Mauser M03 - Barrel Change

I made a short video on the weekend showing the 6.5x55 Match barrel being removed and the 243 Winchester barrel being installed. The Kahles K624i scope is then reinstalled to the receiver. I had loosened the two barrel mounting screws before starting the camera. They were as 'hand-tight' as I could get them, so getting them loosened was a bit of a trick. I don't use a torque wrench; I just tighten by hand, as consistently as I can, with the Mauser T-key. It seems to be working as the 243 barrel dropped two rabbits with the first two shots, at 230 meters. :-)

Mauser M03 + Kahles K624i + Rabbits

This is a quick mobile post from yesterday's outing. With the first shot from the 6.5x55 barrel, cold & clean, I dropped the rabbit seen through the Kahles. Same again with the next two shots, all at 250m. Later in the day I installed the 243 barrel and hit at 230m with the first shots. Very happy with the repeatability and accuracy of the Mauser M03 system.

Mauser M03 Deluxe in 6.5x55 with Kahles K624i riflescope

The view through a Kahles K624i scope with MSR-K reticle

With the 6.5x55 & 140gn Nosler Accubonds,
better velocity from 46gn of 2209.

Mauser M03 - Chronographing 6.5x55 Loads

In the video linked below I'm firing 6.5x55 hand loads over a chronograph. The idea is to use the velocity and ballistic coefficient of the projectile to work out the ballistic curve, for long range shooting. But I think I'll be working the load up to a higher velocity, which hopefully will help improve the group size too - often does. These loads were Lapua cases and 45 grains of 2209 pushing Nosler Accubond 140 grain bullets. The average velocity from the 60cm barrel was 2667fps. The group size is 24mm; not as good as the 12.5mm three shot group from the previous week.

Lapua Cases - 243 Win & 6.5x55

I'm developing hand-loads for my Mauser M03 barrels in 243 Winchester and 6.5x55 calibers. The pictures below show the spread of weights for new Lapua cases, in 0.1 grain groupings. 

The 243 cases are in a wide, peaky, skewed Bell curve distribution; the mode is 171.3gn. Can you see the case that is fifth from the end of the long column? Even the best cases come with dings.

The spread for the 6.5x55 cases is not as wide, but isn't a neat Bell curve either. The mode for the 6.5 cases is 179.2 gn. It's an unusual distribution, which almost suggests the cases are from two batches.

I need a volunteer to do this with a thousand cases, to see if the curves get neater. :-)

Lapua 243 Winchester cases, sorted into 0.1 grain groupings. Mode = 171.3gn.

Lapua 6.5x55 cases, sorted into 0.1 grain groupings. Mode = 179.2gn.

Mauser M03 - Accuracy - 243 Win & 6.5x55

It was a beautiful spring day yesterday, though the wind picked up a little in the afternoon while I was doing some load testing with my Mauser M03 Deluxe and two barrels - a standard profile 243 Winchester and a match profile 6.5x55. The video below shows a group from the 243 and then the first three shot group from the 6.5. I'm quite happy with how these barrels are working. The target board I'm using, the same as in my earlier videos, shows how hand loading is delivering better results than the factory ammunition used with my 270 Win and 30-06 barrels. I'll be developing hand loads for those later.

The 243 load uses 95gn Berger VLD Hunting and 42gn of 2209.
For the 6.5x55 it's 140gn Nosler Accubond and 45gn of 2209.
Lapua cases and RWS primers for both.

Mauser M03 - Hunting in Norway

Here are some photos of Simen Naess' new Mauser M03 in use during a hunt for caribou in Norway. The terrain is wide and open and getting into a good firing position involved much stalking and crawling, over moss, grass, rocks and shrubs, while paying full attention to the wind and the state of the herd. Simen's M03 has the beautiful Grade 5 walnut seen in an earlier post and is fitted with a 30-06 barrel. This new M03 is already living the full life of a real hunting rifle. The stock will be developing a patina that tells the story of the adventures it has been on with Simen, while still looking great from the proper maintenance it receives, including with a good, natural stock treatment.

Thanks for the photos Simen. :-)

Mauser M03 Deluxe - Photos

This weekend was all about doing maintenance on my trusty old Landcruiser. Saturday - changed the front and rear differential oils, topped up the gearbox and transfer case and adjusted the handbrake. Sunday morning - checked the wheel bearings. By the time I'd tidied up and scoffed some lunch it was getting a bit late to head out hunting. Not to mention how stiff and sore I was from crawling around under that Landcruiser. But, the late afternoon was ideal for a few photos of my new Mauser M03 Deluxe. This is Mauser's Grade 5 walnut.

