Looking for advice on hunting with a Mauser...

manbearpig

manbearpig

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hi folks,
ive been lurking around in these forums for awhile, finally got around to posting.

lately, my interest in guns has done a complete 180°. my first guns were all modern, parkerized, synthetic stocked jobs like the remington 700 PSS. the more i examined, collected, and fired guns the more ive come to appreciate classic styling, robust proven designs, and something with history.

i really fell in love with the mauser action. the closest that i currently own is a ruger m77, which from what i can tell is somewhat based on a mauser action, but id like something with more pedigree.

it got me to thinking about possibly building (or buying) a custom deer rifle on an authentic mauser action. i have two main hangups about milsurp rifles:
-uncommon calibres. eg: id love to own a Schmidt-Rubin as a shooter, theyre remarkable pieces of craftsmanship, but i just cant bring myself to spend over $40 per box of ammunition. ideally i want something in .308, .30-06 or 7.62x54R - all proven mil calibres that are widely and inexpensively available (and will continue to be).
-accuracy. an accurate rifle is more fun and effective to shoot. while some people think hitting a 12" gong at 100 yards is 'good enough' for most hunting purposes, id like a little more consistent accuracy out of a rifle using common, non-match grade ammo. my last factory .308 shot sub-MOA with cheap czech SP ammo, im not expecting that -- but a rifle capable of under 3-4" groups at 100 yds using common ammo is an expectation.

i absolutely do not care about collector value whatsoever for this gun -- its going to shot a lot, be carried around in the bush, will have a scope mounted, etc. i know that mounting a modern scope on a mauser is sacrilege to many collectors, but i would rather base a hunting rifle on a mauser and have it in my hands as my primary gun every year in the field than have it sit in my display case for years gathering dust as an investment.

so what should i do?
should i look at milsurp mausers in .308 and try to find one with the best bore and pray that it shoots well? what sortof accuracy can i reasonably expect from one?

should i look for a cheap/bad bore mauser with the best receiver/bolt i can find, and have a gunsmith rebarrel/rechamber it in .308 with a modern barrel? which are the best affordable, good condition mausers available today (disregarding collector value)?

should i be looking into something like the modern factory CZ mausers instead, to more realistically meet my expectations?

id really appreciate the advice of any mauser gurus on this,
thanks in advance!
 
Israeli k98k in .308.

Put an SK scout mount on her or an iron elite cantilever. Both require no smithing therefore no harm will come to your surplus rifle.

The bores are usually mint, they shoot .308, they are full millitary configuration and relatively affordable although ive seen them go up in price on the EE as of late.

As for accuracy, i just sighted mine in offhand, standing with a poor support(wobbly rear tire holder on my truck) and managed 4moa groups. Mind you some groups had multiple rounds that touched, so im certain benched i could do at least 2moa. Thats with a 2.5 power pistol scope too.

Theres also the spanish mausers in .308 that some would consider do-able for a drill and tap run. Not much collector interest so few would shed a tear. Also very accurate as the barrels are new and not fired much since they were converted.
 
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Go to tradeEx Canada and buy one of his Husky sporting mausers. I got one and it's got the 98 mauser action in 8x57. Shoots great.
 
thank you Chuck, off to check the EE right now.

is there a source for the israeli or spanish mausers? or do i just need to luck out at my local used gun dealer?

are they sturdy enough to withstand modern .308 loads?
what are your thoughts on using the receiver of a milsurp mauser as the basis for a custom rifle build?


K98ACTION - thanks, but id really like to stick to a .308 if i can.
 
there were a few israeli and spanish mausers on teh board but they have gone waaaaaaaaay up in price. I saw 1 or 2 israelis going for around 400$ and the spanish mauser, look for an FR8. I saw 2 the past 2 weeks going for aroudn the same price. Mind you these rifles were 2-300$ rifles a year ago...

FR8 is really a neat carbine altogether in its own right imo. And i really do love my israeli mauser as well. Dont think you can go wrong with either for an accurate shooter milsurp.

The israeli mauser and the FR8 are both built on the mauser 98 action and are plenty strong to handle .308. Heck both were rebarrelled to 7.62x51nato already. Only thing you may have a slight issue with is the early spanish 96 type action on an FR7 if you find one, but those are rare and id recommend the fr8 and israeli anyways.
 
its a wonder how the fr8 ever got to 400$ in my opinion, ive seen a few now recently going for that price. Very little collector value to them and they were dirt cheap only a few years back. Great guns tho.

Definately check out that israeli for 325$, that how much i paid for mine and well worth every dollar.
 
