8mm Mauser? bolt action rifles

[pistonring8 1]

Hi guys, Im looking into buying a bolt action rifle. I dont hunt, just want to shoot with my hunter buddies at the long range. Kind of a nice sniper set up, is what Im looking for. Ive been reaserching the 98/96 Mausers, Mosin Nagant and a ton of similar bolt action rifles. Im interested in a rifle that is:

 

1. Low cost

2. Fires a common round

3. Is very accurate

4. Has available replacement stocks or hot rod parts

5. options for a scope and bipod

6. Did I mention low cost?

 

Anyone with knowledge in this area, I could use your help. I need to know what to look for (like a turned down bolt handle) and what to stay away from. I think it would be great to buy an old 8mm or 30.06 and sport it out with a nice scope, bipod and hot rod stock. I would love to be able to tack drive, but I can settle for driving 2" bulls.

 

Im as poor as the next guy, so I cant just go out and buy a 300 Win Mag with a Leopold scope and gold lined case. Besides, I like the feeling of having built the rifle myself. Really knowing the rifle because Ive restored or overhauled it completely. And it will not be the same thing that 3 other guys are shooting at the range.

 

Thanks!

[pistonring8 1]

I had the day off today, and its raining heavily, so I did a ton of reasearch and answered my own question. For anyone else who might be interested in Mausers, Here is what I like the best and am planning on building.

 

I can get a straight bolt 98 Mauser 8mm from Dunhams Sporting goods cheap. There is a kit for cutting off the straight bolt handle, drilling and tapping, and bolting on a curved down handle. The kit sells for about $15 and comes with the drill bit, tap, screw and handle. I can also cut off the bolt handle and weld a curved one on. Or I can just buy a nice curved bolt Mauser (they are a little more expensive)

 

There is a synthetic stock that has a built in scope mount for about $60, but its kinda bulky, and I dont like it. Instead, I found nice solid scope mounts on E-bay and elsewhere that fit around the action without drilling and tapping the reciever. They sell for about $30

 

I was lucky enough to come across this company, Boyd's custom stocks

They have a beautiful "Varmit thumbhole" Stock with cooling slots under the barrel for about $85. The website also has tons of great info on finishing techniques.

 

Once I get all of this put together, (with a rediculous scope) I will have an awesome sniper rig! Exactly what I was looking for.

 

[danny boy 0]

Careful there, pal. That Mauser customizing thing can get addictive and ultimately expensive. FAC used to be the hookup for all things Mauser, but they're gone now. I bought a Turk with the intentions of rebarreling it to .308 but never did order the barrel. 8mm makes me smile anyway, and the bore on my particular rifle is near new.

Things I would do is shorten the barrel to 24in and recrown, ATi bolt kit (they look good) and sporter stock. There's tons of accurizing things you can do as well, but the proper muzzle crown will make the biggest difference.

[vjor 2]

look in here for info

http://www.surplusrifle.com/index.asp

and tutorials.

 

Easy scope mount and good one

http://www.iron-elite.com/k98k.html

 

Now here a link to the bolt man

 

http://www.mosinnagant.net/Boltman/Boltman.html

 

He is the man, to bend and polish bolts for mauders and nagants.

some of his works.

http://www.mosinnagant.net/Boltman/7.jpeg

look in the bottom of page for mauser bolt bending.

 

By the way check

 

http://www.surplusrifle.com/shooting/headspace/index.asp

 

 

Bro all depends on what you going to do, from 200.00 to 1500.00

gun.

