I finally got my sporterized Mauser with a Ramline medalist stock. I do not think the action was bedded, just fitted. So I could get to shootin; I bought a box of Remington factory 140gr ammo to sight in the Meopta scope and I could use the once fired brass to load. The factory ammo had a very light firing pin strike. Four of the rounds out of a box would not fire. :x I took the once fired brass and neck sized it barely bumping the shoulder of the case. That did the trick with the misfiring,but groups were way more horizontal than vertical. No load I tried including the 130 AB would shoot less than 3". I was using 4350, RL-17, and RL-22. After some thought, I went to a faster powder(4895)and groups shrunk in half. Groups were much more uniform. I want to use a slower powder to realize the velocity potential of the heavier bullets. Do you think there is a bedding problem? Do I need to use European brass. Help.
6.5 Swede 96 range report
- Thread starter doeroller
- Start date
Powerstroke
Handloader
- Feb 24, 2006
- 1,800
- 71
Check the action screws - make sure they are both on the heavy side of snug, light side of tight.
Which bullet are you leaning towards shooting? The 130's are about ideal for this cartridge size ( I'll preface that as my opinion )
What types of velocity were you getting with the 130's ?
I have a .260 that isn't a fan of the slower powders and absolutely hated RL-17. H414 is my go to for both the 130gr AccuBond & 100gr Smokin B-tips.
Others are going to have to chime in on the missfire issue - I have no experience with that action. Phenominal caliber though !
Which bullet are you leaning towards shooting? The 130's are about ideal for this cartridge size ( I'll preface that as my opinion )
What types of velocity were you getting with the 130's ?
I have a .260 that isn't a fan of the slower powders and absolutely hated RL-17. H414 is my go to for both the 130gr AccuBond & 100gr Smokin B-tips.
Others are going to have to chime in on the missfire issue - I have no experience with that action. Phenominal caliber though !
DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
- 37,541
- 6,613
You've had two excellent suggestions from Powerstroke and Ol' Joe. The firing pin assembly often has grit and/or grime (even in a new rifle) that must be cleaned out. Sometimes, the firing pin will have a burr that must be stoned off. The action screws are often overlooked in setting up a rifle. The simple things seem always to trip us up.
M-96 Swedes. Now you are talking right down my road. :grin:
First off, did you leave the barrel 29" long? I hope you did because you can really get some good velocity out of it with lower pressure loads.
For a good very light target load I have found that the accuracy load that came out of the Sierra 4th edition manual as far as the powder charge goes is very accurate. Here is the load that I use in all 5 of my Swedes.
37.8 grs IMR 4895, CCI BR2 primer, Remington case, 140 gr Sierra Match King, OAL 3.050. This as long as I could load it and have it work through the magazine good. It is a tack driver.
For hunting loads I have found that the MAX 45,000 CUP loads given by Accurate Arms with their AA 4350 powder are the trick.
Here is what works for me.
120 Sierra pro hunter or Nosler ballistic tip 46 grs AA4350, Federal 210M primer, Remington case, OAL 3.050 average 2980 fps from 29" barrel.
140 Sierra game king or Hornady SP, 45 grs AA4350, Federal 210M primer, Remington case, OAL 3.050 average 2800 fps from 29" barrel.
Both of these loads really kill deer very well and are tack drivers in my sporter 96 Swede.
Glass bedding your action and free floating your barrel will help greatly. I used a Choate stock that is about the same as the Ramline and I had to glass the action to get good accuracy. The forearm is pretty flexible also so I can't use a Harris bipod attached to it and get any accuracy at all. If I just rest the rifle on the forearm over sand bags it shoots great. I may get a Bell & Carlson full aluminum bed stock some day for it. I put a Bold adjustable trigger with the safety on my rifle also. It is a great trigger for the money. I made my own bolt handle and cut the old straight (bent down) one off and had it welded on and had it drilled and tapped for a Leupold one piece scope base. They really make a good shooter. By the way I did not chop up a perfect military 96 Mauser to make my sporter. I rescued one some BUBBA had hacked up the stock and bent down the bolt handle.
First off, did you leave the barrel 29" long? I hope you did because you can really get some good velocity out of it with lower pressure loads.
For a good very light target load I have found that the accuracy load that came out of the Sierra 4th edition manual as far as the powder charge goes is very accurate. Here is the load that I use in all 5 of my Swedes.
37.8 grs IMR 4895, CCI BR2 primer, Remington case, 140 gr Sierra Match King, OAL 3.050. This as long as I could load it and have it work through the magazine good. It is a tack driver.
For hunting loads I have found that the MAX 45,000 CUP loads given by Accurate Arms with their AA 4350 powder are the trick.
Here is what works for me.