I've included at the bottom photos of a selection of stocks, taken by Mauser while my Deluxe was being made. They were sent to Miall's Gun Shop and then to me, so I could nominate an order of preference. Upon ordering the rifle I was asked if I had a general preference and 'Dark wood with stripes' was sent to Germany on my behalf. Stocks Nr. 1 and Nr. 2 are plenty dark, but after some deliberation I put Nr. 3 first, which is dark and light, with colour and stripes. I had quite a smile on when I opened the shipping box a few months later, to see the complex grain of Nr. 3 with my own eyes. :-)

Mauser M03 Deluxe with Kahles K624i

A new Mauser M03 in Norway

A Mauser friend in Norway has provided pictures of his new M03. Fantastic wood! I think I'm right in reporting that this is Grade 6 walnut and that the barrel is a 30-06. Excellent choices.

Enjoy. :-)

Correction - this is Grade 5 walnut, which Mauser has fashioned into a beautiful, warm, impressive and purposeful rifle stock. It is being put to use right now and I wish the owner 'good hunting!'

Mauser M03 - Accuracy - 243 Winchester

Before heading out hunting a few weeks ago and again yesterday I quickly loaded up some 243 Winchester rounds, to test for pressure with the new Lapua cases I'm using. I'm not doing serious load development yet, just some quick proofing. Any time spent at a noisy rifle range is time that could have been spent better out hunting.

The first time I tried the new 243 barrel was with Speer Grand Slam 100gn projectiles. The pic below shows that targets the size of pigs out to 200m are in trouble, by I want better than that. I loaded these three rounds with my new Wilson in-line dies and a K&M arbor press, so could feel the tension of the bullets being seated. The very end of each neck was turned in slightly from fire-forming, which made seating the next bullet difficult. I think this happened because I put a small chamfer on the outside of the neck rim with an RCBS neck chamfering tool. That slight bevel might be a problem under high pressure in the chamber, causing the end of the neck to be pinched in. I'd put two chamfer angles on the inside of the necks as well, to make seating easy, but the pinching inwards right at the opening was still a problem. Given the trouble I had seating the bullets, I wasn't expecting them to shoot well.

A poor group from badly loaded test rounds. 6mm Speer Grand Slam 100gn

Some new 95gn Berger VLD Hunting bullets had arrived in the mail, so I tried these with some fired cases that had the neck pinching rectified, with a K&M neck expanding tool. This is normally used to prepare cases for neck turning, but is also good for straightening out any neck pinching. These bullets seated smoothly and consistently. I set them to 20 thousandths of an inch from the lands on top of 42 grains of 2209.

Resting over the front of my Landcruiser again, in a bit of crosswind on a farm, the first shot with the Bergers, with a clean and cold barrel, landed right where I wanted it to. The point of impact was consistent with the Speer Grand Slams, so that's a bonus. I fired the second and had to look really closely through my Kahles 24 power scope. Same hole! I should have stopped there as I don't ever expect to shoot a feral beastie three times. The third shot landed slightly lower - could've been me shaking a bit - my Landcruiser is not a concrete bench. This is a great result for loads that were thrown together before heading out. 13.5mm centre to centre. I will be tuning this load by adjusting the seating depth and the powder charge, so it could get better. I might actually waste a morning at a range to see how good this barrel can be.

The bolt is from my new Mauser M03 Deluxe, which has the 243 Win barrel fitted at the moment. Once I have loads for this one sorted, I'll start on the 6.5x55 Match barrel. Should be good. :-)

A better group with 6mm Berger VLD Hunting 95gn. 

Mauser M03 - 270 Winchester Does It Again

I'd spent all Saturday sorting Lapua cases and working out how to use the new L.E Wilson reloading dies I'd bought for my 243 Winchester and 6.5x55 barrels. I was keen to make a start on working up loads for those and by mid morning on Sunday had assembled some test shots for the 243. I rushed about the place to get everything ready for an afternoon out - I'd test the loads, sight in a scope and maybe get some stalking and then spotlighting in as well.

By mid afternoon I was firing the first shots with my new Mauser M03 barrel in 243 Winchester. I'd found some 100gn Speer Grand Slam projectiles at a local shop and the first hand-load made it onto the edge of the card. As expected the 40gn charge of 2209 was a light to medium load. Another helped me adjust the sights, back a bit, then three for a group. They went into 21mm at 100m. Pretty good for the first group, with loads that were virtually thrown together. I'm still waiting for the Wilson bullet seating die for the 243, so these bullets were tapped in using a seating stem stolen from an RCBS 220 Swift die. My kids watched and called it MacGyver style!

