Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats how hard is it to turn a used German K98 Mauser into a

9.3x62mm or 375 Holland and Holland? donor gun is nothing special not ruining any history?

9.3x62 is very straight forward, pretty much just a re-barrel job. 375 H&H is much more involved to lengthen magazine box and remove material from the feed ramp. Some folks aren't comfortable with the lower lug being thinned.

Nothing to it except a lot of money to do it right.

I'd just look for a BRNO 602 or pre-64 M70 in the respective calibers.

9,3x62 is one of the most requested conversions I do. I wouldn't go so far as to say it is as easy as screwing a barrel on but it isn't usually a difficult conversion either. Far less involved than a conversion to .375 H&H.

A nice 9,3x62 on a 98 feels much better than a CZ 550. As for a 602, how often do they really show up for sale.

That said, the reality is that you can probably buy a new CZ 550, which usually shoot real well, for less than it will cost to convert a 98 and make it scope ready.

I have a 550 but wait until I finish my 98.
When it comes to the .375 H&H, way to many good and inexpensive factory rifles to warrant the expense & effort of converting a 98.

My 2 cents anyway.

Listen to this young man. He has been around the block.

Would it be possible to rechamber a 9.3x57mm to 9.3x62mm?

Yes, it is possible. Here is a pair converted to 9,3x62:



However, it is imperative that a chamber cast be done prior to attempting to rechamber. Some 9,3x57 chambers are large than others, especially in the neck. Attempting to rechamber one of these will result in a stepped neck.

I've done many others.

I cannot imagine a 9.3x62 on a 602? Mine are on FN's and are about ideal.

My 9.3X62 is a very accurate rifle.

Butch,

Every 9,3x62 I have owned or built (more than a few) has been insanely easy to load for and extremely accurate.

People wax poetic about how inherently accurate the .308 is, well, the 9,3x62 deserves equal praise in my book. There is a reason that after 108 years it is still going strong and even gaining in popularity.

Here is one I sold earlier this year and it litterally clover leafed Prvi factory loads.

There is a reason it is the most requested build I get.

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/3221043/m/8701064681

I think besides the accuracy, the rifle can be built on a lighter platform than most .375 H&H's and yet still recoil less while being every bit as effective 99% of the time.

Can you tell I like the 9,3?

That's been my experience with the 9.3x62 as well, whether factory or custom rifles.

The light recoil was an unexpected blessing. Below is mine. I did most of the metal work. Jim Kobe did the stock and straightened out the iron sights that I had installed a little off. Good to have a smith like him to bail me out.

I've done two to 93x62 One a 1917 Enfield the other a Charles Dayly 98 Both work great but had to work on the feed rails on both to feed right. --- Mel

z1r, are those 98s or 96s?

I have had a .375H&H on a Mauser, specifically, an FN Supreme, in a Browning Safari rifle and also a .375 H&H factory Brno 602. I also had one of the first Ruger MKII Magnums, in .375 H&H to come to Canada and three original P-64 Mod. 70s plus a 20" bbled carbine rebarreled P-64-70.

I have handled, loaded for and shot a WHACK of other .375s and am not as much a fan of it as many are, BUT, I am not an African hunter and I need a light rifle for BC's mountains.

I have now owned seven 9,3x62 rifles since May, 2006, all Mausers/Brnos and one really neat little P-64 carbine. I greatly prefer these Mausers so chambered to any .375H&H and would strongly suggest having your Mauser made into one at about 8 lbs. all up, good irons, 4x Leupy on Talley QDs and a Micky stock, or, whatever other synthetic you might prefer.

For a .375H&H, my FIRST choice of what is now available, is a Dakota 76 action, then a New Haven Classic, with some simple mods and one of Edhol's or Weibe's mag setups. I like the "feel" of these 70s in this chambering better than ANY Mauser so chambered that I have ever shot....this, btw, includes a rather cherry original H&H rifle, so, it is not just surmising.

The 70s,to me, are at their best with rounds from the superb .308Norma to the H&H rounds and the larger, rather "clunky"Brno 602s, still easy to find here, are best kept for the .416s, .404J and the currently popular Lott.

However, each to his own and some guys like the larger 602/550M and they are real CRF, which no Mod. 70 has ever been, if that matters to one.

98's. And the pair has been to Africa. Come to think of it, every 9,3x62 I've built with the exception of mine have been to Africa. :-(

Go to Africa, now!

(I have 2 Mausers converted to 9.3 X 62. Outstanding is most modest thing I can say about how they handle and shoot. Both have Krieger barrels. Neither were cheap to get built, but worth it. Note that the 5 round box mag needs altering in most 9.3 conversions or it will only hold 4. Mine hold 4 with another up the spout.)

Brian,

I had Mike (z1r) do exactly what you are asking on a 1940 K98 I had found. I'm sure Mike could give you the details on what was actually needed, but as far as I am aware, it just needed the feeding checked after the new barrel was put on (it's a 9.3x62). Previous owner had already put a new bolt handle, safety, and scope mounts on it when I had bought it - I just improved upon what he had started.

Pretty much all the action parts retain the original Nazi markings. Even the claw still has a Nazi eagle on it.

Lothar Walther makes pre-threaded and chambered barrels for Mauser actions. They're great barrels and much more cost efficient than having a smith chamber and thread.

sell the donor, buy one of the Kimbers in .375, and go hunting.