Replacement stock for FN Belgium Mauser

[merbeau]

Hi

Picked up a FN Mauser with made in Belgium on side and proof marks left side near the chamber. The distance between the screws is 7.765 and it has a wing safety on the left side. The Smith said it probably was originally a JC Higgins rifle. It had been re-barreled with a type 3 contour varmint barrel with P.O. Ackley 22-250 stamped on the side. Using a cleaning rod technique the twist seems to be 1:14 which was a little disappointing.

The stock is not in great shape and I was thinking of replacing it with with a laminated stock. I checked Boyds and Stockeys but it looks like their stocks are for barrels with standard channel widths.

I also checked with Richards Micro Stocks and they list a Mauser 98 commercial action that can be purchased for #3 contour barrels with short floor place which my rifle seems to have. Richards lists FN, Husqvarna FN, Sako FN, and FN 400 as fitting. They list the screw distance,however, as 7 13/16 between lugs.

Will this stock fit? If not, does anyone have another suggestion? I plan on building this rifle for use in local matches up to 300 yards. At some point I will probably re-barrel to a 1:9 twist to shoot Lapua 69 grain Scenar bullets.

thanks

Robert

 

[sable tireur]

merbeau,

I think this is more complicated than it needs to be.

I don't think I've seen this reference for a barrel contour:

...type 3 contour varmint barrel...

Here are the standard Remington contours from Douglas:

Douglas Barrels, Inc

Here are the standard Remington contours from Shilen:

Welcome to Shilen Rifles, Inc.

These are provided just for a starting reference point. You need to measure your barrel at the similar points of measurement for the charts in the links then compare the two.

Many of the older gunsmiths contoured blanks individually without bothering to keep a standard because they usually had to inlet the stock to fit anyway. So get your dimensions and get as close as you can with Richards then plan on doing or getting some inletting done. Without a standard there is no such thing as drop-in.

As far as I know the post-1957 solid side FN Mausers were all the standard large ring M98 Mauser dimensions so I would guess that somewhere the measurements are off by less than a 1/16th of an inch. It could be one from a JC Higgins since they were plentiful and less expensive at the time. In essence, the stock you're looking at should fit or may need a very slight amount of touch up. Don't forget to bed it!

The 1:14" twist will basically handle 55 grain bullets with a length of 0.750" at 3500 -3600 fps.

Don't forget the Hornady 75 gr. AMAX will work in that 1:9" twist also. It performs great in the varmint fields.

Regards.

 

[merbeau]

merbeau,

I think this is more complicated than it needs to be.

I don't think I've seen this reference for a barrel contour:



Here are the standard Remington contours from Douglas:

Douglas Barrels, Inc

Here are the standard Remington contours from Shilen:

Welcome to Shilen Rifles, Inc.

These are provided just for a starting reference point. You need to measure your barrel at the similar points of measurement for the charts in the links then compare the two.

Many of the older gunsmiths contoured blanks individually without bothering to keep a standard because they usually had to inlet the stock to fit anyway. So get your dimensions and get as close as you can with Richards then plan on doing or getting some inletting done. Without a standard there is no such thing as drop-in.

As far as I know the post-1957 solid side FN Mausers were all the standard large ring M98 Mauser dimensions so I would guess that somewhere the measurements are off by less than a 1/16th of an inch. It could be one from a JC Higgins since they were plentiful and less expensive at the time. In essence, the stock you're looking at should fit or may need a very slight amount of touch up. Don't forget to bed it!

The 1:14" twist will basically handle 55 grain bullets with a length of 0.750" at 3500 -3600 fps.

Don't forget the Hornady 75 gr. AMAX will work in that 1:9" twist also. It performs great in the varmint fields.

Regards.

Thanks for replying - I really appreciate the information.

I took the stock off and measured the distance from the center of the front guard screw to center of the back trigger guard screw and it is 1.8125 which is what the 13/16 listed on Richards' website is. I then went to Shilen and according to their dimensions the current barrel is a light weight varmint contour.

It was not till I got the rifle home and removed the stock that I found out that someone tried to fiberglass bed the barrel and botched the job making the stock virtually useless. I also found the stock was cracked inside from I assume removing to much material, so that was the start of finding a replacement.

I was going to order a Shilen barrel because they offer a complete barrel that a gunsmith can fit that does not have the correct reamer.

Thanks

Robert

 

[merbeau]

I saw in an article that Interarms stocks will interchange with FNs. Boyds has a stock for an Interarms 1500 that has a configuration for bull barrel but list it as a short action.

From published charts the 22-250 is considered short action so would this particular stock fit the FN. That would save having to spend quite a bit of time finishing a Richards stock which by all accounts can be either good or bad as far as what is received.

Thanks

Robert

 

[sable tireur]

merbeau,

Boyds has a stock for an Interarms 1500 that has a configuration for bull barrel but list it as a short action.

I believe this is for the Howa 1500 Short Action imported by Interarms.

Regards.

