Mauser K98 action?

[AJ Peacock]

I have a friend that has 3 of these actions and is debating about building at least one of them up.

Pluses and minuses please.

Thanks
AJ

 

[Captn C]

I have four customs done with mauser actions. Two are the BRUNO CZ-24 and they both shoot a dot at 100yards...280REM and 7mmMag

The thing i don't like is haveing to drill for the scope. I've done a better job than the smith did on the he did. Also most of the ones I found lately don't have hinged floorplates. I have seen them though for $78 recently.

I was also told that you couldn't build anything over 300WMAG. He also told me no short mags.

When I was doing mine mid 90's you could buy the whole rifle for $60, so it was a pretty cheap way to build a nice hunting gun.

 

[ohnomrbillk]

mauser actions

I have built my share of mauser action guns, and my mentor has built a few million. They can make for one heck of a rifle, once you understand the limitations. First of all, you can go to the 300 weatherby length, but I don't recommend removing that much material. 300 win mag length works just fine. You can do anything on an 06 boltface without any issues, and this will likely feed the best. I build my own hinged floor plates out out the fixed ones, and it uses a thumb screw for a release, right infront of the trigger guard. Shells will feed much easier through the magazine, so it is not much of a push feed. If you need more info, help, or a rifle built; shoot me a message, and I'll get you set up with Dr. Bob. Good Shooting,
William

 

[retired2hunt]

I'm on my second mauser build 1st was a spainish mauser and I did a 338 Win Mag with a Pac Nor barrel it just great only problem was the guy who had the action before me ground the rails to much and the second round popped out when you extracted the first. I had the local gunsmith mill the bottom side of rail to give room for shell to hold works great. He told me on the magnum cartridges people have a tendency to grind to much of the rail off. My second build is a Charles Daly in 260 remington. I like the mauser and would bye more.

 

[ZebDeming]

Mausers are good rifles, some plus's are the actions are fairly cheap, and in the end will shoot just as well as any other, some like the controled round feed and some don't. Some folks will tell you that you'll have more invested in a mauser build than a comercial rifle build, because you have to pay someone to square up everything, but I'd be squaring up a comercial action as well so you would still be ahead of the game on cost. Mausers make great guns to learn smithing on, because the inital investment is quite a bit lower and you're only out your time if there is a screw up, and when it's done it should shoot with the best of them. I've got a turk mauser that I just built up to be a cheap trunk gun in .308, it's not pretty to look at but it shoots, I've got another reciever here that might just become a .260 AI and another Siamese action that I've got a .510 contoured blank for, It'll be a .50 Alaskan with a throat long enough to shoot the BMG bullets, that one should be fun.

Zeb

 

[Clark]

I have been sporterizing Mausers for 44 years, but mostly just in the last 11 years.
It can be done with common sense, but I follow the Walsh book for how to modify the feed lips for magnums.

My Mauser shpeal:

The 98 Mauser has:
1) flat bottomed receiver to take torque from rifling
2) controlled feed
3) claw typed extractor
4) safety on firing pin, often modified to be 2 or 3 position M70 type
5) multi stage gas filter on firing pin hole for safety
6) bolt handle is integrally forged as part of bolt body
7) safety lug below rear bridge
8) integral recoil lug
9) knife ejector in bolt lug slot
10 an inner C ring to put the tenon threads in compression

The rem 700 has:
1) receiver made from round tubing
2) push feed
3) little wimpy extractor
4) safety on trigger
5) simple bolt
6) bolt handle tacked on with screw and solder
7) nothing for safety if bolt lugs fail.
8) recoil lug is a modified washer that is captured by the receiver and barrel
9) plunger ejector
10) No inner C ring, so the only thing holding the barrel to the receiver is the tenon threads in tension.

To overcome some of these short comings, the Rem700 may be modified:
1) A flat bottomed shroud may be epoxied around the receiver for benchrest work.
3) A Sako extractor modification may be made to the bolt.
5) Eye protection can be worn when shooting a Rem700.
6) The bolt handle can be TIG welded on the bolt body
8) The receiver and recoil lug may be drilled and pinned together.
10) The Remington factory often puts glue on the tenon threads.

