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Mauser.Org / Mitchell's Mauser

10K views 21 replies 8 participants last post by  kraigwy 
#1 ·
Hello all,

I am new to the community and new to the idea of long-range precision shooting. It is something that I have wanted to think about doing for a long time, but never really got into it.

Right now, I am toying with the idea. I have read a lot of the budget rifle posts on this site and even the DIY rifle project that are listed here. One thing that I have not seen yet is much talk about the Mauser rifle, and more specifically the Mauser action. Is this a good action to work with? More specifically, does anyone here have any knowledge of Mitchell Mauser's? I see their advertisement all the time in gun magazines, but does anyone here have any first hand dealing with them? Are they quality weapons/people?

I know that something www.mauser.org is not going to meet my long range precision shooting needs, but it might be a good rifle (I do not have ANY rifle right now) to shoot with and get practice with before dropping $500 - $1000 on a higher quality rifle.

Thanks in advance
 
#2 ·
Mauser actions are great platforms to start with. Are you planning on building a bare action up or a k98 as is? If you want inexpensive, there are finnish nagants that shoot extremely well for about the same amount you would spend on a mitchells Mauser.
 
#3 ·
I would second the recommendation of picking up a Mosin as a less expensive option to get into something with a long reach. There are the Finnish built ones that were worked over in the factory to be more accurate than the Russian built stuff. Or you can even still find some of the old Mosin Sniper rifles complete with scope and mount, though modifying one could get you quite a bit of flack from some people.

If you are looking for a complete custom build a Mauser action is a good platform to start with as Perpetual Motion mentioned.
 
#5 ·
Another alternative if you really want a Mauser platform is to find an IDF surplus mauser. These are Essentially K98's which were converted by the Israelis to 7.62x51. Keep in mind this is a NATO round and is not recommended to be interchanged with 308win. I am also hard headed and use surplus ammo on mine and hand loaded 308 ammunition (scaled back) but have not lost a limb yet. I bought mine from a local store for $150 last year. Refinished the stock and checked the headspace...been shooting it since.
 
#7 ·
I am looking at the website and I am very impressed with what I have seen. I gave them a call and spoke to a nice lady about their rifles, and I have been reading up on their website as well. You guys are saying that the Finnish ones are the best. Are those the ones that are made in Tula or Ivhevsk? I want the highest quality rifle that I can shoot -- not collect. I can afford the prices that they are listing there.

Overall, out of the m91/30, what would you guys recommend? What kind of accuracy could I expect from a rifle like those listed on that website? How about recoil and availability of ammunition?
 
#8 ·
There are more reasonable alternatives than Mitchell's Mausers. If you look closely you'll see that Mitchell's Mausers are labeled as "numbers matched" not "numbers matching", if it's labeled at all. If it's numbers matched they've taken a rifle and engraved their own numbers on all the pieces to make it match. They are nice looking but of no real historical significance. The chance of picking up a collector grade piece for $300 is pretty slim.

That being said, the Mauser (K98 is the one I'm most familiar with) is a great platform to build on and can be had very reasonably. There is a guy on here who goes by FMSNIPER who knows a lot more about MAusers than I do and you can check out http://www.mausercentral.com for more tips. Aske them about Mauser's Mitchell and you'll get an earful.
 
#10 ·
Jestik said:
You guys are saying that the Finnish ones are the best. Are those the ones that are made in Tula or Ivhevsk? I want the highest quality rifle that I can shoot -- not collect.
The Finns used whatever captured rifles they acquired. They could have been made by almost anyone. However, the Finns installed their own barrels and the later ones were also stocked by the Finns. It really won't make a lot of difference who made the receiver if the Finns used a Sako or Tikka barrel and then put the barrelled receiver in a new stock. Chances are it'll be a shooter.

Surplus ammunition is readily available and inexpensive. It WILL be corrosive so it's necessary to clean the rifle well after each range session... IMMEDIATELY after! If that's done religiously, the bore will stay bright and as-new until you wear it out by shooting it. Don't be afraid of corrosive ammo. It's great stuff and only requires you to be disciplined enough to clean your rifle right away.
 
