It’s wonderful when you have folks in the shooting/hunting industry who ask questions like one from Jason Evans, CEO of the Blaser Group (USA), “Would you review a new model Mauser rifle for us?” or one asked recently in a phone conversation by Hornady’s Seth Swerczek, “Do I owe you any product (i.e. ammunition)?” That’s when I realize how very fortunate this outdoor writer is to have such friends. So, it was with the greatest shame that I wrote Jason, through Blaser media representative, Shannon Jackson, that I’d deleted the video interview with him at a recent Dallas Safari Club Convention, discussing their new Mauser M18. Mortified doesn’t come close in describing how I felt, and yet Jason continues sending me loaner rifles for hunts, and reviews. He’s long suffering. Lost video notwithstanding, Jason sent the rifle we discussed at the DSC Convention, the Mauser M-18 in the ‘Savannah’ model, while Seth S. provided two types of ammunition: American Whitetail and Superformance, both with 130-grain bullets, the former lead-tipped, Interlocks and the latter, polymer-tipped SSTs.

Once all the pieces were together, I headed to one of my happy places, the Elbert County [Georgia] Gun Club. This was to be a full-blown review, so accompanying me was all my photographic equipment, and my doppler radar-based (LabRadar) chronograph. Data from the chronograph found slightly lower muzzle velocities than listed on the ammunition boxes; the four shots I logged for the Superformance had a mean of 3028 fps (Standard Deviation = 5.8 fps), with the American Whitetail a mean of 2877 (Standard Deviation = 37.3 fps). However, the bullets from both cartridge types had flat trajectories. The Superformance SSTs were +1.5”, +0”, -6” and approximately -17” at 100, 200, 300 and 400 yards, respectively. Similarly, the American Whitetail Interlocks, also sighted in at 1.5” high at 100, had predicted trajectories at 200, 300 and 400 yards of 0”, 6” and -19”, respectively.

I started the data-gathering from the bench, using homemade sandbags (yep, a real West Texas Redneck) for the forearm, and an Armageddon Gear, Game Changer Shooting Bag for the butt. With shots completed from the bench, I shifted to my well-traveled 4StableSticks Ultimate Carbon hunting rest. Used from the standing position, the accuracy achieved using the Ultimate Carbon model often surprises the uninitiated. Accuracy comes from stabilization of both forearm and butt of the rifle, eliminating horizontal wobble, with the shooter only controlling the vertical hold.

The most accurate combination at 100-yards was the M18 + American Whitetail cartridges. The graph shown presents the data from firing groups using this ammunition at 100–400 yards (bench) and 100–300 yards (Ultimate Carbon). Depending on the rifle and cartridges I carry, I sometimes shoot out to 400 yards+ off the Ultimate Carbon. I shot from the Ultimate Carbon out to only 300 yards because the ammunition ran low after a ‘Box Test’ for the accompanying Meopta, MeoSport R 3–15x50 riflescope from Shannon Jackson. The bar graph allows a number of conclusions. Every 2–3 shot group, from both bench and Ultimate Carbon, was sub-MOA. Remember that 1xMOA is roughly a 1-inch group at 100 yards, 2-inch group at 200 yards, etc.

The smallest diameter group, by a fair margin, was a 2-shot group off the Ultimate Carbon Rest at 200-yards. One assumption might be that this was an accidental result. What disputes that conclusion is the fact that the rifle/cartridge combination performed so well across distances and rest types. For full disclosure, when I saw this group through my optics, I stopped with the two shots. I wanted it for an illustration for my review. Maybe that proves this gun reviewer isn’t as dumb as he looks.

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About the Author

Mike Arnold is professor and Head of the Department of Genetics at the University of Georgia and author of the 2022 book, BRINGING BACK THE LIONS: International Hunters, Local Tribespeople, and the Miraculous Rescue of a Doomed Ecosystem in Mozambique. Mike’s book is available for purchase now at bringingbackthelions.com. You can find a description of Mike’s travels, talks, and articles at mikearnoldoutdoors.com.