Mauser Sporters

[ldg397]

So who here has experience with this old pastime. I wasn't really interested in it until I started doing more and more of my own work on my guns and lately have been fondling the old mausers that are just about everywhere you look.

Then the other day I happened onto an old 1909 Argentine Mauser (still has the crest which I read is unusual) that someone had started the sporterizing process on. It already has been tapped for scope, the bolt handle is forged for scope has a replacement trigger with side safety like a remington. It still has the original barrel which looks to be an arsenal rebarrel or rechambered to 30-06 from the odd ball argentine round. It is one ugly barrel in a sporter stock with the top not covered by the handguards. They also have filed off the hump on the back of the receiver which is pretty rough and needs some smoothing. I think I could talk him out of it for under $200 which makes on thing obvious that whatever you do to it doesn't increase its value.

If I go into this undertaking what caliber would you choose. I was thinking about either of the following 35 whelen, 338-06 or 300 H&H. Not sure if all of those will work on a 98 action but I am sure guys will tell me.

 

[BK]

Because I already have a Whelen, I would choose H&H, .338-06 and Whelen in that order. Of course, that would be if it's long enough.

But I sure would love a really nice wood stocked Mauser Whelen. Or 9.3x62.

 

[Desert Fox]

I think the 300 H&H will be too long. So it's a toss-up between the 338-06 or the 35 Whelen. The actio is long enough for either a 300 Win Mag or the 338 Win Mag.

I own two 1909 Argentine Mauser. With it's hinged floor plate and a smooth finish, It is more desirable to sporterized the Argie than any other Mauser.

 

[Guy Miner]

They're neat actions, and fun to mess with. It could be made up into any number of different cartridges - pretty much whatever you want, although yes, cartridge length could play a role. Am in the process of (slowly) working over a '98 that's set up as a .257 Weatherby mag. Nice old rifle. My son hopes to take a mule deer with it this coming season.

Enjoy that old Mauser!

 

[DrMike]

You have a great find in the old Mauser. You would not have any difficulty in converting to either the 35 Whelen or the 338-06. Either would be a great cartridge. Bullet availability and selection is better for the 338 calibre, properly headstamped brass is easier to come by for the 35 Whelen. Either cartridge is a powerhouse for large game and underrated. I don't believe you would ever regret either of those cartridges built on the Mauser action.

 

[Polaris]

If you're looking for heavy hitters, all of the 35 whelen, 338-06 will be an easy build. Anything with a fatter case, you will have to do some bolt face and magazine widening. Easier to work with 30-06 size cases.

If you want something flatter, 280 rem, 6.5-06, 260 rem, 25-06, 257 roberts or ackley are all great options.

For a classic mauser, 9.3X62, 7.92X57, 7X57 or 6.5X55 are naturals.

Pretty vanilla for most folks, but you might consider good ol'30-06 or .308 for your first build. There are some good new old stock barrels in mil. or sporter contour at Sarco in these calibers.

The Argentine actions are quality pre WWI German or Czech construction, usually Ludwig Lowe or DWM. Some are BRNO. Some of the best available. I would put some glass on it and see how that barrel shoots. You can always turn the steps off if it's a shooter.

 

[PJGunner]

"It still has the original barrel which looks to be an arsenal rebarrel or rechambered to 30-06 from the odd ball argentine round."

You might want to slug that barrel. A .308" bullet will probably not shoot too well in a .312" bore.
Not too long ago I had a custom .280 Rem. built on a DWM 1909 Argentine. Very pretty and a bit expensive but boy does it get compliments at the range. The nice tight groups don't hurt. I've only done work with the 160 gr. Speer Grand Slam and Hornady 175 gr. Interlocks and the worst groups were right at 1.25" I'm sure some tinkering with the loads will bring the groups into the MOA/sub-MOA range.
Paul B.

 

[Elkman]

Whelen or 338/06 both are great I have owned both, I think the 338/06 is slightly superior, but the one I had did not shoot well. The Whelen I have shoots great! Either one will do fine, and be suitable for most NA game up to 300 + yards.

