This old mauser

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mtnbkr

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Dec 25, 2002
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What to do, what to do...

I have an old mauser (aren't they all?) that I'm not sure what to do with anymore. It's a Brazilian in 30-06 (stepped barrel for FL stock). It was given to me in poor shape by a friend who no longer wanted it. When I got it, the firing pin was broken, the stock was cracked and covered in cosmoline, the finish was uneven, and the action was moderately pitted (refinished over the pits). The finish is some sort of greenish parkerized looking finish. The number on the bolt did not match the number on the rifle. The bolt was the bent type. The only identifier on the gun besides the crest and the place of manufacture (Fabrica De Itajuba - Brasil), was "Mq .30 M954". The barrel is also marked 30-06 and has an importer stamp from CAI.

That's how I received it. Here's what I did to bubba it up myself...

1. I replaced the nasty original stock with a cheap, birch sporter stock. I did a very poor job of inletting it and ended up sinking the action too deep into the wood.

2. Because I wanted a scope and didn't want to pay the local smiths over $100 to drill 4 holes for mounts, I got that silly ATI mount that clamps on around the receiver. I had to remove more wood from the stock to get it to fit.

3. Because the original bent bolt wouldn't clear the scope and because I didn't have the money to send it too a smith to be replaced properly, I used one of those ATI replacement handles that are attached by cutting off the original bolt, drilling/tapping a hole into the stub, and attaching the new handle with a screw. It's ugly, but works quite well.

4. I installed a bueler type safety to clear the scope.

When I got the rifle, it would shoot 6" at 50yds (after replacing the firing pin). After my bubba job, it would shoot 2" @ 50yds. An improvement, but hardly a tackdriver.

Fast forward 3 years...I have a nice rifle now and this truck gun candidate sits in my safe. I've since removed the scope and mount (scope was needed elsewhere). This leaves me with a stock that doesn't fit the rifle. I'm also left with that ugly bolt handle and pitted metal.

I'm not sure what I want to do with it. I like to think it might shoot better if I get a new stock and propely inlet it, but I'm afraid to spend any money on something that might not shoot. The bore is bright and the rifling is sharp, but towards the muzzle, I can see some marks that look like lines inside the grooves and perpendicular to the axis of the bore. I have no idea how that could have happened. That might also be lint from the patches. Although, the lines where there two patches later...

Well, what would you do?

Chris
 
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