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Thread: Make a Bench Rest Follower

  1. #1
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Make a Bench Rest Follower

    As many of you know, a 98' Mauser can be " finicky " about feeding rounds from the mag. box with cast bullet shapes that differ very much from the spitzer, GI ball round that was originally intended to be used in the rifles.

    I shoot a good bit from the bench , " paper punching " with my cast bullets.

    My friend Nick has really begun to enjoy shooting cast bullets also in his 98' Mauser , 30 / 06 Springfield, sporter rifle .



    I promised him that I'd make him a BR follower to use in his rifle.

    This follower ( as many of you know ) centers the round perfectly for smooth feeding 101% of the time.

    The followers can be purchased from Brownell's for most any bolt action center fire rifle for around $15 or so, but they are also easily made with some simple tools.

    I made Nick's out of Amer. Walnut . Here is a slideshow showing how it is made if you'd like to see it :

    http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v4...t=79151f20.pbw
    Last edited by Ben; 04-30-2009 at 10:11 AM.

  2. #2
    Boolit Master Maven's Avatar
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    Thumbs up

    Ben, That's ingenious and the workmanship is ain't too shabby either!

  3. #3
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Maven:

    If I can do it, I assure you........ANYONE can do it !

    Best to you,

    Ben

  4. #4
    Boolit Master

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    That looks good. Well done.
    I just press them in the chamber and close the bolt. I think I might have taken them from the magazine position perhaps five times in years.
    Looks good.

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by docone31 View Post
    That looks good. Well done.
    I just press them in the chamber and close the bolt. I think I might have taken them from the magazine position perhaps five times in years.
    Looks good.
    Mauser claw extractors weren't originally designed to snap over a cartridge rim and it wasn't good to do that. I can really see the advantage of Ben's special follower on a Mauser type action. Good idea Ben.

    Joe

  6. #6
    Boolit Grand Master
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    StarMetal:

    You're right. Dropping a loaded round in a 700 Rem. chamber and closing the bolt is one thing, trying the same thing with a Military 98' Mauser is quite another ..........
    Some gunsmiths can grind and polish a bevel on the extractor claw to allow for this, but an original military 98 Mauser extractor claw.....NO !

    Paul Mauser intended for cartridges to be fed from the mag. box with rounds sliding up under the extractor claw each time a cartridge is fired, ejected, and a new round brought up from the mag. box .

    Putting a loaded round into a Mauser 98 chamber and trying to close the bolt on it is contrary to Paul Mauser's thinking and design engineering he built into this 98' Mauser.

    Before I knew better, I've damaged rims on brass cases BADLY trying to drop a round into the chamber and close the bolt on it. 98's just aren't designed to work that way.

    Ben

  7. #7
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    Ben,

    Yeah, why they call it control feed. That bevel works, but like you and I said still not the correct thing to do.

    Joe

  8. #8
    Boolit Buddy
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ben View Post
    As many of you know, a 98' Mauser can be " finicky " about feeding rounds from the mag. box with cast bullet shapes that differ very much from the spitzer, GI ball round that was originally intended to be used in the rifles.

    I shoot a good bit from the bench , " paper punching " with my cast bullets.

    My friend Nick has really begun to enjoy shooting cast bullets also in his 98' Mauser , 30 / 06 Springfield, sporter rifle .



    I promised him that I'd make him a BR follower to use in his rifle.

    This follower ( as many of you know ) centers the round perfectly for smooth feeding 101% of the time.

    The followers can be purchased from Brownell's for most any bolt action center fire rifle for around $15 or so, but they are also easily made with some simple tools.

    I made Nick's out of Amer. Walnut . Here is a slideshow showing how it is made if you'd like to see it :

    http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v4...t=79151f20.pbw
    I realize this topic is getting old but I wanted to see your slides but can't. Are they gone ?

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check