Might be time to rebarrel

[rocky_lange]

I bought a sporterized Spanish Mauser for $100 to practice gunsmithing on. Took it to the range yesterday for the first time to get a benchmark on how well it shot. Well, @ 50 yards on a 20X24" target, I managed to hit paper 5 out of 15 times. One shot went high over the target and hit the targets I had set @ 100 yards for load developement on my 22-250 and 220 Swift. It went through sideways.

So, I am guessing it is time to rebarrel. I know Adam and Bennet make barrels prechambered and threaded for Mausers. But what chambering? Should I stick with 7X57 or try something else? I don't want to go wildcat as this gun is not/will never be benchrest quailty. A factory chambering for off the shelf availablity is my first choice.

Rocky

 

[specweldtom]

Rocky, Brownells and Lothar Walther list barrels for small ring Mausers, I would stick with the 7 x 57. It is a fine cartridge, very accurate, can operate well at 45,000 psi, and will feed flawlessly in your rifle. I would stay away from the .308 based cartridges or any other high pressure round.

I think that E.R. Shaw also lists barrels for small ring Mausers. With a decent barrel, bedded and floated in a wood stock, it might shoot very well and is a good candidate for re-barreling practice.

In my piles and shelves of books are a couple that specifically deal with re-barreling Mausers, and so far I haven't found them. Hinnant's book on rebarreling is a good all around guide, but small ring and large ring Mausers are different.

Enjoy, Tom

 

[Buffalobob]

One thing you might want to look at is the bearing of the lugs. When I finally took mine (FN mauser) to a gunsmith for accuraizing he told me only one lug was making contact and then only about 15% of it. The gun shot really light bullets accurately and heavy ones sprayed all over the place. It now shoots great.

 

[Buffalobob]

One more thing is that the top of the receiver might already have a built in cant so I expect you will be getting plenty of stuff to practice on before you are through.

Did I mention that the safety likes to fall down on its own.

 

[rocky_lange]

Bedding the acton is also on the to do list for practice. But, should I bed or rebarrel first? A poor action/stock fit will make horrible groups, but I should still hit paper at 50 yards and how would that cause keyholing? If I bed the action first, I will have to rebed the first few inches of the barrel channel after rebarreling.

Next question. I would like to keep iron sights on the rifle, not necessarily the military style rear. Who makes barrels with the dovetails precut (or sights installed)? Or would it be proper to install the barrel, index its position, remove and cut dovetails off the index?

Rocky

 

[specweldtom]

Rocky, I would install the barrel before bedding the rifle. Also you only need a dovetail for a barrel mounted rear sight, (a screw-on is harder to contour to fit the barrel) the front could be either a dovetail base or drilled and tapped for a screw-on base. Either way the setup can be made without pulling the barrel back off. It is much quicker to index the barrel for sights after it is made up. Much slower to install a pre-drilled or dovetailed barrel and clock it in perfectly. You might also consider a receiver mounted rear sight. Longer sight radius and an aperture rear. I can't shoot the open rear sights anymore. I just point, but I can aim with an aperture rear.

BB is right, this project is going to give you some good practice!

Good luck, and have fun. Tom

On edit: The old barrel is causing the keyholing. Bedding the rifle with the old barrel would be a waste of time. Save the bedding job for after the new barrel is installed, IMO.