Mauser Recoil

[us019255]

"...It would be interesting to compare the range scores of German Army recruits with those of US Army recruits. I'm sure that the Germans trainers must have had a more difficult task teaching marksmanship ..."

At least by the time we got into France they may have stopped. My old boss who carried a carbine and radio through Italy, France, Belgium and Germany, said one day that the German marksmanship was so bad that they stopped worrying unless there was an active MG42 in the area.

In his case his wound was from Willie Peter and an 88, not an 8 mm.

[rgnewton]

I use a rubber butt cover on the stock of my mauser and 03, that make them both much easier to shoot

[Sarge]

At 16 I hunted with a 94 Win 30/30. I hunted with an issue K98k 8mm from 17 to 23 at which point I switched to a K 43 semi which I still use today. I have Never considered the K98k recoil to be a problem.
When the 03A3s became available thru NRA I bought one. I've never gotten kicked so hard in my life as with that rifle. I wasn't very long in selling it. I don't think I've shot another since. I also own and shoot Garands & Mosians which don't bother me.
Sarge

[usmc69]

Years ago I picked up a 98K that someone had sporterized the stock. It kicked like the devil with milsurp ammo. I cut the stock and added a shotgun recoil pad. After that I could shoot 50+ rounds of milsurp in an afternoon with no ill-effects. If you want to shoot an 8mm Mauser for fun that is what I recommend. Find a beater Mauser or a cut down stock and use it.

[ROCK]

It's not the recoil impulse to the shoulder that gets me. It's the hit under the cheekbone from that upward sloping comb of military Mausers. Once my cheek is bruised, I'm done shooting Mausers for that range session. I can still fire my Garand though.

Maybe I should eat more and grow a little more fat in my face.

[mchl13]

Where is a good place to find a slip-on rubber recoil pad? My M-48 not only beats me up from the bench but the steel butt plate is slippery and difficult to index on my shoulder. I think I need something with a little grip and a lot of cushion.

[gunner]

Last week i fired 40 rounds of .30-06 at 300m and than 20 rounds from a K98k. I couldnt find any difference in recoil. Both used with fabric ammo. After that i used a tip from BruceV. I filled a plastic tube that fits in the hole under the buttplate with birdshot and the recoil is much lighter then before. Try it, it works. Sometime the Mausers recoil is hard because of the usage of German military ammo wich was normaly for the MG42, and that is realy hard.

Regards

Gunner

[Pattern14]

...Sometime the Mausers recoil is hard because of the usage of German military ammo wich was normaly for the MG42, and that is realy hard.

I found the unpredictable WWII Turkish ammunition produced a worst recoil than the German, but my Mausers have a recoil that comes nowhere near that of a Steyr Mannlicher in 8x56R.

Pattern14

[gunner]

Yes, thats right. The Steyr-Mannlicher is short and light and kicks like a mule.

Regards

Gunner

[CRnumber]

I had the same problems until I began reloading, tames the rifle to '03 standards and no fighting the bolt. You guys can have all the surplus you want, I'll stick to my hand loads.