Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Mini Mauser choices

I picked up a Charles Daly mini Mauser a couple weeks back and was in a quandary as to what to build. I thought I'd make up some dummy rounds on the 222, 223 and 222 Remington Magnum to see what fits. The Daly has a magazine box length of 2.280 so OAL should be kept around 2.270. While the box is long enough to fit any of the above rounds as well as the 17 Remington in their original form, when we start opening up the neck for the longer 24 and 25 caliber bullets it looks like the 222 is better suited for this action than either of the others.

The Daly action. CM still in the white.


The line up left to right - Hornady 6mm 87 grain SP in the 222 (2.270 OAL) the 223 seated to 2.270 OAL, 223 and 222 RM seated to the base of their necks. The Hornady 257 87 grain SP in the 222 (2.270 OAL), 223 and 222 RM and lastly the 222 (2.270 OAL) and 223 with an unknown 6.5 100 grain HP (Speer, I think).


A closer look at the 6x45 with the Hornady 87 grain SP, one to 2.270 OAL and the other to the base of the neck.


The Daly action with the 6x222. It looks like a good fit for this action.

Great post and excellent pics.

Have you considered going down in calibre? The 20-222 works really well in those Zastava m85 actions.

Jason,

I believe I'm going to go with two of them, one in 17 Remington and the other in 6x222. I have lots of 17 Remington stuff from when I had my last one.

Mart

I'd love one in .222.
I already have 1 in .223 and 2 in 7.62x39.

I think they are really under valued by a lot of folks.

The actions and triggers smooth up very well.

I have the .223 bed in a Bell and Carlson stock.

Cartridge selection is sort of a personal thing. That said, the .224 bullet with a fast twist barrel makes it a very versitle choice.

On the build, I don't lnow what level you plan on taking it too but I read somewhere Duane Wiebe is now making a one piece bottom metal for the Mini Mauser action.

Back when you could get the mini mauser chambered for 22-250, I dreamed about having one rebarreled to .250-3000...

A 250-3000 on a mini would be a sweet build. I would love to take this build to the level of a Wiebe rifle but will be just building a good user. I tried to find a three position safety but all the former builders of mini Mauser 3 positions safeties have discontinued them. At least the ones that I'm aware of. I do have a nice stick of wood on the way for it.

Mart

There are a few builders that can fit a "standard/fullsize" 3-position safety to your Mini Mauser. That's what's on both of mine curtasy of James Anderson. It's a little more complicated than a regular install, James explained it to me and I've forgotten the details, but it can be done. He also turned the outside of the housing so it matches the contour of the action and looks like it belongs there.




I'm gonna have this rifle finished oneday!

Just pick an old 50's era BSA Hunter in 222...they have the advantage of being a full diameter bolt body, as well as controlled round feed and mini action.

Is there a good source for a Mini Mauser action? I have wanted to build a fast twist 223 for the kids I mentor for ever and was looking at a 527 with a re-barrel and new stock but if I can find an action only that would save me some time. It also has the two position safety which I like as well.

I bought an Interarms Mini Mauser for my 6.5 project and have been able to lengthen the magazine so my 6.5 Grendel max can be loaded to 2.405 COAL. In this pic is the 7.62x39, 6.5x39, the 6.5 Grendel Hornady factory load and my 6.5 Grendel Max with the 123gn A Max loaded to 2.405 and again with my 123gn cast bullet. I did have to remove the screw hold down on the rear of the mag to get the length but there is no movment when it is all in the stock so don't see it as necessary. Have 2.470 internal length.


This was the mockup when I was playing with possibilities.

Having done this allows my to get 2700fps with the 123gn 6.5 A Max from my 21 in barrel and that is (IMO) about as good as it gets for a mini mauser.

They are hard to find in action form. The Daly actions haven't been available for several years. The Zastava rifles with the same action are available occasionally. I wish I could have bought a bunch of the Daly actions when they were available. A severe family illness had us otherwise focused at the time they were available. If a guy is diligent in searching shops and the internet the mini Mausers show up every now and then.

