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Old September 10, 2011, 11:48 AM   #1
TX Hunter
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Shooting the Spanish Mauser

Recently I bought a 1916 Spanish Mauser, from Samco Global, I have read several concerns about their Safety with .308 Ammo.
I started to Reload for mine to bring the pressure down, and what I ended up with is the handiest carbine imaginable. I make two loads for mine, one is a target load, and the other is a hunting load. This carbine is a great shooter with both loads. The First load is a 147 grain full metal jacket over 39 Grains of Imr 4895. Its deadly accurate, and low recoil, and the hunting field load is 37.7 grains of imr 4895 under Hornadys 150 grain round nose #3035 bullet.
I can easily make acurate shots out to 100 yards with very low recoil.
Both loads came out of the complete reloading manual for .308 winchester.
My wife replaced the furniture in our bedroom and likes to use the rifle as a decoration. Anyhow, I feel that both loads are safe in this rifle, the cases look great after firing and I recomend this load to anyone that may be unsure about firing this rifle. My mauser will stay in its original condition and will not be sporterized, but Im finding that its the one I like to shoot the most.












Last edited by TX Hunter; September 10, 2011 at 02:09 PM.
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Old September 10, 2011, 04:56 PM   #2
mkk41
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That action is not a '98 or large ring Mauser , so I'd hold back a bit on the loads. 7.62 NATO ammo is held to 50,000psi or CUP , while commercial .308 Win can go as high as 55,000. Might not seem like much , but I'd prefer to err on the side of caution .
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Old September 10, 2011, 05:09 PM   #3
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I've always loved the little Spanish Mauser, although 7mm's are all I've fooled with. I'm getting the itch for another one and that .308 may be just the ticket. Given that we always have 30 cal components on hand, it just makes sense.
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Old September 10, 2011, 05:47 PM   #4
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Quote:
The First load is a 147 grain full metal jacket over 39 Grains of Imr 4895. Its deadly accurate, and low recoil, and the hunting field load is 37.7 grains of imr 4895 under Hornadys 150 grain round nose #3035 bullet.
While I am not a fan of those pre 1920 actions, I think you are acting prudently.

I have shot thousands of 168 SMK 38 grains IMR 4895 in a 308 standing and sitting rapid fire at 200 yards. This load will clean the standard decimal NRA target.

The wide band of charge weights that IMR 4895 will give X ring accuracy in a 308 and 30-06 is one of the reasons I recommend this powder.

I have also tested and shot this load, which is also very accurate at 200 yards with IMR 4064.


150 Sierra Matchking 39.0 grs IMR 4064 Lot 2449 LC67 CC#34 OAL 2.750"

April 2008 T = 71 °F

Ave Vel =2416
Std Dev =52
ES = 113
High = 2479
Low = 2366
N = 5
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Old September 10, 2011, 06:17 PM   #5
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Thanks Slamfire,
The Round nose loads feed well through the action, and are alot of fun to shoot. I am thinking that they are very close in performance to a 30 30 Winchester, the load data indicated that it would produce 2300 fps.
Normaly the loads are tested with a 24" barrel, my carbine has a 21" barrel so I figure im producing around 2200 FPS or so. I need a Conograph.
The recoil is very light, as is the muzzle blast, and at 100 yards it prints a very nice group.

Sarge, you would like one of these, With the loads that I just posted, its very plesant to fire, and acurate, theses loads are lower pressure than the cartridge it was designed to fire. Should be safe, and easy on the older action.

Last edited by TX Hunter; September 10, 2011 at 06:43 PM.
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Old September 12, 2011, 08:07 PM   #6
JiminTexas
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Hey Tex, from one Texan to another, I am seriously considering the same rifle from the same source and I am wondering, what condition was your rifle in when you received it? Did you get the "special select" condition rifle or the other? How long did the delivery take? These guys have a record of slow delivery sometimes.
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Old September 16, 2011, 09:45 AM   #7
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Hey Tex

How ya doing, is it dry eneough for you?
My rifle is a special select, but the stock was pretty beat up, and the bluing was gone. It is however mechanicly perfect and has a new looking bore.
It took about three months to recieve it, I called several times and the customer service was not real great, but they did get the order right.
The rifle is wicked accurate and feels good in the hand, I have other guns that cost alot more than this, but this one has become my favorite.
I recomend placing the backorder and just being patient.
Best of luck, and pray for rain.
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Old September 17, 2011, 11:23 PM   #8
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mkk41: Please correct me if any of this is wrong.

After I recently bought my Spanish FR8, the amount of confusion on the Internet about that rifle was impressive. It's my first .308/7.62 and I spent a few hours reading, just to sort things out. Confusion between the FR8 and FR7 is just one of a few issues, and many people believe anything that they hear or read.

