OK, I have a soft spot in my head for '91 Mausers. Along with all those other soft spots...

So I asked our own dpcd if he would rebarrel one I had made years and years ago into a 6,5x54 MS (without specifying a fast enough twist rate to be useful, dang!). I did the wood work on that unbelievable piece of military walnut back in the 70s.

Tom has recently rebarreled it as well as addressed a number of other irritations. It's now a peach of a .35 Remington with a 23 inch "Oberndorf" contour barrel:



And the first trip to the range today showed me that it performs as sweetly as it looks. Though most of the target below shows bore sighting and scope tweaking, the last three shots fired were fired as a group and circled:



Not too bad for factory ammo and me doing the shooting.

Thanks, Tom!

That looks beautiful. The attention to detail, and the melding of form and function is obvious. Good on you for loving such a classic action.

I love 91s ... have had a couple in 308, that is the cats meow!

I like it too many!

I really like the 35 Remington, and the 91 is actually a great platform for it. I didn't expect it to actually shoot better than to hit a deer at 50 yards though.

One could kill a lot of things with that

Nice rifle. I did this one a few years back.

Sad story.
Around 1967 I was changing the barrel on one of my91s.As I was tightening the action vise I crushed the the forward portion of the action.
roger

I don't care what the critics say about that hangy down thing under the receiver. I think they are beautiful. That stock is quite something for an old military stock.

Which is why I never try to horse barrels off 91s, and some other military rifles. Barrels were installed on those with enough torque to keep Kenworth lug nuts on and the receives are not very hard. I put them in my lathe and part them off. Works every time.

That's right. They torque on the receiver shoulder. Parting just ahead of of it should release the tension and allow easy removal. I have read that leaving the bolt in the receiver will prevent crushing of the receiver ring when tightening the receiver wrench but have never tried it.

.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
Which is why I never try to horse barrels off 91s, and some other military rifles. Barrels were installed on those with enough torque to keep Kenworth lug nuts on and the receives are not very hard. I put them in my lathe and part them off. Works every time.

What a lovely rifle. The 91s are just so beautifully machined.

Even in their original 7.65 x 54, they are a fine rifle. I've one in original configuration with matching (not a collector or anything, but a fine piece nonetheless) and it'll put 3 shots in a 3" circle at 100yds, even with those crazy original sights.

Steve- this is a really beautiful piece; as always, the folks on this forum get a treat when they see Tom's work.
And, yes, that's a shooter!

Steve sent me targets with .75 MOA groups on it. I still can't believe it, but I am promoting this reason; the step in the Mauser Sporter barrels enhances accuracy by dampening and controlling barrel movement and whip as the bullet travels down the barrel. I am surprised that no one has re-discovered this phenomenon and duplicated the original Oberndorf stepped barrels until now.
Yes, I have those very same 1930 Oberndorf pattern barrels in inventory and am working on the small bores, 30 and under, Earl of Marlbourgh rifle pattern now.
Of course, Steve can shoot......

That is probably the same reason golf club mfg's used stepped steel shafts for nearly 40 years until graphite emerged. I have over 25 Military and sportered Mausers. They all have nice bores and will print inside an inch at 100yds. And that is with a 4 and 1/2 caliber leade!

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
Steve sent me targets with .75 MOA groups on it. I still can't believe it, but I am promoting this reason; the step in the Mauser Sporter barrels enhances accuracy by dampening and controlling barrel movement and whip as the bullet travels down the barrel. I am surprised that no one has re-discovered this phenomenon and duplicated the original Oberndorf stepped barrels until now.
Yes, I have those very same 1930 Oberndorf pattern barrels in inventory and am working on the small bores, 30 and under, Earl of Marlbourgh rifle pattern now.
Of course, Steve can shoot......

Here is a lovely example of what can be done with one: http://www.mausercentral.net/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=128

When you think about it, a '91 has more "meat" in the right side of the ring than a '93-'96 because it doesn't sport the CRF extractor. It is also a stiffer action due to the single stack feed. Personally I think it is stronger than other SR's. The lack of gas relief is another issue though. But that could be addressed by drilling bolt body and receiver gas relief holes and milling a "thumb cut" in the left rail wall.

quote:

Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
What a lovely rifle. The 91s are just so beautifully machined.

Sometimes it's amazing the grain that shows up when refinishing old wood. This is a prime example.
Beautiful stick. Nice work too.

George