680guy

The only time I've held a mauser bolt that looked like that was thirty years ago in a friends gunsmith shop. He had built a guy a rifle with Mark X mauser action in some wildcat cartridge, I can't recall the round. The guy was fireforming brass with reduced loads. Wayne, the gunsmith, advised him to use a fast burning rifle powder or even pistol powder for these reduced loads. The guy ignored his advise and used the 4350 he had on hand and destroyed the rifle the first time he pulled the trigger. I've read warnings in a few reloading manuals about under loading slow burning powders but none explain what can happen and the consequenses seem contrary to logic.I'm not suggesting that's what happened here, Polinidad seems to be a knowledgable and careful handloader, just looking at the pictures of that bolt reminded me of that one long ago. GUY

Nice work Brenden. Did you realize you've created the perfect elk and moose rifle (and deer as well). Any plans to put it to work? GUY

Thanks for the help guys. I was planing to get at it this week but turns out I gotta work out of town for another week. Maybe next weekend. I'm really just glad to be working, it's been a slow winter. THANKS AGAIN GUY

I'm rebarreling an earlier project. The old barrel was 24", the new one is 21" . I plan on shortening the stock but that will leave the front swivel stud too close to the tip. My plan is to cut the stock back a couple inches below the stud and add a forearm tip to the new desired length. A friend gave me a piece of Brazlian cherry that I think will look nice but I'm not sure of the best method of attaching it. I have a doweling kit with 1/4" hardwood dowels, I was thinking of using 2 or 3 of these but not sure on the type of adhesive, (wood glue, epoxy ?) or if the dowels are even needed. The new barrel is a 257 Roberts so recoil wont be bad. GUY

I bought an old stevens shotgun last winter from gunbroker and had it shipped to a local gundealer. When I went to his shop to pick it up, he asked me how old it was. From what I knew they were made about 7-8 years before and after WWII. I asked him why? He said it had no serial number but if it was that old it was ok, that it was common, then, for guns not to have them until some time in the 50's when it became manditory. When I got home I did a little research on stevens and found they didn't put numbers on some if not most of their guns at that time. I don't know if this helps you in your case you'll probably need to do more research and get some advice from someone who knows federal gun laws. GUY

Yeah, I had the same problem with a Ramline. They sent me a free replacement and that one cracked too. I never asked for another .

I got one when Midway was offering a free corelite stock with certain A&B barrels. I like the stock except for the wrist area, it feels like your wrapping your thumb around a 2 x 4. I don't know why anyone wouldv'e designed it that way. Perhaps they needed to strengthen the wrist or needed to change the design to avoid a patent infringement. I was also wondering if anyone has had any luck reshaping one of these. GUY

I don't know if's the right way but I had a 788 rem stock warp as you say, except to the right. Since 788s have very plain cheap "hardwood" stocks I figured I had little to loose. I removed the stock and found a piece of thin flexible plastic cut a 1" strip, then put the rifle back togather with that piece of plastic between the barrel and the stock at the tip of the forearm, then put the rifle back in the closet for five months. When I finally removed the stock it had returned close to it's original position. I then glass bedded the action and a few inches in front of the reciever. I had to sand just a little on the left side of barrel channel then sealed the barrel channel with marine spar varnish. That always was an accurate rifle but now shoots even better. I don't know if this will work for you that stock was soft I think its birch and the barrel is pretty stiff and heavy, I'm not sure I would of tried it on light sporter barrel. Guy

I have a 93 DWM mauser that I picked up a few years back. It had problems with the original sporterized bolt and with the help of this forum, I realized it needed to be replaced. The replacement bolt appears to be from a turkish mauser (I think, there's a small cresent stamped into the bolt shroad) which, I believe, is also made in Germany. It fits well, the headspace is a little long, it nearly closes on the NO-GO gauge but not on the FIELD gauge. The original bolt had a small gas relief port on the left side of the bolt (when the rifle is cocked) the replacement bolt has none. Is this common to 93 bolts? Can or should a gas relief port be drilled into the bolt? Would the altered bolt need to be reheat treated? I know these rifles don't handle gas relief as well as 98 mausers when a case ruptures but I'd like it as safe as possible.

