Mauser M03 in .375H&H.

[Adrian]

I finally purchased an M03 a few days ago after what seemed like a never ending wait to get my licence back after my application for a variation.
It is a .375H&H and I have a slot for a .300 WinMag barrel, a combination that should serve me very well in Africa.
Nice grade 7 stock and although a second hand rifle is in immaculate condition.
It was bought by someone who left the army, blew his payout on a nice rifle and trip to Africa and then couldn't afford to keep it locked away.
His loss, my gain. It's only fired about 30 rounds.
Any ideas on a scope that will work for plains and dangerous game?

[Henrik]

For Elephant you should go with a 1-x scope or with Irons for all else I recommend one of the Leica Magnus scope scopes in 1,5-10x42 or 1,7-12x50. Given that you currently have the 375 barrel, go with the 1,7-12 and when you buy the 1-6,3 to have that for your 375.

Another great scope for the 300 wm and the one I will get is the Zeiss V8 2,8-20x, for the 375 I would go for one of the Leicas. The V8 also have proper turrets for elevation, Wind and Parallax. Also the Field of view is 15,5 meters at 100 meters which means 1,5m at 10 meters and that is important when in the bush.

ONE MAJOR piece of advice is to look at the exit pupill and not to go for anyting smaller than 10 mm on the lowest setting as it will take time to find the sight Picture. This is really where the Leica Magnus scopes shine with 12mm!

Optics is really a compromise and that is certainly true when a manufacturer will try to squeeze everyting into a 30 mm tube. The Svarowski Z8 is not a bad quality tube but the exit pupill doesn't get any bigger than 8mm wich is quite a bit smaller than the Leica. The Zeiss V8 have a 10mm pupill at the lowest mag which I find acceptable

Another great scope is the Kahles k624 but it's a bit limited in Field of View.

Just my 50c..

[Rick - Mauser M03 Blog author]

Hi Adrian.

Firstly, congratulations on what is surely an excellent acquisition. Please post some pics if you can, showing off that Grade 7 walnut. Did the original owner Army guy pass on any reports on how it performed during his trip to Africa?

As for scope choices, I like the sound of what Henrik has suggested. While I don't have any Leica Magnus scopes, I'm a fan of Leica gear in general and have those scopes on my wish list. A couple of thoughts I'll add to the conversation are:

- there's a good reason to choose a scope with a minimum zoom that is 1.5x rather than 1x. Given that it's always best to keep both eyes open when using scopes, your brain will more easily switch to the eye that is looking through the scope if it is presented with a magnified image. Even with only 1.5x, the view will be distinctly different from the image your 'non-scope' eye is seeing. If the magnification is exactly the same, i.e. both 1x, your brain will try to fuse both images and will struggle with this, due to the likely difference in the eyes' focussing distances, as well as their pointing directions. This is the reason the Australian Steyr AUG rifles use a 1.5x telescopic sight. It's not enough to appreciably affect the field of view, but is enough to cause the brain to immediately prioritise on the 'scope-eye'. Having a chunky reticle and an ocular group that has been properly set up for your vision also helps with the prioritisation. Of course, if the scope of your dreams happens to come with a 1x minimum, try setting it to 1.5x to see how your brain likes it. :-)

- on the subject of a scope's exit pupil, our human eyes can only use about 7mm, if we're young and the light is dim. This is why the classic parameters for maritime binoculars is 7 x 50 and the best night hunting scopes are 8 x 56. They both provide exit pupils of 7mm, meaning we will see a full image circle in dim light conditions. In brighter light our smaller pupils will easily stay within the optic's exit pupil. However, this can create problems with being able to align our eyes with the centreline of the optics, to avoid reticle parallax problems. This is not such a big issue with binoculars, but is certainly a concern with riflescopes. One of the peripheral benefits of higher magnification scopes that have smaller exit pupils is that it's easier for us to centre our eye with the scope's optical centreline. A huge exit pupil, while a lot of fun to look through, can leave us lost within the wide image circle. But this is really only a factor with shooting at small targets at distance with big scopes, i.e. sniping.

- for general hunting, stalking and particularly for dangerous game it's usually best to steer clear of scopes that have any kind of user operated parallax adjustment or focussing. What's needed with a walk-about hunting setup, where snap shots might be necessary, is a scope that will always be instantly useable, regardless of the range. Cocking the rifle is all you might have time for. Removing hands from their natural position on the rifle to muck around with the scope is highly undesirable. I'll tackle the issues of magnification range and which focal plane to choose for the reticle in new dot points.