With the testing done, I went for a good walk with my M03 270 Winchester, then sat with my Landcruiser at dusk, at the bottom of a long broad valley. The south facing slope was lush and green, with patches of clipped grass and bracken. The north facing slope behind was more dry and bare up the top. Every now and then I turned 360 degrees with my binoculars. On one such sweep I whispered as the scene panned past my eyes. "Flock of sheep. Flock of sheep. Another flock of sheep. A flock of black sheep. More sheep, white ones this time"  What? Black sheep? Look again. They're pigs!

Out with the 270 and a sandbag, over the hood of the Landcruiser. Wait a moment for the pigs to move clear of the sheep. Range - 230m. Bang. First one down. They're running left and right along the fence on the ridge top. Three are trying to get through a hole in the wire mesh. Bang. Second one down.

I found another up on the top of the hill where he was looking for his friends. Three down.

Mauser M03 Deluxe

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Now why would I need Lapua cases in 6.5x55 Swedish Mauser and 243 Winchester?

Because, Mauser have finished building my custom ordered M03 Deluxe with a 6.5x55 Match barrel, as well as a 243 Win standard barrel, made without iron sights.

When working out what to order I liked the look of the M03 Deluxe used by Byron Pace in this video.



And I liked the accuracy of the M03 Match demonstrated by Ben-Andre Nilsen in this video.



A combination of the two, in 6.5x55, should do me well, for long range shooting with a Kahles K624i on top. I'll post pics and videos of these new additions to my Mauser M03 system in a few weeks.

Mauser M03 Accuracy - The Second Shot

I returned to the Landcruiser after stalking for a couple of hours, just as the last light of day was fading. I put the Mauser M03 with its 270 Winchester barrel back into the rifle box and made sure the 30-06 I'd checked earlier in the day was ready, along with my favourite fox rifle, a Sako Vixen in 17 Remington.

A slow bumpy cruise down the length of a valley, along an intersecting creek and back over a ridge was entirely free of any excitement, which is so often the way with spotlighting. But those who go out at night on farms know that things can change in a moment. I drove across a few paddocks which overlooked a large flat, all the while heading nearer to one of the farmhouses. I could see the house lights but didn't know that the farming family was gathered on the front deck around the barbecue, watching my headlights weaving and my spotlight scanning. They watched when I stopped a few hundred meters away, adjusted the light, lifted the 17 from the rifle-box and onto the engine hood and shot a pair of foxes. I'd made a squeaking noise by sucking air in through my pursed lips and it brought the foxes in to about 150 meters. I'll be trying that again. I stopped at the house soon after for a chat and learned that my spectators could also see the foxes' eyes. We talked about how the thump of the bullets impacting was delayed by the extra distance to their viewpoint. I bravely knocked back the kind offer of a beer - I would be spotlighting and hopefully shooting for some time yet. Beer, an empty stomach, darkness and firearms are not a good mix. Maybe next time, when I'm all done.

Avoiding the beer was a good decision as I was soon dropping another fox, then another, a few paddocks away. Then I waved the light down and along the flat of a nearby creek and saw half a dozen pigs scurrying along, about 70 meters away. By the time I had the light fixed in position and a rifle lifted, they were gone, into the tea-tree scrub. So frustrating. I drove around the hill in case they popped out on the other side, but they had escaped. I used the road to reposition to the other end of the farm where pigs had been seen recently by another hunter, as well as by myself the weekend before. I moved through a couple of gates quietly, to avoid spooking what I might find on a flat by another creek. It was always worth checking out. Once I'd manoeuvred the Landcruiser through a wooded area I came to a shelf overlooking the flat. A wave of the light found a fox's eyes, 200 meters away. I needed to adjust the car to get into a better position, after which the eyes were not seen again. But in scanning for the fox while squeaking with my lips I saw what was a slightly more solid shadow amongst the others, between the clumps of grass. There wasn't much in it but I looked carefully each time the light passed over that area. I registered the position of the shadow relative to the other light and dark features - the landscape is always tricky under spotlight - then switched the light off for a minute. Once it was on again I felt sure that the shadow had moved. I might be wrong but it was worth persisting with. I set the light up on the car's roof, resting it over a sandbag and propped on my elbows over the warm engine with my binoculars. I watched closely and carefully for a few minutes. There was such a mish-mash of shadows and contrasts it was hard to figure out what I was seeing, if anything. But then I saw what could be a pair of black ears, changing angle under the spotlight. This was looking more and more like a solitary boar, standing still in the light, as they do.

