What would you do with this rifle?

[Q_Sertorius]

I have this lovely old FN .270 that is giving me a bit of heartburn. I am curious what you would do with this rifle if you owned it.


While not perfect and unmodified, it is a very nice example of an early 1950s FN Mauser. It has a lovely custom trigger. The scope is an old Leupold M8 6x42, which appears to be reliable. Everything on it is tight.

This is what is causing the heartburn:


This was with the Remington 130-grain ammunition which has been my primary .270 round for the past 30 years. I own another .270 that shoots consistent 1.25-1.5” 10-round groups. I know this is only a 5-shot group, but understand that I shot four other 5-shot groups like this one. And then my brother shot this one. This is how this rifle shoots. I am told that I am being silly, but I am not happy with it. I would be happy with a 1.5" group. Am I expecting too much from a beautiful old rifle?

PS - no, this is not a classified ad that got misplaced. I have already made up my mind what to do with this rifle.

 

[justinspicher]

I’d sell it to my brother and if he didn’t want it, I’d just sell it.

 

[ARK_Ginger]

I voted to develop a new load for it, but really you need to check the bedding first. Also 1.5" groups is plenty good enough

 

[Cdnance]

I’m guessing shots 4 and 5 were the ones to stray?

 

[SloppyJ]

I don't have time to chase a rifle that doesn't want to shoot. That bitch would be going down the road. I've seen that kind of rifle before and was unable to make it shoot decent.

If there's any sentimental value then hold onto it and start going through it. Check the fit in the stock, any binding within the barrel channel? Anything hanging up in the inlet on the receiver? Remove the rings, clean them and the receiver and put a known good scope back on it for testing. Then try different ammo or handloads.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

I voted to develop a new load for it, but really you need to check the bedding first. Also 1.5" groups is plenty good enough

Yes, but this rifle shoots 2.5” groups.


____________________
“Keep on keepin’ on…”

 

[KenLee]

I don't like a mauser style safety so I'd probably sell it...but if the first 2 shots are always tight, the group wouldn't bother me

 

[Macintosh]

(Shrugs) thats just what most older rifles do.

Who has wez and can plug in actual hit rate change on a 10” circle between 1.5moa precision versus 2.5moa precision at 300 yards?

Do you live somewhere that you require frequent hunting shots past 300 or 400 yards?

 

[SDHNTR]

Delete

 

[Q_Sertorius]

I’m guessing shots 4 and 5 were the ones to stray?

I should have been more careful about marking them with the app. Shots 3 and 4 are out of order.

If I had bothered to take pictures of earlier groups, they all looked pretty much the same. There was no consistent pattern to which shot “blew up” the group.


____________________
“Keep on keepin’ on…”

 

[SDHNTR]

If I liked it, I’d fix it and make it shoot better. That group screams of a bedding issue.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

(Shrugs) thats just what most older rifles do.

Who has wez and can plug in actual hit rate change on a 10” circle between 1.5moa precision versus 2.5moa precision at 300 yards?

Do you live somewhere that you require frequent hunting shots past 300 or 400 yards?

No. 400 yards would be a pretty long shot where I hunt. I just have other rifles that shoot far better and in which I have more confidence. I don’t need to start with more error.


____________________
“Keep on keepin’ on…”

 

[glennjones]

I would blow the lungs out of deer with it occasionally. Plenty accurate for that. If I wanted to shoot little bitty groups I'd grab another gun.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

If I liked it, I’d fix it and make it shoot better. That group screams of a bedding issue.

Can you explain further? I think you are correct, but I would love to know more.


____________________
“Keep on keepin’ on…”

 

[solarshooter]

Bedding, or just barrel heat. These old guns probably want an old school tangent ogive slow twist bullet, I'd try those, maybe some new powders, with a soft load. Realistically this is a MPBR style gun, no ranging and dialing, so it doesn't need a crazy load/bullet to perform as intended. I appreciate these mostly as art pieces rather than actual hunting tools, but I can't sleep properly until all my guns are as dialed as I can make them, so I'd definitely tinker with it before giving up and selling it.

 

[North of 60]

Yeah, maybe glass bedding and and free floating the barrel if worth the effort. If you have the time and inclination, load development with other components and varying COL.

I wonder, does it shoot better with a different scope?

 

[Macintosh]

No. 400 yards would be a pretty long shot where I hunt. I just have other rifles that shoot far better and in which I have more confidence. I don’t need to start with more error.


____________________
“Keep on keepin’ on…”

In whitetail country no one would bat an eye, because it’s irrelevant. Recognize that this is a matter of preference, not precision. If you WANT more precision, then either fix it (try other ammo, bedding, quite possibly re-barreling, etc) or rehome the gun. If you like the gun and want to kill critters at 0-250 yards, then dont give it another second worth of thought—go hunting.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

Yeah, maybe glass bedding and and free floating the barrel if worth the effort. If you have the time and inclination, load development with other components and varying COL.

I wonder, does it shoot better with a different scope?

It doesn’t shoot any better with a different scope or an aperture sight.


____________________
“Keep on keepin’ on…”

 

[TaperPin]

That’s the same rifle I bought from a friend with a fixed 4x Leupold. He sold it because of large groups. I played with a year before the scope completely crapped out. Then it was back to making 5 shot 1” groups every time. I sold it to a friend decades ago and he still has it and it shoots just as good as ever.

I’d swap out the scope, tighten the screws on the bases, clean and bore scope the bore, inspect the muzzle for crown damage or signs it might have been plugged with dirt then shot, and try it with another scope. If it didn’t shoot well after that I’d probably put a different barrel on it. The commercial Mauser actions are very desirable as shooting rifles, not just old time collectors. These tend to feed 308/creedmoor cartridges just fine as is and many 243s and 308s of the time period were put in these standard-length actions.

 

[Big_wals]

I voted other. If there is no sentimental value, I would just sell it and move on. If you want to keep it, I would glass bed the action, free float the barrel, and double-check every screw to make sure they’re torqued to spec. Work on load development after that.