Kimber/Mauser conversions pros/cons

[m1rifleman]

Experienced owners please chime in. Particularly interested in the Mauser 96s in the original 6.5x55 chambering.

 

[watercam]

In the original 6.5x55 caliber I think they are fine. The actions were designed for pressures of that era. I do not think the .308-family of cartridges that they also offered were appropriate pressure wise. Check the various load manuals who stipulate that the 96 actions needed somewhat lower pressures than modern bolt guns for the 6.5 Swede. I should state that my experience is with the straight Mauser 96 action but there was no difference with the Kimber conversion that I could find save for trimming the cocking piece a bit.

 

[butchlambert]

Listen to MTM.

 

[Ggmac]

Are you set on using a 96 action ? I was using the small thread ,large ring 98 action and installing the then inexpensive factory 6.5x55 barrels . Better lock time , more parts available , cock on open , 3 rd safety lug ,etc .
Gary

 

[normmatzen]

I think you will find the Mauser 96 as manufactured in Sweden to be a much stronger action than the Mauser '95s.

In my case, I bought an action that was partially modified by Kimber to build a rifle on . It had a bent bolt and scope mount screw holes. My action is a VZ-24 which was one of the better model 98 variants.

If you do the research, you will find some technical data on the Mauser model 95, 96 and 98. The 95 and 96 are definitely lesser than the 98, but are not the weak poor sister they are accused of by the lawyers! A lot of the low pressure load information is based on anecdotal evidence.

 

[Ggmac]

Sorry but I disagree . You will never see a pre 98 magnum . No one in his right mind would dare chamber one . While on the other hand , many military were converted , many comm manuf chambered them . The pre 98 s were of a period when heatreating was by color rather than using gauges .
The 98 has better gas venting , inner collar ( most ) shorter lock time , cock mostly on opening , anti bind ( though some pre 98 had them ) safety firing pin desigh ( lugs )

 

[swd]

96's tend to be soft. I've seen lots of them with lug set back, some quite bad. It something to check for when you buy one. Nice actions but send it out and have it hardened. And keep the pressures mid level.

 

[mauser284]

I was in college around that time and my Gunsmith talked me out of it. He said that not only had other gunsmiths told him they were not very accurate out of the box but that was also his experience. I own 3 tricked out Mausers one of them I competed with and they can be very accurate with the right machine work and a good barrel. Sadly a lot of re-barreled Mauser's though do not get the machine work they deserve and often a less than match grade barrel is used. So either Kimber skipped the precision machine work or they used less than stellar barrels but either way the result was not that great. If blueprinted properly a Mauser Action even a War Surplus on can shoot just as accurate as a Remington or Winchester that has been blue-printed with a top notch barrel. I do not recall if my 'smith talked me into a Browning A-Bolt or a Ruger M77 MkII at that time but both of those ended up being tack drivers!

I would not put much stock in myths about being soft each action has to be tested to determine if they are too hard or too soft. Too hard and your action can shatter like class because it has sacrificed toughness for hardness too soft and you have problems with stretching. That is why in today's hi tech world with spot induction heating we can heat treat an entire part to one level and then increase of decrease hardness in each area to best serve the overall design. We call that differential heat treating. It is easy to do to a blade but was traditionally harder to do to a complex machine part.

Oh and I am talking about the VZ-24 and 98 LR versions not the single lug Swiss conversions!