Game Taking/General Purpose Centerfire Bolt-action Rifles

just going to throw this out there, but if cost is a big consideration and you're just going to be hunting with it why not jump on the afore mentioned mauser or even cheaper(usually rifle and ammo) a mosin-nagant?.. i've only got just under $300 each in both of these scout guns i built. this inludes cutting and recrowning nof the barrels by smiths, the cheapo(yet so far functional) NCstar brand 2-7 iluminated optics, the optics mounts the new synthetic stocks and the shell carrying slings. for a serious SHTF addition to the armory i would persoanlly require that these rifles have the additional cash spent on them to have back up iron sights installed. i will probably be dumping these soon along with a whole list of other stuff(sks, mini-14, a bunch of AKs, a kimber ultra carry, a stainless/synthetic savage .308 model 16 with swift 3-9, an FAL, bushmaster BAR-10, 10-22, these scout guns, etc. etc.) in order to standardise my alibers and i'm set on the AR platform. i had to dump some of these in order to finiance my LaRue OBR.

still, if you're not heavily invested in other calibers and or platforms and cost is a real issue, i'd personally look into something along these lines. why pay $5-600 or more for a walmart type middle of the road cheaply made "hunten raffle" when you could have an action that is proven to take the abuse of war, and still provide plenty aceptable acuracy for game getting? 8mm and 7.62x54r are cheaper in surplus form than any hunting caliber(including .308 and .30-06) for plinking and training, and there are places out there to find these calibers in qaulity maunfatured hunting load configuration.

and let's not get into the whole battlefield pickup arguement, stock it deep now or plan on not being able to "find" it later. if you can find "boolits" later on then you'll be able likely to "find" the gun that utilises that caliber, wether it be a hunting rifle or a battle rifle or even a saturday night special. additionally, if many of you noticed someof the .mil / NATO calibers out there that everyone says you must have as they'll always be available, during the post election panic buying were some of the harder calibers to find as everyone else was buying up those ever so popular calibers. many of the more obscure unpopular calibers were actully easier to find as there was not the same increased demand and there remained a realtively steady supply of siad "unpopular" calibers...



K.

 

Don't forget the Enfields in convenient .308!

P.M. me - I might be interested in what you're selling.

 

enfields are great guns, but i'd be leary as i persoanlly don't know which ones were remanufactured to 7.62x51 from .303, either way i'd be a bit weary of .308 in a gun actully chambered for 7.62x51.

i know that there were some that were chambered for .308 just not sure of which ones and i'd read / heard somewhere at somepoint that some importers had stamped .308 on some of the guns only rated for 7.62x51(this is dangerous as the .308 has a higher pressure rating for those that didn't know. i saw it posted earlier but just to rehash, 7.62x51 is ok in pretty much any .308. however, .308 will fit but in most cases should not be fired if the gun is chambered for 7.62x51mm. conerning 5.56x45mm and .223 it is opposite and the .mil cartridge is the hotter round)...

 

Any particular years of manufacture, series, or countries made from to avoid or recommend with respect to the Mausers?

 

I'm no expert, but the yugos being imported over the past few years were in great condition and very well made.
Shoot, I remember when turks were coming it at $39!!! Wish I'd have picked up a truckload!

 

I had a Turkish Mauser. I bought it off a buddy who needed some cash. I don't think he paid over $100. I gave him what he paid. It was an ok rifle. The weakness in the old mausers is the sighting system. If you can get a peep-type sight, it will hold it's own against a lot of newer rifles.

The 8mm is fairly common. Surplus is drying up. I imagine, the price will sky rocket for new ammo when the surplus is gone. Hell, it already has sky-rocketed compared to a few years ago. When I was tinkering with a bunch of surplus rifles, I would test various new manufacture ammo. I was not real impressed with the new stuff. The old rifles seem to prefer the old ammo. Reloading would alleviate that problem. Most surplus brass for 8mm is berdan primed. A more modern caliber that is still in military use is still the best bet for future acquisition.

 

I have had and shot various rifles chambered for both the 308Win and 7.62 Nato rounds. The main safety concern is just not the chamber pressures between the 308Win(SAAMI PSI Max 62,000PSI)or the 7.62 Nato(CUP pressures 52,000, which is around 58,000PSI), it is also the actual chamber dimensions. The military 7.62 Nato chamber is made larger than your 308Win chambers because of the reliability factor of military small arms.