A few guys included a chart, which claimed that conversion from 7.62 CUP to commercial psi allows an extra 8,000 factor to result in NATO psi equal to about 58,000.
Commercial ammo equates to about 62,000 psi, but the original proof pressures were far higher than both figures.

As a result, a difference of 4,000 psi seems negligible, and the FR8 action is the Spanish 8mm Mauser, which has much later, stronger steel than the Spanish 7mm Mauser ( year 1916?), on which the FR7 was built.

People often don't bother with buying a headspace gauge, and the Spanish 7mm Mauser converted to .308/7.62 NATO seems to be in serious need of either the Go/No go, or the field gauge.
Many long-term, knowledgeable Mauser fans are very wary of the conversions from the classic early 1900s 7mm to .308.7.62.
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Old September 18, 2011, 08:42 AM   #9
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Ignition Override

I have acknowledged that I have an early 1916 Spanish Mauser, and am loading accordingly, I don not have a headspace gauge yet, but my gunsmith says the headspace is fine, but the rifle is short chambered, and recomends not sharing brass from this rifle with my other .308
I do plan to purchase a set of headspace gauges. He says i would blow the shoulder back and forth and weaken the brass. I also have two seperate sets of dies set up for both of my .308 rifles and seperate loading data.
I plan to adjust my loading with Nato Brass, I will be able to drop my charge to about 35 grains, use less powder, and have stronger brass for an extra margain of safety.
I trim my cases to 2.005" and seat my round nose bullets to the cannilure.
This rifle within the short ranges that Im firing is is almost as accurate as my Remington 03 A3, and more accurate than my Finnish M-39. Although on the M-39 The front sight is so thick that its difficult to aim precisely.
One thing for sure though is that I love the feel of an original millitary bolt action with in its original configuration.

Last edited by TX Hunter; September 18, 2011 at 09:14 AM.
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Old September 18, 2011, 09:59 AM   #10
adrians
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TX HUNTER,,, i have to agree with you remarks and data for your 1916.
i have that model and the mod 43 ,the 1916 is the civil guardia "edition", (local police force maybe?) anyway i load mine using loads intended for the 300 savage cartridge and for paper punching it's a real tack driver at 100yds with issue sights . i have a redfield #70 reciever peep in my box of tricks but i'm a bit reluctant to put it on it because it's nice as is ,but my eyes aren't what they used to be (in this respect old age sucks,otherwise old age ain't too bad.lol).
most of my mausers sport a rec sight of some kind but this one says NO for some reason.
i'll put it on a turk i have,,yer thats what i'll do.
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Old September 18, 2011, 10:14 AM   #11
mkk41
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The FR-7 was built on the Model 93-95 or Small Ring Mauser. The Spanish 1916 was also a version of the small ring Model 93-95.

The FR-8 was built on a version of the Model 98 or Large Ring Mauser. As was the Spanish Model 48.

BTW , 7.62 NATO = 50,000 max , .308 Win commercial(SAAMI) = 55,000 max

Last edited by mkk41; September 18, 2011 at 11:11 AM.
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Old September 18, 2011, 10:17 AM   #12
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ignition overide ,wasn't the FR8 chambered for the elusive CETME round?
or was it the other way round.
some of the 1916's were rechambered for the 7.62 nato and i believe some were converted using some kind if chamber insert!!!!!.
i'll say no more cos i,m not for sure.
as always other peoples info is not always correct mine included so do your own research and you will be comfortable with your findings,
i would hate to give false info maybe someone with more knowledge on this very ,very well debated subject can jump in and put us all straight.
have a wonderfull sunday.
adrian.
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Old September 18, 2011, 11:03 AM   #13
TX Hunter
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Adrians

I love the picture of your Mausers, my Spanish Mauser is no where near that nice. Beautifull
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Old September 18, 2011, 11:09 AM   #14
mkk41
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FR-7 , CETME round

FR-8 , 7.62 NATO


All info I shared is from Robert Balls book , Mauser Military Rifles of the World.
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Old September 18, 2011, 03:04 PM   #15
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The 7.62 CETME and 7.62 NATO rounds are dimensionally identical, the CETME round was just loaded to lower pressures.

1916s weere originally chambered for 7 mauser and can still be found in that cambering, so it's important to know your rifle before you start shooting it. No chamber insert conversion to .308 is even possible.

The FR7 is a pretty strong action, just not as strong as a large ring M98 mauser like the FR8.

The FR8 will handle any commercial or military ammo you feed it.

The 1916 will handle military surplus 7.62 NATO just fine, more concern needs to be shown with hotter commercial .308 Win loads but I think the concerns about over pressure are exaggerated.

Last edited by chack; September 18, 2011 at 03:14 PM.
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