Accuracy of contemporary Mausers

Having shot a fair number of Swedish M96 and 38's as well as military Mausers from many manufacturers, I'd say given equal bore condition and quality ammo they all have the potential to be similarly accurate. I had one 1899 MO manufactured M96 that was really accurate but the most accurate military Mauser I've had was an Israeli converted K98k in 7.62.
I'll second this. Same experience. - dan
 
I have a 43 Spanish which seems to work well first time out. I loaded some cast bullets just to try it. 1 1/4 groups. I thought was good without any load development. 20 grs of Alliant 2400 with with a 165 gr cast. I’ll likely try tuning the powder before too long just to see if it will improve.
 
As mentioned equal condition Mausers with good ammo will generally perform similarly.

The big advantage Swedish Mausers had was they never really saw combat (excluding the tiny amount in Finland) and coupled with a very good refurbishment program before they were sold off meant they were in better condition than most surplus.

Even earlier Mausers were known for accuracy. The Belgians with their 1889s were very accurate and pre-wwi developed a markmanship culture which allowed them to deal tons of damage to the Germans similar to the mad minute. The 1893s and 1895 pattern mausers in 7mm were known for accuracy as well. The tough part with the earlier models is finding some in better condition as well as finding earlier style bullets to use in ammo for them.

For that matter most milsurp rifles provided they are in very good condition with very good ammo will generally perform similarly. The people who designed them weren’t idiots and they were generally pretty well made where it mattered.
 
Sights are the Weak spot on most Mausers IMO.
Got a couple yet, had a few cycle through the collection over the years.
Not a peep sight in the lot.
The title of this thread doesn't specify Milsurp...fair point. The sporting models are tack drivers I'm sure.
 
The square sight blade of the Swedish 1896 is an accuracy advantage over the triangular front blade of the '98's in original configuration. However the sight blades are interchangeable.
 
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