Mart

what would be a fair price on a daly action new in the box these days?

Lean on your Zastava importer - they are readily available from the factory so it is up to the US importer to decide to bring them in. They are widely and relatively cheaply available in Australia thanks to Beretta Australia.

I picked one up three weeks ago for $399. They seem to go in the $350-$400 range when they are available. I see Zastava rifles in the $550 range fairly frequently.

Mart

I have three of the Mini Mausers (properly known as the Zastava m85), one in 6/223, one in 6mm PPC and one in 6.5 Grendel.

The 6/223 and Grendel are a Pigeon pair except for the scopes, both with Basner stocks and Lilja #2 profile barrels cut at 21in.
- the 6/223 has a Kahles CL 2-7 or Bushnell 3200 10x40 depending on the use,
- the Grendel wears a straight 6x36 Leupold.
- The Grendel weighs 6lb 3oz, the 6/223 is a little heavier at 6lb 5oz.
- Both regularly cut 1/2 MOA groups at 100yd and are still sub-MOA at 200yd.

Talley do a set of lightweight rings in 25mm for them. Leupold, Weaver and Warne also do bases for them.

B&C, Boyds, Basner and MPI do stocks for them. McMillan will also inlet a Sako stock for one on special request. I've settled on Basner stocks for my hunting rifles.

Any m98 trigger will fit. The factory trigger is quite good, but a pierced primer will almost always break the trigger sear. The m98 Bold triggers from Boyds are a good price option for a hunting rifle.

The action thread is 22x1.5mm, the action screws are M6 size.

IMHO the 6/223 is a great cartridge from the little action, what's not to like about a 55gn bullet at 3300fps and an 80gn Speer at 2950fps? In my rifle the 55gn NBT is 1in high and the 80gn Speer is right through the aiming point. At that speed, the Speer carries 1000fpe all the way past 200yd.

Adam, those are some nice looking little rifles.

Terry

Some very cool little rifles posted here. I think that these actions are about perfect for the 6.5 grendel IMHO, and that's the way I'd lean if/when I put one together. With a 100 gr. bullet it would for all intents and purposes mirror a .250 savage albeit with less style. Theoretically if you could make a commercial 3-pos safety work on the mini mauser, could you repurpose a converted 2-pos military safety and machine it to fit? That would make the rifle look down right authentic! TC1, are you going to dupe the stock on your beautiful .223 for the action posted above?

-John

No, I have one from Great American Gunstock for this one but it still needs checkering.

Brockman's was doing a .50 Beowulf on them some years back that looked very interesting. Only my concerns about case availability turned me from buying one.

The little Grendel throws a 100gn NBT at 2960 to 3000fps depending on the local temperature. It is more akin to the 257 Roberts than the Savage. 8208 is my powder of choice.

That bullet, at those speeds gives a 1.5in high @ 100, 1.5in low @ 200. Just perfect for my kids to shoot with.

So far it has taken one pig at 72m, one shot - dead right there, grass still in it's mouth.

For the record, IMHO a cracking good cartridge for the action would be the 6.8mm SPC necked down to 6mm, fit a 1:11 barrel for up to 90gn monometal bullets. This would really be a pocket 243.

Woo hoo. I won another auction for a lefty Daly mini Mauser today on GB. That was lucky to find two just a couple weeks apart. One will become a 17 Remington and the other a 6x222. I'm psyched.

Mart

I bought a Remington 789 Mini Mauser in 222 Rem and had it converted to 6.8 SPC II. PACNOR did the rebarrel and bolt face opening work. It feeds with no sweat.

I thik the Daly Mini Mausers were made by Crvena Zastava too, just like all the minis from Interarms, Whitworth, and Remington. They may have been smoothed out and buffed up a bit as Zastava actions could be a little rough and the two lug design is given to binding a bit more than the others.