I put the binoculars down and walked to the rear of the Landcruiser. On the way I decided it would be the 30-06 that I'd lift out, given how perfectly it had placed the test shot fired earlier in the day, through the same hole as a previous test. At 200 meters the impact point would be zero relative to the line of sight. With the Zeiss Victory HT 3-12x56 sitting on the Mauser M03 I saw the shadow move again, just a turn of the head, until I could clearly make out the shape of the boar's head and ears. Then I saw the tiny glint of a red eye, looking up at the spotlight. The improved view provided by the big scope, which was perfect for this situation, allowed me to make out the body position of the boar. It was angled a quarter towards me, standing still with its head low. I pushed the cocking lever to the right and took final aim, the Mauser resting perfectly still on front and rear sandbags. This time I didn't use the set trigger - I wanted the firmer 950gm release of the normal trigger. The shot was good, right into the head-body junction. A loud thump reached me a moment later as confirmation, clearly heard through earmuffs and ear plugs. The weight of the M03 soaked up the recoil perfectly. The boar ran out of the spotlight beam. By the time I'd opened the action and settled the rifle safely on the bags, to then stand up in the doorway and adjust the light, it was gone, into the blackberries about 50 meters away. A fair assumption - I couldn't see it anywhere. How on earth can they run like that when hit by a well placed 180 grainer?

A week later I was there again on a sunny afternoon, this time with my son for company. We drove to the same shelf where, with my more experienced eyes and familiarity with the land I've hunted for years, I picked out a shape and colour that looked out of place. My son looked through the binoculars and focussed on the remains of the boar. It had moved only 10 meters from where it was hit. Clearly, there were plenty of other pigs in the area. The boar had been well and truly chomped by his friends, who'd made the most of the meal served up by my Mauser M03.

Mauser M03 Accuracy - The First Shot

For hunters, it's the first shot that matters.

Sure, I'm also interested in the ability of my Mauser M03 rifles to shoot tight groups, but what I care about most will always be how repeatable the first shot is, from a cold, clean barrel. Last weekend I was scouting on a farm for fresh sign of pigs, looking for the tell-tale signs of brown, ripped up turf. Given all of the rain we've had lately, the fields were like an undulating bowling green, but here and there I found scattered scratchings made by a wandering boar. A sow or two with offspring tend to make more concentrated damage, although, a big boar that settles in a place he likes can make the surrounds look like a war zone in no time.

After driving slowly over a crest and through a gap I scanned the paddock that opened up in front of me. Perhaps the fox that the farmer had seen sitting in the open every afternoon during the week would be there. It must have heard the different sound of my vehicle coming - it had already slipped away. After checking the broad bowl of land thoroughly with binoculars, to see if he was sitting quietly and watching me from a patch of bracken, I decided to fire a test shot with my Mauser M03 30-06, to prepare for spotlighting after dark. I lowered the Landcruiser's tailgate to make a table and removed the Zeiss Victory HT 1.5-6x42 and fitted a Victory HT 3-12x56. It would provide me with the brightest view possible with the spotlight. I found an old tree stump and stapled in place the piece of card I'd used a couple of months before with the same combination of rifle, barrel, scope and ammunition. In the meantime the scopes had been switched in and out and the barrel had been removed for cleaning.

Firing a calibration shot with a 30-06 and 180gn bullet, on sandbags over a Landcruiser's engine compartment, is not what I call fun. The Mauser M03 set trigger made it easier. When the riflescope settled after the shot I didn't know what to think. The only hole in the card was the one from last time. Where had the new shot gone? From a hundred meters I couldn't make out a bullet hole in the cracked grey wood of the tree stump. I walked over, picking my way through the puddles and soft patches. The pigs would make a mess of this area if they found it. As I got near to the stump I still couldn't see a hole in the weathered grey wood. Surely I hadn't missed the whole stump? I got my head down to the angle of the shot and looked for where a bullet had hit the ground around the stump. Nothing to see. I looked again at the card, with its one hole. Surely not. I lifted up the card and found a bullet hole in the wood underneath. When I lowered the card the hole in the wood lined up with the hole in the card. Holy crap! It went through the same hole!

That'll do. :-)

Mauser M03 - Works on Pigs

If I had better photos I would have posted this earlier, but the story is good enough even without. We all know what a pig looks like anyway.

Last week I took my Mauser M03 out for a good, long and slow walk. I had a 270 Winchester barrel fitted and a Zeiss Victory HT 2.5-10x50 scope on top. The walk was slower than usual - fact is I wasn't feeling the best, which I was reminded of when I stopped for a rest only 300 meters after leaving my 4WD. I was in a pleasant little valley on a farm I know well, at a fork in the trail. I had to decide whether to head up the gentle slope of the creek line or turn right and get straight into some scrub bashing, through thick tea-tree bush. I glanced back towards the car - the roof was still visible - which offered a third option given my lack of energy on the day - stalking by Landcruiser! I made my mind up and went along the creek at a quiet pace.

