Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Custom CZ Mauser 98 9.3x62mm

I don't post very often, but I thought this was worth sharing. This is my mystery rifle, a custom CZ M98 9.3x62 from an unknown craftsman:





It has a heavy 26" barrel (.740 at the muzzle), a Lyman 48 aperture rear, a NECG coarse ivory-colored bead that flips up in front of a brass bead front sight, case-colored metal, a nice walnut stock, and weighs 8.6 lbs unloaded with no sling.

While this is not a target rifle, these are not target loads, and I am by no means a target shooter, this afternoon I was amazed with this five-shot, 50-yard group:


I found this rifle at a gunstore the day before the November 2016 election. Fearing the worst and that a hoarding panic would ensue, a gazillion people were buying up AR's, yet I took this rifle home and ordered a lifetime supply of Hornady brass and Hornady and Speer bullets. I've only shot it a few times since then, and have only tried one load: 270 Speer softpoints on top of a median charge of 53 grains of H4895 with Federal large rifle primers, which according to my chronograph gets 2400 fps.

Somebody had this on consignment at Jaqua's Fine Guns in Findlay, Ohio. My guess is they were a rifle looney and decided to move on to something else before this project was quite finished. I don't think it had ever been fired, because the original recoil pad was not only loose but had 1/4" of play in it. I had a new pad professionally installed, then took it to the range. With a full magazine, on the second shot the floorplate came loose and dumped my ammo on the ground. It took me about a year to get a new latch spring. Then about 2018 I test-fired it and the floorplate stayed put through about 10 rounds, so I called it good. To check the zero, I shot 5 rounds from a braced kneeling position resting over the seat of my four wheeler and using the huge ivory bead on a 25-yard NRA B8 pistol target; the 5 shots cut a ragged hole in the X-ring. So much for load workup and zeroing! I could load it hotter, or try a different powder, but this recoil level suits me fine.

We had some nice weather today so I decided to bench it at 50 yards. The ivory bead is just slightly smaller than the black of a B8 at 50, so I actually had a pretty good sight picture of a white circle surrounded by a thin ring of black. It has a hood for the front sight, but despite the detent on the front base, the rifle kicks itself out from under the hood on every shot, so I just leave it off.

At some point between 2018 and today I did shoot a single groundhog with it, but the reality is there is nothing for me to hunt with it in central Ohio. Regardless, I am going to keep it. It is a very nice rifle by my standards, and it's actually a fun gun to shoot.

Man, I’ve always wanted something like that.
What a great find and a great story.

Here are a few more photos:

The "flair" under the magazine area is not something I have ever seen, it is unique and I like the lod oks of it a lot.
Nice looking rifle and it certainly seems to shoot well. Just be happy to own something unique, it looks as though whoever built it had some clever ideas.

drover

drover,

Yes, this a unique piece of craftsmanship. No "build", no chassis, no bipod, no LR optics, no 6.5 PRC, no ELD bullets, just old world blued steel and checkered walnut and 1905-era technology. If only I could find a cape buffalo in my woods.

Greg Perry

Beautiful rifle!

Thanks for sharing, that is a dandy.

Thanks!

ready on the right:

How did you get those photos to post? I got my first several to post okay, but not those two. Is there a limit?

Thanks,

Greg Perry

For some reason your link ended in ?1. Links need to end in jpg.

I deleted the ?1 from each link below in your quote, the sane way he corrected it above.

What a classic beauty!
Thanks
Bfly

That is very nice!

Try that guy on some 8" steel at 400 yards some day...

SUPER SUPER FUN... Trust me.

15" hold over on my Remington 721... I zero at 4.25" at 100 yards.

The 9,3m is an AMAZING cartridge.

https://www.chuckhawks.com/rifle_trajectory_table.htm

About 8 pages of data here... http://www.laddata.se/caliber/93x62-mauser

FYI... it is NOT POSSIBLE to join Laddata... Do not waste your time trying... friendly advice.

Very nice, good snag

I had the same reaction. That feature brings to mind the early JP Sauer sporters. I always assumed the wood was left there to reinforce the stock in the magazine area, but not really sure. Certainly the execution with this rifle is more pleasing to the eye. It would be interesting to know who did the work, and where.

Someone knew what they were doing cutting the crown:


This is the self-ejecting hood for the front sight. Still need to resolve this issue.


And here is the flip-up ivory-colored bead:

Looks like a well made and thought out rifle……don’t typically see crowns like that except on guns from the better makers. Great caliber too and thanks for sharing!!

PennDog

Whoever built that was a gentleman and a scholar.

That's very nice.

Worth making a trip over to PA for deer season.

-Jake

Very, very nice. Enjoy the hell out of that one.

Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m envious of your wood. Some months back, I picked up an FN .30/06 with pretty wood, but no checkering. Yours is stunning.

My rifle was drilled for some obscure mount with 3/8” spacing of the holes in the bridge. I elected to go with a receiver sight, but the front sight is much too low even with the slide at the bottom, and the dovetail is that tiny thing typical of FNs of that period, so until I cobble one up, it’s wearing a 2moa red dot on the receiver, just like the Wild Boar Fever guys use. Works very well, and matches the setup on my Heym. A couple of other rifles are wearing 2moa Sig Romeo 5s, so the sight pictures are similar, not a bad thing.

Despite the minor issues you mad a great snag. Congrats!