Mauser Project Gun Shootable

charlesb · Post by **charlesb** » Wed Oct 26, 2011 12:45 am

A rifle I have been tinkering with in my spare time has wound up in a shootable condition.

- A combination of old-school and modern, it is an ex-military BRNO 98 Mauser in 30-06, with a Williams receiver sight, NECG double-set triggers, a butterknife bolt handle and a Hogue rubber over-molded stock with pillar bedding.

I decided to finally use the old-style Mauser safety that I usually can't wait to get rid of... It's perfect for use with a receiver sight, obscuring the peep when the gun is on safe.

I intend to load 150 grn round nose bullets to 30-30 equivalent velocity for general deer and pig shooting, along with a 100 grn plinking load, and a 180 grn round nose, full-tilt brush load.

In a pinch, I can always get factory loads for it.

It's intended to be handy and rugged, fun to shoot. - A good backup gun, or for any situation where a 30-30 lever gun would normally serve.

Hope it shoots OK, I have three boxes of Winchester factory loads, two with 150 grn spitzers and a box of 165's.

Originally the crown was boogered up, so I had to recrown it. Also, the barrel was really dirty. I took out alternating layers of carbon and copper for days but now, it's reasonably clean.

The last inch or so of rifling looks questionable... If it won't shoot, I'll try cutting the barrel down a few inches and see if that helps any. If it will shoot though, I'd rather keep the extra couple of inches of barrel.

I had to steal the front sight from my son's .22 Hornet Handy-Rifle, to get me by until a bead front sight I ordered shows up.

When I get a chance to go out to the range, I'll report the results here.

blue68f100 · Post by **blue68f100** » Wed Oct 26, 2011 9:10 am

That should serve you nicely. That a lot of work you have done there. I have been looking into one of the electric bore cleaners. They seam to shine when things are real bad.

Hogs are becoming a major problem in Texas. They showed up on my dad's place earlier this month. Which reminds me I still need to get a laser sight/flashlight for his gun. Farmers are starting to set traps for them now, but I can't talk my dad into doing it.

charlesb · Post by **charlesb** » Sun Nov 06, 2011 10:04 pm

I've got to kill some time, while I wait for good shooting weather so I am doing some work on the bolt, polishing it up to prepare it for jeweling, later on.

A scope-less rifle really shows the jeweling off. To keep it from being too blingy-looking, I'll go for the smallest circles I can manage, when I do that.

I'm also polishing the cocking piece and am thinking about checkering its rear face.

I'd like to do something with the safety lever - but I'm not sure what it would be. I'd like to square it off and checker it, like the safety on my Swedish Mauser - but that's a bit over my head. - I'll be doing good to get the back of the cocking piece checkered.

charlesb · Post by **charlesb** » Fri Dec 30, 2011 9:18 pm

An update on this rifle:

The weather was persistently cold and wet, and I knew I wouldn't be visiting the gun club any time soon - so I got bored and decided to re-do the butterknife bolt handle, a little closer to the Mauser as opposed to the Mannlicher style I already had.

When I ordered the 5/8" diameter free-machining steel for the bolt handle a while back, I went ahead and got a three-foot piece as the stuff is great for making all kinds of small parts. So the steel is already in hand, ready to go.

I have also inletted the trigger-guard, magazine and floorplate into the semi-inletted stock I've been keeping around for this gun. When I sink the barreled action into the wood, I'll do some of the last bits of metal-work that are best done at the same time as the stock is inletted, around the tang.

Once the metal fits the stock, I can get started on the stock-carving, and rust-blue the metal, using the new steam method. - That sounds interesting not to have to fool with the tanks and burners, etc..

charlesb · Post by **charlesb** » Sun Mar 04, 2012 8:27 pm

I finally got to shoot the gun a little, but it was a plinking situation, with no paper targets. - I had to burn up a box of 165 grain factory loads, for the brass. I intend to load 150 spitzers at the starting load level for 30-06 for this gun, which will give me @ 30-40 Krag ballistic performance, recoil, etc.. - About right for a peep-sighted rifle.

But first I needed to empty that brass.

The Hogue rubber-coated stock that I am using reduces recoil somewhat, at the cost of being sort of "bouncy". It's a good thing that it is rubber-coated, because you'll want to have a good grip on it.

