Gents,
I came upon a lonely 1891 Mauser sitting in the closet of a local farm/feed store. Badly bubba'd stock but the metal is clean and has been d&t's and the bolt has been altered and it appears ready to go with the addition of a scope. Barrel is bright with nice heavy rifling. That said I have had no luck in my collection of reloading manuals in finding data. I have 2 boxes of Norma brass I picked up years ago, so after a set of dies arrives I would like to have something to work with ready at hand. Any fans of the lil' carbine here that could share their stories,data, stock sources and other tidbits? 45nut

I have a 1891 sporterized as well, but the person/people behind said job put a little more time and care into the endevor. That said, I've had luck with 150gr sierra game kings (.311" if you don;t already know that) seated a top 43.5 IMR 4064 and 47.5 IMR 4350 (you might also want to try 48.0 of 4350 as that didn't shoot too badly for me either). It's fine for deer and I find my reloads have light recoil, so shooting on a weekly rate at the range isn't an unpleasant affair.

on a side note, Hornady has had this round in its reloading books for some time, and the new book is no different. You might consider looking to them for some book loads.

[ 03-31-2003, 06:03: Message edited by: Curtis_Lemay ]

45nut, The 1891 lacks the third locking lug that the later Mausers have (Model 1898, Modelo 1909), which means the action isn't as robust as the '98's and '09's. Thus, the reloads you develope shouldn't exceed ~45,000 (not sure if psi or cup) pressure. These rifles are safe, just treat them carefully, if not gently.

Howdy
You might want to slug the bore because mine will shoot the 170 gr. .308 bullets into 1 1/2"
@ 100, it has perfect bore.
SS

Yep, slug that bore. You might need .312" bullets...

I've had two. The first was bodgered and I put it in a Fajen stock, mounted a Williams FPRS and sold it to pay for the removal of 150 lbs of pure hell.

My second is an "Engineer" carbine and the chamber is much tighter on this one. I've loaded from 150 to 215 gr. bullets and they all are effective but for most the 150s or 180s are the way to go. At the correct 45,000 psi limit for the 91 action you will about equal .300 Savage performance despite the slightly larger case. I always recommend that one look at a manual.

If you want more brass cheaper than that Norma, Graf & Sons now has it at about the same price but for 100 rather than for 20! Good brass too. You can also form cases but with the G&S brass it is hardly worth the effort.

Wish I could find another, I really like the M91 action.

I just received my first Md. 1891 last week. It's a Williams conversion from the 1950's. It has about a 21" barrel, is that a true carbine length for these? It looks like the orignal stock. Straight grip, no top hand guard, but refinished with very nice cut checkering and scrolled vine carving added. Nice blue, original stepped barrel, all matching numbers, full crest on receiver and a Lyman peep sight added. It was manufactured by Lowe, Berlin.

Graf ( http://www.grafs.com ) has Hornady brass at $27.99 per 100, speer 180 gr. RNSP bullets at $16.19, and Lee dies for $23.49. I got my order in and loaded the first batch last week but couldn't get to the range this weekend.

Hodgdon lists loads for 150 and 174 gr. bullets. I haven't got to shoot mine yet but I used a starting load of 42 gr. of H4350. I'm going to try to get to around 2300-2350 fps with 45 grains and stop there. With the peep sight and my eyes it will only be a 100 yd. rifle for me, so I decided to go heavy, slow and low pressure.

If you need the load data from Hodgdon's post here and I'll put it on for you.

Gents,
Thanks for the info..I really thought the 7.65 was kind of obscure and it would take a real nut like me to seek one out. Nice to have company
I will call Grafs monday and I would sure like to see that Hodgdons data. 45nut

I was at the range yesterday shooting my Model 1891. Mine was handed down to me by my grandfather and is in it's original configuration complete with 29" barrel.

Mine really likes the 150 grain Hornady bullet (.312") along with 47 grs. of IMR 4350. I use Norma brass and Fed 210 primers. At 50 yards I can shoot sub 1" 5 shot groups with the iron sights.

As mentioned, data for this cartridge can be found in the Hornady manual. It's a nice little cartridge, I really like it.

Congrats on your new rifle,
I have a 7.65 on a 98 action by FN that was very nicely sporterized with a full mannlicher stock, drilled and tapped and bent swept bolt handle welded on. Only oddity is that barrel was left full length at just a hair under 24 inches, which is not typical length for a mannlicher stock.
Gun shoots beautifully with just about anything you put in it, it really shines with cast bullets though, my best load is with the Lyman 311299 sized to .313, (Bore is .311, throat is .312) and backed up with 22 grains of 2400. I'm not sure of the velocity exactly, but suspect it is between 1700 and 1800 FPS, this load shoots extremely well out of the very deep grooves and tall lands of this barrel. I used 8X57 cases formed and trimmed for my loads, when I got this rifle the norma brass was around a buck a piece, not a third the price like it is now.
If you have access to Ken Waters Pet Loads book, he has a wonderful article on this caliber. Sorry, I have no capability to scan it right now or would for you.

regards, and good luck,
graycg

For the Hodgdon loads checks stevespages with the link he showed above under .311 bullet. I just checked and he does have all the Hodgdon info and then some.
Good shooting,

Well, I have some outstanding 7.65X53 loads, but I wouldn't shoot them in the M91!! I have found several .308" bullets that give OUTSTANDING accuracy in my M1909 w/29" barrel.