If you don't mind shooting 8mm Mauser, I'd say to get one of the Husqvarna sporters at Tradeex built on an FN Mauser 98 reciever. They also carry an assortment of sporting rifles imported from Scandanavia, so it's always a possibility that they'll have a Mauser action mated to a more modern calibre.

Good Luck,

Frank
 
Further to my last, I just noticed that if you scroll to the bottom of the page of sporting rifles on the tradeex site, that they have a Husky Mauser 98 in VG condition and 30.06 for $395.00. If you're interested, you can call them up and get better photos emailed to your inbox.

Cheers,

Frank
 
Nothing wrong with 8mm Mauser for hunting . It'll knock down whatever your game is.
Lot's of cheap milsurp ammo to be had for targets and hunting ammo is about the same price as .308win.
 
Timberlord said:
Nothing wrong with 8mm Mauser for hunting . It'll knock down whatever your game is.
Lot's of cheap milsurp ammo to be had for targets and hunting ammo is about the same price as .308win.
Click to expand...

Where can one get cheap 8mm milsurp? I really need some!!
Thanks,
Pete
 
I've been buying milsurp 8mm ammo at the local gunshows and sold in zip-lock bags...lol . Seems to be a plentiful supply . Prices are about $8 for 20
 
Buy the gun you want and then handload for it. If you want a Schmitt-Rubin, go for it. It costs no more to load than does a .30-'06 and it uses the same powder, the same primers and the same projectiles. The only difference is the casing, which you can get unprimed from Norma or (a lot cheaper) from Graf's, who have Partizan brass which just happens to work real good.

Same thing with 7.62x54R: same primer, same powder as other cartridges, just use a .303 bullet because these rifles always shoot their best with a .312" slug. There is Igman ammo readily available (John at Wolverine has a load of it) at under 15 bucks a box and the brass is reloadable.

With careful handloading, either of these can make a superb hunting cartridge and you can often get 1 MOA out of a Schmitt, and it's not really hard to get one-and-a-half out of a decent Moisin-Nagant.

You can collect your history and still shoot it, which makes collecting ten times as much fun, not to mention that you will learn a heck of a lot more from your collection.

Give it a try, have fun. If you run into problems, there are a thousand people here who are willing to help.
 
I'd keep an eye out at your local gun shows for a nicely sporterized M96 mauser in 6.5x55 if you're looking for a great deer rifle.

It's hard to beat the old world quality of a model 96, plus the cartridge is excellent and easily available. There's a ton of them out there with the original barrel that are total hack jobs, but I bet if you looked around you'd find a really nice one with a sporter taper barrel, a tuned trigger, and a nicely checkered monte carlo stock.
 
Go Swedish

I have to agree with Tudenom. I purchased and refurbed a snipered M96 from a gunsmith. I put a Burris scope on it. I pop water bottles steady at 300 yards. She's going deer hunting this year. Looking for a headshot. If I get it, I'll post it:evil:
 
theres a .308 sporterized 98 at a local gun dealer, i think ill go have another look at it tomorrow.
is there anything other than the usual used gun fare that i need to be looking out for with these? this will be my first mauser.

the first issue that strikes me is that it has a 2-piece weaver mount installed, one piece on the fore and aft of the ejection port. the front part of the receiver is at least 3mm higher than the rear though, so i can already see a nightmare with having to buy 2 sets of ring heights and trying to line them up so they dont warp my scope. is this a common issue or did they just choose a poor mounting solution on this rifle?
 
i should add that currently i dont reload, and dont have any place to set up a little desk for the equipment. it will have to wait until i get a bigger place.its an intriguing idea though, but for now id like to stick to cheap and widely available calibers. with .308 i can get super cheap surplus or even softpoint ammo from the gun store, or in a pinch pop into wally world and they have a wide selection.
 
Chuck3436 said:
Israeli k98k in .308.

Put an SK scout mount on her or an iron elite cantilever. Both require no smithing therefore no harm will come to your surplus rifle.

The bores are usually mint, they shoot .308, they are full millitary configuration and relatively affordable although ive seen them go up in price on the EE as of late.

As for accuracy, i just sighted mine in offhand, standing with a poor support(wobbly rear tire holder on my truck) and managed 4moa groups. Mind you some groups had multiple rounds that touched, so im certain benched i could do at least 2moa. Thats with a 2.5 power pistol scope too.

Theres also the spanish mausers in .308 that some would consider do-able for a drill and tap run. Not much collector interest so few would shed a tear. Also very accurate as the barrels are new and not fired much since they were converted.
Click to expand...

Here is my Israeli with the Scout Mount and Long eye relief scope. One of my favourites.
Mauser.jpg
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