My/Dad's Mauser 25-06 Sporter

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  • trickg

    Guns 'n Drums
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 22, 2008
    14,598
    Glen Burnie
    I had the opportunity to take my/my Dad's 25-06 out last weekend. I didn't shoot it much - just a handful of rounds of handloads he'd put together before I was even in High School.

    The rifle is more accurate than I am. The targets weren't fancy - just paper plates with a big cross and dot marked on them - but the first shot drilled the dot. There are three shots in the photo of the target - I pulled the second shot, but the third shot followed the first shot through the hole it created. Keep in mind that this rifle hasn't had a single round through it in over 20 years because Dad died in 1997, and it sat until I acquired it in 2008, whereupon it sat until this last Sunday morning. I once remember Dad saying something to the effect of "it's still pretty accurate, but the real fine accuracy has been shot out of that barrel." Could have fooled me - it's pretty much dead on at 100 yards, and if I do my part, it puts a bullet right in the center of the crosshairs. (I made sure the barrel was reasonably clean by running a bore snake through it a few times - I know dust can build up over time in a rifle bore.)

    To give a bit more information on the rifle, it's a Gewehr Mauser 98 sporter, and Dad did most of the work on it to get it where it is now. I'm not quite sure how old it is in its current configuration - I think he did this build sometime in the late 1960s or early 1970s. I always thought I remembered him telling me it was barreled with a Dillon barrel, but I've never pulled the action from the stock to see if it's marked anywhere - it may be a Douglas barrel and I'm just remembering it wrong. He'd had the bolt cut off and a chromed, swept, knurled bolt installed, and from what I remember him saying about the stock, he'd bought a stock "rough out," and he did all of the fitting. I remember him saying that he'd cut the magazine well down by hand with a hacksaw so that it would have a slimmer profile, which also involved shortening the spring. In any case, the mag well only holds about 4 rounds - plenty if you're deer hunting.

    The scope, a Redfield 3x9x40, is probably older than me, and it was probably a dandy when Dad installed it on the rifle, but by today's standards, it's pretty basic. The glass is clear, but the reticle is just a fine crosshair - that seemed to be what he preferred.

    I did notice something curious though, and that's the load data from two partial boxes of ammo I've got. He loaded a 100 gr jacketed spitzer point bullet over 58.0 grains of 4831, which I'm assuming is IMR 4831 and not H4831 - these are the times I wish he was around to ask.

    In any case, according to two of the three reloading manuals I've got (Lyman doesn't list a loading for 25-06 with 4831, which is surprising because it seems to be a favorite powder for reloaders online) it lists 56.0 gr as a max load, and from what I can see, it's been that way for a while. I've got some other ammo he loaded with the same bullet, but using 55.0 gr.

    For what it's worth, the load was plenty accurate and didn't blow up the gun, but 2.0 grains is a pretty big discrepancy.

    I've got some other ammo for it too - a couple of boxes of 117 gr Sierra BT over 55.0 gr of 4831 - again, hotter than the hottest listed loading for that weight bullet by 2 full grains. By the time he'd loaded those, he'd been reloading for roughly 40 years, so I assume he knew what he was doing with his charge weight.

    At some point in time, I'd love to take some game with that rifle and the ammo he loaded - I can think of no better way to honor the man.
     

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    trickg

    Guns 'n Drums
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 22, 2008
    14,598
    Glen Burnie
    Thanks for the kind words - with Dad having been gone so long I do feel closer to him when I can shoot his (now my) guns and ammo.

    There are a couple of other details, one I forgot to mention, and one that I learned tonight.

    The first is the trigger - it has a Timney trigger that if I had to guess, is probably somewhere around 4.5 lbs - it's not light, but it's not heavy either, and it breaks super cleanly.

    The second has to do with the load data. Apparently in years gone by the max load for IMR 4831 was 59.5 gr under a 100 gr jacketed spitzer, so I'm not (theoretically) in the danger zone at 58.0.
     
    Last edited:

    midnightSGT

    Active Member
    Oct 17, 2013
    756
    Calvert County
    Your post and pictures brought tears to my eyes and fond memories of my dad, his/now my guns, and deer camp. Thanks for sharing. The pictures of your dads
    load data written on the ammo boxes is priceless.
     

    trickg

    Guns 'n Drums
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 22, 2008
    14,598
    Glen Burnie
    Your post and pictures brought tears to my eyes and fond memories of my dad, his/now my guns, and deer camp. Thanks for sharing. The pictures of your dads
    load data written on the ammo boxes is priceless.
    I actually have a lot of that kind of stuff - he used to write on the boxes with grease pencil, but he also used to put little cards made from cut-up primer packaging into boxes of ammo, listing it the load data. I do the same thing just because he did it. It's nice to pull out a box of ammo, look at the card, and know exactly what it is, as well as the day I loaded it.
     

    duckslayer

    Active Member
    Feb 3, 2009
    554
    southern dorchester county
    Load data has decreased significantly over the years I have a Speer manual that has starting charges where my modern manuals leave off.
    As I understand it ,it is partly due to the change from C.U.P. To PSI and the pressure curves.
    However the Guns didn’t blow up with the old “ unsafe “ loads.
    I have some 22 Hornet loads from my father that are way over. He had loaded for over 50 years as well. I confess that I have avoided those.
     

    slsc98

    Ultimate Member
    May 24, 2012
    6,746
    Escaped MD-stan to WNC Smokies
    ... It's nice to pull out a box of ammo, look at the card, and know exactly what it is, as well as the day I loaded it.

    Sorta on / off topic but, a neighbor brought me a case (for any who remember the old 20 box packagings) of shotgun shells their son-in-law’s late father had reloaded and their s-I-l brought across country from CA for a visit this past summer. Anyway, out of 20 boxes of reloads NOT A SINGLE BOX has so much as even a pencil mark, let alone any indication of what the reloads consist of. Just re-used factory boxes that, get this, the unknown reloader went to the trouble to make sure the brand box corresponds to the reloaded hulls inside! :rolleyes: I went ahead and cut open one shell out of each box and they were all obviously 1-1/8oz “heavy” hunting loads (#2, 4, 5 & 6 shit sizes) and it is apparent the late chap knew what he was doing but, other than sitting on close to 500 2-3/4” shells we can put to good use for def training drills on cardboard targets, it irks me to no end that it never occurred to the old fellow to make any notes on or inside any of the 20 boxes. :sad20:

    (Some of the boxes are OLLLLLLLLD and I know may interest at least one collector so, there’s that also ...)
     

    mauser58

    My home is a sports store
    Dec 2, 2020
    1,757
    Baltimore County, near the Bay
    Very nice rifle for sure. I have built quite a few rifles myself on Mauser actions. I built my one son a 2506 and these are nice flat shooters. My son has shot a few deer with it but he is trying to find the right bullet. He has had factory ammo punch a hole right through the deer and deer running a bit before going down. He or me dont reload. You have a nice rifle to cherish and shoot.
     

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