Mauser 98 what to do with it

[iHUNT1822]

So sorry for the long post but I thought I'd start at the beginning.....some time back I bought a Mauser 98 that had been sporterized drilled and tapped for scope and the cool thing was it was a 30-06 what really sold me on it was it had double triggers a are trigger and a fire trigger so I go out and shoot it and the cases are oddly formed I stopped shooting immediately and search for about 2 months to try and figure out what caliber we'll it was a 30-06 that had been teamed out to a Ackley improved witch sucks I tried to sell the rifle but no body wants it I later figure out some one also cracked the stock and tried to fix it by bedding it and putting bedding in the cracks well it didn't work the trigger was not reliable and what not so I fixed the stock half ass until I get an new one and I got the triggers to opperate correctly and I shot it the other day while for forming brass and it shoots 1 inch groups with regular 30-06 so now my problem that I need some help with is this... what do I do with it I have an elk rifle in 300wm and a deer/antelope rifle in 270win and multiple varment rifles I'm just not sure what to do with it I could use it as a back up but if the 270 fails the 300 will do and vice versa I don't want to make a target rifle cause it's not worth the money to build so what do you guys think I should use it for ?
Any positive answers are appreciated

 

[RELH]

Since you have a rifle where everything is operating right, it is capable of 1 inch groups while forming brass to the Ackley caliber. I would restock it and if done right, you may find shooting the Ackley improved rounds it will shoot under 1 inch making it a keeper.
It could be a good all around caliber for both elk and deer, or a good back up rifle for both your 270 & 300WM.

RELH

 

[Stonefly]

I sold a 98 from an old J C Higgins Iv had for years to a buddy of mine and he is building a 6.5 X 284 Norma with it. We both have Normas but his is a bench rifle and weighs in at around 12 lbs. He is making a hunting gun with the 98.

 

[iHUNT1822]

My local gun smith charged about 600$ for a rebarrel I'm not sure it would be worth it unless it was an unusual caliber like 280 ai or something that is a good caliber while still being odd I hand load so the sky is the limit as far as calibers go I would like a 280ai but I found this one shoots okay enough for 300 yards and in I was thinking of making a sheep rifle because I would like to go for big horn sheep but it's pretty heavy but
500-600$ is the cheapest I can get a rebarrel The guy said it's a target grade barrel that he could throw on

 

[elkassassin]

Get Rid of it.................If You Can!







I know so many people in so many places
They make allot of money but they got sad faces

It Ain't Easy being Me!

 

[ElmerFudd]

If it's cool enough just to keep and shoot, keep it. That's enough purpose. If not, sell or trade it. It probably isn't worth dumping money in to.

 

[iHUNT1822]

It's cool if I throw a new stock on it I suppose the double triggers are just okay and it is fun to shoot I'll prolly keep it and make it shootable and use it for a back up

 

[deadibob]

I have a couple Ackleys including an '06ackley. If you reload it's hard to beat them. Brass doesn't stretch so case life is long. '06 brass is everywhere and cheap. With the right loads and 26" barrel you can duplicate FACTORY AMMO 300 win mag ballistics and the magazine holds more rounds than a magnum. If you don't reload then you don't want an Ackley.

How much were you asking for the rifle?

 

[deadibob]

>If it's cool enough just to
>keep and shoot, keep it.
>That's enough purpose. If not,
>sell or trade it. It
>probably isn't worth dumping money
>in to.


every mauser is worth dumping money into ;-)

 

[iHUNT1822]

I do reload and I have 50 fire formed cases and 50 loaded 06 and from the looks of it I think mine will probably have a 24 inch bbl

 

[RELH]

As for spending 500-600 bucks for a re-barrel does not figure into rebuild cost. You already have a barrel that has shown to be very accurate, why replace it!!!
From your description it sounds like your rifle has already been converted into a hunting rifle and probably has a aftermarket barrel on it. Someone else has paid for the expensive upgrades.
You can get a synthetic stock for the rifle and have the action glass bedded to the new stock for best accuracy for a very reasonable price.

During the 50's to 70's, a lot of Mauser 98s were converted to sporting hunting rifles by custom gunsmiths and it sounds like you have one of those rifles.
I am going to jerk some chains and state that I would prefer a converted Mauser action or a commercial Mauser action over a Remington 700 anytime of the day.

RELH

 

[Homer]

...I'd replace the set trigger with a new timney.

GOODWIN: Dems really do love Republicans -- when they're dead...

 

[BIGJOHNT]

Pass it down to one of your kids !

 

[customweld]

I have an old 98 that was handed down to me by my grandfather. He had it reamed out to a 8mm/06. It's a good shooter and I try to get it out a couple of times a year to honor him. If you don't have the AI dies, you may have to send a piece of shot brass into a die company to see if it matches any of their molds. I made the mistake of buying a .243AI that was built from an unknown gunsmith. It didn't come with a set of dies, so I sent a piece of brass in to RCBS. The brass didn't match up with any of their die molds. Needless to say, to have them custom build a mold and dies wasn't in my budget! That rifle was quickly re-barreled as a standard .243.

