I am finally, finally getting around to building on a Mauser action I've had for a long time. I'm pretty much settled on 6.5 X 57mm. The "easiest" to find brass is Prvi Partizan (PPU) but I've read that its quality it inconsistent. Otherwise, I'd have to get 7x57 brass and fire form it. So here is the question(s)

- Anyone have recent experience with PPU brass and what is the quality ?
- For those who have fire formed brass, what's your process and how much of a hassle is it ?

PPU brass has behaved pretty much like any other non premium brass for me. Word on the street is that 8x57 brass works better for the conversation than 7x57, but I forgot the details. I’d do some research before I bought a bunch of 7x57 brass.

My experiences with PPU have been terrible. Many necks cracked after the first firing with factory ammo. The last I tried was 5 plus years ago.


How much fireforming is involved? Isit not just resizing the neck? I didn’t know they made a 6.5x57. The neck may be a little long and have to be trimmed. You can use 6mm Remington and size up as well.

Or 257 Roberts but that resembles blasphemy.


I have not looked at specs to confirm my thoughts but it’s worth looking into.

When I’ve fire formed brass, I’ve used the pistol powder plus cornmeal process with satisfaction.

StraitShot, pm me your number and I'll call you. I have a 1909 argentine sportorized with the gunsmith work done already to be chambered in 30-06. I will be selling this in a few weeks and will be happy to cut you a deal of you're interested I have several boxes of ammo too. I bought a Tikka tx3 in 30-06 and don't plan to shoot either.

The mauser is super sweet but I need to clean out the safe.

Let me know if I can be of any service to you.

Andrew

Then again, why reinvent the wheel?

Some additional commentary about forming from 7x57.

Thats a pretty funny write-up and a good explanation... I was hoping I could just use sizing dies.. but I might have to go this route...

6mm Rem and 257 have both been used but I don't believe you can do it all with just sizing dies... that is what I've been reading about..

That all suggest 30-06 is the way to go.

That is that the chambering which the action is being converted from !! I know this is heresy but I am not a fan of .30 cal. I've shot 6.5mm's and 7mm's ... love them.

I was talking about making making the brass from 30-06 brass. At least that was my understanding from one of the articles linked above.

Ahh... my apology, I misunderstood... yes that is a possibility and the main option I think... and I also just confessed to not liking 30cals...

Forgive my Aggie ways...I don't understand how to respond to what people are saying. But, the question about the caliber and ammo is one reason why I was drawn to the Argentine 30-06. I bought a .243 this year too after using a guide's on a hunt in Pearsall. I will be selling both 30-06 (Mauser and Tika) and the .243. All great guns, but I shoot my Remington 700 7mm Rem Mag. It's been a tried and true and drops WT.

Good luck with your project. I hope it goes well. They are really sweet and nice guns to have!

Andrew

Clean and anneal 7X57 brass. I have done fine with PPU brass before.

Neck down the brass, it will probably make a donut at the neck shoulder junction.

Two ways to deal with the donut, neck turn, or force the bolt handle down and shoot it. The times I've done option two, the brass was sized and formed into shape in one firing. Do not jam bullets in the lands of the rifling.

GIG'EM - Class of '83... I've built on Mauser actions before... I've got a nice 7x57 and just love the rifle... I bet that Argentine is nice too...

I may try the PPU... and / or might trim down a '06 case.. I guess there is really no elegant way to go about this if you are chasing an uncommon caliber.

I've used hundreds of PPU brass in 6.5x55mm Swede for three different rifles. I've reloaded a bunch 3-4 times and have had no issues. I've reloaded some .25-06, 270 Win, and 7.62x54R and all have been fine.

I have about 200 Plus PPU 7x57 brass and have used PPU for several other calibers when what I wanted was not available. I have never had any trouble with it. I am in the process of making 7x57 AI brass out of the 7x57 PPU brass. Thanks Daniel

6.5mm is a common caliber.

What you are doing is making a "Wildcat" cartridge.

Elegant, no. Do-able, yes.

Ive got 7mm-08 and 7mm-08 Ackley Improved brass that headstamps read 7mm-08, .308 Win, .260 Rem, and .243 Win.

Paul Mauser invented 6.5x57 in 1893, it's been around a long time and still loaded for by the big European ammunition manufacturers. I've seen PPU and Sellier & Bellot for sale here.

