Tag: Things of beauty

Here’s the last in our series of “droolworthy Mauser Sporters” (see here for the 7×57 and here for the 8×60):  a “standard” Mauser Sporter rifle from Collectors Firearms, this one chambered for the common 8x57mm cartridge:

Like the first two, this beauty has a full stock and double set trigger;  but unlike the others, it doesn’t have a scope, nor is it even drilled and tapped for scope mounts:

But it has attractions all of its own, with a double-leaf rear sight, case-hardening finish on the action, and a half-octagon barrel;  and those features alone would put this on a list of “guns I’d snap up in  a heartbeat after winning the lottery”.

Longtime Readers will be familiar with my love of Mauser rifles, but should someone have stumbled on this website from another planet, allow me to explain myself.

Mauser bolt-action rifles are almost without exception the best large-scale production guns ever made, whether during the late 19th century (the Swedish M96), in the early 20th century (the WWI G98). the mid-20th century (K98) or since then (M03 and M12).  They are strong, beautifully machined, accurate and reliable, and it is no exaggeration to say that it is the one rifle that no gun owner should be without — because long after all the modern rifles have expired from heavy usage, parts breaking and/or abuse, the Mauser will still work pretty much as well as the day it left the factory.  And  quite frankly, its chambering is irrelevant, whether a military one (6.5x55mm, 7x57mm, 7.65x53mm, 8x57mm), a “hunting” one (6.5x57mm, .270 Win, 8x60mm, 9.3x62mm, .375H&H, .416 Rigby) or in more “modern” ones such as .308 Win, 7mm Rem Mag or .300 Win Mag:  whichever cartridge you choose, the Mauser will never let you down.

Over the years, I’ve owned well over a dozen Mausers at one time or another, whether military, customized, re-chambered and sporters, and I regret getting rid of each and every one.  The very first rifle I ever bought was an Israeli mil-surp Mauser rechambered for 7.62 NATO, and the first gun I bought when I emigrated to America was a full-stocked Mauser sporter similar to the one pictured above, only with a single trigger.  Other than during the bleak years of 2015-17, I have owned at least one Mauser rifle every day of my life, and a multitude of Mauser-style bolt actions (e.g. CZ 550) as well.  Of all the millions of choices one can ever make during one’s lifetime, choosing a Mauser rifle will always be one of the best.

Here endeth the lesson.

Here’s another take on last week’s GGP of the Mauser Sporter 7x57mm rifle.  This one (also from Collectors Firearms) is more conventional-looking, and chambered for the unusual 8x60mm S cartridge:

And the action is likewise quite lovely, with a polished knob bolt (rather than the butterknife) and conventional scope rings.  Still with the full stock and double set triggers, though.

As for the 8x60mm S cartridge:  it’s basically a lengthened casing derived from the military 8x57mm cartridge, and was created to circumvent the Versailles Treaty restrictions on the production of military chamberings — the thought being that hunters and their clubs could become ersatz  reserve units for the Wehrmacht.  (I know, stupid, but that’s gummint for ya.)  So DWM simply changed the cartridge while keeping the bullet (the “S” denotes .323″) — and the longer casing meant more gunpowder, ergo  a more powerful cartridge.  As such, the 8x60mm is very close to the .30-06 Springfield in terms of performance.

So why buy this rifle, when the cartridges are hard to find?  Actually, one might think that the 8×60 S is rare, but it isn’t — quite a feat given that it was made solely for pre-WWII German hunting rifles.   True, you do have to look around for them, but they’re made in quantity by Serbia’s Prvi Partizan company, and in keeping with PPU’s philosophy, they’re inexpensive — I found them selling for just over $22 per 20, which makes the rifle a perfectly acceptable purchase.  (The only problem is that this rifle is horribly –and I think unjustifiably — expensive, even by Collector’s standards.)

Now… where are those lottery tickets?

Looking over the posts for the past week or so, it occurs to me that there are far too few entries which conform to the original premise of the GGP series, namely, providing pics of guns that we gun-lovers can drool over, for whatever reason.  Allow me to remedy the situation forthwith.

Here’s one being offered by Collectors Firearms:  a pre-WWII Mauser 98K Sporter in one of my favorite calibers, the venerable 7x57mm.

Good grief… this gun rings just about every single one of my rifleman bells:  Mannlicher-style full stock, “butterknife” bolt lever, and  a double set trigger?

The only way this rifle could be more beautiful is if it had breasts.

I know that modern-day shooters look askance at the old-style scope front claw mount (which grips the bell rather than the barrel), but there’s nothing wrong with the concept — having two barrel grips just simplifies the production process and therefore the cost thereof.

Okay, it’s expensive,  because a) rare and b) Collectors.  But like I said about the Colt 1903 pistol, this is not a “first gun”, at least if you wanted to go hunting:  other more modern guns might be a tad better.  But in a pinch, this gun could  be your go-to hunting rifle, and I very much doubt that it would let you down, whether in its operation, accuracy, reliability or chambering.  And for a hunting rifle, that’s pretty much all you can ask for, isn’t it?  The fact that it is more beautiful  than 90% of modern hunting rifles is just a bonus.

Speaking for myself:  if I won the lottery, I’d buy this gun in a heartbeat.