My grandfather was a WWII vet and fought in the south pacific. Some time after he returned home, he purchased a European theater bring back Mauser 98...specifically a Karabiner 98k and like so many people did back then he sporterized it. He used it as a hunting rifle for many years.
Down the road, it became my fathers...who also used it for hunting. It was rebarreled and changed over to a 30.06 somewhere along the way. It has an old sporter stock on it but neither he or my grandfather ever got around to getting it drilled or tapped for a scope. Even though that was always the plan.
Then, I used it for hunting in my youth...still open sight with the plan of putting a scope on it one day.
As I have gotten older (I'm 32 now) my flare for hunting has all but disappeared. I love shooting, I spend a ton of time at the range working on my skills...but for me it is more about improving my abilities. I simply have no interest in hunting.
Typically, I enjoy shooting military type (or similar) firearms (I own a M1 Garand, another Karabiner 98k, AR-15, Mini-14, MPi-KM type AK-47, Colt, 1911, Beretta 92FS, P08 Luger) and that's what I shoot. This Mauser doesn't fit my interests for shooting as it sits and I only keep it because it has been through three generations with my family.
I have a hard time keeping a firearm I don't shoot. It takes up space and I just don't want the excess. The range where I spend most of my time does 600 yard competitions and I have been thinking it's something I want to get into. My thought was...maybe I should rebuild this rifle into something for long range target shooting. As a kid, I planned on rebuilding it for hunting so it would basically be the same thing.
The trigger is garbage and needs to be rebuilt. It has a decent barrel on it but part of me think it might be worth rebarreling it for .308 for long range shooting. A new properly bedded stock and a nice scope and I think I could put this rifle to good use.
I guess my first question is caliber. I know most people consider .308 to be better for long distance shooting than a 30.06. Is it worth rebarreling this rifle? As it sits, the bore is good but I don't know the twist rate and I have read for this distance that you want a heavier bullet so you want a faster twist.
My initial assumption is the 30.06 is probably fine...I'm not a professional shooter and I think the shooter makes the difference over the gun (experience has shown me that). But, if I'm going to restock the rifle, add a scope, do the trigger and make a really nice piece out of...is looking into a new barrel (in .308) worth considering?
Down the road, it became my fathers...who also used it for hunting. It was rebarreled and changed over to a 30.06 somewhere along the way. It has an old sporter stock on it but neither he or my grandfather ever got around to getting it drilled or tapped for a scope. Even though that was always the plan.
Then, I used it for hunting in my youth...still open sight with the plan of putting a scope on it one day.
As I have gotten older (I'm 32 now) my flare for hunting has all but disappeared. I love shooting, I spend a ton of time at the range working on my skills...but for me it is more about improving my abilities. I simply have no interest in hunting.
Typically, I enjoy shooting military type (or similar) firearms (I own a M1 Garand, another Karabiner 98k, AR-15, Mini-14, MPi-KM type AK-47, Colt, 1911, Beretta 92FS, P08 Luger) and that's what I shoot. This Mauser doesn't fit my interests for shooting as it sits and I only keep it because it has been through three generations with my family.
I have a hard time keeping a firearm I don't shoot. It takes up space and I just don't want the excess. The range where I spend most of my time does 600 yard competitions and I have been thinking it's something I want to get into. My thought was...maybe I should rebuild this rifle into something for long range target shooting. As a kid, I planned on rebuilding it for hunting so it would basically be the same thing.
The trigger is garbage and needs to be rebuilt. It has a decent barrel on it but part of me think it might be worth rebarreling it for .308 for long range shooting. A new properly bedded stock and a nice scope and I think I could put this rifle to good use.
I guess my first question is caliber. I know most people consider .308 to be better for long distance shooting than a 30.06. Is it worth rebarreling this rifle? As it sits, the bore is good but I don't know the twist rate and I have read for this distance that you want a heavier bullet so you want a faster twist.
My initial assumption is the 30.06 is probably fine...I'm not a professional shooter and I think the shooter makes the difference over the gun (experience has shown me that). But, if I'm going to restock the rifle, add a scope, do the trigger and make a really nice piece out of...is looking into a new barrel (in .308) worth considering?