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Posted: 4/21/2009 10:39:53 PM EDT
| Alright folks, I've got a spare Czech Mauser action laying about that keeps getting sadder and more lonely with each passing day. Problem is, I have no idea what to do with it! I'm drawing a total blank on ideas for what to build. I've already built an 8mm/06, so that's off the table, and the .30-'06 doesn't exactly float my boat... so has anybody got any good ideas? |
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.257 Roberts is one of the most iminently useful North American sporting rifle cartridges in existence. The 6.5x55 Swede is just more of a good thing. Either of these cartridges would be ideal in the the Czech action.
I'd build it up with a no.1 contour barrel, fixed express style open sights (although most Americans are alergic to open sights and feel that anything other than an aperature sight is useless) and a Leupold 2-8 lightweight scope. I'm a blue steel and walnut kind of guy, but nothing wrong with a McMillian and Cerakote. Keep the two stage trigger and have it tuned by someone who understands a Mauser trigger. You'll get a very safe trigger with a great breaking point and you have all that legendary Mauser reliability; no grain of sand getting inside your enclose aftermarket trigger and turning your very nice rifle into an expensive walking stick. Although it's a bit costly, a Winchester 3 position safety would be a great addition. Keep the rifle light and simple and I'll bet you find yourself reaching for your .257 for 99% of your hunting. |
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Quoted:
.257 Roberts is one of the most iminently useful North American sporting rifle cartridges in existence. The 6.5x55 Swede is just more of a good thing. Either of these cartridges would be ideal in the the Czech action. I'd build it up with a no.1 contour barrel, fixed express style open sights (although most Americans are alergic to open sights and feel that anything other than an aperature sight is useless) and a Leupold 2-8 lightweight scope. I'm a blue steel and walnut kind of guy, but nothing wrong with a McMillian and Cerakote. Keep the two stage trigger and have it tuned by someone who understands a Mauser trigger. You'll get a very safe trigger with a great breaking point and you have all that legendary Mauser reliability; no grain of sand getting inside your enclose aftermarket trigger and turning your very nice rifle into an expensive walking stick. Although it's a bit costly, a Winchester 3 position safety would be a great addition. Keep the rifle light and simple and I'll bet you find yourself reaching for your .257 for 99% of your hunting. Solid suggestions. Someone had suggested a .257 Roberts to me a long time ago (probably right after I bought the action), but I discarded that idea pretty much right away as I've got a Savage 110 (111?) in .25-'06, though I'll admit I didn't research it (the .257) at all. Is there any significant difference between the two that would warrant having both (other than this being arfcom?  )? Or perhaps .257 Ackley? I suppose I should have noted that I'm not adverse to wildcats or more obscure chamberings.
6.5 Swede is an interesting idea. I've got a military 6.5, but it's definitely a range/safe queen. Definitely in agreement with you on your style points. I'm all about the blued steel and wood. |
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with +p .257 loads you will never see the difference between it and the 25-06. armchair guys will definately show you the huge differences on paper....but they don't really exist in the field. I like the idea of the 6.5x55 swede it is a very good cartridge. one idea that i have been thinking about for one of my mauser actions is the 7.5x55 swiss, but to have it throated for the longer nosed American bullets. then load it up to the same pressures as the '06 (should give similar peformance to the '06). only prob is that the rim diameter is .500" so you would need to open the bolt face slightly.
advntrjnky |
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Quoted:
with +p .257 loads you will never see the difference between it and the 25-06. armchair guys will definately show you the huge differences on paper....but they don't really exist in the field. I like the idea of the 6.5x55 swede it is a very good cartridge. one idea that i have been thinking about for one of my mauser actions is the 7.5x55 swiss, but to have it throated for the longer nosed American bullets. then load it up to the same pressures as the '06 (should give similar peformance to the '06). only prob is that the rim diameter is .500" so you would need to open the bolt face slightly. advntrjnky That's an interesting thought. I've got a K-31 and I'm pretty impressed with the 7.5. |
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Build it into a .45-70 (if the rim will fit). That would be cool.
You could do a .44 Magnum with a 16" BBL, that would be a cool little carbine, too. Both would require mag modifications. You could do a .45 ACP with this kit. |
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Okay,
So you have an 8mm-06 and a .25-06; from a hunting standpoint, those two cover a whole lot of game. As previously mentioned before, no game ever shot at with a .257 or a .25-06 will ever know the difference between the two. Both cartridges will handle everything from groundhogs to mule deer or caribou if you choose your bullets right and pick your shots. 8mm-06 will do everything on up to grizzly (a touch on the light side, but it WILL get the job done). So here's how I see some options for now. 1 - Custom .257 - Yeah you have a .25-06, but if you build a custom .257 I promise you'll never look at your Savage 110 again. .257AI if you want nearly unlimited case life and just plain something different. 2 - Something heavier or something lighter - On the lighter side you could consider either a .22-250 (AI if you want something different) in a light weight "walking varmiter" barrel configuration. If you get a light sporter contour barrel with a 1-8 twist, you can use the heavier bullets for longer range shots on game up to and including deer. A couple of years ago, a guy from my church who is an exceptional shot dropped a deer with a .22-250 at just over 700 yards; single shot to the neck...DRT!! I'm not too sure on the heavier side because the 8mm-06 is a decent thumper. The action you chose is not a real good candidate for a short-mag, because tuning a military Mauser action to feed short-mag type cartridges is a bit of a chore; not something I recommend. If you are a glutton for punishment and want a short mag, I'd say the .375 Ruger would top off your arsenal on the heavy side. For a non-magnum cartridge, you could consider a 9.3x57 which is even more of a thumper than your 8mm-06. Other great choices are .338 Federal and .358 Winchester, but both of those are very close to your 8mm-06. 3 - Utility rifle - Chamber it in .308 and consider it your go anywhere, do anything rifle; ready to hunt most anything, anywhere in the world. 6.5x55 or 7x57 could also fall into this category. The 6.5x55 and 7x57 are the rest of the world's version of the .308. If I were going to Africa, you can bet one of the rifles I take would be in .308, 6.5 or 7x57 because you can get ammunition for these 3 just about anywhere in the world. |
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