Gunsmithing 7mm Mauser bolt gun

[BERTMAN77MK2]

obviously a 7x57 caliber---with this bolt face what calibers can the action be rebarreled to? Also looking to re-stock and mount a scope on. This is to be a budget
1st deer rifle for my grandson. My only experience with bolt guns is Rem short action. Thank you for any facts or opinions

 

[Edds]

My opinion, if you are a reloader, a 7x57 or a 7x57 AI is as good as it gets for a deer rifle. No need to rebarrel.

 

[Ledzep]

What action? If it's a Mauser, the 7x57 is an intermediate caliber, so some long action calibers like .30-06 can be juuust a little long and require modification to work. Also, some small-ring Mausers originally chambered for 7x57 may not be suitable for modern long-action high pressure cartridges.

If you don't want to stick with 7x57 or 7x57ai, I would bump down to the usual standard bolt face short-action calibers.

 

[BERTMAN77MK2]

Yes, a Mauser action----looks like a WWII gun. Don't know what twist the barrel is for best reloading, ie bullet weight. Will get a few factory loads in 7x57 to try out.
What about a scope mount?? Wanted a caliber that I already had but I could get dies for this caliber. You say standard short action calibers ok?? Like 308 bolt face stuff?

 

[Ledzep]

It depends on which type of Mauser action. There are small ring Mausers and large ring Mausers. If it's a small ring receiver I would leave it in 7x57 or if you want, you could switch over to 6.5x55. It's been done before but it's kind of "iffy" chambering small ring mausers for high pressure (55-60ksi) cartridges. 7x57 is lower pressure (45CUP vs. 50-55CUP of the stuff we're used to).

If it's a large ring Mauser, then you're good to go with most any modern short-action caliber. I wouldn't do a short action magnum, personally. Metallurgy then is not what it is now. But yes, that's .22-250, .22 creed, .243, 6 creed, .260, 6.5 creed, 6.5x47, 7-08, .308, etc. etc...

Here are a couple pictures of large and small ring receivers. The Large ring is just the action by itself, you see the front ring is a different size than the rest of the action, where the small ring receiver keeps a constant profile on the left side.

Small Ring:



Large ring ("Model 98")




Scope mounts, stocks, etc... will also depend on which type you have.

 

[BERTMAN77MK2]

Yeah, small ring so I guess I will leave it 7x57 and get another set of dies. Scope mounts??

 

[fdkay]

The 7x57 is one of the best cartridges ever designed.
US Ammo is loaded VERY light.
The speer 130 grain spitzer boat tail is a whitetail killing machine.
https://www.speer-ammo.com/bullets/rifle-bullets/boat-tail-rifle-bullets/284/284-130-bt-bullet
BC is pretty high for such a lightweight bullet.
A mid range charge of H4350 will net good velocities and mild recoil.
To get a good mount, you would need to have the bolt handle bent and the receiver drilled and tapped.
Otherwise, a scout scope mount that replaces the rear sight is your only other option.

 

[Iamero]

The 7x57 is a great round for deer. My buddy kept his 1944 Mauser Large Ring as an 8mm Mauser and I put a Timney in there and mounted an EGW scope base for him. We load the Hornady match bullets in there and it's a deer killing machine inside 300 yards, even with the slow velcoity.



I took mine and rebarreled it to 6.5-284 Norma and put it in a McMillan A3-5. It is one of my favorite rifles in the safe. Unfortunately it has a slightly crooked scope base, but I corrected that with USO windage adjustable rings.