- the clever manufacturers are now able to offer scopes with 8x zoom range, while claiming good optical performance throughout that range. I'm not completely convinced that such a big zoom range is necessary, desirable or optimal. It should be more expensive though! Will a .375 H&H barrel be used with the scope at 1.5x in the morning while stalking buffalo and then at 12x in the afternoon for sniping at rabbits? I doubt it. My way of looking at things is that quite different barrels will be best matched with quite different scopes. For one thing, this makes switching barrels and scopes and retaining projectile impact points easier; no need to dial in new settings on a single scope's turrets with each swap, or to fire a test shot, just to be sure. Notwithstanding, if the preference is to stick to one scope, restrain that natural desire to go after the biggest, baddest zoom-bomb of a scope on the market. The lower and middle magnifications are going to be the most use. The higher ones might only be used to examine details in the distance. Lower magnifications mean less image shake, less mirage effect, less recoil effect, better awareness of where the shot went, brighter image and larger exit pupil, along with quicker aiming and firing, in my experience. With the M03 I use the most, and for all of my walk-up hunting, fitted with a .270 Win barrel, I always have its Zeiss Victory HT 2.5 - 10 x 50mm set at four times magnification. That's low enough for a close-up snap shot and high enough for a long shot at a pig sized target. If I was heading to Africa I would certainly bring my Victory HT 1.5 - 6 x 42, for use with the biggest barrel. Another scope with higher magnification, for smaller targets at longer ranges, would be nice but a lower priority. 

- the German and Austrian manufacturers have always offered scopes with reticles in the first-focal-plane, including with low power hunting scopes. These are becoming more widely available and at the same time second focal plane scopes are also being offered by the European manufacturers. With some scopes you get a choice. But which to choose? A quick reminder on the difference is: with first-focal-plane scopes the size of the animal and the thickness of the reticle both grow as the zoom is cranked up, whereas with second-focal-plane scopes the thickness of the reticle stays the same regardless of the zoom setting. I've written a long forum post on this subject, at this link - Reticles - First Focal Plane vs Second Focal Plane . In summary, first-focal-plane scopes are superb for sniping rifles, where turret click adjustments can be designed to match reticle divisions. Wonderful for tweaking the fall of shot at 1000 metres. Less useful for an elephant at 20. For general hunting, scopes with reticles in the second-focal-plane, that stay the same as you dial the zoom, are very nice and easy to use. However, folk who make the most of hunting from a high-seat with the last photons of a darkening dusk will talk about how good it is to have a thick cross-hair or post to lay across a red deer's shoulder. Those old-timers will often talk with a German accent, while pointing out all of the problems that could possibly arise from relying on a battery to provide an illuminated red dot at the cross-hair. hehe.

Henrik and I have thrown up some prompts here Adrian. We'll be happy to see how your thinking progresses. Also, have a look at the following links to see how Henrik Lott gets on with his open sights, with both M03 and M98 rifles. :-) Great stuff! 

I wonder ... . Henrik, is that you? :-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6XSHx1IU0s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1W3a1UgsxE&t=5s

Regards, Rick.

[Henrik]

Haha, no I'am not Henrik Lott, Wish I were he's got some really nice rifles :)

I Think a high zoom range is somewhat superflous but with one exeption and that is flexibility but I Think quite a few hunters put too much value in that flexibility. I hunt with a Zeiss 2,5-10 and have taken kritters down to 20 meters so it's sufficient however there are some driven hunts where I would have liked lower mag on the lower end and on the range I would like to have a higher end mag BUT not at the cost of exit pupill. I Think the Leica Magnus range is  right were it should be with just all the qualities I would look for. I would choose the Zeiss V8 as a long range HUNTING scope for it's optical qualities and it's turrets and parrallax adjustment. For a target scope I would go for the Kahles k624i as it's unbeatable in all but field of view and exit pupill. My preference for a large exit pupill is the speed at which a sight Picture can be acquired. In a driven hunt or in a charge this is highly desirable. The parallax effect of being off centre is not really relevant on shorter distances and at longer distances the adjustable parallax will mitigate the effect. 

Depending on what will be hunted the scope choice may differ: For elephant that are hunted short range in the thick a 1x low mag is good to have since they are big and will fill a scope with higher mag. Elephant can also be hunted with open sights and that's were the Mauser mount is a nice feature. Cape Buffalo is a different hunt altogether as the shots are at 30-150 meters and they stand closer together so a 1,5-10x is a better choice because one could choose the Leica 1,5-10 and get the Bullet drop compensator for longer shots on Eland. I Think the choice is as follows:

Dangerous game hunt:

1A: Elephant: 1-4 or 1-6,3x scope and solids

1B: Buffalo and all else over 500 kg: 1,5-10 and Swift A-frame or Woodleigh PP

Plains game 300wm:

2A: Zeiss V8 2,8-20x with Swift Scirocco, TTSX or Nosler

As a wild card I would throw in the Zeiss V8 1,8-14x which would be good for both 1B & 2A in which case you only really need one scope!