Mauser 71/84 range report

[jrfoxx]

Well, I just took my Prussian Mauser 71/84 in original 11.15x60R, serial # 4XXX from 1884, that I spent MONTHS restoring from a $21 badly rusted barreled receiver I got from SOG (amazingly all the markings were in great condition though!), into an ALMOST fully functional (Its currently a single shot, as the only part I cant find is a magazine follower ), all original parts (painstakingly scrounged and assembled over several months), out for the first time last saturday.What a hoot! 370gr LRN over 75gr of Goex Fg powder.A nice low, deep BOOM, VERY mild recoil, LOTS of thick white stinky (the good stinky ) smoke, and was even pretty accurate (as best I could tell, I had no rest, and only had a 40yd space to shoot, also forgot to bring anything to drift the front sight:banghead.This is now tied with my flintlock rifle, and my m1 Garand as my favorite rifles to shoot.I also like how it "fills the gap" as it were, between muzzleloaders and smokeless cartridge guns in the evolution of firearms. Sadly, I only have 10 pieces of brass, so I didnt really get to enjoy it for very long (or at a proper distance with a rest to see what it can REALLY do).Well, I'm hooked on BP, and BPCR's now, thats for sure.Oh well, what else better do I have to do with my time and money? Anything I have left when I die, the Gvt. will just take anyway, so might as well enjoy it now (oh, the wife DOES make me share some of the money with her, but that's ok ).Well, I'm off to order about 30 more pieces of brass and 100 or so more bullets for the next range trip!

ooo, almost forgot to add that the only thing I didn't really enjoy was the cleanup.Man, after only 10 rounds, this thing was 10 times dirtier than my flintlock after 20 or 30 rounds! TONS of thick, jet black, muck.Took LOTS of water, soap, solvent, and patches to get clean...but its still worth it.

For those interested, all total I have about $350 into the gun, which isnt too shabby, since they tend to start around $600 on the Auction Arms, Gunbroker, etc.
SOG still has these "relics" for sale last flyer I saw.If your looking for a fun, unique gun, and a fun, longer tern project, I HIGHLY recommend picking one up.This was the most extensive restoration/build/rebuild I'd ever done.Had a great time, learned a fair bit, and got to practice lots of different cleaning/assembly/restoration techniques.
for $21, mine came as a barrel, receiver, and trigger group.Thats all (oh and a few rusted screws holding a rotted thing that was one the buttstock, that had to be drilled/cut out )

Here she is an all her 120 year old glory:

 

[Chawbaccer]

Did yours come with the butt, the ones I see are broken off. Where did you find the bolt at?

 

[jrfoxx]

Yes, mine had the butt still attached, the entire fore-end portin was broken, rotted, and/or missing.I kept the 6" or so butt section just cause I think the wood is a dark maple or similar, so I may use it to make grips or something.I had to track down a whole new (original) stock (got it off ebay I think).For the bolt, I got about 1/3 of the parts from Numrich's, 1/3 of the parts from Sarco, and the rest from Ebay and Gunbroker.There was a complete bolt on ebay at the time, but the guy wanted $275, and I built mine for like $150, so....
FWIW, this bolt is no easier to re-assemble than any other Mauser bolt I've had the dis-pleasure of putting back together, meaning it was 2-3 hours of pain, struggling and cursing! It will be a cold day in he** before I disassemble the bolt on any of my Mauser's just for cleaning, that's for sure....

 

[4v50 Gary]

The repeater version was last used in World War I by the German Askaris under von Lettow-Vorbeck in Tanganika (German East Africa or modernly Tanzania). After they killed enough of the Empire's troops, they were reequipped with SMLEs.

 

[Steve499]

Now you need a Snider. Then maybe a .43 Spanish rolling block. A Dutch Beaumont may figure into your future also, right after you get that 71 Mauser. Don't fight it, you're hooked deep!

Steve

 

[jrfoxx]

Actually, what I REALLY want to get next for a BPCR is a .577/450 Martini-Henry. I just really like the looks of the Martini rifles for some reason.....
SOG has some pre-1898 Martini's in .450 for around $350 or so, but I am not convinced they are originals, and not one of the Kyber pass copies that have been pretty common for quite a while....Info from some pretty reliable sources here, and on TFL have made me leary about any Martini from the major importer/sellers, especially when they are so seemingly low priced.....
Oh well, I'm sure I'll track down one I can trust to be authentic eventually. In the mean time, a Snider, rolling block, etc would help to quench my thirst...

4v50 Gary-thanks for the info.Didnt know that.I like finding out the history of my antiques/milsurps....adds to the fun.

 

[Blackfork]

Gun Nuts

This ought to qualify for some kind of award even among gun nuts. Thanks for the report.

 

[Steve499]

A Martini would be great, you're right. I'm working on a getting a Snider going. I have accumulated some of the required components but am waiting on my dies to arrive. Mine has a chamber slightly out of round which may cause my gunsmith's income to increase in the amount of a chamber sleeving job, don't know yet.
You mentioned how dirty your 71/84 got after only 10 rounds. You probably already know this, but if you aren't using lube compatible with black powder, and enough of it, you quickly develop hard crud in the barrel which has pretty much always waved bye bye to accuracy in any black powder cartridge gun I've ever messed with. If those bullets you bought weren't specifically advertised as having black powder lube in them, they may be contributing to that problem.
Here's a link to a discussion elsewhere about loading for the .43 Mauser. That site is full of .43 Mauser folks, lots of info there, just look around.
http://parallaxscurioandrelicfirearmsforums.yuku.com/topic/14432

Steve

 

[jrfoxx]

Steve--thanks for that link, I hadn't found that in my searching to verify load data.I see they are using 77gr of FFg, whereas I used 77gr Fg, which is what "Cartridges of the World" lists as the "original factory load".Any opinions on that? Is FFG any likely to be a bit cleaner, better, or more efficiant due to grain size? It would obviously be faster burning, which I would assume would increase peak pressure (which, as strong as ths action appears, I'm sure wouldnt be an isue at all...it looks pretty heavy duty, even for a Mauser), but would it be any cleaner? seems like it would be a little, but maybe not noticably.Does seem like it may be a bit more efficiant and give better velocity though....
Anybody have any opinions on this? I'm new enough to BP to not know all the intricicies of Fg vs FFg vs FFFg (other than ffg is usully recommended for full ength, large bore rifles, and FFFG is ore for pistols and maybe carbines) as far as cleanliness, pressure, and velocity....

 

[Steve499]

The only thing which comes to my mind beyond the obvious fact that the finer granulations will burn faster and may give higher pressure, is that the finer granulations may give better performance per volume than the original Fg. With modern cases, it's often only by compression that one is able to load the original volume of powder, so you might get by with a little less when using the finer powder for the same approximate velocity. Less volume would mean less fouling but I'm not sure there would be any noticeable reduction. Some maintain the Swiss powder is cleaner than Goex. I've used both and have both on hand right now. Maybe there's some truth there but I haven't really been able to tell a great deal of difference. Powder fouling in my cartridge guns is just a fact of life which I try to keep soft with my lube.

The original .43 Mauser bullet was a two piece paper patched bullet. The base was soft lead to upset easily into the rifling and the nose was a harder alloy for penetration enhancement and maybe to help prevent deformation during handling. I saw one dissected somewhere on the net a while back but can't find a link to it for you right now. That paper patching thing is a whole 'nother enthusiasm I've avoided so far but I'm weakening.

Steve