Gun Digest 2011. Dan Shideler
a Hawkeye borescope. This rifle was big, tough, heavy and clumsy but all business. It got known as “Ivan the Terrible” or just “The Brute” for short. The trigger was almost 7 pounds with two stages but was amazingly uniform. Despite the weight of pull, the second stage was sharp and predictable, making it quite usable. I can see how such a trigger would be no drawback at -30° F in blowing snow while wearing gloves.
A variety of steel case Eastern Bloc ammo with 154-, 174- and 197-grain bullets was quite uniform in performance – all bad – with 8 inch to 10 inch groups at 200 yards and getting worse at 300 yards. The barrel however was really nice inside, appearing to have been carefully lapped to a very uniform .3105 diameter. The first load of 4320 with the Hornady 174-grain .3105 bullets in Lapuan 7.62 x 54R brass chronographed 2660 fps and grouped into just over 1 MOA at 200, 300 and 500 yards, impacting right on the 200 meter, 300 meter and 500 meter settings. Would it work as a sniper’s rifle? Hell yes!
Especially if the shooter was tough. Everything about this rifle is tough. The recoil is tough, the trigger is tough, the bolt operation is tough. This is a big, heavy combat rifle designed to take it and to dish it out with .30-06 class ballistics. I like the old pig but I have to feel like experiencing a little recoil when I go out to shoot it and be willing to manhandle the bolt and trigger in the bargain.
M48A 8X57
The Model 98 Mauser clan was represented by a Yugoslav M48A 8x57 short rifle and a pair of 1909 Argentine 7.62 x 53s, one short rifle and one long rifle. The 48A was like new inside and out and was finished almost as nicely as a new commercial Mauser.
Cheap Turkish 1938 Berdan-primed 154-grain ball, guaranteed to be corrosive by its vendor, shot into 4 MOA out to 300 yards. It all shot, though, and chronographed quite uniformly at 2970 fps with an extreme spread of 44 fps. I pulled some of the bullets and reseated a Sierra 150-grain flat base soft point instead of the original full metal jackets. I was rewarded with 2950 fps “Munich Match” that grouped into about 1-1/2 MOA all the way out to 500 yards.
The barleycorn front sight gave me trouble with elevation, though. It would fade out at the point no matter how hard I concentrated on it and would give me vertical changes that I did not experience with the more visible flat top front posts. It was also more difficult to define the point of the barleycorn so as to level it with the top of the rear sight notch. For me, a good sized rear peep and 8 minute wide flat top front post seemed to give the best results in both bright and dim lighting. It was easier to see the sights and take a uniform picture with a peep and flat top post.
All that said, I used the 48A and “Munich Match” to cull a spike buck out of my “Range Ravine” at about 350 yards in the dusk just before dark one evening as I was gathering up my gear. The 8x57 is a powerful cartridge and gives away little in terminal ballistic effect to the 30-06.
As a photographer friend of mine once said, “You take the picture with the camera you’ve got.” Much the same is true of rifles: the handier the gun, the more likely you are to have it in hand. Such is the case with the 23.6 inch-barreled Model 48A. It is relatively light and quick to the shoulder with a better than average stock shape for a military rifle. The trigger pull was pretty good, a two-stage generic Mauser military type, and a pull weight very close to 4-½ pounds. The general impression was quite favorable, probably one of the best all-around bolt rifles for a soldier to carry day in and day out.
M1909 ARGENTINE
The same comments apply to the M1909 Argentine short rifle except that it had a bore diameter of .313 inch and, although in very nice shape, it would not shoot better than about 2-1/2 MOA with anything that was tried. The Argentine 184-grain surplus ammunition wouldn’t shoot any better than 6-inch 100-yard groups even though the bullets miked .313.
880-yard No.4 Mk 2 targets with sighters pasted.
