it back in the safe for another 10 years or so?