 

http://www.gswagner.com/

 

http://www.hillsgunworks.biz/

 

http://www.gun-shop.biz/id13.html

 

http://www.98mauser.com/

 

http://p067.ezboard.com/bmilitaryfirearmrestorationcorner

Edited October 7, 2005 by vjor

[Unknown Poster 5]

The cheapest way I just built one was I picked up a German 98k 8mm mauser for $20 with a shotout barrel. I picked up a Like new / excellent condition Czech 8mm w/23"barrel from numrich gun parts for $37. Since the bolt wasn't the orginal bent bolt it was a straight bolt I bent it. I also changed out the barrel too. The headspace passed the go and the bolt didn't close on the no go. I refinished the orginal stock with 10 coats of tung oil. I added a scope from CDNN $29 its a 3 post military style scope with mounts from samco $15. I needed a czech handguard too from numrich for $20. A new safety lever for the bolt from numrich.$15 So for $136 I built my mauser.

 

I did another one using a '95 chilean 7mm mauser w/29" barrel from samco(barreled reciever) for $89. A stock from numrich for $52 and the same scope setup as the 8mm $34. Again with 10 coats of tung oil on the stock. For $175 I have my 7mm mauser build.

 

I did both to prove it could be done for under $200 heck i came in under $150 on the 8mm. The 8mm looks cool almost like an orginal sniper with the 3 post scope.

Edited October 8, 2005 by Unknown Poster

[pistonring8 1]

Vjor, I love you.

 

I mean that man. I love you.

 

You got enough info. and resorces there to last me for a month! Good reading! Im definately going to build a cheap sniper for sure. I still had a dozen or so questions, I can now find all the answers within the sites you posted. Thoes sites also link to more sites which link to more sites. Danny Boy is right, this is going to be an addiction like the AK. The 8mm is an awesome round, but pricey. Alot of these guys are having them rechambered pretty cheap. Im gonna have to start with an 8mm, then build a 30.06 then I dunno....

 

Thanks again!

[vjor 2]

Vjor, I love you.

 

I mean that man. I love you. 

 

 

Thanks again!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Hey! my wife is going to go jealous

 

 

By the way, that link to the bolt man is good

he did my nagant, but takes him for like for ever

to work on your gun, but is worth the wait,

my bolt came back like it was made yesterday on

the factory.

Edited October 9, 2005 by vjor

[pistonring8 1]

Ok, just in case anybody cares. I made a descission. Im going to put off an 8mm Mauser build (and G3) for awhile. I instead, chose the Schmidt Rubin K-31.

 

 

This is an interesting Swiss made rifle that I came across in my research for a good sniper rifle. Its got tons of great features and history as well as legendery Swiss craftsmanship. I wont bother filling up a whole page with cool details, there is tons of info. on this rifle all over the net. It fires a 7.5x55 which used to be near impossible to find. Now you can get Mil Surp for it at about the same price as 8mm. Wolf has even announced that they are going to begin production on the round.....Yay! (I think?)

 

What sold me on this rifle (other than the $89 price tag for a near mint rifle @ Dunham's) was the fact that nothing needs to be replaced or altered on the rifle for it to be a great shooter. Range reports put it at 1" groups @ 100yards and 2"@200yds. open sights, benched, right off the shelf! The trigger is smooth and light. The straight pull back action is flawless, and the mag is already detachable. Its been called the most accurate MilSurp rifle ever, by several resorces. And I read that if a company were to produce one of these by todays standards, it would retail for over $2,500. Now thats a well built rifle!

 

Im going to jump on one the next time Dunham's runs a sale. There are 3 stores near me, so I can make a day of handpicking my rifle out of a group of about 30. All I will need then, are a custom stock. A rediculous scope. And a case of Mil Surp ammo from Midway Usa.

 

Im interested to hear what you guys think about this. Vjor?

[Cobra 76 two 2,677]

Cool pistonring good luck with your new project. That's funny I was just starting down the same road kind of. I'll start a separate thread about it. Have fun! I'll have to go check out some of those links vjor and see if they have anything for me. i already saw the first on has some awesome tutorials for building AKs! Right on time. i have a Polish underfolder on the bench awaiting a receiver. Thanks vjor!

[pistonring8 1]

It must be a natural progression to want a tack driver at the range to keep your AK company. Great minds......huh Cobra?

