Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing 300WSM on LR Mauser Play Devils Advocate for me!

Ok so I have about 12 barrels all new sitting in my Gun closet. Prob. 8 of them match grade or better the rest are wild cards because the companies that made them long ago went out of business pre-internet or no name is on those ones etc. I should say that with the naked eye all of these mystery barrels are straight and nicely machined.

Since I have so many barrels all of them new sitting around I hate to spend money on something that I do not already have since any money saved is going into the wood for the stalk.

So my oldest son is in the Army National Guard, Works 40-70 hours a week at a restaurant and is going to school full time and will graduate from college this year. He has not borrowed any money he is paying his own way. Very very proud of that kid. So this rifle is a surprise for him. Currently he has a Remington 308 Win PSS that he used for F-TR and am AR in 5.56.

Since he already has F-Class TR covered and a 5.56 AR I was thinking hunting? Something that can reach out and can take larger game in N. America but be built very light so he can carry it into the mountains on foot for elk and prong horn with out the need of a quad or a horse.

I have a NOS Military Mauser LR and was thinking about doing a 300WSM. I had considered doing a 284 Win but my match grade 7mm is 1:10 and only 1.100 at the large end and my other 7mm is an unknown brand only 25 inches long and 1:9 twist but is 1.250 on the large end. If it was for me I would do the mystery 7mm barrel since it looks great down the bore but since it is going to be a gift I want to make sure I do not give him a lemon.

99% of my barrels are heavy profiles for F-Class and Varmint shooting as in 7lbs. to 13lbs. just in the barrels. Since I want it to be a hunting rifle I only have that 25 inch long 7mm 1:9 twist which is about a #2 profile in CM not sure if it is 4150 or 4350 and a 28 inch long 30cal 1:8 twist that is about a #3 profile in 416R. As long as I use one of these two barrels I can afford to get AA Curly Maple or AAA Clario Walnut. I was hoping to find some Mesquite to do the stock in but it seems to either be in short supply right now or only exhibition grade is on hand and just a bit outside of what I want to pay just for the blank.

Since I have never adjusted the feed rails in an action before I will send this action and barrel out to a good gunsmith and I will shape the stock and inlet it myself.

The Mauser is a M48A Yugo from about 12 years ago It was fired 12 times and my friend removed the barrel to make it into a custom rifle but cancer got him and he gave it to me shortly before he passed away. I put 6 of those 12 shots through it and my friend the other 6.Oh I have milled bottom metal for it so the stamped pieces will not be used.

I will likely do the stock in something like a Monte Carlo or Maybe Winchester M70 Super grade kind of classic shape. I am likely to do non-swiveling African style sling swivels inletted into the wood or barrel band and inletted sling swivel at the other end. Checkering is an option but it depends on the wood. Nothing worse then paying for great looking wood and ruining the beautiful figure with checkering. If I decide to do checkering I would prob. stop at Semi-Fancy grade wood.


So I looking forward to hearing everyone's thought on this! The action will be trued completely before re-barreling.

I will pillar bed it first since it is a Mauser and then glass bed it.

Oh one thing I wanted to ask everyone since the 30 cal barrel is 1:8 28 inches long already profiled, polished and crowned but un-chambered and un-threaded should I get fancy with the reamer's? Since it is 28 inches in finished length and 1:8 twist conceivably this rifle could easily handle the heaviest of 30 cal bullets no problem. Should I spec. a custom neck and throat? My son does not reload but I do so it is not an issues for me to reload ammo for him as long as he lives in the same state.

I need to get started on it soon because I need to have rotatory cuff surgery in the coming months.


Thanks everyone for any input. I want to iron out any kinks before I get started and many minds make for quick work when looking for potential problems. I always tell my 3 boys that it is great to learn from your mistakes even better to learn from other's that have been their and done that already! LOL

Ok so looks like I should start looking for some wood! I thought I would get some negative comments or suggestions but it looks like it got the green light. Thanks guys.