The reason most often sited for dangerous game professional hunters preferring Mausers over Rem700 is the controlled feed.

Kent Reeves Won the Nationals at Camp Perry shooting a 300 Win Mag Mauser in 2006, but more typically the target competitions are won by Winchester M70s, which resemble 98 Mausers.

There are lots of custom Mausers in the $10k - $100k range, but no Rem700s in that range.

The book to get is "Bolt Action Rifles" 4th edition by de Haas.
Of the ~100 bolt action covered in the above book, they seem to all be on the spectrum somewhere between the simple Rem700 and the complex 1898 Mauser design.

 

[retired2hunt]

I'm on my second mauser 98 build. I think they are a fantastic action to work with. On those that do not have safety on bolt to lock firing pin I would purchase one. I do not like those safetys that are on some of the trigger asemblies that just block the trigger. One other caution if your building a belted magnum be carefull you or your gunsmith does not take to much off the rails or you will have feeding problems. my first build was a 338 win mag and second is 260 remington.

 

[coyotezapper]

Rem 700 actions are my favorite. That being said I have M98 Mausers chambered in 25-06, 243 Winchester and 338-06 Ackley and they are all tack drivers. I feel I give up very little with the M98 compared to the M700. I am only limited to cartridge compatibilty. I could go with new commercial mausers for the magnums but they are as much as $1500+. I am down to my last surplus M98 and I am currently building a 6.5x47 Lapua for long range antelope. The aftermarket parts for the mauser is endless. Floorplates, triggers, stocks, whatever.

 

[Clark]

My K98 vs Rem700 shpeal:

The 98 Mauser has:
1) flat bottomed receiver to take torque from rifling
2) controlled feed
3) claw typed extractor
4) safety on firing pin, often modified to be 2 or 3 position M70 type
5) multi stage gas filter on firing pin hole for safety
6) bolt handle is integrally forged as part of bolt body
7) safety lug below rear bridge
8) integral recoil lug
9) knife ejector in bolt lug slot with force proportional to that applied to bolt handle
10 an inner C ring to put the tenon threads in compression

The rem 700 has:
1) receiver made from round tubing
2) push feed
3) little wimpy extractor
4) safety on trigger
5) simple bolt
6) bolt handle tacked on with screw and solder
7) The soldered and screwed bolt handle is in a slot in the receiver.
8) recoil lug is a modified washer that is captured by the receiver and barrel
9) round hole in bolt face for spring loaded plunger ejector
10) No inner C ring, so the only thing holding the barrel to the receiver is the tenon threads in tension.

To overcome some of these short comings, the Rem700 may be modified:
1) A flat bottomed shroud may be epoxied around the receiver for benchrest work.
3) A Sako extractor modification may be made to the bolt.
4) According to the allegations, the defendant [Remington] has known of the defect for 60 years [of Rem700 manufacture] and has more than 4,000 documented complaints of unintended discharge and has paid more than $20 million in settlements to "injured consumers."
5) Eye protection can be worn when shooting a Rem700.
6) The bolt handle can be TIG welded on the bolt body
7) An after market bolt handle can be TIG welded to the bolt body
8) The receiver and recoil lug may be drilled and pinned together.
10) The Remington factory often puts glue on the tenon threads.

The reason most often sited for dangerous game professional hunters preferring Mausers over Rem700 is the controlled feed.

Kent Reeves Won the Nationals at Camp Perry shooting a 300 Win Mag Mauser in 2006, but more typically the target competitions are won by Winchester M70s, which resemble 98 Mausers.

There are lots of custom Mausers in the $10k - $100k range, but no Rem700s in that range.

The book to get is "Bolt Action Rifles" 4th edition by de Haas.
Of the ~100 bolt action covered in the above book, they seem to all be on the spectrum somewhere between the simple Rem700 and the complex 1898 Mauser design.