Jerry, the 6mm rem.is an outstanding choice. I bought one 29 years ago, and I can assure you the accuracy of this cartrige can be amazing, and with 100 gr. bullets its an exellent deer cartrige as well, but, if your buddy isn't a handloader, finding factory ammo in varmint weight bullets will not be as easy as a 22-250 or a 243. I was handloading when I bought the rifle got out of it for 10 - 15 years, shooting factory ammo, then got back into handloading. I saw that 9 out of 10 retailers selling ammo didn't carry it, and when they did, light varmint bullets were scare to nonexistant. Today he should be able to find plenty of ammo on the internet, it just takes a little more time and planning. I still think it's the best cartridge for what you want, and if he's not already a handloader, mayby this is a good way to get him started. GUY

Nice job, I'm just getting a DWM 93 spanish ready for blueing. I hope mine turns out that nice, I'm going to try Pilkingtons Rust Blue I've used Brownells Dicropan IM on past projects but the barrels always got some streaking. That stock looks great. I must say it has more figure than I'd expect based on pictures in catalogs of their stocks and the inletting looks good as well. Did you have any problems? I haven't ordered a stock yet I want to see how it shoots first. I was considering an Old Classic Mannlicher from Richards but that will get quiet pricey. Past experience with Boyd's inletting rules them out. What you've shown me gives me more options. THANKS and again very nice work. GUY

Clark, I'd bet that barrel came off a 721 Rem. same theads as a 700 but that's how the sights were attached on on the 721. It's just an early version of the 700. If that barrel is as good as the two I've seen (I own one of them ) you got a real good shooter.

I buy it at NAPA.

I don't have a lathe, so I use a hacksaw , round grinding stone and carriage bolt described on Steve Wagner's website. I really had my doubts, so when I cut down a turk barrel, I cut it at 26" figuring if it didn't work a gunsmith could fix it. That rifle is shooting 1/2" groups at 100 yds. Here's the strange part, when I put my Leopold magnetic boresighter on it after it's sighted in, it shows it way high to the left. On my other rifles with factory crowns, once sighted in, all center in the boresighter. This makes me believe that my muzzle cut is not square but somehow the rotary action of the round grinding stone and the carriage bolt with valve grinding compound cut concentric to the bore. Just a theory but in any case the carriage bolt works.

For what it's worth, the two turkish recievers I've rebarreled with take-off barrels both headspaced without having to ream or set back the shoulder, but if that's normal I can't say. I considered myself lucky with those projects. I haven't read the article in SN but any German reproduction scope mounts I've seen are always big$. If it were me and I was already spending good money for a special rifle and I wanted a military profile I'd spend a little more and get a Lothar Walther barrel. Sporter Express offers them for less than $200.

My first project I cold blued. It looked fine when I finished but soon realized it wore off easily and was prone to rust when the humidity rose. Since then I've used DICHROPAN with good results. The finish is tough, and doesn't rust like the cold blue. My only complaint is my barrels and floor plates can have light streaking. I've since bought a bottle of Pilkingtons Rust Blue I've yet to try, but I've read posts here a while back I'ts a good product. You will need a tank. I had a welder friend make me two for less than one would cost from Brownells.

Thor, sorry I couldn't explain it better. If you have a copy of Kuhnhausen's "The Mauser Bolt Action" on page 47, "Detail Inspect Cocking Piece" he calls the area I'm talking about the "bolt hold open cock surface" . On 93 -96 mausers that surface is on the same face as the sear engagement surface. The sear contacts the lower area, the bolt bears directly above it. On this bolt, that area is beveled back. Today I got chance to look at in better light and through a magnifying glass. It hasn't been filed, but is also smashed and peened. The bolt shows serious galling on the quarter cock cam and the firing pin port is egg shaped. I think that beautiful bolt that caught my eye at the gunshop is going to have to be replaced. Oh well, at least I've learned alot from this rifle. Seeing the galled surface on the bolt has me, again, wondering if the heat of the bolt job softened the metal.

Thanks for your help.Your suggestions led me to examine the cocking piece more closely and I think I see a problem with it. Where the cocking piece meets the bolt, the cocking piece is beveled back on the inside so that only 1/3 to 1/2 the thickness of the bolt wall bears the strike of the cocking piece on the outside edge of the bolt. What had been peened up was just the outside edge of the bolt. This rifle has a very stiff firing pin spring. It's only a guess, but if the shooter lifts the cocked bolt without a firm grip on the bolt ,the bolt will spring back completely open and the cocking piece slams forward nearly an inch, much like dry fireing. If this was the original cocking piece, over 100 years of opening the bolt could have caused the wear I found. I do see wear on the caming surface of the deeper notch, again along the outside edge but very little in the bottom of the notch but if the previous owners had the good sense not to dry fire exessively that would make sense. I can't imagine why anyone would have altered that surface of the cocking piece, perhaps it was made that way, in any case I'm ordering a differant one and see how that looks. Again, thanks for all your comments, Guy

