military rifle parts lot/Mauser barreled action

[Mustang51]

I recently won a "parts lot" at an on-line auction.

I was primarily interested in the 1903 springfield barrel and the 03A3 stock. Also included was a .308 Mauser barreled action and stock. The 03A3 stock turned out to be a Smith Corona and the 1903 Springfield barrel appears to have been an unused take off, or at least a lightly used one.

The barreled Mauser action turned out to be pretty nice too--It is a converted military action. I was a little leery of it, because it was so highly polished and blued, that I couldn't tell the make, but was finally able to make out the manufacturer on the rail--FN


It has a Timney trigger and what looks like a Timney low safety. The turn down on the military bolt is one of the nicest jobs I've seen. It has been D&T'd.


I can't identify the barrel, but it is a 6 groove, 24" barrel measuring .650" at the bore, 1.22" at the receiver end and .975" at the end of the chamber taper. It seems like a "heavy sporter" or a "light varmint" contour.


The stock looks nicer than it is..

 

[hartmen]

is the .308 for sale?

 

[Mr_Pale_Horse]

Likewise, I am interested. I lost out on a Gunbroker sporter based on Venezuelan 24/30 from FN a month ago.

 

[Mustang51]

Not for sale at this time. I'm trying to find out what I can about it at this time.

Any ideas on the barrel maker? I'm a military rifle collector and 6 groove barrels are rare in that realm. Are 6 groove barrels common for commercial barrels?

 

[kaferhaus]

Are 6 groove barrels common for commercial barrels?

No.

If it was sold as a "parts lot", there's a reason...... just saying. I'd have it thoroughly looked over by a competent gunsmith who's experienced with Mausers.

 

[Mustang51]

If it was sold as a "parts lot", there's a reason...... just saying. I'd have it thoroughly looked over by a competent gunsmith who's experienced with Mausers.

I appreciate the caution and will use care.

I bought this at an on-line sale where hundreds of guns were sold. I believe that the auction house sold these "parts" because they were not assembled as a gun. The sport stock that is shown appears to be for the barreled action, but the inletting is not complete.

If 6 groove commercial barrels aren't common, does anyone know which manufacturers make them. Is there any way to know who the barrel maker is? I can't find any markings, other than the caliber on the barrel.

Thanks

 

[Mr_Pale_Horse]

Lilja and Pac-Nor both offer 6 groove 30 caliber barrels.

 

[Mustang51]

I got my .308 field gauge today and the barreled action will not close on it.

I ordered an inexpensive Butler Creek stock from CDNN for it, also. Guess I need a scope mount and rings. I've already got a scope that I can mount on it.

I'm kinda new to this...anyone have any suggestions for an appropriate mount and rings?

Thanks

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Since it is a military/sporter conversion be sure the scope mount hole are properly spaced. I would take the Redfield/Leupold mount off of the other .308 sporter you have and see if the holes line up. If they dont you will be stuck using only 2 pc bases. If they do line up,either 1 or 2 pc bases for a large ring mauser,Parker hale,Remington M798, Charles Daly etc,etc... My personal favorite is Talley's mount/base combo.

 

[Mustang51]

Are the 1 piece mounts better...assuming that the holes line up?

 

[jimmyraythomason]

The Redfield/Leupold bases are made of steel whether 1pc or 2. The Talleys that I use are made from aluminum. They all seem to work fine. Go with the aluminum if you are building a light weight rifle.

 

[Mr_Pale_Horse]

Are the 1 piece mounts better...assuming that the holes line up?

It's a trade off.

The 1 piece, in many applications, will use 1 less screw, it sets up the ring mounting points coplanar and colinear, and tells you right away whether your mounting surfaces are within tolerances. But, it also takes up space under the scope and limits access to the magazine.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

You may run into a shim situation at the rear of the receiver. In removing the charger hump and polishing it APPEARS that a lot of metal has been removed. It may cause your rear mount or rear of a 1pc mount to be too low requiring shimming. Brownell's sells a shim kit for this situation (if you need it).

