Mauser 98 potential project

[saddler]

http://www.ukgunroom.com/viewGun.jsp?id=84118

[psychosomatic88]

Thats very pretty nice find :)

[saddler]

New in the box too!

Wonder if they'd haggle?

Parker Hale made some nice guns in their day...but a lot seemed to be viewed as poor cousins alongside bigger European and American firms products.
The one in the link would be good as is, but could also be tweaked a little (trigger, bedding, etc.)...
Parts for upgrading these P-H models are commonly available and very cheap too.

[WelshShooter]

Oh hell yes OP. I use nice home loads in my Yugo M48 and can hit fig11's at 1,000m nine times out of ten if I do my part. These home loads are coincidentally perfect matching to the graduated elevation sights too.

Ps, where are you getting your 200gr SMK from? All I can find is ppu.

[psychosomatic88]

I always mistook the parker hales as gents stalking rifles, in my ignorance. Who doesnt like a haggle.

Is your M48 in standard trim? Irons/optics? Ive got them from a few places, wildcat custom rifles, hps tr, kranks too I think.

Haven't loaded anything in ages cos I was using varget and couldn't source it, now just on old junk surplu. Kinda takes the joy out of it.

[WelshShooter]

Yep, it's the first iteration so all milled parts, unlike the M48A and latter versions which introduced stamped parts. Just the standard open sights, yes. Obviously all matching parts as it was an unissued service rifle and I got it for £300 so a good budget Mauser!

I tried Kranks not long back and they didn't have any nor did they know when their next shipment was. I'll look at HPS when I need to order some more.

Powder choice, my load is 48gr of Ramshot Big Game with a 198gr PPU match bullet which is a nice stout load. £32.50 a lb so it's quite cheap. I've not seen any Reload Swiss loads and I'm a bit hesitant to use vihtavuori n140 starting load for TR140 / rs50. I'd rather used published loads.

[snayperskaya]

I did have a Czech made (1943 DOT iirc) K98 that ended up in Israel and rechambered in 7.62 NATO (really bizarre to see the Nazi eagle and swastika stamp next to a stamp of the Star of David!).The bore didn't look too bad but it was shooting about 10moa if not worse and that ended up going to a re-enactor and he loves it and it has given the old Mauser a new lease of life.I looked at getting it rebarrelled and shooting again but all the old proofmarks etc on the old barrel were part of the history of the gun and with the prices I was quoted to have it rebarrelled it didn't make financial sense so I bought a Mosin instead.

[froggy]

Portuguese K98 used to be 10 a penny . Not anymore . Ratty's view to sell it in order to finance a new toy makes a lot of sense in anyways you care to look at it ...

[psychosomatic88]

Certainly some good points for consideration. Snayp, that czech mauser sounds fascinating.

[Laurie]

For a classic military rifle based project for long-range shooting, I'd take one based on the 6.5X55 SKAN, 7X57, or 7.5X55 Swiss any day over 7.92X57 IS. The late WW1 adoption of the sS 198gn bullet and its adoption in rifles standardised in the KAR98k series and similar rifles made by BRNO and FN in the inter-war years was all about adapting a rifle chamber to shoot an over-pressure GPMG round. The resulting compromises in the throat length and form make it very difficult to produce a really tight grouping 7.92 rifle. Acceptable 'military accuracy' yes; good 1,000 yards results no.

Having tried with 7.92s in mint condition including a beautiful CZ Persian long rifle that had never been issued and a very good Portuguese 1904/37, I could never get any to shoot better than 3-MOA groups at short ranges consistently and 4-MOA being more the norm. Conversely, I could obtain sub 2-MOA groups and oftentimes 1 to 1.5-MOA groups from a 6.5 Swedish M1896, 7.5 Swiss M1911 long rifle, and 7mm Orange Free State M1895 made by DWM. An extremely scruffy looking but good inside Eddystone P'14 303 also outshot any of the half dozen 7.92s I owned over a 25 year period.