Spanish mauser 93 7x57

[atr]

Hey guys,,,I need your thoughts on this
After I cleaned the barrel I tried shooting this old piece of iron with both j-bullets and cast.....
the cast boolits showed evidence of tumbling at 50 yards and they were spread all over the paper....here I suspect that the boolits were not sized properly for the barrel (my only sizer is .285)

the Jacked bullets didn't tumble but I could not hold any kind of a decent pattern...again the pattern spread was all over the target...say 16"x16" at 50 yards.....

I have NOT been successful in holding a good pattern with J-bullets...so what do you (all) think is going on?.....I am thinking that the barrel needs replacing

thanks
atr

[kawalekm]

The first thought that comes to mind is the speed of your bullets. What exactly is your load and about how fast is it going? It might be that the bullets are just going too slow to be properly stabilized. You might find that a lighter 120-130 grain bullet is more accurate than a traditional 175 grain bullet.

About the barrel, have you pulled the bolt out to take a good look at the rifling? What does it look like? I myself bought a junky old Turkish Mauser that I didn't even bother checking the rifling. When I got the rifle home and cleaned out the grease, I was surprised to find an almost perfect bore. I decided at that point not the re-barrel it and use the one that came with it. Inspect your barrel throughly before deciding it should be thrown out.

Another spot to check is the muzzle. Look for any burrs or scratches right at the muzzle that might be deflecting the bullets. If the gun was cleaned from the muzzle in the past there might be some damage at the muzzle. A simple recrowning might solve all your problems, or only slightly worse, cutting off a inch of barrel and recrowning that. Don't give up on your rifle till you've checked these things.
Good luck to you,
Michael

[MT Gianni]

This is a new to you gun or one that changed groups after you cleaned the bbl?

[HORNET]

What does the bore measure? A lot of those were made when the groove diameter for the 7 mm was nominally .287, and a few will go a little bigger than that. I'll also agree on the muzzle wear issue. My dad has a rolling block in 7 mm that has enough wear that a .288 boolit will drop down to about 6" from the muzzle. Groups are not good with j-words and hopeless with cast.

[atr]

This is a new "project" that I am starting to work on
Bore is good ,,,,no burs at the crown
groove dia. is ....gulp..... 0.286+/-

I was shooting 175 gr RN at low to mid range velocity

PS....my rolling block shoots better than this M93!

[HORNET]

All is not necessarily lost. Most of the old Ideal molds and some of the earlier Lyman's were made with those bore dimensions in mind. If you can find one of those, that'll fit the barrel better than current production. If all else fails, you can try "Beagling" (do a search on here) a current mold (like the Lee C-285-130) to get enough size to work with. Board member Buckshot'll make a sizing die ( Lyman/RCBS or Lee push-through) in an appropriate diameter (.287 suggested), get some gas checks and start playing.

[Ricochet]

Paper patching would be a possibility.

[mto7464]

If its like my 7x57, and it sound like it, your bore is oversized too. I have some cast that I got from a fellow member to try sized .287. Groups are much better but I think they are still a little undersized. My bore is around .287

[docone31]

I second the paper patching. It might make all the difference.

[MtGun44]

How about Beagling your mold a bit? THE most important issue in cast boolit
shooting is fit to the bore. You will never get anything like a group with .284 or .285
diam boolits - .285 is often recommended for various 7mms.

Good luck, I love my 7x57s.

Bill

[mooman76]

I had the same problem with 2 7x57 mausers. Patterened all over the place even at 25y. I finnaly got one to shoot 2" at 25y by adding a filler. I tried both Dacron fiber and drier lint. Yes drier lint and they shot the same with both. The other still wouldn't shoot but it had a .289 bore. Tha one that finnaly shot had a .287.