Planning out a 10.75X68 build

[chren]

Hey guys! I am looking into putting together a rifle in the old 10.75x68 Mauser cartridge and am wondering what action I would need to be looking for to fit this round. I read that they can be chambered in standard large ring Mauser actions, but is that something I'd need to get off an old surplus rifle or are there new manufacture actions floating around? This would be my first pieced together Mauser and any help would be greatly appreciated as to what models/makers would work best for a firearm!

 

[Major Khan]

We used to refer to it , as the " .423 Mauser " during our time .
The ideal actions to build a 10.75 × 68 mm Mauser calibre rifle on , are :
> BRNO ZKK 600
> Fabrique Nationale Mauser 98
> Mauser 98 standard length
- May Fair Mauser
- Granite Mountain Arms
> Mannlicher Schoenaur ( purpose built , because this pattern of rifle does not easily lend itself to re chambering ... thanks to the rotary magazine ) .

Sabi Rifles in South Africa can easily do this. So can Dorleac & Dorleac in France .
So can Hambrusch Hunting Rifles in Ferlach . So can Griffin & Howe in New York . So can Hill Country Rifles in Texas . So can Lebeau Courally in Belgium .

All the best.

 

[IvW]

Waste of time 10.75 x 68 is a wimp just build a 404 Jeff(you can down load it) the other cannot be up loaded....

 

[Shootist43]

Chren, first off welcome to AH. Second why that caliber? A much better rifle to build would be the 404 Jeffery.

 

[Shootist43]

IvW, I think you hit your send button as I was typing. I couldn't agree with you more.

 

[Major Khan]

Waste of time 10.75 x 68 is a wimp just build a 404 Jeff(you can down load it) the other cannot be up loaded....

Quite blunt ... but 100 % true . That 347 grain bullet has dismal sectional density . And case capacity is pretty anaemic .
I would only recommend 1 as a Boar hunting rifle . Perhaps wart hog and bush pig , too ?

 

[IvW]

Well I prefer being straight forward rather than beat about the bush.....

 

[grand veneur]

It depends on what one wants to hunt with.

It is an obsolete cartridge for hunting heavy game at short range , for example in the Wood , but it is extremely marginal for hunting heavy DG like buffaloes.

 

[HWL]

Hey guys! I am looking into putting together a rifle in the old 10.75x68 Mauser cartridge and am wondering what action I would need to be looking for to fit this round. I read that they can be chambered in standard large ring Mauser actions, but is that something I'd need to get off an old surplus rifle or are there new manufacture actions floating around? This would be my first pieced together Mauser and any help would be greatly appreciated as to what models/makers would work best for a firearm!

I did it,...and it is a great gun.

For all thouse, who just talk about, but never had one in hands.....

HWL

 

[grand veneur]

We don't want to talk anyone out of it , but if you have a choice in building a rifle , there are certainly better options.

 

[HWL]

We don't want to talk anyone out of it , but if you have a choice in building a rifle , there are certainly better options.

Why he should build a .404 when he wants the performance of a 10,75x68.

Next guy will tell him, 404 is not powerful enough, you need something even bigger.

10,75x68 is easy to shoot, and in a pinch, it can handle everything, Africa has to offer.

HWL

 

[Major Khan]

The gaur bison in this photograph was hunted in a shikar in 1964 . My good friend , Riaz Sharrif ... Who is the author of "Ekti Shikaree Er Jibon Er Obhiggota"
( " The Life Experiences Of A Professional Shikaree " ) , was the professional shikaree who guided this shikar .

The 2 rifles in the photograph ( belonging to the 2 clients ) are a .348 Winchester calibre Model 71 lever rifle ( Left ) and a .423 Mauser calibre Fabrique Nationale Mauser 98 action bolt rifle ( Right ) . It took the clients 16 shots with the .423 Mauser calibre rifle to dispatch that 3000 pound bull gaur bison . They also shot it 9 times with the .348 Winchester calibre lever rifle ( right ) . The ammunition used was German RWS brand 347 grain solid metal covered cartridges .

Certainly not a dangerous game calibre ... by any stretch of imagination .

Now , to put matters in to perspective ...
My former professional shikaree partner , the dearly deceased Tobin Stakkatz also used to own a Fabrique Nationale Mauser 98 action bolt rifle chambered in .423 Mauser calibre . He would use this rifle to devastating effect against our 300 pound West Bengal Bush Boars ( Most of which , average at 300 pounds ) .

He killed at least 20 of the 63 Bengal Bush Boars harvested during 1 of our Kooch Bihar Bengal Bush Boar culling programmes ( Pictured below ) .

 

[IvW]

Why he sould build a .404 when he wants the performance of a 10,75x68.

Next guy will tell him, 404 is not powerful enough, you need something even bigger.

10,75x68 is easy to shoot, and in a pinch, it can handle everything, Africa has to offer.

HWL

Sure if he wants that performance level go for it but realise the limitations.....building a rfile I would never consider this caliber.....

Statements like that can get people killed.....10.75 x 68 is not enough gun for DG in Africa.....get something with a proven track record for that not something with a proven track record of not being able to get the job done....

I quess for a boar rifle it is ok but a DG for Africa it certainly is not.....

 

[HWL]

Sure if he wants that performance level go for it but realise the limitations.....building a rfile I would never consider this caliber.....

Statements like that can get people killed.....10.75 x 68 is not enough gun for DG in Africa.....get something with a proven track record for that not something with a proven track record of not being able to get the job done....