M96 Swede 200-yard slow fire group on MR52 decimal target (600 yard reduced for 200 yards). Score100/5X. Closer is easier but the skinny comb on the issue M96 stock makes a consistent “spot weld” and head position more difficult and contributes to left and right sighting errors.
“Upgraded” rear sights. M. Soderin Aperture Type, M96 Carl Gustav Swedish Mauser (left); A. J. Parker Type 4/47, No.4 Mk 2 SMLE (right).
The M1909 Argentine long rifle had a fine .3105 barrel but wouldn’t shoot the surplus issue stuff either. However, 150-grain Hornady spire point .311 bullets at 2668 fps with IMR 4895 performed very well, approaching 1 MOA out to 300 yards. The 174-grain Hornady FMJ boat tail .3105 bullets with IMR 4064 at 2560 fps were also nearly MOA performers all the way to 500 yards. The barleycorn front sight on the long rifle didn’t seem to cause as much sighting elevation error as it did on the shorter rifles. The 20 percent longer sight radius probably helped.
The nicest thing about the DWM built Argentine Mausers, after their commercial grade finish, was the 7.65x53 Argentine (or Belgian, if you prefer) cartridge. It loads with ease and is very comfortable to shoot, performing about like a strong .308W. After loading for and shooting a number of examples I am surprised that the 7.65x53Argentine/Belgian Mauser cartridge is as well kept a secret as it seems to be. Try it – you’ll like it!
A M91 short rifle and a M91 long rifle in 7.65x53 were also tested and shot quite well except with the Argentine issue ammunition. The long rifle had a .313 diameter barrel and might have done better than 2-½ to 3 MOA if the correct bullets had been available. The carbine, which appeared to have been an arsenal rework of a long rifle, had a .312 barrel and shoots 150-grain .312 spire points into about 2 inches at 100 yards. Not inspiring, but good enough for a rifle to carry behind pig chasing dogs in the Louisiana low country. It’s short, light, handy and cheap enough to sacrifice some finish on it. If need be, it’s a good “rain and mud gun” if you don’t mind the cock on closing.
Neither of the M91s qualified as a first rank infantry or sniper rifle in my opinion. They were serviceable but not outstanding.
ARISAKAS
The Arisakas were a ho-hum lot, with grossly oversize chambers that complicated reloading. I am sure that some Type 38 Arisaka long rifles would turn out fine accuracy but I was unable to find any. Norma factory 140-grain soft points were not only expensive but erratic as well. Sierra 140 Matchkings could be driven no faster than about 2150 fps before pressure signs started to appear. 2-½ to 3 minutes of angle was the best I could get despite stories told by WWII veterans about snipers who “after a while you began to think couldn’t miss.” Trigger pulls were rough and upwards of 10 pounds.
A finely-finished Kokura long rifle had peep sights for both “battle ranges” and long range that gave good sight pictures. Some Koishikawa long rifles, in contrast, all had open rear sights. The light recoil generated by the 6.5x50 cartridge was easy to take and if the rifles could have been made to shoot would have invited longer range sessions. I quickly tired of errant shots and spread-out groups. So much for the Arisakas I tested.
I may be fairly accused of saving the best for last with reports on the K31 Schmidt -Rubin, the 03-A3 Smith Corona Springfield and the M96 Swedes. They all shot, some a little better than others, but every one was trouble-free fun.
K31
The K31 came with dinged-up wood, perfect metal work and a card under the butt plate with the name, address and telephone number of the Swiss trooper from Basel who was sent home with his rifle in 1958. He must not have shot it much because a borescope inspection showed no discernable throat wear and a mirror finish rivaling the product of some U.S.-based master barrel makers. Slugging it revealed an exceptionally round and uniform .3070 bore. Swiss issue 1911 type 174-grain full metal jacket boattail ball shot so well that I thought that my first 10 rounds at 200 yards were an anomaly. They weren’t, and they scored an easy possible with about half x’s on the 200 yard NRA “A” target.