Here and there I saw signs of fresh pig-rooting. Nothing spectacular, but evidence of what the farmer had told me; it was looking like a solitary boar had settled in the area. For most of the outward journey the wind was blowing the wrong way. Not hard, but enough to work against me. I watched to see the effect it would have on three grazing kangaroos 50 meters away and sure enough, after about a minute their heads lifted and they started looking for me. The closest decided I wasn't a funny looking tree, took a hop, which the others copied and then they were all breaking sticks underfoot. Thanks for that.

After about three kilometers and a bit of a rest I turned to head back, as the sun lowered close to the horizon. There wouldn't be much light left by the time I got back. I might see how good the Victory HT scope is, for real. About 1 kilometer from the car I had a choice, to take a detour which would involve a push through the tea tree scrub I mentioned earlier, or stick to the creek line and the short route. The detour started off through a nice open area so that's where I headed. But there was nothing standing out in the open for me and I was soon ducking and weaving along a game trail through the scrub, the short cut back to the creek-line. I was only 20 meters into the thick stuff when a small wallow blocked the path. I remembered it, but this time it was freshly stirred up. There were drips of mud all around and in particular heading further along the trail. A small tree had been used as a rubbing post and had many layers of dried mud deposited on it, as well as a fresh, wet layer, with drips running down. The mud line was not as high as a deer's rubbing tree, but high enough to show that it was a big pig that had been leaning on it.  The M03 was already in my hands, to help get through the tight cover, but I shouldered it for a second to get my earmuffs clamped on my head, covering just the tips of my ears. I'd be able to get them down quickly with one hand. My hearing is already damaged enough and these days I don't fire if my ears aren't protected. I wish I'd been more careful as a young bloke.

I followed the trail of muddy drips, bending over here and there to avoid snagging my earmuffs. After about 40 meters I could see the scrub was opening up ahead, with more light falling into a clearer area. That's right, there's another wallow here, bigger than the first. I heard a splashing, sploshing sound and then nothing. Something big had climbed out of the wallow. In a split second I'd pulled my earmuffs down into place and then took another step to see around a bush. A very muddy and very big boar was standing at the edge of the wallow, looking back in my direction. He decided he didn't like the look of me and turned to run. I flipped the Mauser's cocking lever over to the right and lifted it to my shoulder to find the sight picture through the Zeiss. I saw the mud covered side of a pig behind the cross hair and fired. I have no memory of either recoil or trigger resistance. The Mauser M03 worked exactly as it was designed to.

The shot was good but not an instant show stopper. In the moment it took me to pull the bolt back and shove the first of five rounds from the magazine into place the pig made it across ten meters of semi-open bush and into thick cover. I got just a glimpse of him through the scope, but not enough for a second shot. I de-cocked the rifle before treading carefully around the slippery edge of the wallow. I had to twist my way through, over and under the branches to get to where the boar disappeared. The angry noises I heard from about twenty meters into the scrub convinced me of three things: he was hit well, he wasn't going anywhere and I wasn't going in after him. I would have had to crawl at any rate. A few moments later and the only noise was of the little birds twittering and chasing their last meal in the last light of the day.

So, if there was any doubt, the Mauser M03 works on pigs. :-)

Here's the wallow the boar jumped out of.

Mauser M03 - Accuracy & Repeatability - Part 4

Yesterday I stalked through fields, forests and up and down hills for five hours with a Mauser M03 on my shoulder. It had a 270 Winchester barrel installed. Before heading off I removed the Kahles K624i scope and put a Zeiss Victory HT 2.5-10x50 on - better for a surprise meeting with some pigs. I covered 12 km according to Google Earth, probably more given the slopes and some meandering. The weight of the M03 was not a problem. And unlike the Mauser, I'm not newly minted!

I found fresh sign of a mob of pigs, but not the makers themselves. Once I was back at my starting point I decided to fire a shot from the cold barrel, to check its accuracy with the Norma 150gn Spire Point ammunition I had zeroed the Zeiss to the week before. I'd done that with two shots; one to get on the map and a second to get the point of impact close to being 5cm high at 100m. I made a final adjustment of a couple of clicks up and a couple right without firing another shot. So the test shot I was about to fire would be useful proof of the rifle, scope, mounting, ammo and zeroing.