 

[iHUNT1822]

The reason for considering a re barrel is caliber I want a 280 ai but I think I will shoot this one out before a re barrel and it will probably be passed down and the double triggers are not efficient but they add to the cool factor any recommendations on stock wood synthetic brands??

 

[iHUNT1822]

I also fount dies from Hornady and another company for around 80$

 

[customweld]

Stocks can get pretty damn expensive! Does Boyds or Stockys make a laminate for a 98?

 

[iHUNT1822]

Yes they do I have had good luck with Boyd?s gunstocks but I would piller bed it and glass bed maybe ??? I have never glass bedded anything so it would be a good learning thing and what would you guys think about like a cerikoat or something

 

[RELH]

I would get the stock first and bed the barrel action. Then if the barrel action needs refinished go ahead and have it done. Bottom line, the rifle is yours so finish it as you want and your budget allows.

When you glass bed the rifle, make sure you use plenty of release agent. I like to coat the metal twice with release agent. I use automotive wax for release agent and get it into the small corners around the recoil lug area.

If you get a wood stock, pillar bed would be a good idea. If you use a synthetic stock, they usually will not compress and you may not need to pillar bed.

You should find numerous videos on YouTube that will help you to learn how to glass bed the barrel action. I would look at many of them as some may not be the best instructions. You have a good winter project with that rifle.

RELH

 

[deadibob]

>As for spending 500-600 bucks for
>a re-barrel does not figure
>into rebuild cost. You already
>have a barrel that has
>shown to be very accurate,
>why replace it!!!
> From your description
>it sounds like your rifle
>has already been converted into
>a hunting rifle and probably
>has a aftermarket barrel on
>it. Someone else has paid
>for the expensive upgrades.
> You can get
>a synthetic stock for the
>rifle and have the action
>glass bedded to the new
>stock for best accuracy for
>a very reasonable price.
>
> During the 50's to 70's,
>a lot of Mauser 98s
>were converted to sporting hunting
>rifles by custom gunsmiths and
>it sounds like you have
>one of those rifles.
> I am going
>to jerk some chains and
>state that I would prefer
>a converted Mauser action or
>a commercial Mauser action over
>a Remington 700 anytime of
>the day.
>
>
>
>
>
>
> RELH

I would take one Mauser over 2 Remingtons, anytime of the day or night ;-) I'd even take a Howa over a Remington. Hell I'll take about anything over a Remington unless it was made in the 80's or earlier.

 

[RELH]

Deadibob, the Howa is a improved Rem. 700. It has a Sako style extractor that is far better then that very small piece of crap Remington calls a extractor.
The Howa also has the recoil lug as part of the receiver like the Win. model 70. Remington went cheap and used a thin metal shim sandwiched between the barrel and receiver for a recoil lug. It had a tendency to flex on the bigger magnums on recoil. Custom smiths when re-barreling a Rem. 700 would use a thicker recoil shim if magnum caliber.
Howa also did a better job of centering the action when cutting and tapping the barrel threads. I have re-barrel both Howa and Rem. 700 and found the rem. more often was way off center on the threads then the Howa or even commercial Mauser actions. Since the Rem. 700 receiver is a cylinder, so is the Howa, it should be easy to center it when cutting the barrel hole and threads. Poor quality control by Rem. when sitting up the receiver.

RELH

 

[deadibob]

>Deadibob, the Howa is a improved
>Rem. 700. It has a
>Sako style extractor that is
>far better then that very
>small piece of crap Remington
>calls a extractor.
> The Howa also has
>the recoil lug as part
>of the receiver like the
>Win. model 70. Remington went
>cheap and used a thin
>metal shim sandwiched between the
>barrel and receiver for a
>recoil lug. It had a
>tendency to flex on the
>bigger magnums on recoil. Custom
>smiths when re-barreling a Rem.
>700 would use a thicker
>recoil shim if magnum caliber.
>
> Howa also did
>a better job of centering
>the action when cutting and
>tapping the barrel threads. I
>have re-barrel both Howa and
>Rem. 700 and found the
>rem. more often was way
>off center on the threads
>then the Howa or even
>commercial Mauser actions. Since the
>Rem. 700 receiver is a
>cylinder, so is the Howa,
>it should be easy to
>center it when cutting the
>barrel hole and threads. Poor
>quality control by Rem. when
>sitting up the receiver.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> RELH
>
>
Like I said, I'd rather have a Howa. I sold Howas and Remingtons side by side for years and am completely familiar with them. Now that they have a 3 position safety they are even better.