I quess for a boar rifle it is ok but a DG for Africa it certainly is not.....

The thread starter did not say, he wants it to hunt DG with.... he just want to build a 10,75x68 rifle.

There is nothing wrong with this cartridge, you just have to know it's limits.

Today, with todays powders and todays premium bullets, it easily develops the performance of a 1900s .404 Rimless..... witch was prised for its effectiveness!

People do not get killed, because they use a 10,75x68 properly, but because they miss with their Super Magnum.

HWL

 

[One Day...]

When I saw the post this morning, I started typing... then decided to not post... "To each their own" type of thing...

But since the issue is on the table, I find it fascinating that the 10.75x68 has apparently steered very strong feelings, in favor or against it, for about 100 years...

Here is the discussion of if in John "Pondoro" Talyor's 1948 African Rifles & Cartridges.

Personal life choices set aside, Taylor's personal experience, as well as the experience of others he relates, in support and against the cartridge, are quite interesting, starting with the last paragraph on page 96.

Not unlike many other such discussions, there seems to be an interesting nexus between cartridge, bullet and rifle. It would be interesting to see how the cartridge would fare with different bullets, different propellants, and different rifles...

In any scenario, the one variable in the equation which is actually not variable is case capacity...

I hope you enjoy the reading

 

[chren]

Thanks for the welcome and I'm glad to see that there is still so much conversation and exchange of ideas on this page! So a little background on myself: I just graduated college and am currently sitting at what I like to consider my quarter-life crisis. I've been absolutely obsessed with the idea of hunting Africa (and read all I can about India and Asia as a whole...so that Gaur picture was REALLY appreciated and a treat to see) since I got into collecting hunting books at around 14 or 15. I love the idea of having guns in these "classic" African cartridges and high up on my list have been old East German metric calibers (namely the 10.75x68 and the 9.3x64 Brenneke). I don't know what stood out to me about about this caliber, but its been a toss-up between that and the .404 in my mind and it came down to the 10.75 strictly because people don't hunt with it anymore. Horrible reasoning I know but I blame the books for that one. Realistically speaking, this gun wouldn't necessarily be a buffalo gun until down the line and even then I'd prefer something bigger.

For the tl/dr: It's a caliber I've read about and wanted to shoot since I was a teenager, and I figured it would be a fun gun to start off a collection!

For the (seemingly large amount) of .404 advocates out there: any big differences on actions that would be required to hold it? I know it's a longer cartridge so at that point you'd be looking at something magnum length?

And as I type this I see that someone was kind enough to post the exact book that started me on this question! there's a permanent bookmark on page 96 of my copy of African Rifles and Cartridges since I've wanted this gun for so long.

 

[Major Khan]

Thanks for the welcome and I'm glad to see that there is still so much conversation and exchange of ideas on this page! So a little background on myself: I just graduated college and am currently sitting at what I like to consider my quarter-life crisis. I've been absolutely obsessed with the idea of hunting Africa (and read all I can about India and Asia as a whole...so that Gaur picture was REALLY appreciated and a treat to see) since I got into collecting hunting books at around 14 or 15. I love the idea of having guns in these "classic" African cartridges and high up on my list have been old East German metric calibers (namely the 10.75x68 and the 9.3x64 Brenneke). I don't know what stood out to me about about this caliber, but its been a toss-up between that and the .404 in my mind and it came down to the 10.75 strictly because people don't hunt with it anymore. Horrible reasoning I know but I blame the books for that one. Realistically speaking, this gun wouldn't necessarily be a buffalo gun until down the line and even then I'd prefer something bigger.

For the tl/dr: It's a caliber I've read about and wanted to shoot since I was a teenager, and I figured it would be a fun gun to start off a collection!

For the (seemingly large amount) of .404 advocates out there: any big differences on actions that would be required to hold it? I know it's a longer cartridge so at that point you'd be looking at something magnum length?

And as I type this I see that someone was kind enough to post the exact book that started me on this question! there's a permanent bookmark on page 96 of my copy of African Rifles and Cartridges since I've wanted this gun for so long.

Build it , Son . You are passionate about it . Use it on wild Boars and medium sized deer ... And you are good to go .
No man should ever be deprived of his passion .

 

[GuttormG]

Build it, develop loads with modern bullets and powders, go hunting!

 

[One Day...]

Yes indeed, I would not be deterred if I were you.

My personal interpretation of Pondoro's writing (I am the one who posted it) is that with modern bullets and modern powders the 10.75x68 will do OK on buffalo, and hippo & elephant body shots or side brain shots. It likely cannot be developed into a super penetrator (that pesky case capacity issue previously mentioned) but cases are available from Buffalo Arms, bullets abound, and modern powders give you increased horse-power options over the old cordite, so you can play...

The 9.3x64, conversely, is an altogether different animal. By most accounts it is actually superior to the .375 H&H as a medium bore. No faint praise!

And of course your plains game rifle ought to be a 7x57, although you would likely have a better caliber with 7x64, but it was certainly less common in Tanganyika than the 7x57...

The nice thing about 10.75x68; 9.3x64; and 7x57 (or x64) is that you can really assemble three matched rifles on three identical standard length Mauser large ring actions for a near perfect nostalgic East German African battery

 

[Brian Rothhammer]

Hey guys! I am looking into putting together a rifle in the old 10.75x68 Mauser cartridge and am wondering what action I would need to be looking for to fit this round.

Some original 'old school' options:

As rare as an original Mauser 10.75X68 is, the MS for that cartridge is nearly pure unobtanium.