I have been lurking here for quite some time, and after all of the great information that I have gotten for free, I will try to share some experiences which may help otheres. This is a companion thread to another in the .375 and blow forum, with regard to a 2 gun battery that I'm building for Africa.
Briefly, I found a few very cheap and very abused M1938 K.Kale Turk Mausers (in essence, that means that they were new production 1898-type receivers from Turkey with a large ring outer diamter and a small ring sized barrel shank). I wrangled 24" finish length .366 (PACNOR) and .458 (Lilja) stainless barrels, a highly figured Circassian blank from Macon for the 9.3 and a more linear grained Circassian blank from Boyd's for the .458. I got Case hardened 1" Talley rings for both, and got the last of the lightweight Leupold Fixed power scopes (2.5x20 for the .458 and a 6x36 for the 9.3). A custom gunmaker in Canada named Ralf Martini makes beautiful guns that are simply out of my price range (I apologize in advance anyone who looks him up and then gets divorced due to "You spent $25000 on a rifle!?"), but he's an extremely nice guy and was happy to sell me very pretty pivoting release bottom metal at a very reasonable price. I got new Timney triggers for both as well as M70 style 3-position bolt shrouds. Finally, I found new firing pins, extractors, and spring sets as I have no idea what the maintenance on or use of these guns was in the 80 years between manufacture and my purchase (given the fact that one had nearly rusted through the barrel because not all of the patches were removed from the bore and both stocks looked like driftwood, I will estimate "rough"). Still, the actual actions were both in remarkably good shape, which made them great candidates for sporters (I am actually quite proud of myself, as around the same time I bought a M1935 Chilean Orden y Patria carbine which is a beautiful Oberndorf Mauser 7x57mm, and restored it to its former glory instead of butchering it). My gunsmith leans into the "cheap and good" leg of the "Cheap/Fast/Good" triangle, so I still have a wait in front of me.
I almost exclusively handload, so apart from the factory ammo that I bought for my gunsmith to test fire the rifles, they will only be fed handloads unless my ammo vanishes in transit to RSA et c (which is a big reason for the caliber selection above; I would've happily done a .375 Hawk/Scovill and .458 B&M, but good luck finding that in the field). For the .458, recoil is a concern. I started considering this when a friend let me shoot/roped me into helping him sight in his 9.3 from a bench. I realized that standing, it wasn't bad at all. We became friends and I ultimately got to shoot his .416 RM and .505 Gibbs, and I have not had the desire to shoot the Gibbs again. My initial plan was a 9.3 only with 300 grain solids and expanding 286s, but I quickly realized thanks to this forum that doing so might put a crimp on where I could legally go for buffalo. I don't have an interest in any of the Big Five EXCEPT for buffalo, but I would feel cheated if I went to Africa and didn't get one. The old gunsmith with a waxed handlebar moustache in my hometown had a buffalo on the wall of his little shop, and I've wanted one ever since. So that gets me to the need for a legal everywhere DG caliber with available ammo in case my handloads somehow vanish.
To that end, I am only developing a 500 grain Hornady DGS load for this rifle, as it'll stay at camp unless the law demands that I use it (see my thread on the 9.3). I find that I understand less and less about recoil the older that I get. My .50 BMG is pleasant to shoot because it weighs 40# and has a muzzle brake stolen from an M60 tank: it will move you, but gently. My 6.5 Creedmoor with a brake is actually far less pleasant to shoot than my .300 WSM, but the real head-scratcher is that my great-grandfather's 1894 with 170 grain bullets is actually unpleasant even from the shoulder. The .458 has a light sporter barrel and a 2.5x Leupold scope (which has great eye relief), such that the whole thing will probably weigh 8.5# with a full magazine. There is still plenty of time to get the muzzle threaded, but after looking at this forum it still appears that the Great Muzzle Device Debate is still hotly contested. I certainly don't want to deafen anyone, particularly not a poor African guy who depends upon his hearing to make a living, but I have also noticed that Midway is now running regular specials on "pass through" electronic earmuffs. They had Walkers sets on sale for $40 each just last week, and I would be just fine passing those out like party favors if it meant that I got to use a brake. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.
