gdcpony
Member
Sorry, for the long read for such a simple question, but sometimes I think we lose the history of a rifle today and some have rich stories to share.
I sit staring at my beloved "Bob" with saddened that it must be changed once again. It started life as a service rifle in 1944 in Germany as a 98 Mauser. In 1954 as a surplus buy it was rebarreled with a 25" sporter weight tube and sporterized rather beautifully buy Johnson Automatics. Don't know what path it took after that before our first meeting in 1988, but it was still beautiful then.
Long ago it was the first center fire rifle I really ever shot seriously. My friend's dad, Leroy, owned a gun shop and we were shooting .22's. He brought out a gun and handed me a round as long as my young hand. at his insistence I took a shot at a wrist thick sapling. Both it and I fell over. His dad came out and cuffed him upseid the head for having a newbie shoot a 300 Weatherby. He then handed me a rifle and two boxes of rounds. I was scared but it became love at first shot.
Over the next 6years until I left for the military, I shot and shot that gun over and over. I was taught how to reload and did so over and over to keep it fed. When I left I never forgot that rifle. When I returned the shop had closed and I never knew what happened to that gun.
A few years later I enlisted into another branch and while I was gone the rifle found its way back into Leroy's house. We don't know what the rifle went though but it must have been in rough hands. I never knew it had been found again. It sat while I deployed a few times with rifles I didn't care for as much in my hand.
I went home again now two decades from the first day I had pulled that trigger for the first time. I got married and settled into a reservist life (yuck). A few months later the remains of the old closed down shop went up for auction. I had not talked to Leroy in quite some time, but checked out the listing online. There it was! She was more than a bit beat up with a cracked stock and worn bluing, but she was going up for sale. I let the wife know that she was coming home with me no matter what. Have to love a wife who simply says then don't come home without her.
Her as I brought her home that day
When I showed up Leroy was kind of surprised and looked at me sheepishly when I told him my goal. He couldn't pull it from the auction, but would have given it to me if he hadn't thought I had forgotten it. I told him not to worry, it was coming home anyways and any money I paid that he got was not enough for the lessons that came with the gun's past. I probably paid too much at $485, but I was handed a set of casings with it that I know I had reloaded at some point in the past.
I took her home and patched her up as best I could until I could order a stock for her. So on went the Boyds Thumbhole. While I was at I gave into the time and replaced the now broken aperture sight with a scope mount. And I have been shooting her ever since. When I returned to active duty, she came with me this time.
Just after the Stock Swap and scope mounting. Yep, she brought those antlers home.
Now, she sits still coming out for the range and to go get a deer or 'yote once in a while. The barrel has about 8k rounds through her at an average speed of between 3000 and 3200fps. The MOA accuracy is now 1.5 and I know the barrel is worn out. It seems soon the last remaining original part of the rifle will be the old WWII action.
As she sits right now
I am looking to an ER Shaw replacement this spring. I am thinking of doing the 40* shoulder round, but am undecided at this point. I am looking for input on that. I do know the work list that I will send her for to return her to as good- and maybe better functionally- as new.
Rebarrel in contour 3 (Light Varmint) at 26" -$190
Reblue in a Matte -$130
Fitting the barrel -$130
True bolt face -$50
Lap of the bolt lugs -$70
Total -$570
I know I could replace it with a newer cartridge and rifle for less that might even shoot better, but this is a nostalgia build to me. I just want to know whether I should step up to the Improved or simply rebarrel her in her current chamber. Might be worth remembering that as a Mauser she has the "mid length" action for bullet seating purposes (she shoots very poorly now at SAMMI spec 2.80" anymore).
She still teaches new shooters!
I sit staring at my beloved "Bob" with saddened that it must be changed once again. It started life as a service rifle in 1944 in Germany as a 98 Mauser. In 1954 as a surplus buy it was rebarreled with a 25" sporter weight tube and sporterized rather beautifully buy Johnson Automatics. Don't know what path it took after that before our first meeting in 1988, but it was still beautiful then.
Long ago it was the first center fire rifle I really ever shot seriously. My friend's dad, Leroy, owned a gun shop and we were shooting .22's. He brought out a gun and handed me a round as long as my young hand. at his insistence I took a shot at a wrist thick sapling. Both it and I fell over. His dad came out and cuffed him upseid the head for having a newbie shoot a 300 Weatherby. He then handed me a rifle and two boxes of rounds. I was scared but it became love at first shot.
Over the next 6years until I left for the military, I shot and shot that gun over and over. I was taught how to reload and did so over and over to keep it fed. When I left I never forgot that rifle. When I returned the shop had closed and I never knew what happened to that gun.
A few years later I enlisted into another branch and while I was gone the rifle found its way back into Leroy's house. We don't know what the rifle went though but it must have been in rough hands. I never knew it had been found again. It sat while I deployed a few times with rifles I didn't care for as much in my hand.
I went home again now two decades from the first day I had pulled that trigger for the first time. I got married and settled into a reservist life (yuck). A few months later the remains of the old closed down shop went up for auction. I had not talked to Leroy in quite some time, but checked out the listing online. There it was! She was more than a bit beat up with a cracked stock and worn bluing, but she was going up for sale. I let the wife know that she was coming home with me no matter what. Have to love a wife who simply says then don't come home without her.
Her as I brought her home that day
When I showed up Leroy was kind of surprised and looked at me sheepishly when I told him my goal. He couldn't pull it from the auction, but would have given it to me if he hadn't thought I had forgotten it. I told him not to worry, it was coming home anyways and any money I paid that he got was not enough for the lessons that came with the gun's past. I probably paid too much at $485, but I was handed a set of casings with it that I know I had reloaded at some point in the past.
I took her home and patched her up as best I could until I could order a stock for her. So on went the Boyds Thumbhole. While I was at I gave into the time and replaced the now broken aperture sight with a scope mount. And I have been shooting her ever since. When I returned to active duty, she came with me this time.
Just after the Stock Swap and scope mounting. Yep, she brought those antlers home.
Now, she sits still coming out for the range and to go get a deer or 'yote once in a while. The barrel has about 8k rounds through her at an average speed of between 3000 and 3200fps. The MOA accuracy is now 1.5 and I know the barrel is worn out. It seems soon the last remaining original part of the rifle will be the old WWII action.
As she sits right now
I am looking to an ER Shaw replacement this spring. I am thinking of doing the 40* shoulder round, but am undecided at this point. I am looking for input on that. I do know the work list that I will send her for to return her to as good- and maybe better functionally- as new.
Rebarrel in contour 3 (Light Varmint) at 26" -$190
Reblue in a Matte -$130
Fitting the barrel -$130
True bolt face -$50
Lap of the bolt lugs -$70
Total -$570
I know I could replace it with a newer cartridge and rifle for less that might even shoot better, but this is a nostalgia build to me. I just want to know whether I should step up to the Improved or simply rebarrel her in her current chamber. Might be worth remembering that as a Mauser she has the "mid length" action for bullet seating purposes (she shoots very poorly now at SAMMI spec 2.80" anymore).
She still teaches new shooters!
. The Rem 722 my Grandfather left me plunked a lot of hill country whitetails (and an occasional sundry livestock raider) over the decades. 
. Good luck! 