120 Sierra pro hunter or Nosler ballistic tip 46 grs AA4350, Federal 210M primer, Remington case, OAL 3.050 average 2980 fps from 29" barrel.
140 Sierra game king or Hornady SP, 45 grs AA4350, Federal 210M primer, Remington case, OAL 3.050 average 2800 fps from 29" barrel.
Both of these loads really kill deer very well and are tack drivers in my sporter 96 Swede.
Glass bedding your action and free floating your barrel will help greatly. I used a Choate stock that is about the same as the Ramline and I had to glass the action to get good accuracy. The forearm is pretty flexible also so I can't use a Harris bipod attached to it and get any accuracy at all. If I just rest the rifle on the forearm over sand bags it shoots great. I may get a Bell & Carlson full aluminum bed stock some day for it. I put a Bold adjustable trigger with the safety on my rifle also. It is a great trigger for the money. I made my own bolt handle and cut the old straight (bent down) one off and had it welded on and had it drilled and tapped for a Leupold one piece scope base. They really make a good shooter. By the way I did not chop up a perfect military 96 Mauser to make my sporter. I rescued one some BUBBA had hacked up the stock and bent down the bolt handle.
CHECK YOUR HEADSPACE. Do the numbers on your bolt match the ones on your receiver? Many surplus mausers, even swedes, have mismatched bolts that may headspace well for one rifle and not another due to variances in manufacture. They were matched up at one time, but some bonehead reassembled them to the wrong rifles. The fact that fire forming out your shoulder cured your light strike problem is a strong indicator of this. There is also a condition where the interface between the bolt shroud and body become worn causing a bit of slop that robs the firing pin of energy when it strikes.
Not a big deal so long as you are aware of it and use fireformed brass or light loads in your rifle. Buy factory brass and use a start load with a light bullet for your first firing. I would avoid firing more commercial ammo, especially any of europpean origin (usually loaded hotter) until you have your headspace checked. If you need to correct headspace with a standard barrel, you will have to get one or more bolt assemblies and start swapping bolt bodies, shrouds and cocking pieces trial and error until you find parts that match your chamber.
These old mausers are can be great shooters. If the bore is good and the action tight, they should shoot. Before doing anything radical in terms of bedding or floating, check all the screws and pull your stock and look for rub marks in the barrel channel and even fitting of the recoil lug. Any uneven contact in this area will throw off your groups. I would not be surprised to see a shiney spot on the left or right side or your channel. Also some of these military rifles have significant throat and crown erosion. Sometimes they will require a longer COL or a re-crown to shoot well due to damage in these areas.
Not a big deal so long as you are aware of it and use fireformed brass or light loads in your rifle. Buy factory brass and use a start load with a light bullet for your first firing. I would avoid firing more commercial ammo, especially any of europpean origin (usually loaded hotter) until you have your headspace checked. If you need to correct headspace with a standard barrel, you will have to get one or more bolt assemblies and start swapping bolt bodies, shrouds and cocking pieces trial and error until you find parts that match your chamber.
These old mausers are can be great shooters. If the bore is good and the action tight, they should shoot. Before doing anything radical in terms of bedding or floating, check all the screws and pull your stock and look for rub marks in the barrel channel and even fitting of the recoil lug. Any uneven contact in this area will throw off your groups. I would not be surprised to see a shiney spot on the left or right side or your channel. Also some of these military rifles have significant throat and crown erosion. Sometimes they will require a longer COL or a re-crown to shoot well due to damage in these areas.
- Thread starter
- #7
He is what I had done since my last post. My gunsmith bedded the action in the stock and did some work on the firing pin assembly so the firing pin would protrude a little more. The factory ammo that would not fire, will now fire. Groups are now down under an inch with 40gr of H-4895. Velocity is 2885 out of the 23.6" barrel with a 120 BT. Pressure is fine. I am going to try 4350 and RL-17 again since the bedding job and try for more velocity. I will report results.
I would not worry too much about more velocity. That load is smoking out of that short 23.5" barrel. You don't need to push the pressure up a lot in that action. For deer size game hunting your load will do just fine. Sight in so the bullet hits 3" high at 100 yards and you will only be around 1" low at 300 yards. That is pretty flat shooting. All you have to do from muzzle out to a touch over 300 yards is hold center of a shoulder and the deer is yours.
- Thread starter
- #9
I agree that is plenty for a 120. With the Remington brass, I would say the 4895 load is max for my gun. Recently I tried some 140 A-Maxs and wow. RL-17 (45gr) and IMR-4831(47.5gr) clocked a little over 2800 and shot under 3/4 inch for 3 shots. Every group is 2 shots touching with one off. I am going to try messing with the seating depth and see if it tightens up. I am seating the 140 A-Max at 3.13.
