HotGuns
07-16-2013, 02:24 PM
I got a old beat up 93 Mauser that was so ugly it hurt to look at it. Some dude had tried to pawn it at every pawn shop in the county and he got laughed out of every shop he went into. He was asking 100 bucks for it. The stock was painted green yellow and red, as someone had a love affair with the Mexican flag. It looked like it'd been drug behind a pickup truck, hardly any finish left and the grip had about a half of a roll of electrical tape around it. Thinking that someday it might make an interesting project, I offered him 50 bucks for it...and he took it.
The barrel was shot so I tried to take it off using conventional methods. Like lots of other 100 and something year old Mausers, the barrel had grown to the receiver and refused to budge. Having little patience for such things, I walked it over to the bandsaw and chopped it off. I stuck the action in the lathe and bored out the remaining part. Soon I had a receiver sitting there begging for a barrel. It laid around in the shop awhile while I mulled over what I was going to do with it.
I finally decided to do something different for a change. I had got this niffly 6 banger mold from a group buy here a year or so ago, a .30 cal mold that was supposed to cast something like 240 grain bullets. It seemed like a good thing to do at the time, so I put my name on the list and eventually got one. I decided to put it to good use, building a rifle just for it.
Since I build a lot of Blackout/Whisper rifles and I had several barrel blanks laying around, I started turning one out. I chambered it for a 7.62x 39 AK round, but I specified a reamer with a .308 throat just because it was a .308 barrel and the .308 bullets are much more available than the standard .311/.312. I went with a Shilen barrel with a1/8 twist specifically to shoot suppressed, lead cast bullets that are "Obama Proof", meaning that when he goes stupid again and bullets are hard to get because everyone is buying them, I'll be able to cast some up.
I started out with a proven load, 7.5 grains of Accurate Arms No.5, a load that is accurate and quiet in my various other rifles.
As it turns out, once the scope was zeroed it shot very well. First loads out of the rifle put them in the same hole.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b130/HotGuns/762x39240Glead75AA5c.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/user/HotGuns/media/762x39240Glead75AA5c.jpg.html)
Most of us know that using a suppressor for cast bullet shooting aint the best thing to do. However, since the can on here is a Huntertown Arms .308 can that is user serviceable, I thought I'd try it. Its quiet and people love these things. I sell a lot of them and this one is one of my demo cans.
Once I got it all together, chambered and headspaced it and had it reblued, I put it in a Boyd's walnunt stock. This stock fits the action like a sock on a rooster and I inletted the barrel. The barrel is a medium sporter profile, since it was threaded for a silencers I made it a bit on the heavy side.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b130/HotGuns/93Mausertestsc.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/user/HotGuns/media/93Mausertestsc.jpg.html)
With the suppressor on it and a barrel that is 16", it actually handles pretty well.
Extraction works well if you operate it briskly it'll chunk it right out. Go slow and it'll leave it on top of the magazine so you can pluck it out. I prefer that for shooting targets.
The magazine fit a bit sloppy for my tastes, I'm thinking a little tig action will tighten that up.
Other than that, I'm happy with it. It's quiet, hits hard and seem accurate right off the bat. Hopefully this deer season, I can "prove" it on a deer. I'm thinking that 240 grainer will do just fine.
Its been a fun project and with the cast loads it shows promise.
Here is the only picture of one of the fist groups. Its only at 25 yards, but with that japtalianwoppiota scope with crosshairs that mimic 2x4"s that's probably all I can do.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b130/HotGuns/TArget762x39249glead75gAA5.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/user/HotGuns/media/TArget762x39249glead75gAA5.jpg.html)
The barrel was shot so I tried to take it off using conventional methods. Like lots of other 100 and something year old Mausers, the barrel had grown to the receiver and refused to budge. Having little patience for such things, I walked it over to the bandsaw and chopped it off. I stuck the action in the lathe and bored out the remaining part. Soon I had a receiver sitting there begging for a barrel. It laid around in the shop awhile while I mulled over what I was going to do with it.
I finally decided to do something different for a change. I had got this niffly 6 banger mold from a group buy here a year or so ago, a .30 cal mold that was supposed to cast something like 240 grain bullets. It seemed like a good thing to do at the time, so I put my name on the list and eventually got one. I decided to put it to good use, building a rifle just for it.
Since I build a lot of Blackout/Whisper rifles and I had several barrel blanks laying around, I started turning one out. I chambered it for a 7.62x 39 AK round, but I specified a reamer with a .308 throat just because it was a .308 barrel and the .308 bullets are much more available than the standard .311/.312. I went with a Shilen barrel with a1/8 twist specifically to shoot suppressed, lead cast bullets that are "Obama Proof", meaning that when he goes stupid again and bullets are hard to get because everyone is buying them, I'll be able to cast some up.
I started out with a proven load, 7.5 grains of Accurate Arms No.5, a load that is accurate and quiet in my various other rifles.
As it turns out, once the scope was zeroed it shot very well. First loads out of the rifle put them in the same hole.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b130/HotGuns/762x39240Glead75AA5c.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/user/HotGuns/media/762x39240Glead75AA5c.jpg.html)
Most of us know that using a suppressor for cast bullet shooting aint the best thing to do. However, since the can on here is a Huntertown Arms .308 can that is user serviceable, I thought I'd try it. Its quiet and people love these things. I sell a lot of them and this one is one of my demo cans.
Once I got it all together, chambered and headspaced it and had it reblued, I put it in a Boyd's walnunt stock. This stock fits the action like a sock on a rooster and I inletted the barrel. The barrel is a medium sporter profile, since it was threaded for a silencers I made it a bit on the heavy side.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b130/HotGuns/93Mausertestsc.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/user/HotGuns/media/93Mausertestsc.jpg.html)
With the suppressor on it and a barrel that is 16", it actually handles pretty well.
Extraction works well if you operate it briskly it'll chunk it right out. Go slow and it'll leave it on top of the magazine so you can pluck it out. I prefer that for shooting targets.
The magazine fit a bit sloppy for my tastes, I'm thinking a little tig action will tighten that up.
Other than that, I'm happy with it. It's quiet, hits hard and seem accurate right off the bat. Hopefully this deer season, I can "prove" it on a deer. I'm thinking that 240 grainer will do just fine.
Its been a fun project and with the cast loads it shows promise.
Here is the only picture of one of the fist groups. Its only at 25 yards, but with that japtalianwoppiota scope with crosshairs that mimic 2x4"s that's probably all I can do.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b130/HotGuns/TArget762x39249glead75gAA5.jpg (http://s18.photobucket.com/user/HotGuns/media/TArget762x39249glead75gAA5.jpg.html)