Maximum power Wildcat for Military Mauser

[BattleRifleG3]

Been thinking...

The girlfriend and I LOVE military Mausers, and tend to like many things about the way they are.  Claw extractors, heavy duty actions and stocks, sites with many many options, all at a wonderfully low price.  And there are many out there with excellent bores.

Many of the Mauser's features make it an excellent choice for dangerous game hunting.  But the 8x57mm just doesn't seem like the best choice for the more dangerous game of this continent, as well as the long ranges sometimes encountered.

Not that I'm in any way out to hunt anything crazy tommorrow, have much learning to do by then.  But always a good excuse to add new equipment.

What I'm looking for is a wildcat that would:
a.) Keep the original 8mm bore
b.) Keep the original 0.473" rim
c.) Give the maximum safe power that the action can handle and deliver good performance with the military rifling twist rate

Ie, the ONLY modification necessary would be a rechambering.  What I have in mind at the moment is basically a 8mm-284 extended but longer, ie 30-06 length, assuming the heaviest variety of big game stopper bullets would be used.

A currently established wildcat would be nice, but other feasible ones may be an option.  Anyone have any ideas?  Any thoughts on the potential ballistic results?

[Lone Star]

Many military Mausers will not safely handle the pressures of current large-diameter cartridges. Essentially what you are proposing is the equivalent of a 8mm/.300 Winchester Magnum, which can produce too much bolt thrust in some Mausers.  Forget the rebated rim and use the standard belted case, your costs will be lower and feeding will be better.  While in the past some M98s were modified to take long magnum cases, this weakens the action and is not supported by many of today's knowledgeable gunsmiths...this means no 8mm Remington Magnum.

Actually, IMO you'd be far better off doing what hundreds of gunsmiths did following WWII - run a 8mm-06 reamer onto the chamber and be done with it.  No feeding issues, low cost, excellent performance, and reduced bolt thrust compared to larger diameter cases for safety.

[Reed1911]

  Grrr... You beat me to it.

+1 for the 8mm/06. It's a great cartridge and would serve you well for anything here in the States. Long range?! Sneak closer, that is the most fun part of hunting. Your wits against the animals instinct.

[RaySendero]

BG3,

I doubt that you could produce anything from an 8x57 that would out perform the 8mm/06 - A load using 200 grain bullet for the 8/06 could go 2,800 fps or so.

Now if you would consider going up in bore to a 35 Whelen, 9.3x62,  375 (or even 400) Whelen you would get more performance for bigger game.  All would be reloading only except for the 35 Whelen.  However, to step up to the "dangerous game" catagory you would be better off buying a 375 H&H - Maybe even reaming it to a 375 Weatherby.

[Lee S. Forsberg]

I was about to say the something as Ray. Could you possible consider rebarreling to one of the cartridges Ray talked about? I shoot 35 WIMP and 375 WIMP both would work very well on a mauser. For a bit longer range 5.6x06 is a good cartridge.

[BattleRifleG3]

I just came accross a 425 Westley Richards Magnum that has a rebated rim and was designed for converting bolt actions with the standard rim size such as 8x57 and 30-06.  There is also a 300-425 wildcat that seems to be darn tootin close to what I had in mind.  How about a 8mm-425 Westley Richards Magnum wildcat for a simple rechambering of a full length military Mauser, such as my Czech M98/22?

[iiranger]

.30/'06 Improved case. Mr. Ackley did not recommend it for the .308 bore but with the extra bore, you could make use of the extra powder capacity and it should still work thru most military mauser actions with little or no exterior changes.... luck