There are a lot of bargains out there for the savvy buyer, provided an informed decision is made. Well, luck sometimes works for you and not against you. Better to not just trust to luck.
Unlike automobiles, a rifle left to sit indoors can often emerge decades later ready to operate. Rifles have no gaskets, belts, or tires to wear out, crack, or seize-up. If the owner had the sense to clean it before putting it up, no more needs to be done then blow the dust off, oil lightly, and make sure the chamber and barrel are free from any oil or obstructions.
Like automobiles, though, there are reliable models and lemons, quirky, stylish and ugly models of rifles. What fits and works for you may be anethema for someone else. After all, it is for sale for a reason.
No one person can keep track of all the possible things you can run into on the used market. Fjestad's Blue Blook of Gun Values is the closest thing to a universal guide, but it says precious little about whether something will work well for you or not. A small production run might indicate an exclusive collectable or a very unpopular model.
I put together this list of things to look for, and some info on models I know something about.
The crown is simply the circular edge where the rifling ends at the business end, or muzzle of the barrel. This area is often damaged by improper cleaning, that is, cleaning from the muzzle end and/or scraping it with the cleaning rod. If a jointed cleaning rod is used there may be burrs or nicks where the joints slammed into the crown.
A good, crisp crown is essential for accuracy. If the rifling ends on one side before the other, the bullet will be tipped as it leaves the barrel. It will take some time to settle down in flight, during which it will diverge (in random directions) from the ideal flight path.
The good news is that this condition is correctable for a reasonable price, $30-$75 at the gunsmith's. In extreme cases the end of the barrel will have to be shortened by an inch or two. This might involve sacrificing the front sight and going to scope-only sighting, or the additional cost of remounting the front sight. Overzealous cleaning resulting in the coning-out of the end of the barrel is sometimes found in rifles used by the military and ex-military types.
Not surprisingly, the condition of the rifling figures strongly in the accuracy of a rifle. The bore should be shiny and clean and the rifling strong and sharp. Bores with strong rifling but with a rust patina or salt-and-pepper pitting may still shoot accurately after clean-up, but will foul quickly with use and always be difficult to clean.
The throat is simply the origin of the rifling ahead of the chamber, where the cartridge is, uh, chambered. There should be a chamfer, or ramp, for each rifling land tapering up away from the chamber neck. If the throat appears rough and/or the rifling doesn't start for a few inches above the chamber, the rifling is suffering from one of two problems. It is either badly copper fouled, and needs a serious cleaning, or it is eroded from use. If it is eroded it is unlikely the rifle will achieve any level of accuracy and it needs to be rebarreled.
If the throat is badly fouled and being sold as worn-out, you may find yourself a bargain... but you may discover some erosion, rust or pitting underneath once you do get it cleaned up.
Aggressive cleaning can also gouge or wear the rifling at the throat. Usually the side corresponding to the handedness of the owner will be ground down by the reciprocating action of the cleaning rod. Using a one-piece rod with a bore guide will prevent this problem. Wipe grit off the rod often as you clean. I recommend Stoney Point's bore guide and J. Dewey coated rods. If I were King, one of each would come with every rifle.
There are ways to test each type of gun's action and safety, but they differ so much there's no way I can summarize it neatly. Besides, there are safety issues in manipulating bolts and triggers and safeties.
Some guns, like Remington 1100 shotguns, have o-rings or other maintenance items that need regular replacement. Since o-rings are cheap, their value doesn't really factor into the cost of the used piece -- unless the owner doesn't understand the cause of malfunctions.
Oil soaked wood is the most common problem in wood stocks, particularly in overzealous owners. While the oil can be drawn out with Whiting paste, the stock will typically have to be refinished. This may or may not intimidate you.
Guns with two-piece stocks, like most shotguns, lever actions, and single shot rifles, are especially susceptible to oil soaking. This is because the end grain is exposed on the wood right at the point where it meets the receiver, and the receiver is where most gun oil is applied.
A well-done stock repair should not put you off from a purchase unless you are looking for a pristine collector's piece. It indicates the owner took good care of the rifle. Shoddy work should subtract from the gun's value by both the cost of the necessary repair, and the valuation of the degraded piece. The difference between well-done and shoddy is obvious; you'll hardly notice a professional job, while the shoddy jumps out at you as incongruous and ugly. Nonetheless a repaired stock is worth less than an all-original one. The difference in value depends entirely on the collectibility of the piece. A collectable will be greatly devalued while a utility piece only insignificantly so.
Any soft composition butt pad has a finite lifetime. It should be considered a long-term maintenance item, like replacing the belts and tires on a car every few years. Chances are it'll last more than a decade, but rifles last many decades, especially with good care and light use.