If you want to test any 7.62 Nato chambered barrel to see if it can safely fire any civy 308Win ammo, then purchase a SAAMI spec headspace gauge set. If your No-G0 gauge will not allow the weapons bolt to lock, then you should be able to safely fire any factory 308Win ammo through a 7.62 Nato chamber. NOW, FOR A BIG FAT WARNING. Always follow the ordinance depot instructions for properly checking the headspace of your particular surplus rifle. Some rifles require that the bolt be completly stripped and cleaned of all residue, oils and grease, for an accurate and safe reading.

 

Something I haven't seen many of in the way of Mausers mentioned on any gun board is the 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser. Ammo is scarce, but available, not an issue to me as I reload. I have two of them in the M38 model. It is not quite a .270, but very flat shooting. It's main drawback is the caliber never really caught on here America. None of the ammo available for it today uses corrosive primers either. If you enjoy the Mauser rifles and can find one, it's worth a look. OTT, I still recommend the .243, 7mm 08, or the .308 to anyone who doesn't plan to reload, or even if you do plan to reload as brass is much more available for those.

 

i have a buddy who only recently got into ARs i kinda converted him i suppose. anyway he was / a die hard mauser fan and probably knows more about mausers than i do about any and all types of arms combined...

and he absolutelly swears by the ballistics on the 6.5 swede cartridge...

as far as the question posed by the poster asking which mausers to stay away from... man ther eis a lot to learn about these guns as they were very prolificly produced. heck the '03 springfield action was modeled after it, then the pre 64 winchesters, and now the FN actions, or so i'm told on all counts. the only thing i remember my buddy telling me right off hand(he's talked a lot about them but i can only retain so much from a single conversation), is that the model 93s receivers and bolts are not nearly as strong or as suited to being rebarrled to different and or more modern calibers as are the model 98s.

as far as what calibers are good for 93s if you want to rebarrel or are good for 98s etc. i'm sure that a google search would turn up some info. additionally, certain models from certain countries are much more highly regarded than others, obviously, and i'm just not qualified to speak to that, if my buddy was more interwebs inlined i'd get him signed up to chime in. as is google is everyones buddy...

K.

 

The original Swede M94 was built on a 93 action, but with Swedish steel, which I wish I could explain the difference but, trust me it is better than what other Mausers are made of. Then when the '95s came out Sweden had the plants that manufactured them come out with the M96 on that action. Later they modified some of those to carbines and renamed those the M96/38 and eventually just the M38. The two M38's I have are made by Husqvarna. The steel is so good in these that even with the bluing worn off in places, they do not rust.

Disclaimer, I'm not an expert on the history of these rifles, just some things I've read over the years.

 

My only experience so far is with a few K98's and my 24/47. My 24/47 came in nearly mint condition and is an excellent rifle. Both of my dad's K98's are great shooters but both were well used. I hear the M48's are a step down in quality from the 24/47's but have no experience with them. And I have no idea about any of the mausers made in other countries. Hands-on learning of the world's mausers would be very expensive and addicting! There are so many!

I really like the 8mm (7.92x57) round. There are a few videos on youtube of a guy that shoots his surplus stuff out to 1000yds with the iron sites. His channel is mag30th. His eyes must be bionic.

Byte

 

Thats true 7.62 x 51 MM is the best choice a survival scene. I chose the (3) three cartridge I chose because of avlabilty I can buy 30-06 or a 30-30 any where in the states.
Of course no one would hunt polar bears or an elephant with anyone of the (3) three cartridges but you could.

XR750
Besides bear arn't hard to kill. The eskimos use a 220 swift or Shaved whale bone wound up like a coilspring in frozen whale meat. The secret is don't get close.
PS Elephant in North America are you hunting in zoo?

 

.303 British.

I used to shoot service rifle matches with an old No 4 Mk I. I had to reload for it, since factory ammunition was costly. I can only imagine what it cost now. I learned a lot about the Enfields, specifically the SMLEs.

There are a lot of little things to discover when you get a relic like that; what it likes and dislikes. Take it apart to clean it and remove some stupid cloth wrapping from the barrel. Who put it there? Don't they know that cloth will absorb moisture and make the barrel rust? Why does it shoot 4-5" groups now instead of 2" since I removed the stupid cloth?

This is just the beginning of a learning process that I started a number of years ago with these rifles.

Reloading for the .303 is another matter entirely. You can think you mastered reloading the cartridge, but once you pick up another SMLE and try your handywork you will find yourself dumbfounded again.

As for game taking, the .303 is ballistically close enough to 30-06 for me to not care about the cartridge performing when you need it to.

 

Parker Hale model 1200 in .308 with a zweiss conquest 3x9 scope for elk/deer/bear/goat/etc... ruger 10 22 for most anything else...


as to the first question.. try a spanish FR-8 in 7.62 around the $250.00 mark

 

Armalite AR10... .308