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> Mauser K98 in .303
Mauser K98 in .303
@ 01:31 am (GMT) |
JasonHiI have a WWII era k98 Mauser that at some point in it's life was rebarrelled to .303 British This is a project rifle although I'm on a very tight budget so it is a long term project... ;-) The first step I thought to take would be to replace the hacked up stock probably one of the following http://www.boydsgunstocks.com/Thumbhole-Replacement-Stocks-for-Mauser-s/46.htm http://www.boydsgunstocks.com/Monte-Carlo-Replacement-Stocks-for-Mausers-s/163.htm They also have fairly cheap adjustable triggers also. The next step would be the barrel as the existing one is only ok - i have another 303 barrel which is more ok and would probably look at getting these switched. I would keep with .303 as I have a fair amount of reloading gear and plenty of cases and unfired rounds. Would it be worth re-chambering to .303 epps improved? seems to have a number of advantages, a bit more power and longer case life What would you recommend bullet wise considering most likely targets would be the odd red deer running around the Ruahine or Kaweka ranges? |
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@ 11:01 am (GMT) |
Nathan FosterRe: Mauser K98 in .303Hi Jason, these rifles often have a bit of history to them. During the hey day of the culling years in NZ, several cullers found themselves at a crossroads. The government was issuing Mk7 .303 ammuniition which was in plentiful supply. Yet, regarding the SMLE, you never quite new what kind of a rifle you would encounter. Some SMLE's were very accurate, some were only so so. Others would shoot well under dry conditions, then walk and string shots in damp conditions. Although a great many cullers and hunters were happy with the SMLE, it is not hard to understand how, after a bad run, a culler might want to explore new avenues. The M98 was a more stable platform for potential accuracy. It lacked the speed of cycling and 10 shot capacity of the extremely fast handling Lee and also lacked the aperture sights which, with practice, made for a better long range sight. However, for the tops hunter who needed to be able to get his bullet on target out at 300-400 yards, a sound action/bedding platform was a priority. The 8x57JS cartridge was very effective yet as suggested, the Mk7 ammo was in more plentiful supply as well as being the issue.So, I would hazard to take a guess that this rifle is a remnant of the culling years with a rich history, most likely used as a tops rifle for 300-400 yard shooting and would have seen continued use into the meat/hide retrieval years until the user moved onto something more modern. There are two ways you can go with the stock, you can either trick it up and retain it for historical reasons or as you say, look at a Boyds stock (these really are good stocks) of your own liking. To trick up the existing stock, you would inlet a pistol grip and comb using contrasting wood or something that takes your fancy. Photos of such a project can be found in NZ Outdoor Magazine when the magazine was re-launched in the 1990's. The editor must surely still have photos of the project rifle (was actually an SMLE) put together by a Hans somebody (Williams I think), sorry I can't remember his surname. Improving the case is a sound idea. I don't really have any problems with case life in the .303 as I always neck size so that my hand loads head space off the shoulder so as far as the case life issue goes, I don't think this should be a deciding factor. This really is up to you and whether you want the last few fps. There is certainly a lot of case taper in the .303 available for exploitation and the rim is very handy for fireforming to new dimensions. You should not really see any loss of accuracy out to a couple of hundred yards with your fire forming loads. I have a few favorite projectiles for the .303. The 150 grain InterLock, the 150 grain Highland BTSP and the 180 grain BTSP. The straight factory Highland (Prvi Partisan / NNY) is very good in that the 180 grain ammunition is loaded to full pressures (unlike the 150 grain load). This ammunition yield a full 2400fps at the muzzle and works well on a wide range of body weights, a good option if staying with the standard .303 chamber. If you want to get serious about taking long shots on the tops, then the Sierra 174 grain SMK will be the go. But you will need to either anneal it (blow torch) or open up the hollow point a tad, just as we all had to do with the Mk 7 ammo. The SMK won't be a good goat bullet but for reds, with either annealing or opening up the HP, it will prove useful. Hope that helps for a start. |
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@ 12:37 am (GMT) |
JasonRe: Mauser K98 in .303Hi NathanThanks for your reply. Yes the guy I got the rifle off inherited it from his grandfather who had acquired it on the battle field in Crete and on return home had worked as a culler. The stock on must have also been replaced as it doesn't appear to be a K98 stock at all although it does have a recoil crossbolt so probably some othe type of Mauser stock. Would be a good candidate for my first rifle bedding attempt.... Couldn't make it much worse than it already is ;-) As for factory rounds - have tried a number of different brands but one that seems to work best with this rifle are Federal with 180g speer hot-cor sp Great tip about the 174g SMK hadn't thought of using this particular bullet, as far as modifying them goes would annealing be the best option? it wouldn't affect the properties of the bullet BC or SD, although would a hollow point improve the round for closer range/lighter animals (i.e. goats) With regard to forming a hollow point which would be better? shallow and wider or deep and narrow? or how about just machining the point off (from the pic on their website looks like the tip is empty anyway?) a flat meplat coupled with the increased velocity the stronger k98 action is capable of should increase the amount of hydrostatic shock? Thanks again for your advice. |
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@ 10:05 am (GMT) |
Nathan FosterRe: Mauser K98 in .303Hi Jason, yes, the SMK does have a hollow point but the HP is so narrow that it quite often will not initiate expansion, fragmentation or tumbling and instead, remains stable throughout penetration.You could trim the tip back, it would have to come back quite a way until there is a definite flat tip, about 1mm in diameter. The BC would be reduced by a small amount but not enough to be problematic for tops shooting. BC would be about .450. If hollow pointing, you would still need to use a fairly narrow drill bit of around 1mm diameter, depth of hole 6mm. Some of the bullet tip will most likely be lost, much like the trimming operation (you may even have to trim the tip to allow yourself to obtain centre with the drill bit). Again, BC will be around .450. Just bare in mind, this type of effort is really only required if you want a tops load for shooting at 300-400 yards etc, the goal being to ensure wide, frangible, fast killing wounds (in the absence of bone being hit such as due to wind drift). For general hunting out to 300 yards, a hand loaded fast expanding soft point like the Hornady Interlock or the Highland bulk pack projectiles (very cheap) are outstanding. No doubt there will be readers/viewers wondering why the culler did not simply adopt a P14 .303 which is essentially a M98 type action chambered in .303 British. These rifles weren't really common until the 1960's During the 1940's-50's, most cullers used whatever came to hand. In this particular instance, the owner had an M98 that he had obtained from the battlefield of Crete which would have meant a great deal to him. |
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