Not a 6.5 Man-Bun

by AaronB, Thursday, November 21, 2024, 09:29 (30 days ago)
edited by AaronB, Thursday, November 21, 2024, 09:35

On the topic of strange and arcane calibers, I have a Mauser 98 built (very nicely) into a post-war sporter. The receiver has "6.5x57" engraved on it, but the mismatched barrel (obviously a military take-off, stepped contour and all) is chambered in 7mm Mauser (7x57).

This barrel swap was apparently done in the US after the rifle was brought over, presumably so that its owner could actually obtain ammunition (in the 1970s) rather than just look at the rifle and dream.

The rifle is a good shooter in 7mm Mauser. There's a lot to like about it, and I have a period-appropriate scope on it so the look is right.

But.

The barrel annoys me. Visually it's a flaw. Technically it doesn't match the engraving on the receiver. The thing to do, then, would be to re-barrel it in the original chambering, 6.5x57, which is a classic European sporting cartridge dating back to 1894. Brass is readily formed from 7x57 or I can buy it with proper headstamps online. 6.5mm bullets are piled up in heaps in the market just now. Dies can be had with no fuss. I have plenty of IMR4350 on hand.

But I would be buying a barrel and paying a guy to do the work, to get a rifle back whose performance wouldn't be significantly changed from that of 7x57, especially with the short shots I take back east.

What do y'all say?

-AaronB