The 6.5X57 is available in factory loads in good times, we are not in good time for non mainstream ammo these days. It has been quite a few years since I loaded a Japanese Arisaka Chambered in a wildcat version. I had plenty of Hornady 257 Roberts brass available, ran it through a sizing die which just expanded the neck up .007 inches. Worked well and was easier then some other routes getting to working brass. That is my experience with the 6.5X57.

As I posted earlier in the thread, 6.5x57 brass is available from Grafs right now.

Had a discussion with the Gunsmith, apparently 6.5x57 reamers are not exactly common... but a 6.5mm-06 is achievable. So the action gets shipped Monday... I'll take pics of the project as it goes along.

So are you going with 6.5-06 now?

I've got my dad's 6.5-06 built on a Remington 721 action. Great rifle and easy to load for..

Don't folks have reamers made to their own specs on occasion? I'm curious if the smith just doesn't want to do it.

If I were you, I'd be going with the 6.5-284 (if I wanted a long action .470 bolt face)

i really enjoy the 6.5-284 but there are no flies on the 6.5-06 either as a hunting round.

Sorry for the long post...

So, here's the story behind the rifle. It was the first large caliber rifle (not a .22) that my dad gave me. It was stamped "Kent Firearms" and chambered in 30-06. The chamber has always been tight, cases have to be sized down an extra notch compared to my dad's FN. It had a simple 3x9 Bushnell Scope and came with a flat brown painted stock... ugly as sin and kicked like nothing else. When I was in Jr. High, I took it out of the stock and sanded off the flat brown to find a white maple underneath. Not exactly pretty, but better than flat brown. So, I refinished it with Tru Oil it and at least the old mule didn't look as rough as when it started out. But I never when back to shooting it. When I went to the range, I'd snag my dad's 7x57 Chilean Mauser and was happy. It wasn't scoped, it had a peep sight in the rear and a blade in front and shot lights out... Also, one of the unwritten rules of the house was you had to reload what you shoot. So that's how I got started and why I was in love with 7x57.

Since then I've built on a few Mauser actions, I think they are superb, and completed a few stocks though none as nice as the custom one my dad built. And now what I have left is the remaining action I started with. There isn't much identification on it. I know its make is post WW2, not German, and likely an FN. However most FNs have a "characteristic" that ties them to a date range and model. This one doesn't as far as I can tell. I've read books on Mausers - one definitive book - "The Mauser Bolt Actions" by Jerry Kuhnhausen, and still can't place this one. The gunsmith I am working with knows them well (I've work with him before) and I'm reasonably confident he can finally call it what it is.

What's next is that the barreled action is headed to the gunsmith. I was hoping for a 6.5 X 57 but acquiring a reamer seems to be an issue. I like the 6.5 x 57 because it is efficient with powder and can hang with anything out there. (I know the Creedmoor folks will take exception). The 6.5-06 definitely has more speed but that really not what I'm going for. Speed isn't as important to me as consistency and the longest shot I've taken game is 310yrds on Elephant Mountain in God's country. I don't expect to go beyond that. On the upside, I can always load it light and good quality brass is easy to come by. When it's done, it will have a Timney trigger (already on), an M70 three position safety and wear a feathered dark walnut stock with ebony cap and tip. I post picks as I go if anyone want to see.

Have you considered renting a 6.5x57 reamer? I rented a 9.3x62 reamer in the past for my first 9.3x62 project.

Check with Elk Ridge Reamer Rentals or 4D reamer Rentals. Both are very reasonably priced when compared to the cost of a new reamer.
They both carry the 6.5x57 Mauser.

The 6,5x57 is a great round, I have a Mark V Weatherby that was rebarreled in Germany in 6.5x57

Good Luck!!

I'd be interested in seeing pics as this project progresses, and I am sure I'm not the only one.

A 6.5-284 would definitely be a great cartridge and so would 6.5-06. I think the .284-based cartridges sometimes give feeding problems in 98 actions, though. I have a Mark X in 6-284 I swapped into here on THF a long time ago, and it feeds slicker than snot but I have no idea whether it took much effort to make that happen or not. I understand when one develops an affinity or preference for a certain cartridge, but in my world the one that offers the most powder capacity while remaining reasonable and practical is the way to go. In reality though, it's not the headstamp that does the work, it's the bullet...so what matters is "what bullet," "how fast when it hits," and "what is its path through the target" that matters. All else is fluff.

Hope you can find what you want.