Rabbit + 270 Win + 150gn = too much gun, every time. But there it was, with a buddy about 130m away, in front of a blackberry patch on a beautiful green lawn. I lay down and rested the Mauser across my backpack and removed the bolt to check the barrel was still clear after all that walking through the bush. I reinstalled it, cocked the action and gently pushed the set trigger forward. If everything was working correctly the shot should be about 5cm high so I aimed at the bottom edge of the middle of the  rabbit. I already had earplugs in and earmuffs on.

BANG! Despite the solid weight of the Mauser M03, there's still some kick when a 270 Winchester launches a 150 grainer at full throttle - especially shooting prone. Not unpleasant or painful, but still a split second of chaos. The rabbit was hit; the other hopped a few steps but stayed put until I'd walked three quarters of the way over there. Then it took off and I watched it race away over short green grass through a very pretty patch of forest. I was happy with the rifle's accuracy and didn't notice my feet hurting. The Norma Spire Point had gone exactly where it was meant to. Another tick in the box for these Mauser M03s and their accuracy and repeatability.

Mauser M03 - Bolt Disassembly & Assembly

I made this short video to show how easy it is to disassemble and reassemble a Mauser M03 bolt, to clean it, dry it or lubricate it. I wouldn't recommend disassembling the bolt beyond the steps shown.

What I like is that this can be done in the field, no tools needed. Doing this with a Remington 700 bolt requires tools and props and significant hand strength. The Sako bolt I've pulled apart also takes some serious pushing, aided by gloves or grippy rubber strips. My Mauser M03 bolts are going to be easy to work with in comparison.

Mauser M03 - Accuracy & Repeatability - Part 3

Update in Feb 2016 - click this link to see how accurate my hand loads are in this 270 Win barrel. :-)

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This week I ran my first test of how repeatable the Mauser M03 rifle system is after removing and cleaning the barrel.

My aim with this test was to see the effect upon repeatable accuracy of:

- oiling the fouled barrel upon returning from a day out hunting
- removing the scope and barrel a few days later
- cleaning the barrel with solvents and brushes
- oiling the barrel lightly
- re-assembling the rifle and scope
- patching out the oil film a few days later before hunting the next morning
- shooting a single shot with a cold, clean barrel to simulate a first shot on game.

All of the shooting in these tests has been done resting the rifles over the hood of a Landcruiser, with rice filled bags as supports and targets at 100 paces. Nothing fancy. After firing the shot in the video below I realised that the shallow gully I was shooting over would have shortened the shooting distance I paced out by a few meters. Also, I wasn't striding out as much as usual when I set things up, a little after midday. I'd covered many kilometers and steep hills from before dawn, searching for the bad guys. I was a bit weary. The line of sight would have been about 10m shorter than for the group I fired last week. The bullet would still have been rising and would've been higher on the target if it was a little further back.

Enough words. Watch the video below to see why I'm happy with the real world hunting accuracy achieved with my Mauser M03. This is with a 270 Winchester barrel using Norma Kalahari 120gn factory ammunition.



This is the Norma Kalahari 120gn projectile that made the hole in the video above, recovered from soft damp earth. As designed, the front end has fragmented, leaving the solid rear portion to penetrate deeply and exit.

The dappled light was good when I was resting for a while in the afternoon so I took a few pics. There's a large patch of blackberries below where I was resting and right on dark-o'clock I saw a pair of pigs about 250m away, just as they made it into cover. I'll look for them again in a couple of days. Might even take a Mauser with me!

Mauser M03 - Accuracy & Repeatability - Part 2

Update in Feb 2016 - click this link to see how accurate my hand loads are in this 270 Win barrel. :-)

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Last weekend I fired some test shots to check the accuracy and repeatability of new 270 Winchester and 30-06 barrels on Mauser M03 rifles. My intention with these tests is to simulate realistic use of Mauser M03s as hunting rifles, from one hunting trip to the next. These are not bench rest rifles. They won't be used for firing group after group at the range, with the barrels cleaned in a standardised manner between groups, followed by a fouling shot.

I store my rifles with the barrels lightly oiled, after a gentle or thorough cleaning, depending on recent usage. I patch them dry before heading out.  Unfortunately, most of the deer, boar and foxes I know will not wait around while I fire a fouling shot into the earth next to them. :-) I need to know where my Mauser M03s will put shots from clean and cold barrels. It will be the accuracy and repeatability of the rifle system with the first shot, after weeks of storage, that matters.

In the first video below three shots are fired with the 270 Win barrel. The first shot is slightly high, while the second and third shots fall exactly where they should. The Kahles 624i scope had been removed and replaced several times. The turrets had been 'exercised' and returned a few times too. The barrel was not removed - I'll run tests on that later. Ammunition is Norma Kalahari 120gn.