Bob On this rifle, there are two notches on the back of the bolt, one deep notch where the cocking piece falls when the bolt is closed and the trigger is pulled. The other is shallow, where the cocking piece rests when the bolt is in the open position. The tension from the firing pin spring holds the cocking piece and prevents the bolt shrowd from turning (unscrew/tightening). On this bolt, the cocking piece had dented and peened a ridge up on the outside edge of the shallow notch and on the inside of the notch you could see where the original hieght was because the cocking piece didn't fall there. When the bolt was open, the firing pin protruded so far that when the bolt picked up round from the magazine the firing pin blocked it from sliding up into the bolt. This rifle cocks on closing. I thought that this might also have been a symptom of over heating the bolt ,but,its more likely the result of a century of use. I think your right ,first I'll try a different scope. I've already cleaned up the crown , haven't shot it yet. Hope it works it's a neat little rifle. Guy

I purchased a sporterized 93 mauser . My best guess is that its an early Spanish short rifle. It has a 21.5" barrel simply marked "7mm" and serial number 8815 which matches the reciever. It has no crest or any other markings except for "DUETSCHE WAFFEN-UND MUNITIONSFABRIKEN BERLIN'' on the left side of the reciever which has no thumb slot but a solid rail .The bore is shiny the rifling is sharp the overall condition is quite good . The bolt appears to have been welded by a pro, very nicely finished the work appears to have been done years ago, but there's a problem. Once I got it home I realized the bolt shrowd was backed out one thread . I turned it in but then the firing pin protruded when the bolt was open. I discovered the cocking piece had peened the notch in the bolt deeper . I filled with a small spot of weld, filed it back to original condition checked the head space. I loaded up some mild loads and shot the rifle at 40 yds. Every shot landed in a differant corner of the target I couldn't get any kind of group. I checked the scope, mounts and crown all seemed ok. Then checked the primers on the spent rounds. I found the were all hit way off center and the bolt face tell me that it's had this problem for along time. I suspect the early bolt work as nice as it looks may have gotten way to hot and warped it but would this explain the accuracy problem? I have a turk that strikes off center but is still accurate. Guy

I have a 6mm in a 788 remington, it works great for coyotes, but it's becoming my sons favorite. I was thinking with the swift or TTH or whatever I end up with a 60 gr. partition would work well on dogs.

I think I found what I'm looking for. 4-d chamber rentals list a 224 TTH (Texas Trophy Hunter),the case dimensions are almost a match to the 6mm rem except for the shoulder being 0.0018 wider. I would think this case could be made to feed in the vz-24 action I have without to much trouble. I know some may think it's foolish to mess with a wildcat but for me it will be my first . A friend has a Mexican mauser rebarreled in a 22-250 and has struggled with feeding problems with it. I have to get started on the action and talk to a gunsmith so I may change my mind and leave it as a 220 swift but that's all part of the fun. I know I could go to walmart get a savage 110 and be sighting it in this afternoon for less money.If the finished rifle is as accurate the savage I'll be satisfied.For me it's a hobby not an investment and really not that expensive .Hell, many of my friends and co-workers will lose more on the superbowl tonight than I'll have in this rifle.Thank you all for your input and any additional comments. Guy

My primary intention for this rifle is for coyote hunting.Here in Wisconsin, that usually happens in the dead of winter with gloved hands and at temps at or below 0. (except this year).A reliable followup shot from the magazine is my concern. Don't get me wrong, I believe the 220, 22-250, or 223 and other calibers would all do the job well. My idea was to find a way to eliminate feedind problems in field conditions. I would be happy if it can be done with a 220 swift but from what I've read here and other sources and talking to someone who had 220 swift in a mauser feeding is often an issue.

Hello all, I've been visiting your forum for some time and consider it the best resource I've found on sporterizing mauser rifles. A while back I purchased a barrel / stock package from Midway in a 220 swift. I'm planning on starting soon but I've been hearing of feeding problems with the swift in the mauser 98 action. One option I'm considering is having the barrel chambered to a 22-6mm rem. The parent case, I believe. is the 257 Roberts/7mm mauser and should be much easier to feed reliably. I've found a little handloading info on it, some list velocities near 4400 fps. but I would think at that speed a barrel wouldn,t last long. My intentions would be to load at 3700-3800. Does this sound possible or am I missing something?I don't have a lathe, and handreaming from the short chambered 220 would not be precise or possible,(I think). Any info on gunsmiths who have done this would be appreciated.