#12 ·
Check out this site for more info on the Mosin rifles. http://7.62x54r.net/

Off that site the ones that will have the best accuracy out of the box will be the factory snipers as they would have been those that were hand picked for sniper service. That is not to say that a regular 91/30 cannot be made to be quite accurate using modern methods. If you do not get the sniper I would at least pay the couple extra bucks to order a hand picked, remember these are surplus rifles that many were used in combat. Some may not have been taken care of as well as others or just be in rougher shape in general.

There are a couple aftermarket options as far as new trigger assemblies, and a couple different scope mount setups available from the traditional to scout scope setups.

Ammo is fairly inexpensive with tons of surplus available. There had been Lapua match grade ammo available in the past though now I believe they only produce reloadable brass in the 7.62x54R. I picked up a crate (880 rounds) of Russian steel core for $165 a couple months back for my M44 (Mosin Carbine).
 
#13 ·
I am real close to buying one of those $110.00 M91/30 rifles. I called the company and spoke to the same lady that I did last time and she told me that she did not know if they had any that came from Finland. I tried explaining it to her, but I am not too sure she knew what I was talking about. I asked who would do the "cosmetic" choosing if I paid the extra money and she said she or another man in the office would. I hope he knows more than she did.

How hard is it to find accessories for that M91/30 rifle? Specifically, scope base and rings and bipod?
 
#15 ·
Jestik the 91/30 is a great rifle that is tough as nails. You can also get quite a few accessories from Midway including the trigger assemblies that I mentioned earlier.

Just be aware that unless you go with the scout mount you will need to have the receiver drilled so that you can mount your scope. You will also need to bend the bolt handle to work with a standard scope setup. There are a few places that sell bent bolts or you can use the bolt handle in the ATI kit that cuts off the original handle and the new one is bolted on (again gunsmithing required).

As far as rings go you should have your choices of the normal selection depending on the mounts you go with. Like if you go with the ATI mount it uses a standard weaver setup.

Mind there are also other manufactures of parts for the Mosin that do things on a much more small scale and normally produce very nice parts.
 
#16 ·
I'm going to do it. For $110 (rifle price) + $20 (s&h) + $30 (transfer fee) I can start shooting. I can eventually upgrade to the Monte Carlo stock, new bedding, scope mounts, and what not. That is much less expensive than what I was going to do which was spend $400 on a Howa and then try and upgrade. This rifle that I am going to buy and upgrade will cost me less in the long run and hold me over until I get one of those nice $1000 rifles (if I ever do)

My goal is to be able to hit a dinner plate @ 300 yards. If the rifle can do it, which I reckon that it will be able to, then I should be able to do it in time....with practice. I am totally new to rifle shooting, having only shot a few in the Scouts and my friends AR and AK.

Any tips on what 7.56x54 ammo to use in that gun?
 
#17 ·
Finnish nagants will have additional proof marks from the pre existing Russian marks. Some will have updated crowns on them. If you do end up with a Finnish nagant, try to keep it stock as they are quite collectible and would only hurt the value when it's time to sell. The ones on he site mentioned earlier are regular Russian nagants. Their counterparts are double the value for the shooter grade Finnish rifles.

You'd be surprised how those "howa" rifles are able to keep up with $1000 rifles. :mrgreen:
 
#18 ·
Jestik well they have the ammo on that site or you can get it at the regular places online Cheaper than Dirt, Midway, Sportsmans Guide (where I got my Russian surplus), and all the other surplus providers out there.

I'm planning on building a 91/30 for a range gun in the future, after I have done a bit more work on my Weatherby and my M44.

Oh and here is a little inspiration for your build.

 
#22 ·
Here is a hint, get your mosin, dump you money into ammo and learn to shoot it as is. They are normally pretty good shooters and are great for learning the fundamentals.

Locate some Vintage Militery Rifle Matches put on by the CMP/NRA and are a good venue to learn the basics.

When you get the Vintage Rifle Matches (200 yards) down pat then move on to NRA Hight Power, 200, 300, and 600 yards.

The rilfe will do it, and its a great place to learn marksmanship fundamentals while you progress and determine where you want to go from there.
 
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