[longrifleman]

I have sorta inhereted an Argentine Mauser that my cousin was sporterizing when he was killed in a car accident. It was almost completed with just some finish work on the stock to do. He has a good Williams peep sight mounted so this would make a good truck gun/bad weather deer rifle so I will complete it and dedicate the first deer to my cousin.

The only ammo available locally was Norma. I can't afford to shoot Norma.:what: My new Speer loading manual doesn't list this caliber but Hogdon's web site gives some basic data. What manuals do have data available? I haven't checked out other powder mfg sites yet.

Nominal bullet dia. is listed at .313 so any bullets for.303 Brit, or other .311 bullets should work. I haven't slugged the bore yet but will if I decide to set up for another caliber.

Graff lists unprimed brass at a fair price. Are there any other sources?

Any help or suggestions will be appreciated.

[ClarkEMyers]

If price matters form the brass from '06- Hornady has plenty of loads so do many other sources.

[SDC]

The 6th Edition of Cartridges of the World shows a number of loads for the 7.65mm Argentine Mauser, using 150-grain .311 bullets;
Bullet weight/Powder/Powder weight/Muzzle Velocity
150 /4895 /47 /2810
150 /4895 /42 /2550

[Koveras]

It may help to know that the cartridge is also known as the 7.65 Belgian Mauser and 7.65x53 Mauser when looking for loading data. Hornady's Fifth Edition, Lyman's 47th edition and "Modern Reloading" by Richard Lee all have loading data for it.

The cartridge is sweet, but don't try to hot rod it as the '91 Mauser actions are not incredibly strong. I like the Hornady 174 gr RN bullets in mine.

I reformed brass from 7x57 cases. You can use 30 '06 brass, but you have to trim a lot more.

[longrifleman]

Another question. I have never reformed brass like this. Are you using a standard full length die or a series of dies to remake the case from .30-06 to 7.65 Arg? How are you marking the case to prevent putting a .311 bullet down a .308 barrel?


Thanks for the info on other manuals to check out. My shop burned down a few years ago and all my older manuals went poof.

[ClarkEMyers]

If all you have is the 7.65 sizing die that will work just fine.

Notice that you may choose to trim beforehand with a hacksaw - new blade reserved for cartridge brass will work nicely - NOT trying for final OAL length here leaving just a tad for a case trimmer but feel free to take it down to final OAL if that works for you. FREX stick the hacksaw blade up in a vise - or put the case between centers or spin it with a Lee or ........

If you have a nice collection of dies on hand you may have some combination of existing dies that works well for you to do it in stages. See the reference to forming from 7X57 for suggestions on intermediate stages - watch work hardening again. That is .30-'06 -> 8X57 -> whatever is easiest for you - Imperial Wax not spray lube is my preference watch shoulder dents if you use a stamp pad and semi-liquid.

You can very easily form in one pass with a form and trim die - the sort of thing with the file hardened top. One pass, hacksaw the top with a sharp blade one stroke then file the balance for a smooth neck then chamfer.

Model railroading, Brownells, your drugstore or sometimes your gunshop will sell you things like Brass Black or there is a nice chemical dip way to get a fairly bright red that works.

I mostly mark with nail polish/Testors model paints - color code for loads too - but I also don't sweat it - have you tried chambering and firing in a strong .30-'06? I am by no means suggesting it but I'd expect it to work no problem in anything that chambers it - again I am by no means suggesting it but .45 ACP held against the bolt face by a Mauser style extractor will swage down just fine. Notice that nice looking guns have been damaged by factory ammunition in the proper cartridge so don't do this at home.

[Cosmoline]

Is it a '91 or an '09 Argie?? There's a huge difference. The '09 is a '98 pattern Mauser of great strength. It favors standard weight bullets. The '91 is a pre-98 Mauser with a very different design. These tend to favor heavy RN bullets at over 200 grains moving at a sedate velocity. You can add +p in the '09's, but never in the '91's.

[Gordon]

To me the 7.65 Belgian is one of the ideal cast bullet cart's. I like the 215 grain gascheck flat point .303 bullet with RL-7 loads at about 1900fps(more like 1700fps from my carbine but listed as 1900fps loads). I don't size them,depending on the mix they are .313" as they fall from mold. These seem to fill the old 91 carbine barrels I have well. They produce 2" groups at 50 yards where the later 185 grain Arggie ball only goes 4". :)

[longrifleman]

It is a '91. I wasn't interested in cranking up the velocity. With peep sights and my eyes 100 yd normal with 200 yds as a max is enough. Any decent bullet at moderate velocity should handle anything I will see around here. I haven't had to shoot a charging rhino for at least two weeks.:D

[Cosmoline]

For the '91, I had excellent results with custom made 220 grain RN .313" and 215 grain .312" Woodleigh bullets. I used powder levels for a .30-40 Krag and kept velocities nice and low. Accuracy with my '91 with spitzer ball was 4 MOA or worse. With that same rifle and the heavy, slow bullets accuracy snapped down to 1 MOA. It didn't so much go "bang" as "PAAFF" when it fired. Plus, you could hear the "THWAP" down range as the big slug hit home. I would have gone hunting with them, but sadly I moved to my homestead where conditions were simply too rough for the old Mauser. Those heavy slugs could bring down big game, no problem.

[Pumpkinheaver]

Graf and sons in Missouri has 7.65 brass for sale and I beleive they sell loaded ammo for it as well. If I can find there web address I will post it here.

[Pumpkinheaver]

www.grafs.com


The brass is $27.99 per 100, or $125.96 per 500

[ballistic gelatin]

I have a 1909 and don't shoot it very much at all. But I buy as much 7.65 ammo as I can find and afford.