Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Express Rifles and Big Bores Only Mauser Big Bore, short course..

Oh, how about the .425 Express? From what I understand its basically a necked up .300 Winchester case.

HBB

Go to Satterlee arms, he makes mag mauser acion, double square bridge and all, they ain't cheap, but they are really, really nice.

"For what it costs to properly build such a rifle, which includes custom bottom metal, you can buy a new 416 for less.

Unless you're a big fan of 98 mausers and just have to have it as a basis, it doesn't make any economic sense to use it as a basis for a big bore rifle. You'll be out a minimum of $1000 for the barrel, bottom metal, safety, irons and bluing."
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$1K is about the minimum, and goes up from there. I know.

Well it looks like it is going to be a 416 Taylor on a military action, Douglas #5 barrel and iron sights. I know it would be easier to just by a factory but I don't want one.

Thanks guys,
Josh

Even with the 416T, I recomend replacing the bottom metal. I've done a 350 Rigby and 458 lott on modified bottom metal (length not width) and the feeding is problematic. It will kinda sorta work, but you'll be dollars ahead just getting a generic short mag to convert.

If you just have to learn the lesson the expensive way, go for it. Otherwise I'd say the military mausers are at their best with X57 or -06 based rounds. You don't have to open up the bolt, feed rails and the mag may only need some lengthening for -06 based rounds.

I would use a 416 Rem., .375 H&H., 458 Win or a .458 Lott. A mauser is plenty big enough for these calibers and you don't want a wildcat to go hunting in a foriegn country..

A .425 would be a poor choice as its a bugger to make feed, and damn costly..

A 404 Jefferys is very doable but again its a bugger to make feed 100% in a std. action as the specs arn't right..

You can make a .416 Rigby on a std Mauser and WR did make a few. PH Paul Zorn in Zimbabwe still uses one..but again I sure wouldn't recommend it as its expensive and hard to accomplish..bottom line is you can anything you want if you have the money and time.

If you like wildcats the 10.75x68 converts very easy and you still get 4 down and it duplicates the original balistics of a .404 Jefferys, Actually its not a wildcat but is an unusual and very overlooked option, lets call it a simi wildcat..A great little caliber for the worlds largest game. Can be made up in very light rifles with killing power to spare and recoil is more like a maidens caress.

SS Have you considered a 411 Hawk? I had one built on a charles daily for about $1100.00 with dies and brass. I get 2600 fps out of the 300gr bullet and 2200 fps out of the 400Gr Bullet. Hand loading and forming brass wasn't difficult. You can check it out at Zhat custom.

Hey guys, I want to reiterate that this rifle is a test bed. It is very unlikely that I will carry it anywhere but here at the ranch. I want to find the recoil level, stock shape and caliber parameters that my DGR will have. I want a Mauser with a neat crest....well because I want it. I did the same thing before I ordered my Hagn single shot plains game rifle. I don't know what the DGR rifle I will take to Africa will look like, but this Mauser is being built to help me sort this out. I may have the Hagn shop build that eventual DGR on a Hartmann and Weiss double square bridge, it may be a Satterlee action, maybe a GMA, I dunno. I want this Mauser to help me decide what to have built.

Josh

416 Taylor and 458 Win mag are two of the big bores I had built in Mauser 98 actions both are scoped with EER Leopolds, I will suggest the 416 Taylor for hunting and a 458 for back-up

Go with the Taylor, and you might need another DGR. Go with the Satterlee, he's a great guy to deal with. He's doing a Mex Mauser of mine, should be done in Ocober.

The way things are going in todays world, a wildcat is not the caliber to take to Africa IMO...There are a ton of std. big bore calibers out there and all any big bore wildcat today will do is duplicate them, if its fun and games your after have at it, but don't risk an expensive safari just to have something "different"....

416 Rem, 416 Rigby, 458 Win, 458 Lott, 404 Jefferys 505 Gibbs, 500 Jefferys, If these don't suit you then your probably a hopeless case.

Mortal: Thanks for mentioning Satterlee; checked the website and they are very nice. Pricey, but today, by the time you buy a military, have it hardened, ALL work done, proper magazine, feeding, trigger,safety, etc. I think you're better off to buy one of them. Nice actions!