 

[Chopaka81]

I once poured some $$ into a M98. It was a mint 1912 Styer in 7x57. I had the smith chop the barrel at the first step and re-bore it to 280 Rem and this a big mistake. I should have had a new barrel put on the rifle.
I did not realize that the magazine on the 98 is shorter than a M700. I was young (20 something) and thought I knew it all. The action does feed 280 ammo correctly, but the bullets are seated very deep. Factory ammo will not fit into the magazine.
I should have left the chamber alone.
That being said I do have a very accurate reload for that old barrel using a 162gr Hornady SPBT.
Is my rifle worth a k-buck? I think not. But it does shoot minute of mule deer.

 

[Coyboy]

I have a friend that has 3 of these actions and is debating about building at least one of them up.

Pluses and minuses please.

Thanks
AJ

AJ, a mauser will make a fine gun. But if your starting with a military mauser, you can sink quite a bit into it to get it ready for a barrel; trigger, cock on close, bottom metal, saftey, bolt handle position, drill and tap base holes, proper heat treat, refinishing of metal, not to mention any truing work.

Now if you have a comercial reciever like the Mark X or the newer rem 798, all of these issues for the most part have been addressed. Honestly I think you could buy a new 798 and just rebarrel, and reuse the stock, bottom metal may-be a new trigger. and you would have a basically new reciever, that didn't have lug set back issues or some of the other problems that well used military recievers can and do have.

 

[Clark]

I once poured some $$ into a M98. It was a mint 1912 Styer in 7x57. I had the smith chop the barrel at the first step and re-bore it to 280 Rem and this a big mistake. I should have had a new barrel put on the rifle.
I did not realize that the magazine on the 98 is shorter than a M700. I was young (20 something) and thought I knew it all. The action does feed 280 ammo correctly, but the bullets are seated very deep. Factory ammo will not fit into the magazine.
I should have left the chamber alone.
That being said I do have a very accurate reload for that old barrel using a 162gr Hornady SPBT.
Is my rifle worth a k-buck? I think not. But it does shoot minute of mule deer.

The Military Mausers have a shorter magazine, but the commercial Mauser magazines are ready for 3.34" ammo.
I have lengthened lots of military magazines.

The PAWS aftermarket bottom metal is long and saves weight.

98 Mauser Triggerguard - P.A.W.S.

 

[MikeA68]

mauser actions

I have built my share of mauser action guns, and my mentor has built a few million. They can make for one heck of a rifle, once you understand the limitations. First of all, you can go to the 300 weatherby length, but I don't recommend removing that much material. 300 win mag length works just fine. You can do anything on an 06 boltface without any issues, and this will likely feed the best. I build my own hinged floor plates out out the fixed ones, and it uses a thumb screw for a release, right infront of the trigger guard. Shells will feed much easier through the magazine, so it is not much of a push feed. If you need more info, help, or a rifle built; shoot me a message, and I'll get you set up with Dr. Bob. Good Shooting,
William

Sir, I have a problem with my K98 - the feed lips at the mag well top have very square sharp bottom corners and scar the brass if I load more than 3 rounds. 5 rounds and she jams hard. Can the thick lips be tapered or something? Thank you.

 

[Michael Souther]

I have four customs done with mauser actions. Two are the BRUNO CZ-24 and they both shoot a dot at 100yards...280REM and 7mmMag

The thing i don't like is haveing to drill for the scope. I've done a better job than the smith did on the he did. Also most of the ones I found lately don't have hinged floorplates. I have seen them though for $78 recently.

I was also told that you couldn't build anything over 300WMAG. He also told me no short mags.

When I was doing mine mid 90's you could buy the whole rifle for $60, so it was a pretty cheap way to build a nice hunting gun.

I built a number of rifles on the mauser 98 actions. My main hunting rifle is 338 win mag. French walnut stock with Federal barrel. Also 7x57, 308 and 3006. Make sure the actions are in good shape. Sarco has action and parts. 1970s, 1980s they were plentiful and reasonably priced. They .ake great rifles. Also a 45 70 Siamese mauser.