Sunday 19 April 2015

Three Mauser M03s vs a Beer Box

Some wild pigs were making a mess of a farm I shoot on and I hadn't been able to find them during a few sessions at dawn and dusk. It was going to take an all-nighter to deal with this mob. I arrived mid afternoon and after gathering the latest intel from Mr & Mrs Farmer, drove to a sheltered valley to check points of impact for the three Mauser M03 rifles I'd brought along in my custom rifle box.

Each rifle was fitted with the same barrel as used previously, which had been lubricated with a few drops of Break-Free for storage. Before heading out I pushed a tight patch through each barrel, to remove oil residue. I didn't use a solvent to strip oil from the bores. They looked clean and shiny but not oily.

I set up a beer box (empty!) at 100 meters and fired two shots from each rifle over the front of my Landcruiser. The 270 Winchester and the 30-06 were consistent in placing the first shot through the clean barrel a few centimetres higher than the second shot. With the 243 Winchester I used a leftover hand load with a different bullet and charge as the fouling shot, so the impact point doesn't relate to the second shot. All three of the second shots went exactly where I wanted them to go, forming a neat 16mm group just above the target square. That'll do Mauser. :-)

Cue feral beasties!



2 comments:

  1. Unknown30 July 2015 at 03:07

    What do you use to clean the barrels?
    When I am done cleaning mine, I use a oil named Super1.
    2-3 patches with a little oil, and then 2-3 clean patches. The firs shot does not jump around 😊

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mauser M03 Blog30 July 2015 at 07:21

    Hello Olech. I use Break Free CLP (Cleaner Lubricant Protectant) to lubricate my Mauser barrels when they are in storage. Upon returning home I push a patch with a few drops of Break Free through the bore and leave it oiled in the cabinet. Before heading out again (perhaps weeks or months later) I push a tight dry patch through to remove the Break Free. It must have some cleaning properties as the patch comes out with black powder residue. If I notice significant copper fouling in the bore at the muzzle I use Wipe Out Patch Out to remove that, using patches only to apply and remove it. I remove the copper fouling every 40 shots or so. Break Free is also great for lubricating bolts and actions - the Teflon additive makes for slick movement. It's also very good at preventing corrosion and preserving the look of gun blueing.
    I might try your method of more thoroughly removing the oil residue before taking the first shot. It could be that the Teflon in Break Free is altering the friction properties in the bore and is causing my first shot to fly high.
    Thanks for your comment and suggestion.
    Here's a link about Break Free.
    http://www.brownells.com/gun-cleaning-chemicals/oils-lubricants/lubricant-protectant-oils/break-free-clp-prod1683.aspx

    ReplyDelete

Your comments and questions make this blog much more interesting. You can submit them for moderation here via your Google account, or take them over to the Mauser M03 Blog - Discussion Forum (link at top of page). If you do comment here I'll publish it and reply as soon as possible. Please check back soon. Thanks.
Regards, Rick.

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