The next video shows the first shot fired from a 30-06 barrel with the same Remington Express 180gn Core Lokt ammunition that made a group a few weeks ago. I'm happy about where it lands. These Mauser M03 rifles, barrels and scope mounts are proving to be as repeatable as I was expecting. :-)

Mauser M03 - Rifle Box

Update - the completed rifle box can be seen in the background of this barrel change video.

I've built a box for my Mauser M03 rifles. My design criteria were that it needs to

- carry three rifles, with barrel and scope fitted
- hold the rifles so they're ready to use, with the bolt open and drawn back
- fit sideways across the rear of my Landcruiser and also on the back seat
- cushion the rifles during rough off-road driving
- protect the rifles and scopes from rubbing against abrasive high density foam
- fit under the rear cargo shelf when it's installed
- have a lid that's virtually airtight and that comes completely off
- be long enough to hold an M03 with a magnum or Africa barrel
- be high enough to allow a tactical scope with big turrets to 'float' in free air
- be strong enough but also light enough
- look good enough if any of my friends see it
- keep my rifles out of sight and secure during transit

My home-made Mauser M03 box is made with good quality 9mm plywood. There was hardly anything left from a 2440 x 1220mm sheet, meaning it would have been very heavy if I'd used 12mm ply.

Here's some pictures taken during construction.



I used 25mm high density foam for padding.

Photo's below show the padding on top of the dividing panels, to avoid bumps when lifting and replacing the rifles in the dark. I spent half a day on my knees reducing almost a full sheet of foam to pieces, sculpted to line every surface of the box.

The first trial fit of a Mauser M03 with a Kahles K624i scope put a smile on my face. This amount of clearance is just what I was looking for. The bolt is open and back. The scope's turrets are free floating. And there's room for an S&B PM II, one day.

Once all the pieces were cut my son and I spent a couple of hours gluing them into place with contact adhesive. The spray can ran dry just as we glued the foam on top of the dividers into place, so for the moment the bottom pieces are simply pushed in. They're a tight fit.

While we were glueing, my wife was sewing, to make up a piece of satin wide enough to drape through each compartment. This is the first trial fit. Great colour!

And now with some Mauser M03s added. :-)

The jpeg artefacts in this picture are crazy, but it does show that the rifles are snug, protected and ready for quick action. Just what I was looking for.

Next, we'll trim the edge of the satin a little and sew a casing for a shock cord and toggle. When the lid is off the satin will drape over the sides of the box by about 150mm, held in place with the shock cord. Before putting the lid back on the satin will be draped loosely over the top of the rifles. The inside of the lid will be lined with 25mm foam.

I'm happy to provide construction tips if anyone wants to build a similar box. :-)

MSR Reticle in Kahles K624i

Taking decent photos through a high power rifle scope is insanely difficult. Finnaccuracy have posted some taken through Kahles and Schmidt & Bender scopes and my hat goes off to them for how well done they are. The link goes to the S&B page - scroll down to see the reticle pics. There's more pictures on the MSR-Kahles page.

Here's a series of photos I took yesterday. The clarity is not very good, but they do show the reticle illumination. The features of the MSR reticle can also be seen.

Please keep in mind that the real view through the real scope is vastly better than photographed here. This reticle through this scope is simply a joy to use. :-) I was seeing individual strands of spider web on the rooftop air-conditioner, glistening in the sun, this morning.

The roof top is 230 meters away. The scope is set on 8x magnification for the photos below. The camera lens is picking up only part of the view through the scope.

This first picture is complete rubbish but sets the scene for the photos below.

MSR Reticle in Kahles K624i

After having so much trouble with the first shot I took the scope off the rifle (thank you Double Square Mount!) and set everything up again. This is a bit more useful.

MSR Reticle in Kahles K624i

The next shot shows the reticle illumination turned up high. It's very glary outside, but against a neutral background the illumination is very effective. The highest setting causes the illumination to look thicker than the black crosshair, which is useful at low magnification. 

MSR Reticle in Kahles K624i

And next, I've turned the illumination down. The central dot is just becoming distinct.
As mentioned in the previous post - measuring distances is a snap if an object of known size is present in the scene. The width of a house brick is 230mm; if it subtends 1 milliradian then 230mm ÷ 1 mil = 230 meters. A roof tile on the next house is 295mm wide. It subtends 1.2 milliradian. The distance is 295mm ÷ 1.2 mil = 245 meters.