Mini Mausers are being imported again by a firm in NV.

1B

The 6.8 necked to 6mm with no other changes is the 6mm WOA (White Oak Arms), a popular cartridge for Highpower competition in AR match rifles. Lots of load data available and easy to form. An "improved" version is the 6mm PDK. Less body taper and the shoulder moved forward a bit, and shorter neck. I have one of these and it is scary accurate with 87's or 105 Amax's. There are several calibers in the PDK family that maximize the SPC case volume

Mart,

About a hundred years ago, I built a rifle on one of Sako's .223-length actions. The cartridge I came up with was a 6mm PPC necked up to .257 caliber. I designed it around the 100gr Nosler Partition, and that little beast would duplicate the .250 Savage from a 20" barrel. I called it the ".250 Carpathian". JGS built the reamer for me and RCBS the dies. Sure wish I still owned it.... :-(

Does anyone know if a Sako Riihimaki .222 magazine will accommodate .223's?

I looked at the whole class of cartridge in the 6.8 SPC, 6.5 Grendel, 6mm AR, and 6mm Hagar. They look like a real possibility. I guess I would lean toward the 6.8 SPC necked down to 6mm, the 6mm White Oak Arms. It seems that SPC brass is more widely available at least from my searches this morning. Any suggestions on whom to use to either fit and chamber the barrel or where to rent the reamer. The 6mm WOA sounds like an interesting option.

Mart

I have on of these built by Kevin Weaver, it isn't without a few issues. I've had to have the follower reworked and it still isn't perfect but at least it doesn't pop up through the bottom of the action after I opened the bolt after the last shot. The follower still pops up high enough and blocks the bolt from closing and the magazine only hold two down. So if I needed to run it a single shot in the field it could be a problem.

Lately the bolt stop broke and allowed the bolt just to pull out the rear of the action. Kevin removed metal from the rear of the receiver to make room for the longer cartridge, and had to grind down the bolt stop. That issue has been fixed and it was ready to go in time for my daughters OK whitetail hunt. I had bought this rifle for her to use originally but I didn't allow her to use it because of lack of trust in the rifle. I carried it for a couple of days but wasn't using it when I connected with my deer.

Kevin has been great about warranting the work he did on this rifle, but I think the issues he had with this build has made him not want to build anymore .250 Savages on the action. He had originally built this rifle for himself and I bought it about a year ago for my daughter. It shoots about every load I've tried in it around .5" at 100 yards so accuracy isn't any issue. It doesn't have the magazine space for longer than 100 grain bullets, nor is it throated for longer bullets.

I like the rifle but it will be awhile before I'm willing to let my daughter hunt with it, at least not without me there to back her up.

Mart,
The Hagar is based off the longer 25/30 Rem and really needs to be run long to get the benefit. AR guys are cutting the front of mags out to allow longer OAL. White Oak Armament would have the 6WOA reamer, but I don't know if John will work on a bolt rifle because he is swamped with AR work. Wouldn't hurt to ask. Probably a couple other reamers with other gunsmiths out there and check with the rental places.
Greg

If anyone finds a line on a follower and mag spring, I'd sure like to hear about it. I have a lefty Charles Daly version in .223. Shoots great but feeding is a little iffy, and parts are tough to come by.

Ella

No bullschit, I just spoke to shrapnel about this very thing.

They made different length mags for the appropriate cartridges so if you have .222 length mags they won't work. You need the more bigger mags.

This is per shrap, but he does know all things Sako.


Travis

What kind of follower and mag spring? Hornet, 222/223 or 7.62x39?

It's a 223....

Ella

I got a 799 in a hornet . always thought it would be cool to build a mini in a 5.7x28 maybe even necked to a .20 or .17

You would be better off going with 22 Spitfire on a Brno ZKW465, I have done a couple and they work a treat utilising the original Brno 22 Hornet barrel. Just rechamber, and recut the neck, then adjust the magazine.