My 15 year old nephew seems to have been bitten by the Mauser bug and wants to build himself a rifle. He currently has a scoped Remington in 30-06, and is looking for something a bit lighter and more compact. He wants an unscoped rifle with a shorter barrel, roughly 22”. His primary targets would probably be coyotes and deer.

Most of the area they hunt is fairly steep and open which would lend itself to a flat shooting smaller caliber, but I would want to scope a rifle like that. When I think of a shorter barreled open sighted rifle I automatically think of going up in bore size. Something that would be fast handling and hard hitting in heavily timbered areas. However, he is leaning towards a 25-06. My first thought is that it is a pretty large case for a small bore in a shorter barrel, and suggested the 257 Roberts.

He’s open to suggestions though, so I thought I’d throw it out to the group so see what others might think. What is your recommended caliber for an unscoped Mauser sporter with a roughly 22” long barrel? (something lighter than a 30-06)

I happen to like the 7x57. My wife uses hers for EVERYTHING except prairie dogs. However nothing wrong with the 257 either. A 25-06 will work fine in a 22. Loaded to equal pressure the 257 will give up 100-150FPS but have less blast & recoil

My vote is 7x57.

7x57, 6.5x55 or .257 put them in a hat and draw one out.

6.5x55 for sure.

Adam

The one I am building now is a 7 x 57 on a Mex to be light and easy to carry. A traditional mountain rifle, if you will.

Open sights, 7x57, scoped 257.

257 Roberts or 6.5 x 55

Coyotes and deer? Does he reload? If so, you've gotten some good suggestions. If not, then he needs to make it a .243.

I favor the 7 x 57 ,then .257 Roberts, but would consider the .260 Rem. The .260 is nearly identical with the 6.5 x 55 but cases and ammo may be easier to find. Also my .02 worth.
I also think it's great he wants to tackle a project like this. He has my encouragement.
Gary

What skip said. and yes, you must reload.

Both my boys, ages 8 and 11 helped to build their own Mausers in 6.5x55.

We discussed three posibilities, well four actually: the .257 Bob, the 6.5x55, 6.5x57, and 7x57.

After much discussion they concluded that the 6.5x55 offered them the most versatility and excepting 85 gr 257 loads, the least recoil.

Both started with 100 grain bullets at 2700 fps aproximating 250 Savage ballistics. As they become more accustomed to recoil and the rifles themselves they have upped the powder charge and or bullet weight. Both still favor the original 100 grain loads for whitetail but the older boy likes the 139 grainers for Pigs.

While we obviously handload, I see no reason you would HAVE to. Lapua offers a nice 100 or 108 gr load and plenty of others offer heavier loads.

7x57

My vote would be for a very early Mauser factory cartridge...the venerable 6.5x57 Mauser. I like it so much I still have a reamer for it.

It would be something he would probably never encounter in the hands of anyone else in the field, but is a very sweet deer, antelope, sheep, and caribou cartridge.

Easy to make, just run either .257 Roberts or 7 m/m Mauser cases into the 6.5x57 die. Lots of good 6.5 bullets around too.

257 Roberts!

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty:
257 Roberts!

+1 built on a Swede action.

Find a butchered M94 Swedish Mauser carbine in 6.5x54 and re-stock it. I see them sell on some auction sites for as little as $120.

Bob
www.rustblue.com

quote:

Originally posted by Bobster:
Find a butchered M94 Swedish Mauser carbine in 6.5x54 and re-stock it. I see them sell on some auction sites for as little as $120.

Bob
www.rustblue.com

I already have one, and I offered it! He wanted to do his own work. That one will likely go to the other nephew.

My vote would be a 257 or 6mm Remington if it's scoped, not sure why a coyote gun without a scope.

I like the 6.5x55 but also think that the 7mm-08 is also a good choice.

quote:

Originally posted by Rhys:
7x57, 6.5x55 or .257 put them in a hat and draw one out.

six-and-a-half.

quote:

Originally posted by SmallCal:
My vote would be a 257 or 6mm Remington if it's scoped, not sure why a coyote gun without a scope.

He's 15- he can see through walls.

For a coyote gun, consider the 5.6x57. With a fast twist it will launch 77-grain HPBTs in a nearly straight line out to 500 meters. You can also get a sub-caliber training device for .22LR or .22WMR.

RWS brass lasts absolutely forever.

For coyote he would be better off with a 25 caliber or smaller. The .257 is a good one, as several have already mentioned.

Why not just the plain old mundane .243 Winchester, especially in a shorter mauser action? It's more of a varmint round than a .25 and is still big enough for deer. It does just fine with a 22" barrel and a custom barrel for the .243 could be made about as light as he wants it.

I just (hopefully) convinced my dad to build a 6mm Rem for his first project. He wanted a .243 but that seemed like a waste to build on the nice VZ-24 I'm donating for his project. He recalled killing a lot of deer in the Texas Hill Country with a 6mm and he handloads...I think he's sold..

I've got a nice M38 Turk barreled action. The barrel is toast. If you are interested PM me. It would make a dandy .257 Roberts.

Put 6.5 x 55, 257 Roberts, 7 x 57 on a bulletin board and throw a dart at them, I myself would add them 7-08.

Steve.........

Have nothing against a 6.5x55, own several of them. But, recommend either the 257R or 7x57. Of course as someone else suggested, finding a sporterized 6.5 Swede military rifle is not a bad idea. Doesn't need to be a model 94 carbine, a 96 or 38 would be OK to work with.

I am surprized that no one has mentioned the fine shooting, low recoil and very accurate 260 remington. I really like the 120 grain bullets. They are flat shooting and deadly on any deer inside 300 yards easily. But as most on this site would say, just my 2 cents worth.

quote:

Originally posted by derf9.3:
I am surprized that no one has mentioned the fine shooting, low recoil and very accurate 260 remington. I really like the 120 grain bullets. They are flat shooting and deadly on any deer inside 300 yards easily. But as most on this site would say, just my 2 cents worth.

No arguing that the 260 is a fine cartridge but it won't do anything the 6.5x55 won't. Also, the 6.5x55 is much less likely to give feeding problems than the .260. I say this because yes, you can build a .260 on a Mauser but it is more likely to give you trouble. Not something that can't be overcome, depending on your skill level or how well you follow Duane's tutorial.

Bobster, did you get my PM? I have a persistent notice that I have a new message, yet I can't see a response. Maybe something is hung up?

Please try to PM me with the particulars. Thanks.

6.5x55 or 6.5x57. i have a 6.5x57 on a 98/22 mauser action. works great. up until the other day the 6.5x57 had killed my biggest deer. as of the other day that honor now goes to the lowly 223. still love that 6.5x57 though.

Unless the youngster has skilled adult back-up on the "building" may I suggest that he buy a ready made rifle?

A 243 would cover some game hunting and we always got way more varmint hunting and the 243 will do that also.

Get him a Ruger 77 and he is ready.