Since I did not get to go on my three week deer hunting trip in east NC due to Mathew flooding everything I have just used my vacation time to do some work around the house and do some experimenting with some of my old military rifles.
First off I put a St Marie clamp on scope mount on a K-31 Swiss rifle in 7.5x55 Swiss and added a Bushnell 3200 3 - 9x50 scope I had laying around to see how it would work out. I loaded up some 155 Hornady A-Max with Sierra's suggested accuracy load with IMR 4064 and all I can say is WOW. This thing is just down right accurate. It shoots as well as some of my custom rifles.
Next up was a couple Mauser rifles in 8x57JS. One is a FN made model 98 made in 1938 and the other is a M48A Yugo Mauser. I found two loads that shoot 1 1/2" five shot groups with open sights at 100 yards with my 59 year old eyes doing the sighting. These rifles like heaver bullets 175 Sierra with 47.5 grs IMR 4895 and 195 gr Hornady with 47 grs WW 748. I added higher front sights to these rifles and now I need to file them some to bring POA down to where the loads are shooting.
Next up was fixing my cousins sported M-43 Spanish Mauser 8x57JS that his father got him 45 years ago as his first deer rifle. He decided that he wanted to do some deer hunting after years of not hunting. He had some so called "gunsmith" drill and tap the rifle put on Leupold mounts and add a Timney trigger. His son bought him a cheap O Bushnell Trophy scope. He was shooting Remington factory ammo and could not zero the rifle so he calls me. I bring the rifle home and first thing go to clean the bore. It looked like it had fur growing in it. I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. It had strong rifling but the grooves were really frosty. I had my doubts that I would be able to hit the side of a barn with it. I re-crowned the muzzle with a brass round head bolt chucked in my drill with valve grinding compound. Found that the scope base was loose so I put blue lock tight on the screws and put it on tight. I remounted the scope and leveled it properly. Then I free floated the barrel by sanding out the barrel channel. The pillars were still in the old stock and the action tightened up really solid. I loaded up some of the 175 Sierra bullet loads that shot so well in my 8x57JS rifles and headed to the range. Once at the range I discovered that the windage would not adjust on that scope. I loaded up and came home and put an old Tasco Euro Class 30mm tube 3 -12 x 56 scope on I have had for a long time but I knew was a good working scope. Reloaded the cases that I had shot before and headed back to the range. It took me 5 shots to zero the scope because it does not have click adjustments it just has marks you turn to so you just have to guess how much it is going to move. I then shot a 5 shot group at 100 yards were I had zeroed the rifle dead on. WOW! With a barrel in that bad a shape I could not believe it shot that well. 1 1/4" group in a vertical string. Many new rifles do not shoot that well out of the box. I could probably tinker with the load and get it shooting better but it is good enough for the hunting that he will be doing in the mountains of East TN where 60 yards is a long shot in the laurel thickets. I loaded up 40 rounds of ammo for the rifle and took it to him today. I handed it too him and said happy birthday, which is next week. It blew him away that I gave him that scope and got the rifle shooting so well. That scope just looked like it belonged on that rifle. It reminded me of the rifle that the German sniper used in the movie Enemy at the Gates. So it goes to show you that you don't have to spend a bundle to come up with a shooter. I bought that K-31 a few years ago for $90 and the Mausers were $100 each. I know they are worth much more these days but it is what I have in them.
First off I put a St Marie clamp on scope mount on a K-31 Swiss rifle in 7.5x55 Swiss and added a Bushnell 3200 3 - 9x50 scope I had laying around to see how it would work out. I loaded up some 155 Hornady A-Max with Sierra's suggested accuracy load with IMR 4064 and all I can say is WOW. This thing is just down right accurate. It shoots as well as some of my custom rifles.
Next up was a couple Mauser rifles in 8x57JS. One is a FN made model 98 made in 1938 and the other is a M48A Yugo Mauser. I found two loads that shoot 1 1/2" five shot groups with open sights at 100 yards with my 59 year old eyes doing the sighting. These rifles like heaver bullets 175 Sierra with 47.5 grs IMR 4895 and 195 gr Hornady with 47 grs WW 748. I added higher front sights to these rifles and now I need to file them some to bring POA down to where the loads are shooting.
Next up was fixing my cousins sported M-43 Spanish Mauser 8x57JS that his father got him 45 years ago as his first deer rifle. He decided that he wanted to do some deer hunting after years of not hunting. He had some so called "gunsmith" drill and tap the rifle put on Leupold mounts and add a Timney trigger. His son bought him a cheap O Bushnell Trophy scope. He was shooting Remington factory ammo and could not zero the rifle so he calls me. I bring the rifle home and first thing go to clean the bore. It looked like it had fur growing in it. I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. It had strong rifling but the grooves were really frosty. I had my doubts that I would be able to hit the side of a barn with it. I re-crowned the muzzle with a brass round head bolt chucked in my drill with valve grinding compound. Found that the scope base was loose so I put blue lock tight on the screws and put it on tight. I remounted the scope and leveled it properly. Then I free floated the barrel by sanding out the barrel channel. The pillars were still in the old stock and the action tightened up really solid. I loaded up some of the 175 Sierra bullet loads that shot so well in my 8x57JS rifles and headed to the range. Once at the range I discovered that the windage would not adjust on that scope. I loaded up and came home and put an old Tasco Euro Class 30mm tube 3 -12 x 56 scope on I have had for a long time but I knew was a good working scope. Reloaded the cases that I had shot before and headed back to the range. It took me 5 shots to zero the scope because it does not have click adjustments it just has marks you turn to so you just have to guess how much it is going to move. I then shot a 5 shot group at 100 yards were I had zeroed the rifle dead on. WOW! With a barrel in that bad a shape I could not believe it shot that well. 1 1/4" group in a vertical string. Many new rifles do not shoot that well out of the box. I could probably tinker with the load and get it shooting better but it is good enough for the hunting that he will be doing in the mountains of East TN where 60 yards is a long shot in the laurel thickets. I loaded up 40 rounds of ammo for the rifle and took it to him today. I handed it too him and said happy birthday, which is next week. It blew him away that I gave him that scope and got the rifle shooting so well. That scope just looked like it belonged on that rifle. It reminded me of the rifle that the German sniper used in the movie Enemy at the Gates. So it goes to show you that you don't have to spend a bundle to come up with a shooter. I bought that K-31 a few years ago for $90 and the Mausers were $100 each. I know they are worth much more these days but it is what I have in them.