Briefly, I found a few very cheap and very abused M1938 K.Kale Turk Mausers (in essence, that means that they were new production 1898-type receivers from Turkey with a large ring outer diamter and a small ring sized barrel shank). I wrangled 24" finish length .366 (PACNOR) and .458 (Lilja) stainless barrels, a highly figured Circassian blank from Macon for the 9.3 and a more linear grained Circassian blank from Boyd's for the .458. I got Case hardened 1" Talley rings for both, and got the last of the lightweight Leupold Fixed power scopes (2.5x20 for the .458 and a 6x36 for the 9.3). A custom gunmaker in Canada named Ralf Martini makes beautiful guns that are simply out of my price range (I apologize in advance anyone who looks him up and then gets divorced due to "You spent $25000 on a rifle!?"), but he's an extremely nice guy and was happy to sell me very pretty pivoting release bottom metal at a very reasonable price. I got new Timney triggers for both as well as M70 style 3-position bolt shrouds. Finally, I found new firing pins, extractors, and spring sets as I have no idea what the maintenance on or use of these guns was in the 80 years between manufacture and my purchase (given the fact that one had nearly rusted through the barrel because not all of the patches were removed from the bore and both stocks looked like driftwood, I will estimate "rough"). Still, the actual actions were both in remarkably good shape, which made them great candidates for sporters (I am actually quite proud of myself, as around the same time I bought a M1935 Chilean Orden y Patria carbine which is a beautiful Oberndorf Mauser 7x57mm, and restored it to its former glory instead of butchering it). My gunsmith leans into the "cheap and good" leg of the "Cheap/Fast/Good" triangle, so I still have a wait in front of me.
I almost exclusively handload, so apart from the factory ammo that I bought for my gunsmith to test fire the rifles, they will only be fed handloads unless my ammo vanishes in transit to RSA et c (which is a big reason for the caliber selection above; I would've happily done a .375 Hawk/Scovill and .458 B&M, but good luck finding that in the field). For the .458, recoil is a concern. I started considering this when a friend let me shoot/roped me into helping him sight in his 9.3 from a bench. I realized that standing, it wasn't bad at all. We became friends and I ultimately got to shoot his .416 RM and .505 Gibbs, and I have not had the desire to shoot the Gibbs again. My initial plan was a 9.3 only with 300 grain solids and expanding 286s, but I quickly realized thanks to this forum that doing so might put a crimp on where I could legally go for buffalo. I don't have an interest in any of the Big Five EXCEPT for buffalo, but I would feel cheated if I went to Africa and didn't get one. The old gunsmith with a waxed handlebar moustache in my hometown had a buffalo on the wall of his little shop, and I've wanted one ever since. So that gets me to the need for a legal everywhere DG caliber with available ammo in case my handloads somehow vanish.
To that end, I am only developing a 500 grain Hornady DGS load for this rifle, as it'll stay at camp unless the law demands that I use it (see my thread on the 9.3). I find that I understand less and less about recoil the older that I get. My .50 BMG is pleasant to shoot because it weighs 40# and has a muzzle brake stolen from an M60 tank: it will move you, but gently. My 6.5 Creedmoor with a brake is actually far less pleasant to shoot than my .300 WSM, but the real head-scratcher is that my great-grandfather's 1894 with 170 grain bullets is actually unpleasant even from the shoulder. The .458 has a light sporter barrel and a 2.5x Leupold scope (which has great eye relief), such that the whole thing will probably weigh 8.5# with a full magazine. There is still plenty of time to get the muzzle threaded, but after looking at this forum it still appears that the Great Muzzle Device Debate is still hotly contested. I certainly don't want to deafen anyone, particularly not a poor African guy who depends upon his hearing to make a living, but I have also noticed that Midway is now running regular specials on "pass through" electronic earmuffs. They had Walkers sets on sale for $40 each just last week, and I would be just fine passing those out like party favors if it meant that I got to use a brake. Any thoughts are greatly appreciated.
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