Spanish 1916 Mauser + DAG Plastic Ammunition = Fun

I received my new-to-me Spanish 1916 Mauser and had the opportunity to fire off a couple of the DAG plastic training ammunition I purchased specifically for this rifle (20 boxes of 50).

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1226/5166824716_64d946f765_z.jpg

I only fired 3 rounds as I just wanted to get an idea of how these plastic rounds fired.

First off, they are loud. They're about as loud as a center-fire handgun.
Second, there's hardly any recoil. It seems to compares to about a .22 magnum (rifle) in recoil; more recoil than a .22LR, but more of a "nudge" than a "kick".
Third, they appear to hit dead center of what you're aiming at (which is great as I plan on only firing these from this rifle).
Finally, they will absolutely tear through a 3/4" plywood board at 15 yards with some serious gusto!

Below is the hole one of these puppies made. I suspect it may have torn through a 2nd board had it stood behind the first.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1235/5166825182_01290de86d_z.jpg

I dug the projectile from the backstop and the one that struck the board is the expanded slug in the center.

The slug on the far right was fired into bare earth. Strangely, it completely expanded to the base of the shank. It could be due to the heavy concentration of clay in the soil, but was certainly unexpected.

A "pulled" slug is at the far left for comparison.

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4113/5166825474_2c78720f66_z.jpg

I thought I'd share this as it looks like a fun combination. Hopefully soon I'll target some pumpkins at 25-50 yards with this combo to see what happens.

What training is normally accomplished with those things?

I bet at distance they start to turn corners since they're so light.

For your 1916, I'd recommend getting a cartidge conversion from MCAce and start blasting away with 7.62Tok, probably cheaper than those plastic rounds, and more punch...but that's great penetration for plastic through wood!

Neat! Thanks for the update, Snowdog. BTW, how do they feed and extract in the Mauser?

:)

I have shot a bunch of that ammo in my ishapore enfield. Between the plastic training ammo and my 7.62x25 to .308 arbors, I spend more time shooting them than "real" .308.

Try some water filled 2 liter bottles as targets. I wonder if the
velocity is over 4000 fps.

Dog control? baaahahaha our neighbors consistently fail to contain their dobermans, pitbulls, huskies, and rottweilers.

BTW, how do they feed and extract in the Mauser?

They seem to feed, fire and extract wonderfully. However, they don't eject all that well. One empty was flung to the side, but the other two were extracted but just sat atop the next loaded cartridge requiring me to pluck them out or tilt the rifle for them to roll out. I'm wondering if this is just a characteristic of the rifle that might require me to throw open the bolt with a bit more purpose.

I wonder if the velocity is over 4000 fps.

The next time I have my chrono and enfield at the range I will shoot some and post the results.


However, they don't eject all that well. One empty was flung to the side, but the other two were extracted but just sat atop the next loaded cartridge requiring me to pluck them out or tilt the rifle for them to roll out. I'm wondering if this is just a characteristic of the rifle that might require me to throw open the bolt with a bit more purpose.

They do the same thing in my enfield.

Dog control? baaahahaha our neighbors consistently fail to contain their dobermans, pitbulls, huskies, and rottweilers.It isn't toy ammunition...these things have some decent power, it might just kill the dog. Not to say that is necessarily a bad thing, dependent upon the circumstances, but it is not what you want for "shooing away" any animal.

They seem to feed, fire and extract wonderfully. However, they don't eject all that well. One empty was flung to the side, but the other two were extracted but just sat atop the next loaded cartridge requiring me to pluck them out or tilt the rifle for them to roll out. I'm wondering if this is just a characteristic of the rifle that might require me to throw open the bolt with a bit more purpose.Good to know. I don't know your experience level with Mausers, but the ejection is solely a factor of the speed of bolt throw...you can make the cases lay in a neat pile next to the rifle or send 'em to the next county if you pull it back quickly enough. That said, this particular ammo was not designed for this rifle, so that may not be the case in this instance (especially considering wnycollector's similar experience with a different rifle).

:)