Questions about a 7x57 mauser build.

ndallyn

ndallyn

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I am thinking pretty hard about building my own 7x57 by using a short chambered barrel on a mauser action (hand reaming chamber). I have a small lathe and mill and all the tools and experience necessary to do accurate work (journeyman welder with experience machining and heat treating - made handmade knives for years and now hold a mechanical engineering tech degree). Have no issue understanding technical info and how to hold things to tolerance - so a build like this should be well within reach.

Things I am questioning:

- large or small ring action? (the internet experts seem very divided about this - as with almost everything). I am very tempted to use a 96 action but hav a couple 98 rifles that could be used as donors. Has anyone done a build with a small ring here? Any quirks a guy should know about before starting?

- is it necessary to blueprint the action with this type of build? Just wondering if it is generally necessary for a hunting rifle build of this type (some things I have read say it is always necessary - some of the internet gurus say it's a waste on a decent Mauser action). Just wondering if I need to invest in the extra tooling this requires?

- CIP or SAMMI spec reamers? Ptg lists both for the 7x57, just wondering what the real difference is (case dims, throat depth, etc)

Any expertise/advice would be greatly appreciated!

Nathan
 
I'm no expert but a large ring will be more common. And tougher . I have a sporter Brno barrel in 7x57 sitting around here somewhere I was going to do the same with.
 
If it's custom you want go long action 98. Cheaper to buy a BRNO 21H old world quality............... one hole accuracy.
 
mbogo3 said:
If it's custom you want go long action 98. Cheaper to buy a BRNO 21H old world quality............... one hole accuracy.
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I have more than a couple accurate guns - the exercise here isn't about saving money, or not wanting to pay a smith, or expecting laser beam accuracy out of a custom. I could buy or pay someone else to build something - but putting my own two hands on something and making it is worth a lot (if only for the experience). It doesn't have to be my most expensive, most accurate, or best looking rifle - it just has to be the one I put together. Hope that makes sense.
 
I have a few projects like this on the go. A few ended up shooting decently, at least one is still pretty iffy. I found it helps to get a bunch of gunsmithing books - old ones like by Virgil Howe, Clyde Baker, and more recent (1960's) like Roy Dunlap. For playing with mausers go to gswagner.com sight - he's got decent pictures as he moves through sporterizing mostly Turk masers. I don't shoot "F-Class", but he does.
As far as "blueprinting", I first check that the action bottom is dead flat - sometimes the tang can be bent up or down, or the whole thing twisted. Then I check that the guard/magazine bottom is dead flat - same story - often tang is bent one way or other. When assembled, mausers are meant to be metal to metal (action to guard) at the front, with a pillar of correct length holding rear tangs of guard and action apart. Everything is correct when there is .010-.015 clearance between top of magazine and bottom of action. Just as units come up to metal to metal, the wood stock should be clamped in place. I have a mandrel that I use to put the action in lathe and check that the receiver face is square and flat. Check bearing surfaces of both bolt lugs in receiver - you want 100% in perfect world, but in my world 75% is great. Any lapping is cutting into the hard surfacing, so I try to avoid that - often swapping bolts makes a difference. To correctly alter bolt handle to accommodate scope requires heat sink and heat stop paste to protect the cam surfaces at rear of bolt. And so on... whole books written on this. Other good ones to have if you are messing with mausers is The Mauser Bolt Actions: A Shop Manual by Jerry Kuhnhausen and Mauser Bolt Rifles by Ludwig Olson. Lots of great stuff about how the system was meant to work.
 
Well there sure isn't any reason to limit yourself to an obsolete military action. There are many superior commercial actions out there...
 
guntech said:
Well there sure isn't any reason to limit yourself to an obsolete military action. There are many superior commercial actions out there...
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You're definitely not wrong! I've shot tikkas, winchesters, savages, Remingtons, husqvarnas, enfields - all manner of push and controlled round feed actions plus every single shot and lever action I could get my hands on. They all work great - but a clunky military mauser just "feels right". I know it would probably be easier to build off of a rem or savage action, but I would never be happy with it.
 
OP, you don't seem to have given a preference for a milsurp Mauser Action or a Commercial Mauser Action.

There are a lot of both such actions readily available at decent prices. Tradex.com, a banner dealer has several barreled actions listed of high quality in the format you desire at decent prices. Most of the cosmetic work is already done.

Here is the issue you need to ascertain. Are you going to hand load for this rifle or use commercial offerings. If you're going to use off the shelf, commercial offerings, then it won't make any difference whether you use a small or large ring action. If you are going to hand load the cartridge to its full potential with the latest powders and bullet offerings then you should really consider a COMMERCIAL action. The Husqvarna 1600 is great. If you can find one of the clones made under license in Italy by Antolio Zoli, even better. The new Zastava Mausers are also excellent and can be had in stainless steel. The list goes on.

Swede m38/96 actions are fine, but only if you're keeping your pressures to military standards. Same goes for any military small ring mauser, other than maybe the Mexican SMALL RING 98 type actions.

You have asked a question with hundreds of options.

Look at the Tradex offerings and judge how much work you want to do on your own.
 
I understand completely .............I'd like a mauser in a 6.5x54MS although redundant being millions are available in 6.5x55 of which I am fond of and own several.
 
You are absolutely right bearhunter! I may have misunderstood what was being asked and should clarify. I handload for everything - was specifically thinking of the small ring m96 barrelled actions tradex has for sale (have a Yugo m48 and a couple zastavas at home already that could act as donors for the action). Not against commercial mausers at all! I have a frankonia m98 in 8x57 that is an intermediate large ring and I love that thing! That's why I am considering a small ring or the m48 or a similar intermediate large ring action.

Right now I am leaning towards using one of the zastava actions just because of limited stock options for the intermediate action. You have more options for aftermarket stocks with the m96 than with an intermediate large ring. That's largely why I was considering it at all. You are right - if I am going to load hot the large ring action is probably a safer bet.
 
Give me a shout... I can offer long chambered prefits for the M98. Machine to fit the action and away you go.

If you prefer short chambered prefits and run a reamer in for final headspace, that is possible too but I am not sure what the benefit would be and you have to get a reamer and hope that is matches the one that made the prefit.

Jerry
 
Mystic Precision said:
Give me a shout... I can offer long chambered prefits for the M98. Machine to fit the action and away you go.

If you prefer short chambered prefits and run a reamer in for final headspace, that is possible too but I am not sure what the benefit would be and you have to get a reamer and hope that is matches the one that made the prefit.

Jerry
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I agree... a long chambered pre contoured barrel and then machined to correct headspace is quite easy to do and no expense of a reamer...
 
guntech said:
I agree... a long chambered pre contoured barrel and then machined to correct headspace is quite easy to do and no expense of a reamer...
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On a '98 do most Smiths today have the barrel face tight against the collar, and a 1-2 thou shoulder crush so it's got hard contact in both spots?
 
I always hit hard on the ring and with clearance on the action face or at most lightly touching after bottoming on the ring.
 
guntech said:
I agree... a long chambered pre contoured barrel and then machined to correct headspace is quite easy to do and no expense of a reamer...
Click to expand...

Am I correct in assuming that you would have to set up the barrel and then face a few thousandths (0.030"-0.050") off of the barrel tenon and shoulder until you hit proper headspace? I've been looking and can't find a whole lot of info on using a long-chambered prefit.
 
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