[vjor 2]

I do not know about the Schmidt Rubin K-31, never have shot one

Have seen some at the range, I know the Swiss make good rifles

some times a little in the complicated side, but they are proud or

there marksmanship, and must of there guns are as accurate as

Accurate it can be.

 

I can say this, I have shot Ljungman AG-42 on 6.5x55 an

really got impressed by it.

 

Any way, if you like it, get it if you have the money for it

just remember is a surplus rifle, have been use and miss

use, it can put holes on 1 inch at hundred meters or can

do 12 inches at hundred meters, but for collecting and

shooting why not.

 

Look around see what else you can get for the rifles, like

scope mounts; fine irons sights and what kind of ammo you can get for it.

remember if you get a decent rifle that can do 1 inch

or better, get decent ammo for it, a rifle is good

as the ammo you put on it, especially if you

looking for thing groups down range.

 

 

By the way AK builder look here.

 

http://www.ak-builder.com/ak/modules.php?n...showpage&pid=10

 

 

http://gunsgutsandgod.com/Barrelinandout.htm

 

http://www.headsbunker.com/html/blog.html

Edited October 14, 2005 by vjor

[bernerz 11]

I am going to add my 2 cents to this. I actually hunted for years in Alaska with an 1893 7X57 mauser. I hunted sitka blacktail deer. All I did to the rifle was coat the stock with epoxy, glass bed the barrel and put some peep sights on it. It is a great 100-250 yard rifle. It's ugly but perfect for brush busting. The swedish 6x55 is also a great round. Its penetration power is amazing. I read that some English hunters swore by that round and took down elephants with it. If you go with a mauser of military heritage make sure to buy one that was either swedish or german made, they used the best steel and didn't cut corners.

[Tokageko 8]

Boyd's Gunstocks has a couple of sporter type stocks for the K-31. The prices seem reasonable. I know that there are several scope mounts out there, but I suggest that you experiment with the iron sights first. MOJO is even making their "snap sights" for the K-31. Essentially, it is a micrometer type rear peep sight, and an aperture type front sight. As I remember, both directly replace the originals on the rifle. Scopes are nice and all, but there's just something about iron-sights...

 

If you want to get into reloading, the 7.5x55 is pretty easy. It uses the same 308 diameter bullets as our beloved 308 Win, 30-06, etc., which means a great selection of bullet types/weights/etc. The ballistics of the 7.5x55 are at least equal to the 308 Win. There are also more reliable sources of brass now then when these rifles were first imported. Overall, it's just a good idea to become familiar with it.

 

While you're at it, look into getting a sling. Not some nylon Wal-Mart special, but a durable leather unit, like NRA high-power competitors use. This rifle will make you want to learn to shoot better. Research as much as you can. These are great rifles, and I'm sure that you'll love yours.

[pistonring8 1]

Thanks for all of the input guys, I bought the rifle at Dunhams for $99. I visited all three Dunhams stores near me and hand picked the best out of the ones available (ofcourse it was the first one I looked at, in the first store) It came with an original leather sling, bayonet and cleaning kit. The rifling in the bore is amazing! and the overall condition of the rifle is very good. 80% blueing, beech stock in decent shape without deep nicks. All numbers match even on the mag. I found 7.5x55 Mil Surp ammo at AIM real cheap. The rifle is still packed with cosmo, and I havent got her cleaned up and out to the range yet because Im working rediculous hours. When work slows down, Im gonna have a blast cleaning her up and doing some iron sight shooting. Dunhams has ammo, but its expensive.....I bought 2 boxes.

 

Iron sights are ok, but I want to try and set her up as a nice long range target rifle. I see that sturdy bolt on scope mounts are in the $60-$90 range. Its just a strip of steel with a rail on top. Im gonna knock one out on the mill when I get some time and a big scope.

 

Man, I love this rifle already! The action is cool to watch working in there, and the trigger is smooth and light. The barrel is factory floated and the only real contact points in the stock are a big, square lug at the bottom and the rear tang. This is gonna be fun to play with!

