Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Which Mauser for 9.3 build?

Thought for a while about having a 9.3x62. Seems like a fun and useful round.

Actually picked up a Sako L61r in 30-06 some time ago to have re- chambered/bored to 9.3. Haven't done it yet. The thing is, I just kinda want an old Mauser for it. They just look "right" and I ain't ever had an old Mauser.

That said. I know next to nothing about the varied Mauser actions. Guesing Large ring? See lots of builds on VZ24's. Lots of actions refered to as 98's and 1909's.

Saw a " Erfurt 1918 98 " for sale? Good candidate?

The Gew.98 you mentioned should be fine. I'm a fan of the Czech produced 98's(VZ24. 98/22 ect) myself.

Currently I have rifles on VZ-24, Gew and 1908/34 actions. Hard to go wrong with a Mauser 98, for 9.3x62 pressures, I would be concerned more with condition than manufacturer.

If you plan to build without having the receiver heat treated, I would look to a vz24, or other action produced from the mid 30's onward. They will have much better heat treatment.

The Erfurt may be a good candidate, depends on it's current condition and what the lug seats look like.

MadMooner,

IF it was me, I would "prowl the back aisles" of your local gun-shows & look for ANY decently "sporterized" Mauser in most any caliber that has a .473 diameter case head.
Around The Alamo City shows, over the last year, I've seen at least a dozen such "sporterized" Mausers that would be fine to re-bore/re-chamber to 9.3x62mm & that were priced at 150.oo or less.

At the last SA gun-show, I saw a pair of "really well done" sporters for sale (with European-style scopes) for 200.oo & 250.oo each. = HANDSOME is the only appropriate word for those rifles.

Also, I would suggest sending the rifle to Jessie at JES for "reformatting", as his prices are very reasonable, "turnaround time" is QUICK & his workmanship is definitely FIRST CLASS.

IF you are a handloader, 9.3x62mm cases are EASY to modify from .30-06.
(A local Garand match shooter gives me more "once fired" government M2 Ball cases than any one person would ever use. = My last "haul" was over 500 pieces, that cost me the gas to go pick the cases up from his home. - The cases will be fire-formed & loaded with 285 grain GCCB for hunting in the USA.)
Note: I only buy "factory" ammo for DANGEROUS GAME, as a 285 grain GCCB at 1800-2000 FPS will slay ANY creature that you may hunt in the Western Hemisphere, other than possibly a GRIZZLY.

just my OPINIONS, tex

Good advice Tex, just be wary of bubba mods that aren't done correctly.

Seems the supply of good clean Mauser actions is drying up. I was fortunate and found a guy that had a bunch of pristine VZ24 actions and twice a year he would bring one to the local gun show and I would buy them, I paid $150.00 each for them. That wasn't that long ago but I am afraid those days are gone.

To your point on sporterized Mausers I had been searching for a G33/40 Mauser action for some time and finally found one online for a fair price, I didn't hesitate and bought it! Wasnt a month later and the local gun store had a sporterized Mauser priced at $150.00 and upon close inspection it was built on a G33/40! well I snatched that rascal up after confirming it wasn't bubba'd . so keep an eye out and you may find what you need.
And as others have said the VZ24 is a great way to go.

I'd look for a Husqvarna 640, Simpson's imports them in into the U.S. from Sweden in CONEX size lots. www.simpsonltd.com Call them, ask for Floyd, and tell him what you're looking for and what you want to do with it.

I put together a matched pair of Interarms Mark X mannlichers in 7x57 and 9.3x62, using a Lothar Walther barrel for the 9.3x62. If I wasn't going to do a mannlicher, I probably would have gone with a Husqvarna 1600 series action instead of the Interarms Mark X.

EDIT: The large ring Husqvarna 640 actions are commercial style actions, no thumb slot in the left receiver rail or or stripper clip slot in the rear action bridge, that were made by FN for Husqvarna in the late 1940's thru early 1950's.

irfubar,

The vast majority of "sporterized" military Mausers are fine from a safety standpoint, though there ARE some that are "messed up" but good. = I find that the VAST majority of "Bubba-ed" military Mausers are just "cut down" & "refinished" without many actual changes that effect the safety of the rifle.
(Truthfully, I am AGAINST turning a GOOD rifle in full military dress into a "sporter", when there are so many of the NON-collectable ones out there that are already "civilianized".)

My advice, IF you are NOT competent to actually inspect a "sporterized" rifle for completeness/safety is to GET EXPERT help.

Incidentally, my TREASURED 9.3x62mm rifle for HEAVY game was once a circa-1969 (and CHEAP to buy) .30-06 Remington Model 760 pump-rifle. It was re-formatted by Jessie at JES & money won't buy it, as it cuts ONE ragged hole with a 5-shot group well past 100M (presuming that I do my part).
Note: Where I generally hunt in the South TX "brush country", you cannot SEE a deer/exotic/hog/predator more than 50M, unless you are shooting down a powerline right of way or across a "bean field" from a tower blind. = YEP, the brush IS that thick.

