need some suggestions...

[brian923]

i am wanting to convert my military turk mauser into a good hunting rifle.
(i.e. sporterize.) i am stuck in what caliber i want to persue. i am currently building a heavy barrel 7mm rem mag, on a savage action. so i have soething that will really reach out and touch something. i think that i want to make the mauser into a good, large pill pushin hunting rifle. effective ranges out to 250-300 yards.

i am having troubles choosing between:
8x57 (and reloading)to get to european ballistics
338/06
35 whelen
338 federal
or maybe something else?

i need your help. please give me your opinoins. i have access to a machine shop, and i do like reloading. so, i am not stuck to calibers that are made just for the turk mauser, and i do not need a caliber that is readaly availible in supermarkets. thank guys, brian

 

[critter]

I have Mauser 98's (not Turks) that were redone into .270 Win, 25-06 and two in .35 Whelen. All of them are great successes and shoot well.

I really like the 'thumpability' of the .35 Whelen. It is just fine for small whitetails and will do just fine thank you for larger game if given the chance. It is not a 500 yard caliber, but long shots are quite rare anyway in many areas.

Another plus for the .35 is that you can download it using .357 mag bullets. The loads prove to be very accurate in my guns, a real hoot to shoot and make good plinking loads for kids, etc. They are also, btw, explosive on vermin and varmits.

EASY to reload for using .35 Whelen brass or even 30-06 brass which is plentiful. One trip through the sizer and the expander ball makes the 30-06
-> .35 Whelen brass. A wide vareity of common powders work quite well too.

Good luck. Building a gun like that is a fun project.

 

[pinotguy]

Considering you reload, I'd suggest something like 9.3x62 Mauser or 9.3x64 Brenneke. The x62 is the Euro version of the Whelen while the x64 matches (through hand-loading) the 375 H&H. Both will fit the standard Mauser action although the Brenneke will require some bolt face and, probably, extractor modification. Its rim is ~ .495" so it's a little bigger than standard cartridges. Brass for these is pretty easy to find and the bullet selection is very good. Granted, there aren't as many bullets offered in .366 but the ones that are available are premium - Barnes, Swift, Nosler, Woodleigh, etc.