 

[PJGunner]

I guess I should stick a few comments in this thread. Someone said the .300 H&H was too long to use in a Mauser. Well, yes and no. What you have to do is remove some of the metal in the lower front of the receiver right behind where the lower locking lug slides into it's notch. That's only part of what needs to be done but let me address this first. This is commonly done when converting Mausers to the .300 and .375 H&H cartridges. Check out a Mark X Mauser in .375 sometime. Now some people think this weakens the gun too much but Holland and Holland have done these conversion for way too many years for it to be a problem. next, the magazine has to ne lengthened both front and back to accomdate the longer cartridges. All this is very labor intensive and labor costs will raise the price of that custom rifle exponentially. I've built four custom rifles on Mausers so I have a fairly good idea what the costs are. On one, other than the metal work, mosyly a rebarrel done by a late friend who was a hobby gunsmith, ran me all of $125.00. it's one of he most accurate 30-06s I own I did the stock work myself by glass bedding the gun into a McMillan stock. On the other hand, my .280 Rem. with nice Walnut, top of the line Douglas barrel, rust blue job, Neidner buttplate and grip cap was a cool $3,000 and the gunsmith actually cut me a break. He did the metal work and the stock was done by Sterling Davenport. I'm sad to say Sterling has gone into retirement and here I have another project in the works.
Now with all that said, just how far do you want to go? If you were using my gunsmith, a rebarrel to say the .35 Whelen would run between $400 and $500, maybe a bit more. But that barrel would have a proper 1 in12" twist unless you wanted something else. (I don't recommend it.) the barrel literally set up to match standards and the barrel properly bedded into the stock. For a few bucks more, a proper glass bedding and barrel free float will most likely give you a rifle that will shoot right at MOA or even less. You might find a smith who might be a little cheaper but remember. You only get what you pay for. My smith can do a 338-06 or .35 Whelen but I don't think he has a reamer for the 9.3 anything.
All I will say is good work ain't cheap. You could always send your rifle to Darcy Echols and have him make you one of his Legend rifles. They only run around $10,000, give or take a thou. But then you would have a rifle that would be as close to perfection as is humanly possible. I only wish I could afford one.
Paul B.

 

[Oldtrader3]

The cheapest way to lengthen a magazine box is to take two of them and cut them to be the exact length that you need for the .300 H&H cartridge and weld them (or Braze) to be the correct length.

 

[efw]

I happen to really like the 9.3x62, 338-06, 30-06, 280 AI, 7x57, and 257 AI in a Mauser.

The 338-06 is a fantastic round which performs very nearly as well as the Win Mag. I've run the numbers and you get something like 4% more velocity from the WM with about 20% more propellant. The '06 is within 150 fps even with the 250s.

As others have said, the Argentine is a fantastic action and definately the best military mauser action around for customization.

In my opinion the mods necessary to make these full-H&H length are more pricey than they're worth. If you're looking at a magnum that has "classic gravitas" and 300 H&H performance, you might consider a 308 Norma Mag which is simlar to our 30-338 Mag that was a long range hit in the late-50s. and early-60s.

The Argentine is worth an awful lot more than the $200 you're thinking you're going to get it for. I'd be all over it, personally.

Great find! I look forward to hearing about what you decide!

 

[JD338]

Eric,

I'm thinking you have a 338-06 so I would say get a 280 AI or a 35 Whelen. The 9.3x62 would be very cool.

JD338

 

[boolit]

Had a 91 Arg..... shot 4 inch groups at 300 with v-notch irons....with belgium surplus, what a rifle. The barrel was better than average.

 

[BK]

Forgot about the .308 Norma... that'd be cool also.

 

[martineta]

I have been working in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay for 34 years. Lots and lots of the old argentine mausers floating around down here. If I ever decide to buy one, I will keep it in the 7mm argentine round. They have great ballistics as they are.