MSR Reticle in Kahles K624i

Next, the illumination is turned down further. The red line is now close in thickness to the black cross hair lines. I'm going to keep trying to get better photos through the scopes. I think it's a matter of finding the right distance and focal length. My kids will probably hold their phones up and get perfect shots first time. :-)

MSR Reticle in Kahles K624i

Here is the reticle diagram for the Kahles K624i. I believe Kahles refer to this as their Gen II version. Click the photo to see more detail. Note that the subtension of the fine cross hair is 0.4 cm @ 100m, which is in-between the measurements for the MSR reticle used by S&B and Steiner (0.5 cm @ 100m) and the P4L-Fine used by S&B in their PM II scopes (0.35 cm @ 100m).

Kahles K624i on Mauser M03

Here are some pictures showing how a Kahles K624i riflescope looks mounted onto a Mauser M03. I think this scope is the least 'military' looking of those with similar features and utility. It's a good match for an M03. Further down I list some of the scope's features that make it a great choice.

Something to think about when mounting a tactical style rifle scope is the height of the rings and how far below the tube the turret housing protrudes.

 Like many tactical scopes, the Kahles K624i has a 34mm tube. Mauser can supply 34mm steel rings to go with the Double Square Mount; their height, from the base to the tube, is 12mm. The rings shown in these photos are from the Blaser R93 saddle mount system and are made from aluminium (hence the dings and scratches). Their height, from base to tube, is 7mm. The turret of the K624i protrudes 5mm below the tube, leaving 2mm clearance, shown in the photo below.

Features of the Kahles K624i that make it good choice are:

 - availability of the Multipurpose Sniper Reticle, by Finnaccuracy. Kahles have made some slight modifications to the MSR reticle compared with the standard version used by Schmidt & Bender and Steiner. The Khales version has slightly finer crosshairs and an open centre with a dot at the intersection. It is a thing of beauty. I'll post a photo once I've got a good one.

- the turret boss is big and the dials are wide, but not tall. The overall effect is that it's compact, compared with others. Have a look at the Steiner 5-25x56, or any Hensoldt! The photo below shows a K624i next to an S&B PMII. It may be that the large diameter turret boss makes more space for the click detents, which might explain how smooth and distinct the clicks are.



- the turret housing does not protrude too far below the tube - only 5mm. The housing of an S&B PMII protrudes a couple of millimetres more, which can create mounting problems.

- the controls are all co-located on the turret housing. The parallax/focussing control can be adjusted with either hand.

- the parallax/focussing control has gentle detents at the major distances - handy, especially in the dark.

- there is no tunnel effect when moving down to the lowest magnification - 6x. This video shows the tunnel effect with an S&B PMII 5-25x56 scope - not a fault, just a feature that S&B fans know about and don't really mind.



- there's a good length of tube fore and aft of the turret housing for mounting flexibility. However, a limitation will still be the separation of the rings on the rifle's mount - a 69mm opening with Mauser rings on the Double Square Mount, as well as for the Blaser R93 rings. Even with significantly longer tubes, the K624i is only slightly more flexible to mount than an S&B PMII 5-25x56, which has short tube lengths. The wide turret housing of the Kahles is the culprit. Mauser make a rail version of the Double Square Mount, an option if the fixed position of the integral rings is a problem. The rail is 103mm long (red arrows) and sits 21.5mm above the receiver (blue arrows).

- the illumination system is excellent. Only the central 1 milliradian crosshair is lit. It goes from very dim for moonless nights to very bright for daylight. There's a gentle detent for the off position. If the magnification is zoomed right down so that the reticle is very fine, the small brightly lit central cross is like a red dot. The control dial is a rheostat, for continuous and click free, pause free adjustment. I'm not too keen on the coin slot for the battery cover - similar to those found on Swarovski Z6i - it could be damaged when loosening and tightening.

- the optics are excellent. The eye box is trickier to use at 24x magnification than with a lower power general hunting scope, but that comes with the territory. It's better than other high power scopes I've used. The clear view with the MSR reticle is a thing to behold. Measuring distances is a snap if an object of known size is out there. Length of a house brick is 230mm; if it subtends 1 milliradian then 230mm / 1 mil = 230 meters. A roof tile on the next house is 295mm wide. It subtends 1.2 milliradian. The distance is 295mm / 1.2 mil = 245 meters.

The last two photos show how the red rotation indicator lifts when the elevation turret is turned into the second rotation. The turret takes a little more effort to turn when the mechanism begins to lift the indicator, but this is only noticeable if turning very slowly, click by click. The turrets on the K624i are really nice to use. The clicks are distinct, yet easy to control.

Please post a comment if you have any questions.