Stock fit should be mentioned as well. If the comb is high and you have trouble seeing the sights, you might turn your head over the comb to get your eye low enough. This sets you up for a nasty bump from recoil. A similar problem is the too-long stock. It stretches the body out to get the eye close enough to the scope. With no slack, there is nothing left to give to absorb recoil.
If the comb is too low, the stock has time to build momentum and give the cheek a nice whack. It is also hold to get a good cheek weld for consistant eye position, and consistant accuracy. A too-short stock can cause the thumb to give the user a sore nose.
Pain from poor-fitting stocks happens so fast that the new user often doesn't really what is going on until several shots have been fired, and a very nice flinch developed. Take the time to try out different size and shaped rifles. Don't be afraid to ask a shop owner for a stock to be shortened (or lengthened) to cinch the deal.
Ah, the Mauser. No other rifle invokes such adulation, recrimination, defensiveness, promotion and general confusion.
I will not discuss the history of the Mauser nor every possible model available. I'll just mention a few things to look for when looking to buy.
Unless you do more research first, aspiring shooters should buy a "98" or Large Ring type Mauser. The older Small Ring 93-95 types do not have the same gas-handling features, that is, they are not as well designed to handle brass failure as the 98. With good, checked headspace and good quality fresh brass, they can serve very well, though.
The standard expection to the 98-only for new shooters rule is the 1894 and 1896 Swedish Mausers.
Generally speaking, the later the year made the better, up to early 1944, when production quality started going downhill due to Allied bombing, shortages, and increased used of slave labor. Receivers made up to about 1908-1909 are generally too soft for modern loads. The problem is not that they will burst, but that the receiver lugs will set-back (get pounded back) and the headspace (slack around the cartridge) will increase. This increases the likelihood of the brass case stretching beyond it's breaking point, and venting 50,000 PSI gas and molten brass into the action. The way this can destroy an rifle has to be seen to be believed.
Spanish-made receivers enjoy a uniquely bad reputation for receiver softness. This is not necessarily universal- some MAY be good- but all should be checked for headspace before using with the current barrel, and checked for hardness before rebarreling.
Your choices are 8x57mm aka 7.92mmJS, 7x57mm, 7.62x53 Argentine, and 6.5x55mm Swede. There are also Mausers rebarreled or rechambered to more modern military cartridges, notably 7.62mm NATO by Israel and Chile and others. There's even .30-06 Mauser's from Columbia, though these usually sell for a premium- when they are available.
Stated quite simply, ALL of these cartridges are excellent, well designed, and (with proper load selection) suitable for deer, black bear, antelope, smaller elk, and the like.
If you don't reload, the best choices for factory sporting performance is the 7x57 and the 6.5x55. The 7x57 has better availability in both commercial and surplus loads but the 6.5 has higher performance in factory loads. S&B makes good loads for both. The 139-140 grain US commercial loads in 7x57 are very flat shooting and have mild pressures as well.
If you get an 8x57mm, you'll be disappointed by the US factory 8mm loads. First of all, the bullets are undersized by .003", so accuracy is not good. Then it is underloaded to .30-30 or .32WCF Special velocities. All of this is because there was an earlier .318" bore, low pressure 7.92x57 cartridge. There are very few of them in the US but the industry doesn't trust us to know the difference. The result is a bolt-action 30/30 performance. These whimpy loads are great for plinking with kids or wives, and the empties are great for reloading!
S&B makes a good military-style 8mm load, and a harder-to-find sporting (soft point bullet) load worth looking into. They are loaded to stronger CIP standards and give better performance than the US made SAAMI standard loads.
If you plan to shoot military surplus, the market is occasionally flooded with the 8mm. These things change dramatically. 7.62NATO is usually available surplus, at a higher price.
If you reload, all of these Mauser cartridges will serve you well. All except the 6.5x55 can be formed by jamming .30-06 brass in the appropriate resizing die and trimming off the excess length. The Swede has a larger case head (the part with the headstamp on it) and it is unsafe to use narrower brass in the wider chamber. It will try to expand to fit the chamber and may split in the process, ruining your rifle.
The wide variety of 7mm bullets available and the easy-going nature of the 7x57 case makes it a reloader's dream. 8mm bullets are out there but there is a conspicuous absence of boat-tailed hunting and target bullets. The only US boattails are the 200 grain Sierra MatchKing (recently available in the US) and the Nosler. Both are expensive, to the point that firing a few hundred could instead buy you a new, used Mauser. The Sierra allows duplication of the hefty Ss German load. It is a great long-range target bullet with little wind sensitivity, but it can't be used for hunting, has an arched trajectory at medium ranges, and kicks like a mule.
Don't be frustrated, the round nose 8mm bullets made by Hornady and others are great hunting bullets. They don't lose much to the boat tail spitzers for the first 200 yards, and they expand much more reliably with their great, broad lead tips.
Ken.
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