 

[Mustang51]

A stock for the Mauser finally arrived from Midway today and it fits nicely. It is a Hogue overmolded with pillar bedding. Might need to trim just a hair of the rubber overmolding around the top of the barrel with an exacto knife

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Looks good! Have you shot it yet?

 

[Mustang51]

Looks good! Have you shot it yet?

Not yet--need to mount some optics and get to the range.

I did order one of those stocks from CDNN, but could not get it to fit. The barrel channel was too small for the profile of this barrel.

It slipped right into the Hogue.

 

[NCsmitty]

Your rifle looks great Mustang51, I have a Hogue on one of my Mausers and I love the feel of that stock. The grip gives you confidence when you set up for shooting off the bench. You'll see what I mean.



NCsmitty

 

[Mustang51]

Thanks, smitty.

Wondering what mount/rings to get for this Mauser

 

[451 Detonics]

For the scope mounts it is going to be decided by what it was drilled for. Check a set of Weavers first...they work fine and and are inexpensive. I recently bought an incomplete 98 sporter, it was drilled for FN mounts as it turned out. For rings I would go with any quality steel rings and stay away from the cheaper aluminum versions. I like Millet as you can do some windage adjustment with the rings if need be. Mine is still in 8mm but the barrel has been cut to 22 inches and recrowned, with cheap surplus it shoots 1.5" at 100 yards. I used a Boyd thumbhole stock and added both a Gibbs 3 shot detachable mag as well as a 20 round trench magazine.

 

[BrocLuno]

Nice build With the step from rear to front, it looks like you may have to try some different bases - especially on the rear. If you have a gunsmith around who has a stock of older Weaver bases he can try a few to see what gets the closest?

 

[Mustang51]

I finally mounted a scope on this Rifle..a Nikon 4.5-14 Buckmaster. I took it out this morning and got a few shots with it at the range.



After shooting several different kinds of .308 factory ammo, and getting the rough scope sighted in, I shot these groups with .308 168 grain Federal GMM ammo


I was constantly frustrated by my third shot--it was usually a flier. I dropped the fliers and measured the 3 shot group (I know, I know..it's not kosher, but...) and came up with groups of .696,.942, and .605


Question..
-I believe that the shots that I fired today, about 40 or so with different brands of ammo are the first rounds through this barrel. Can I realistically expect an improvement in accuracy as I fire more rounds through this rifle?


Thanks

 

[WyrTwister]

I got my .308 field gauge today and the barreled action will not close on it.

I ordered an inexpensive Butler Creek stock from CDNN for it, also. Guess I need a scope mount and rings. I've already got a scope that I can mount on it.

I'm kinda new to this...anyone have any suggestions for an appropriate mount and rings?

Thanks

I would check it with a no-go .

God bless
Wyr

 

[WyrTwister]

I finally mounted a scope on this Rifle..a Nikon 4.5-14 Buckmaster. I took it out this morning and got a few shots with it at the range.



After shooting several different kinds of .308 factory ammo, and getting the rough scope sighted in, I shot these groups with .308 168 grain Federal GMM ammo


I was constantly frustrated by my third shot--it was usually a flier. I dropped the fliers and measured the 3 shot group (I know, I know..it's not kosher, but...) and came up with groups of .696,.942, and .605


Question..
-I believe that the shots that I fired today, about 40 or so with different brands of ammo are the first rounds through this barrel. Can I realistically expect an improvement in accuracy as I fire more rounds through this rifle?


Thanks

Is the barrel free floated ?

God bless
Wyr

 

[Coltdriver]

You have a nice set up there.

If those are the first rounds through the barrel you might as well take the time to break it in with some method.

I like to shoot once and clean and repeat that ten times, then shoot five and clean and do that ten times. I let it cool good between the five round sets. I usually take one or two other rifles and plink between breakin rounds with my new rifle.

You will slowly burnish in the barrel this way and you can end up with a barrel that does not foul much.

So will it get better? Maybe. Looks like its shooting pretty good right now. You could probably hand load and get slightly better. For factory ammo that is great grouping.

 

[WardenWolf]

Very nice. You've got a very accurate rifle, looks like.