I've got to admit though, that I never noticed any effect upon on my shoulder after shooting a box of shells with it.

Here are pics of the bottom metal being fitted to the new stock. It's a semi-inletted blank, oversize in all outside dimensions. I put a little Tru-Oil on it, so that I could admire the grain. It'll all be sanded or carved off, later.

( Click to see it full-size )

Here's few pics of the new butterknife bolt handle being fabricated, and after it was installed on the rifle:

This end-mill was boogered up on the end, but the sides still looked pristine under the stereo microscope, so it was OK for this job. I mark the worn places on my mills with a marks-a-lot, so it is easy to pick one out.

Here I'm using the indexer in a vice, to position the work for filing and scraping, polishing etc..

If that's too many pictures Bullseye, let me know and I'll back off on that kind of stuff.

I've been having a blast learning about riflesmithing with this old BRNO ex-military mauser. The 98 Mauser is to rifles what the .45 Govt Model is to pistols, in this respect.

0ne thing that was beyond my skill was the stamped-steel magazine follower, there was no way that I could figure to make that thing look purty... I finally broke down and bought a milled one on eBay for three bucks, plus two-fifty shipping. That was one of the things that I was testing today, how it fed with the new magazine follower.

The rifle is very handy with no scope, and loads up really easily. If I don't ugly up the new stock too bad, it ought to work out OK. - For me, the metal work is right up my alley, but the stock-work is really scary stuff.

I've started practicing with the checkering tools. It's a good thing that I got started early, on that. Hopefully by the time I get the stock fitted to the barreled action and then carved and sanded to it's final shape, I'll know what I'm doing with the checkering tools.

Post by **Bullseye** » Mon Mar 05, 2012 12:03 am

No problem with the pictures Charles, the rifle is looking fine. Take your time with the checkering and it will turn out well. It takes a lot of time and patience to do right with hand checkering tools.

R,
Bullseye

blue68f100 · Post by **blue68f100** » Mon Mar 05, 2012 8:44 am

Charles,

You do nice work, just wish you were closer to me so I could learn a thing or too. I'm good with metal but hate doing any thing wood other than simple stuff. Hand checkering is probably a lost art these days with all of the cnc machines around. From what I have seen of your work you will do just fine.

charlesb · Post by **charlesb** » Mon Mar 05, 2012 9:23 am

Thanks, Bullseye.

I'm lucky about the checkering practice, as I still have the original sporter stock that the rifle came in, which was set up for a blind magazine, with no floorplate.

The stock itself is of no account, but it's made of good walnut, so I've been cutting off slices for knife handles, etc.. Now the poor thing will be covered with amateur checkering, then sanded off and covered all over again.

That will get me used to working around compound curves, etc.. - Right now I'm practicing on flat pieces, and I still haven't tried to make, or stay within a border.

It's a fun thing to sit around and tinker at. Since there's no power tools involved, that's the kind of thing that I can do while listening to music, with a mug of strong hot tea on hand.

I like doing all of that stuff - but I like shooting the best of all.

Here I am, popping away with my old AR.

charlesb · Post by **charlesb** » Mon Mar 05, 2012 11:47 am

I appreciate your words of encouragement, David. - I'm counting on being awfully slow on the shaping and finishing of the stock, because this kind of work has always taken me a long time in the past. That should give me enough time to get used to the checkering tools.

Making some checkered knife grips, or auto pistol grips would be good practice.

My previous stockmaking experience was with Hawkin-style muzzleloading rifles. The main thing I learned then was that stockmaking is not what I do best, but that I can squeeze by if I really take it slow, and pay careful attention.

I am going to have to dig up a piece of figured wood to practice checkering on, sooner or later. The wavy figure will act as alternating layers of hard and soft wood, to the checkering cutters. I'll have to be ready for that.

Right now I'm producing stuff that looks a lot like scratches on a school-desk, but I can see how it is improving as I go along. That's after twenty minutes or so, I've never touched a checkering tool before I opened up the kit.

I've had it around forever, unopened. It's a Dem-Bart "Master Set" of six tools, for 18 LPI.. According to the literature, there is a "Veining Tool" that was not included with the set, that I'm going have make or buy.