Okay, I have decided to buy myself a Mauser, of the 98 actcion flavor. Had a 95 once and never got used that 'cock on closing' thing...
Anyway, I want to use the thing for hunting. I'm going to drill and tap it for scope mounts for sure, and I'm thinking about converting it to another caliber. Has anyone ever done this before? How much does a gunsmith normally charge to chage a mauser barrel? What are some good calibers to convert to?
My plan is to end up with 2 rifles sooner or latter (probably latter cause of my budget, I'm a student), on for Deer sized or smaller game and one for anything bigger than Deer. I'm not sure what I want this Mauser to be yet, but here is what I'm thinking:
Option #1: Leave the original barrel on there, assuming it shoots with some degree of accuracry. From what I know about the 8mm Mauser (8X57) round, it sould make a good 'universal' hunting round, good for deer or elk, just about anything but bear. Sort of like .30-06. Have any of you hunted with this caliber? Would you recomend this option?
Option #2: Make it a Deer gun. I'm thinking if I re-barrel it with this in mind I want to make it a .25-06, but I'm still open to sujestions on the caliber. Any ideas?
Option #3: Make it an Elk gun. I'm thinking .35 Whelen, or maybe .338-06, but I'm not sure about the .338-06 cause even though I reload, I'd like to avoid wildcat calibers. Again, I'm open to sujestions.
It will probably be a couple of months before I buy the gun. I have a few bills I need to pay first, so right now I'm just in the planning stage. I am farily new to the world of the Mauser, and bolt actions in general (up till now I've always hunted with my Winchester model 94 .30-30, a pre-64 even ). But I've only hunted deer, and only hunted in the brush where a scope is more of a hassle than an asset. This is no longer the case, as I'm planning a hunting trip to north east Oregon next year, where long shots are much more likely. I'll also be hunting Elk. The model 94 isn't the ideal rifle for this kinda hunting, so I started looking into bolt actions. I noticed that I can get an Un-issued mauser for under $200.00, but a new Ruger, Winchester, or Remington is gonna cost me at least twice that. I think that even if I re-barrel a Mauser, it will still work out to be cheaper, and the gun will have a bit more 'character'...
Anyway, I want to use the thing for hunting. I'm going to drill and tap it for scope mounts for sure, and I'm thinking about converting it to another caliber. Has anyone ever done this before? How much does a gunsmith normally charge to chage a mauser barrel? What are some good calibers to convert to?
My plan is to end up with 2 rifles sooner or latter (probably latter cause of my budget, I'm a student), on for Deer sized or smaller game and one for anything bigger than Deer. I'm not sure what I want this Mauser to be yet, but here is what I'm thinking:
Option #1: Leave the original barrel on there, assuming it shoots with some degree of accuracry. From what I know about the 8mm Mauser (8X57) round, it sould make a good 'universal' hunting round, good for deer or elk, just about anything but bear. Sort of like .30-06. Have any of you hunted with this caliber? Would you recomend this option?
Option #2: Make it a Deer gun. I'm thinking if I re-barrel it with this in mind I want to make it a .25-06, but I'm still open to sujestions on the caliber. Any ideas?
Option #3: Make it an Elk gun. I'm thinking .35 Whelen, or maybe .338-06, but I'm not sure about the .338-06 cause even though I reload, I'd like to avoid wildcat calibers. Again, I'm open to sujestions.
It will probably be a couple of months before I buy the gun. I have a few bills I need to pay first, so right now I'm just in the planning stage. I am farily new to the world of the Mauser, and bolt actions in general (up till now I've always hunted with my Winchester model 94 .30-30, a pre-64 even ). But I've only hunted deer, and only hunted in the brush where a scope is more of a hassle than an asset. This is no longer the case, as I'm planning a hunting trip to north east Oregon next year, where long shots are much more likely. I'll also be hunting Elk. The model 94 isn't the ideal rifle for this kinda hunting, so I started looking into bolt actions. I noticed that I can get an Un-issued mauser for under $200.00, but a new Ruger, Winchester, or Remington is gonna cost me at least twice that. I think that even if I re-barrel a Mauser, it will still work out to be cheaper, and the gun will have a bit more 'character'...