[Unknown Poster 5]

Good choice!!!! Your three top known accurate rifles are the Swiss K31 7,5mm, Swede 6,5mm mauser and the Finnish Mosin M39 not that the others aren't accurate they are just known for their quality and accuracy. All three are sweet shooters too. There is more and more 7,5mm swiss ammo being made more lately too so the high prices and rareness of it are over. The surplus 7,5 ammo can be found affordable lately too.

 

The swede's designed the 6,5mm Ljungman which were followed by the egyptians with their swedish designed 7,62x39 rasheed's and 8mm hakim's. The swede's were noted to have the best quality steel for many years and i think they were the first ones to develop chrome moly steel. This is what made their mausers so great. Even the swede mausers made by Oberndorf in Germany were manufactured with swedish steels too. The swede's were very fussy about their mausers.

 

After shooting big bore rifles most of my life its sure a pleasure to shoot the 6,5 swede and 7mm mausers. These are fun accurate rifles to shoot with less recoil than the bigger bores yet they have plenty of power for hunting too. These are guns you can shoot all day at the range with very little punishment on your body too. In Europe they shoot moose with their 6,5 swede's and in africa the 7mm's were used for killing elephants too.

Edited October 19, 2005 by Unknown Poster

[Tokageko 8]

I must protest...

 

I know of only one man who was noted for regularly taking elephant with 7x57: Karamojo (sp?) Bell. It was always done with a shot through the eye. Unless you're just that good, stick to the magnums for elephants.

[pistonring8 1]

Wow did this thread take a turn?!

 

Thanks for the info guys, I dont plan on taking any elephants. But if they were to attack me or my family on US soil, I would pepper the shit out of him with my Saiga! Dumping out a 30 rounder on him will surely take him down pretty quick. The 7.62x39 is often underestimated, its a devistating round. At anything over 150 yards I will try to put a 7.5x55 in his eye. Thanks for the tip!

[vjor 2]

[Jofus 0]

I had the day off today, and its raining heavily, so I did a ton of reasearch and answered my own question. For anyone else who might be interested in Mausers, Here is what I like the best and am planning on building.

 

I can get a straight bolt 98 Mauser 8mm from Dunhams Sporting goods cheap. There is a kit for cutting off the straight bolt handle, drilling and tapping, and bolting on a curved down handle. The kit sells for about $15 and comes with the drill bit, tap, screw and handle. I can also cut off the bolt handle and weld a curved one on. Or I can just buy a nice curved bolt Mauser (they are a little more expensive)

 

There is a synthetic stock that has a built in scope mount for about $60, but its kinda bulky, and I dont like it. Instead, I found nice solid scope mounts on E-bay and elsewhere that fit around the action without drilling and tapping the reciever. They sell for about $30

 

I

 

 

Anyone have experience with the synthetic stock w/built in scope mount? I didn't like them at first, but they kinda grow on ya. I've sold all my guns but my 7.62x39 and my .45. Not being able to shoot stuff passed 200 yrds is making me itch. So I was thinking about a surplus bolt action to satisfy me until Wifey gets out of school. Centerfire sells the Mauser all together in the synthetic stock, and I was thinking about grabbing one of those. I don't want to end up with poop though, so I'm all ears on opinions.

Thanks

[pistonring8 1]

I actually looked into that stock, even though its as ugly as a shit sandwitch. Dunhams sells it for a few bucks more than you can order it from Sportsmans Guide or Ebay. Everyone says its a simple drop in replacement. And if your after more accuracy, you can undercut the reciever relief and glassbed the action useing pillar posts just like the wood stock. I dont know anything for sure. Just stuff that I have heard and read online. The 8mm will probably be my next project.

[Bvamp 604]

kind of a useless comment at this point, but the mausers you want are the german made, and yugoslav made.

[pistonring8 1]

Actually, Ive heard great things about the Turkish 98. Not to mention, they are cheap.