M98 action for varmint rifle?

[Ageo308]

Guys any1 ever used the mauser 98 (do they come single shot)? for long range shooting? they are much cheaper than the rem 700's and heaps available. I just need it to do the job. 200-500yrds i will be shooting

Any other cheapo but reliable enough actions that you guys would recommend.

thanks

 

[James Jamison]

I had a 25-06 built on a mauser action with douglas heavy barrel in 1988 and it was a great gun. Shot lots of deer with it at 400-500 and never had any problems. I finally shot the barrel out and it is now being rebarreled to 220 swift. I recently had another built into a 308 and so far have killed a few deer and a couple of long range antelope kills with it. I have been told that the remmys are more accurate actions but for hunting, the mausers are just fine. Good luck.

 

[Ageo308]

Thanks james, the exact reply i wanted to hear.

 

[Mysticplayer]

I have built all my LR rifles on military actions. Most have been P14/17 Enfields but a few have been mausers.

If you need to start from a stripped Military Mauser action, you will spend more money then buying off the rack. If you have one that is already sporterized with a stock and only needs a barrel, then sure why not. You should be able to find one already built for pretty cheap at a gunshow.

Just price out all the parts you need to build a Mauser action and make it look reasonable and you will have around $400 'spent'. Now you need a gunsmith to install all this stuff which will add another couple of bills to your cost. Resale value of half or less out of the box.

New Savages are so cheap and shoot so well, that it is impossible to build a rifle for less. The new Model 40 in 223 would serve you out to 500yds and is around $300. Single shot, push feed, lam varmint style stock, supposed to shoot well, and has a decent trigger. Add to that easy resale. WOW.

The only time working with a military action makes sense is if you want a 'classic' rifle or want to build something wacky that is not readily available.

Jerry

 

[Ageo308]

Jerry hear in oz i can buy guns that are worn out but have m98 actions for around $100AUD sometimes. I saw a m70 25/06 the other day for $450AUD and thought that was good value. I know the rem 700 actions are good but ill struggle to get 1 for less than $650AUD

 

[Mysticplayer]

Didn't know where you were living. I would then go with a commercial sporterized action if possible - parker Hale might be the most available.

For $100 AUD, any sporterized Mauser would be a great platform to start with.

There is no shortage of items available. You may want to look at some of the threaded short chambered barrels offered in the US. Dirt cheap if you can import. They usually shoot sub MOA.

I would suggest you look at putting in a single stage aftermarket trigger like a Timney or Optima. The orig can be tweaked but the aftermarket are just so nice. Most parker hales come with the same trigger - I think their design was copied (?).

Any how, good luck with your project. Try and have that extractor modified for push feed (many commercial actions had that already done). A relatively simple thing to do. Makes loading so much easier.

Jerry