Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Brno Mauser

Picked up a Brno in 8x57mm and added A Burris 1 3/4-5x scope. The first thing I am going to do is have JES rebore and rechamber it to 9.3x62mm. I am going to have the receiver and mounts color case hardened and the rest blued, add a 3 position safety and a lever release floor plate, add cross bolts, put a better red pad on it and have the forend shortened and an ebony tip in the English style and have the checkering recut and stock refinished. It won’t be an Oberndorf or a Rigby but it will be my idea of a proper African rifle. Every time I have started one of these I have ended up selling it but hopefully now I am making one to keep. I think the Burris will be perfect with a 9.3x62 rifle

Sounds like a fine plan. Look forward to the pics and write up.

What do you intend to hunt that an 8x57 won't handle?

Just for fun, you should pop a 9.3x62 in the magazine and see if"n you've got any wiggle room..

Probably the same things my .30-06 will work on but the 9.3x62 has enamored me since my youth. If I ever do get to Africa to pursue Elephant or Buffalo I will pick a country where it is legal to use on them.

Excuse me... But your plan description seems about like tearing up a classic Corvette to build a custom Ferrari-Jeep! The cartridge is great! The above point above about magazine length is true but with all you're doing, I'd suppose that can be easily handled too... with money! Beyond chambering, not at all sure you're not just buying into a lot of 'show' without netting much in particular 'go'!

Seems to me, maybe better to start out with a 9.3x62 chambered rifle of your choice - of which there are many, and move forward from there. Find a Brno in your desired chambering. Or a factory Husqvarna in either the FN based action or the 1600 series action would seem a good starter. Swap into custom stock if you wish. If you want true classic, pick up an Oberndorf Mauser sporter and work from there. Want something exotic, get a Mannlicher Schönauer rifle.
Seems to me you're just grinding up a good rifle in some kind of explosion and recreating an about entirely different rifle... unnecessarily. The result a collection of "parts is parts"!
Last point, in that chambering, needing a rifle of good ergonomics. It's a thumper!
Best to you and...
Just my take.
John

Good luck with the conversion. Seems to me a good candidate if you want a small ring 98 9,3x62. The rifle has been altered enough that no "collector" value exists! So, a perfect candidate for customization. While you are at it, a good time to convert to a single trigger, depending of course on how yours performs. The majority of the Brno's I've had come through had a horrible unset pull weight and VERY light set weight. Some responded well to cleaning, homing, and adjustment while others, well, not so much.

I appreciate the thoughts and concerns. The gun was already altered with the bolt handle and stock cut and a pad added so it is no longer original. I happen to prefer the small ring Mauser and want a light weight thumper. If it were in pristine condition I would not mess with it but then again I would not have bought it in the first place. The cheaper and easier way would have been to buy a Ruger African or a Zastavia in 9.3x62 but then I wouldn’t be posting in the custom rifle forum. I am sending it off today to be rebored and will shoot try it out on some pigs before sending it out for the rest of the work

I love the set trigger on this one. The set pull is great and without is not too heavy

Hey Mike, it's been awhile. I hope all is well.

Agreed 100%. The set triggers are neato but not very practical. The stock has been cut on so no big deal there. The wood on these stocks have a tendency to shed checkering. I would suggest a a fine line job. The bolt has been modified or replaced so I personally would replace the safety without a second thought. I'm not a huge fan of the 21H style safety. It needs high scope rings to use with any speed. I bet that little rifle with the low drop stock will be brutal in a 9.3X62 but hey, everyone has their own tolerance to recoil.

I figure it won’t be as bad as my .50-90 Shiloh or the metal butt pad of my Win 71 from the bench

It is an excellent action for the job, if I had the spare coin I would consider the same.

Good ideas and a cool project. Wonderful rifles, they just need some tweaking. I have two Brno 21/22 rifles at the moment, and have had two others that I sold. You got lucky with the double set triggers if you can use the front as-is without setting it. If I had one like that I'd leave it alone too. I had a couple with DST's that I replaced with single triggers because the front trigger unset was just too heavy.

I like your idea of a 9.3x62 rebore is very appropriate and functional. I really like how the 9.3 kills better than expected on the front end and recoil is less than expected on the back end.