Consider my prior silence to be a negative comment.

Use the unknown barrel and put together a nice little 7x57

I will advise against a WSM in a LR Mauser. Everyone that I know who has tried ended up with one that didn't feed well if at all. A 30-06 would be the easiest as far as modifications and feeding issues. A 300 Win Mag would work as well but much more modifications and will need some skill in making it feed reliably. Just my two cents. I would really use that fast twist 30 cal barrel on a more suitable action and make a big one, in the 300 H&H, 300 Weatherby, or 30-378 as an example. Don't get me wrong what you want to do is doable all it takes is money and the right gunsmith!

While the Mauser may wellhandle the high bolt thrust numbers of the WSM OK, I think it's excessive. If I wanted to push a 98 that hard, I would be happier with a belted magnum like the 30-338 or 308 Norma. The WSM is just too fat. GD

I would use the features you have that function. Bolt face and feed rail's for 06 sized cases. I would use the 1 in 9 twist 7mm barrel and set it up for 280 Remington. Have one of those and a 7RM and for almost anything the 280 is top notch. I am not sure if the 280AI will feed as well without other work. You could make a great rifle on this and shoot heavy 7mm bullets quite well in the 1/9 twist. Mine is 1/9.25 and I wouldn't change a thing. Just my two cents.

Pretty well the best idea I've read yet.

The OP is using a Yugo M48 action. It is an intermediate length action, not full length. Too short for 30-06 length cartridges and way too short for 300 Win Mag length. BTDT.

Would suggest the 30-284 and avoid altering the rails

7/08 will feed, function, and have plenty of mag box space on a Yugo IME. WSM is gonna be a mess, I know of a couple that are collecting dust because they couldn’t be made to feed.

Ooops sorry. I actually stopped reading prior to or somehow missed the M48 reference. Shame on me. Yes 30-06 length cartridges would not be practical (probably not even possible). But the fatness of the WSM is still the hard part. Stick with smaller diameter cases and ideally with 30-06 (.473) head sizes for ease of conversion and ease of making feed reliably. The 7-08 sounds like the best choice so far and again save that long, fast twist 30 cal for a more suitable action.

The old Heym Mausers sold by Montgomery Wards used intermediate Yugo (Zastava) actions and were offered in .270 and .30-06.

If you are adept at making Mausers feed, have at it, otherwise, stick to a Xx57 based case on those actions. The 6.5x55 typically feeds easily as well. The last Yugo I built was a .376 Steyr.

With that action I'd consider going with a classic, the 7mm Mauser, was good enough in Africa and you can load it to 7mm-08 levels. Particularly if I had some nice wood.

my 6.5x284 feeds fine without any rail alteration, fwiw

I am with the others, go with a x57mm case or nothing more exotic than the 6.5x284. Lost track of which barrels you had but the 7mm is a good choice, the 30 is an odd ball and more suited to something shooting 240+ gr. VLD bullets.

I am a big fan of Mesquite both Honey and Screw Bean but it is not for a light weight rifle unless you want to hollow the thing out pretty seriously. I am going to be cutting some more honey mesquite and want to dig up the root stock on these. But they won't be ready for 6-10 years. Once they are cured it is one of the most stable woods around.

I like Maple especially with the Hal Hartly Suigi finish but hard maple can be heavy and the Red or soft can be too soft so you need to shop around. Me if I am going to spend as much time as it takes to finish a stock I want the best I can afford and the best is Juglans Regia doesn't matter where it is from be it California, New Zealand or the Caucasus it will just work better than most other woods. Claro is a distant second choice. You can get more figure for the dollar and it can be lighter weight but this usually comes with more open pores.

Make a 284 with a 7mm barrel. Save the 30 cal barrel for so.ething that you want to shoot sub sonics with. If you must use the 30 on the Yugo 48 maybe a 30 Newton will be short enough (30/376 Styer).

I'd do a 7mm-08 also.

Did they lengthen the internal length of the box ?

I'd use a different action