I guess that, in addition to being a southpaw, that I'm a Model 760 addict, as I have 8 of them in calibers from .244 to the 9.3x62mm & IF I'm not reaching for the 9.3, it's the circa 04/1954 in .300 SAV that I reach for "WT sized game".

just my OPINIONS, tex

I went ahead and bought that Erfurt 98.

Looked like a fair deal and pretty clean. Has a Douglas barrel that can likely be re bored to 9.3. We’ll see.

Thanks for the info, all!

MadMooner,

CONGRADS & BEST WISHES on the remodeling project.

yours, tex

IMO, buying a "sporterized" Mauser will often leave you disappointed. Once you get home and remove the scope and bases and find that the scope base holes have been misdrilled. Or, you find that the rear bridge wasn't contoured correctly and under the rear base was a slice of soda can to shim the base on the side that they ground too much.

Not alway the bargain they appear to be.

z1r,

Agreed 100% = That's WHY I suggested that IF you don't know what to look for, that you GET EXPERT HELP.
(IF you find a mess after purchase, you didn't do a good job of "shopping the back aisles".)

Over the last 3 decades, I've probably bought 4-5 dozen "cheap rifles" to reformat for myself or friends. - IF I decided to get rid of them, rather than keep them for myself or gift them to family/friends, they got resold & generally for a profit.
(Most people will be stunned at what you can find IF you are reasonably knowledgeable & NOT in a rush to "just buy something". = Lack of patience & "lack of attention to detail" is a great way to either spend too much money and/or "get taken".)

Note: One of my "pieces of cheap junque" (Junque is that "fancy French junk".) was the source of the best German-made 3X scope that I own & it came off a "100 buck rifle", that I found at a garage sale in PA about 1975.
(The "optics guy" at Waffen Bennewitz in K-town, BRD said that it was worth about 2,000DM.)

yours, tex

I cheated a bit. Took a Simpson import Husqvarna 146 mfg in 1938. Excellent bore. 9.3 x 57. ( NOT a model 46!). 146’s used std commercial Belgian FN 98 action. Bought a 9.3 x 62 chamber reamer. Then one slow day at the shop and the Rest is history. A very accomplished smith here on the fire that I highly respect stated that he did this same process on several x57’s. But on a couple he had to do additional feed rail mods. I suppose I got lucky. No rail mods on mine. Function flawless.

I was at my Gunsmiths one afternoon picking up a rifle he worked the trigger on for me, a rag wrapped chunk was laying on the counter, I ask, what's in the rag? he unwrapped a 98 Mauser action that had 'Heym Germany' stamped on it below where the stock line would be.

Lights started blinking in my head, I bought the action, left it there, ordered a McGowan barrel and an accurate innovations stock, a beautifully cerakoted 9.3x62mm rifle was soon in my hands, I mounted a 1.5-5 leupold in talley levers and went to the load shop, had already ordered hornady brass, dies and some 320 gr Woodleigh weldcores, rl-17 pushes those to 2400+ fps, the only bullet that's ever been shot through that barrel.

It's a wonderfully accurate rifle, with it's big soft point load, and the solid load I developed for giggles, there isn't a game animal walking that rifle wont handle.

Hope you can find a good 98 Mauser to build on MM.

Good job KW, nothing prettier than snow chilled elk loin.

Thanks Gunner! That was the hunt of a lifetime for me.

Dang right Buddy, out of the hide, and loin slung over a meat pole back at camp, has me standing in a fresh thawed mudhole from the drool running outta my face ; )

For unbeatable value I would chase up a HUSQVARNA 146 in 9.3x57 and chase out the chamber.

For all out custom I would start with a ZG47.

Simpsonsltd

My 9.3 was built on a pre-war VZ 24 action. Very pleased with how it turned out. Also have a .30/06 built on a VZ-24. Excellent build. Very pleased.

A couple of Husqvarna 146's I converted to 9,3x62.


My go to 9,3x62 built on a Military 98 action:



Another 9,3x62 that started as a Husqvarna 146. I replaced the receiver with a Steyr 1912.




An open sight only 9,3x62 WIP built off a WWI G98 action, reheatreated.


And from top to bottom a Husqvarna 649 in 9,3x62, Husqvarna 46AN in 9,3x62, Husqvarna 46A in 9,3x57, and Husqvarna 146 rechambered to 9,3x62.


Lastly, a cz550 gussied up a little:
[img]https://i.imgur.com/e6LAgB9h.jpg[/img]

Here is a tip for you in building a 9.3X62 on a GEW length Mauser.
Take the rear ferral and measure it. Take a piece if tubing with a 1/4" ID and cut it off square at .080" longer then the old one. That will be the new one you will use. Now make a ring of the same tubing .080" long to go around the front guard screw. This will cinch up between the screw boss and bottom metal. When you install these you will see the magazine box is now dropped .080" low.

NOW------ take brass or steel shims and solder them to the front and sides of the magazine edges so you fill the space and dress then off with a file inside and outside.
When it's done it will look like this.

5 shot 9.3X57 mag by Steve Zihn, on Flickr

Now when you make the stock you need to allow a bit of extra wood on the bottom, but when it's done you can't see any difference at all, but doing it this way allows you to load 5 rounds with ease.