 

[merbeau]

Thanks for the information. I guess I better sharpen up my tools for a refinishing project. I did notice that Stockey's stocks carries a GRS that is for a Howa 1500 Long Action but the cost is nearly 900 dollars.

thanks

Robert

 

[shortgrass]

A Howa 1500, 'long' or 'short', is not the same as a FN Mauser. What they have in common is they are both centerfire rifles. The stocks are not interchangable. The Shilen barrels you mentioned,, those aren't 'drop-in'. The use of a finish chambering reamer will be required. In yrs. past, I believe it was Douglas that offered barrels that were 'deep chambered', where a reamer wouldn't be needed, but a lathe was still needed to adjust the tenon length until proper head space was achieved. If you're looking for 'drop-in', I suggest that the Mauser should be sold and a Savage or Remington 700 be purchased instead as 'drop-in' IS available for them.

 

[sable tireur]

merbeau,

The laminated GSR is an expensive imported stock but has very nice ergonomic features which feel very comfortable in fit. There is one model, GRS Berserk, which is synthetic and is much less expensive and available for the Howa 1500 Short Action:

https://vertebrae.no/stocks-and-chassis/grs-berserk.html

I have one of these and a couple of the laminated stocks, both of which I really enjoy shooting. The price on the above website will fluctuate with currency values on any given day. Sometimes it goes down, other times it goes up. I got mine for $433.20 right after Brexit was announced and the currencies lost value against the dollar. The shipping amounts to about $50.00+ depending on values but you're still getting a great stock for about $500.00 delivered to your door.

Now as far as fitted barrels are concerned, you can get a Lothar Walther finished LONG chambered for the M98 Mauser. But you still need a lathe the set the shoulder and the end of the tenon back to achieve headspace.

Mauser 98 Sporting Contours


There are four contours of these barrels available. Each come with a polished contour, a sporting muzzle crown, M 98 threads and a chamber. The chamber is honed and is slightly long so that another reamer is not needed. The shoulder and breech face will need to be set back to set the headspace.

Lothar Walther

Lothar Walther

Your FN Commercial Mauser is a long action even though the inner box, follower and spring have been reduced to accommodate the short action cartridge. I've seen several of these completed on the FNs which are a good conversion for shooting short action cartridges.

Interarms is not a manufacturer but rather a distributor so they can carry any number of lines from various manufacturers. Sometimes the distributor is a way to note a particular era of importation and manufacturing by a maker.

Regards.

 

[merbeau]

merbeau,

The laminated GSR is an expensive imported stock but has very nice ergonomic features which feel very comfortable in fit. There is one model, GRS Berserk, which is synthetic and is much less expensive and available for the Howa 1500 Short Action:

https://vertebrae.no/stocks-and-chassis/grs-berserk.html

I have one of these and a couple of the laminated stocks, both of which I really enjoy shooting. The price on the above website will fluctuate with currency values on any given day. Sometimes it goes down, other times it goes up. I got mine for $433.20 right after Brexit was announced and the currencies lost value against the dollar. The shipping amounts to about $50.00+ depending on values but you're still getting a great stock for about $500.00 delivered to your door.

Now as far as fitted barrels are concerned, you can get a Lothar Walther finished LONG chambered for the M98 Mauser. But you still need a lathe the set the shoulder and the end of the tenon back to achieve headspace.

Mauser 98 Sporting Contours


There are four contours of these barrels available. Each come with a polished contour, a sporting muzzle crown, M 98 threads and a chamber. The chamber is honed and is slightly long so that another reamer is not needed. The shoulder and breech face will need to be set back to set the headspace.

Lothar Walther

Lothar Walther

Your FN Commercial Mauser is a long action even though the inner box, follower and spring have been reduced to accommodate the short action cartridge. I've seen several of these completed on the FNs which are a good conversion for shooting short action cartridges.

Interarms is not a manufacturer but rather a distributor so they can carry any number of lines from various manufacturers. Sometimes the distributor is a way to note a particular era of importation and manufacturing by a maker.


Regards.

Many thanks for the information. I definitely will look into Lothar. I believe the Smith that I want to use can complete the head space task. And I will look into the GRS website. If those options are not suitable, then I will probably purchase a stock from Richards and take my time refinishing. Thanks for the clarification on the action. From all the measurements that I took it all pointed towards long action and you are correct the box, etc. has been changed. The rifle cycles ammunition without any problem and the action appears to have been trued including a replacement stainless firing pin and spring (unless that is how the original came).

Thanks
Robert

 

[merbeau]

Re: GRS Replacement stock for FN Belgium Mauser

I looked up GRS on the internet and they make a GRS stock in several configurations that are cut for a Mauser 67 - will that work?


Robert

 

[sable tireur]

merbeau,

Very possible but I cannot say for absolute certain. Here is a quote fro another source:

The Mauser M67 is a bolt-action rifle made by Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk (currently Kongsberg Small Arms) of Norway, based on actions from Mauser M98k left by German armed forces in 1945. The M67 replaced the M59 in 1967 and was produced until the 1990s

Based on this, there might be small differences but the basic action is still the venerable M98 or the 'improved' modern version from FN such as yours. I think the easiest solution would be to contact the folks at GRS and ask them that question. They are easy to get along with and are very helpful. Some of them do speak English but listen carefully or just use e-mail.

Regards.

 

[merbeau]

merbeau,

Very possible but I cannot say for absolute certain. Here is a quote fro another source:



Based on this, there might be small differences but the basic action is still the venerable M98 or the 'improved' modern version from FN such as yours. I think the easiest solution would be to contact the folks at GRS and ask them that question. They are easy to get along with and are very helpful. Some of them do speak English but listen carefully or just use e-mail.

Regards.

Thanks, will contact them by email first.