1935 Peruvian Mauser

[rjathon]

I found a 1935 Peruvian Mauser in 7.65x53 caliber. The rifle, stock, and bolt have matching serial numbers. The rifle is in great shape except for the bore, which has a decent throat and rifling, and is bright and shiny, but is pitted. The question is how will the pitting effect shootability?

The action is the slickest that I have ever come across and the gun is so sweet but I like good shooters and the pitted bore is worrisome. Is this a big deal?

Thanks,

Russ

[Larry Gibson]

Many "pitted" barrels will shoot cast bullets extremely well. Only one way to know............

Larry Gibson

[leadman]

I have an 1891 Arg in the same caliber with a pitted bore. It shoots gas checked boolits just fine.

[rjathon]

Thanks for the encouragement. The bore is absolutely filthy and full of copper so cleaning it will be a big chore but I can't wait to see if it shoots!

[Multigunner]

Hopefully a through cleaning may reveal the bore is in better shape than it now looks.

Shallow pitting can be dealt with by lead lapping the bore. Of course this adds about one thousandth to the bore size.

[rjathon]

Thanks, you hit the nail on the head. I've spent three days of soaking the barrel in Shooters Choice and scrubbing it finally things started to look shiny and rifling began to appear. It now has a bright shiny bore with distinct rifling. It has a ways to go but I realize that it deserves shooting.

The throat is questionable but with more cleaning may turn out ok.
I do think it would benefit from recrowning but would a fresh crown be considered defacing it?

I used to live in MT and was an avid hunter and shooter. When M96 Mausers became available I had no concept of history but saw them as magnificent tools. A friend sporterized it for me and I fell in love with 6.5x55 cartridge. With long heavy bullets it is a low recoil precise killing machine.

This Peruvian Mauser is the slickest feeding rifle I've ever seen. It is so sweet that it is still sporting its original 7.65 barrel. The dilemma is what to do if it doesn't shoot. Brownells has pre-chambered Mauser profiled barrels in .308 Win on sale for $139. Would putting one of those on it and shooting it and putting the original barrel aside be a sacrilege?

Hopefully it will shoot well. It is to smooth and beautiful to be ignored.

Your comment about lead lapping is interesting. How does it work in a worn barrel with possibly some throat erosion? How would you go about it?

Thanks,

Russ

[Multigunner]

Your comment about lead lapping is interesting. How does it work in a worn barrel with possibly some throat erosion? How would you go about it?

Thanks,

Russ
Hopefully you won't have to go that far.

I'm no expert on lapping, its best to have this done by someone who's experianced at it.

Lead lapping was at one time a common final step in manufacturing the barrel. I don't think they invest the time nowdays, and button rifling is said to burnish the bore making lapping un necessary.
In restoring a lightly pitted bore a gunsmith would insert a rod with ball bearing handle and cast a lead slug on the end. The end of the rod cut like a jag, and the slug cylindrical about two inches long depending on caliber and twist rate.
The cooling lead would retreat slightly leaving just enough room for a oil and polishing compound paste to be picked up.
The rod would then be drawn back and forth till it moved freely. If pitting still showed the process was repeated after casting a new slug.


From what you've said so far I would think the rifle should be just fine in its original caliber.
Many of these were rebarreled to .30-06, so having one in the original chambering is a plus.

Recrowning can often improve accuracy, but I've also found that unless obviously damaged you can't usually judge a crown by looks alone.
Try the rifle out on the range before commiting to recrowning.

The 7.65x53(54) has a reputation for inherent accuracy.
The 7.65 is also a cartridge well suited to heavier bullets than are common for the .308/7.62.
Since most prefer cast boolits on the heavy side, so energy level can be high even when velocity has to be reduced, I'd say the 7.65 is a much better choice for a cast boolit shooter.

For J-word bullets the Hornady 150 grain .312 SP has proven remarkably accurate in my Enfields. The .303 and 7.65 being contemporaries the bullets made for the .303 are an excellent choice for the 7.65.

If you try the Hornady bullet I suggest you try IMR4320 powder. I've gotten great results with it.

[rjathon]

I think that after the barrel is finally clean I'll just shoot it and see how it behaves. If it does well I'll just ignore the pitting, etc. If it doesn't do well I'll address the crown and pitting.

This rifle is so smooth and feels so good. I wonder if the soldiers who trained with it had any appreciation of its quality.

I saw a post by "Molly" where he polished the bore by coating it with JB's and shooting it. On LBT's website they talk about fire lapping. Those options appear to be easier than lead lapping. Hopefully it won't be necessary.

I have a Remington 788 in 300 Savage that has an ugly spot in the bore towards the muzzle. It looks terrible but shoots great so I leave it alone. Ugly bores that shoot well are a good thing.

Thanks again for your help.

Russ

[rjathon]

The 1935 hit the range today and grouped into 1 1/8" at 50 yds with Priva Partisan 180 gr factory loads. It fouled quickly with copper and is taking forever to clean but this is going to be worth taking the time to shoot lead for sure.

It kicks too much so I will just end up shooting it as is with lead at low velocity.

[gnoahhh]

Sounds like a winner. Also sounds like it truly may benefit from a professional lapping. I would give another thorough cleaning and try some cast. If accuracy is acceptable and it doesn't lead, then I would leave it alone. Rough bores are always a crapshoot. I've had them shoot marvelously and I've had them not. For me, if a rough bore shot cast stuff fairly accurately and didn't lead too bad, I left them alone. Several Krags come to mind in that respect.

[rjathon]

Thanks, I'll take your advice. Hopefully it won't lead as I don't know how to lap and fear damaging it.

Russ