maybe that ol’ bastard will shoot?!

got the 98 mauser out of the house today for a little exercise - starting load devlopment w/ it using the ladder method.

i found 2 nodes, so far (h-380). the first node produced a group of well under an inch, and the second node grouped a little over an inch.

i am almost thrilled w/ the first node... my target was to develop a load that would group under 2" at 100 yards, and run 2450 - 2500 f/s for velocity. the first node seems to want to run at 2390-ish f/s... not enough room for error, since sierra told me to keep impact velocity up at 2200 f/s. the second node grouped right in my velocity window, but group size wasn't as nice, and now that i have tasted some degree of accuracy from this thing, i would like to keep it. more development and tweaking to come. i got a hunch i can pull it off.

second thing is weight. these mausers are fat pigs. i got a section of the forend hollowed out, and am going to work on the butt a little today and a little tomorrow. very similiar to what boyd's does to their stocks when you select the 'lightweight option' - only i am working w/ a drill, a drill press, a dremel, and sandpaper. brownells is out of stock on the bottom metal i want. evidently will have to wait for more to come in. replacing the bottom metal will cut nearly half a pound off the rifle's weight.

so... what is left on the gun: develop a load, lighten the stock some more, replace the bottom metal and action screws, find something for a recoil pad (the gun is light enough now that recoil is starting to show up, especially w/ handloads), replace the scope and mounts (later this afternoon), and re-finish the stock, now that i have all the inletting and shaping finished up.

we'll see what comes of this when it is done.

as far as money goes, if i would have just started off by cutting the barrel to 19" rather than take all the intermediary steps, my total investment would be $327.60... i still have $80 to go for the bottom metal (+ shipping), so i will have a little over $400 into it - or roughly equivalent to after tax prices of remington 700 adl's (don't know what the sps's are going for), savages, and winchester cheap shadows.

the question is, then... is it worth it? guess it was fun to do once, but i'd rather have a new 700 than do this process on my next pair of 98's...

Can I asume you are shooting the 8x57 ?

     I got a decent hinged floor plate from nomrich, I think it wa 69.00. I had to file some spacers out of the magazine and put a stronger spring in the latch but it works fine no, on my 35 Whelen.  ...tj3006

what weight bullet you shooting?

and h-380 is your powder, right?

imr 4064 always did best for me in the 8x57, 185s and 200s.

i think you could easily reach your velocity window AND make your group size parameters.

you bedded that rascal yet? (sorry, can't remember your previous posts, dak. bedded or not, make sure the triggerguard/mag assembly does not bind in the stock, and make sure it snugs down without warping. this one little thing can be huge for consistent accuracy. i don't know much 'bout no remingtons, and less about and winchesters and rugers. but i've messed with a sackful of mausers.)

go get 'em.  

shoot, i'd just go over it with 220 grit where needed, then 0000 steel wool, then cold blue. if you cook most of the old oil out of that stock, betcha it'll perk right up with hand-rubbed linseed oil.

i'd still consider bedding it under the flat just behind the recoil lug and under the tang so there is no way it can moved back and forth in that old stock, even just the teensiest, recoil-induced bit. that rascal might just shock you.

go get 'em.

glad to see i'm on the right track w/ 380. i think it will do well. i picked it because it seems to have the best load density of the suitable powders.

heading into finals and turning in final projects, so no shooting for the entire next week(!)... i'll probably go thru withdrawals!

you very well may have had ivory in that stock at one time, depending on how old the stock really is.