Lead bullet vs. Jacketed

[John Burt]

I have a 93 Mauser with fairly worn riflelings. It`s groups are not great, but good enough for a plinker. I was wondering if I went to a softer lead bullet instead of a jacketed bullet , would that tighten the groups up any?

[gunarea]

Hey John Burt
Short answer, yes! I'm guessing it is an 8mm. Cast bullets of 12 to 14 bhn driven around 1000fps should help accuracy and be easy on the 93 action. Go with the longer available slugs for better driving bands engagement. The soft slug will obturate and give a better seal in the worn barrel. The old rifles vary wildly in condition and as such require specific and different symptomatic relief solutions. Getting these antiques back into the black can be rewarding and frustrating at the same time. Good skill to you.
Roy

[John Burt]

Hi Roy
Thanks for the info. I was hoping that would help. Now I`ve got to order a mold. Thanks again. YOU MADE MY DAY!!!

[gnoahhh]

93 Mauser? Original barrel? Probably 7mm not 8mm. I don't know of any country that issued 93's that chambered 8x57's.

I started messing with Mausers almost 50 years ago, back when they were $15 at the Monkey Wards store. I can't tell you how many greasy old 93's my buddies and I tortured over the years. As you might guess, the vast majority had well worn bores. I'm here to tell you if someone forced one on me today I probably wouldn't even bother trying to wring pinpoint accuracy out of it. If it doesn't shoot jacketed stuff well it's not very likely it'll shoot cast any better. Been there, done that, got the T-shirt, can think of many better ways to waste my time and money. 50 years on, those crusty old Mausers sure as heck haven't improved with age.

I'm still a sucker for a pristine 98, but for the purpose of shucking the stock and barrel and building on it.

Sorry to sound jaded but I tend to be a realist when it comes to Mausers.

[curator]

Gas check design and hard alloy. Minimum of 1/2 wheel weight and 1/2 Linotype, water dropped and .002 over grove diameter or .005 under throat diameter. Will work very well in M93 7X57 Mausers as long as you don't try to push boolits past about 1600 fps. 160 to 170 grain slugs usually work best. M93s weren't target rifles but attention to boolit fit and using a medium burn rate powder will give 2-3 MOA if you have decent sights and know how to shoot. If you are serious about performance with cast boolits send a throat slug to Veral Smith at LBT to have him cut a mould that fits your throat and cartridge neck. His lubes also help with the leading/accuracy issue. http://www.lbtmoulds.com/