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Thoughts on building a tactical/target rifle: with some attention to detail and a few readily available aftermarket parts, the Mauser action can produce an accurate and reliable target-type rifle.

Article Excerpt
The so-called black rifle" seems to be getting all the attention these days. From its somewhat controversial beginnings, the AR-15-type has achieved a level of accuracy and reliability that many of us did not foresee. Nevertheless, for a tactical or target rifle, many shooters still prefer a bolt action for delivering the ultimate in long-range accuracy.

Most target-rifle builders these days start with a very pricey custom action or they base their creation on the Remington Model 700. The U.S. military and many law-enforcement agencies also depend on Remington actions for their long-range tactical needs. I wanted to try to build such a rifle, but just to be different, I decided to put together something from a turn-of-the-century (the 19th century, that is) action--namely, the Mauser.

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Near the end of this article, I'll share a list of items I used to make my own version (Figure 1), or you can grab a Brownells catalog and a copy of Shotgun News and make your own choices. I won't delve deeply into glass bedding, barrel fitting, and chambering, as these procedures have been reported on in other American Gunsmith articles.

In my opinion, it's the small details that separate an "ordinary rifle" from a tack driver, and it's some of those small details that I'll be covering here. Of course, many of these details and techniques are applicable to other rifles, whether they're used for hunting or on the target range.

For the rifle I built, the first consideration was the caliber. As it has a reputation for excellence in this type of rifle, I chose the .308 Winchester (7.62x51 NATO) round, along with a barrel from a manufacturer known for producing accurate products. I've had the opportunity to work on a variety of Mausers using surplus actions, and am particularly fond of the Czech VZ24 (one of which is in several of these photos). It's a high quality action on which I've based a number of rifles, and I believe it's one of the finest on the surplus market.

In this instance, I decided to try something new to me by purchasing a Charles Daly commercial Mauser action. This is the same piece that has also been imported over the years as the Interarms Mark X. Both the Interarms and Daly receivers are made by Zastava in Yugoslavia, and this is the same...

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