Custom gun on an old Mauser action
- Thread starter Dannyboy
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You can build a very nice custom gun on military Mausers. BUT, unless you are prepared to part with mucho $$$ I would suggest looking to a factory gun new or used or look around for a used custom.
About 10 years ago I took a very nice military Mauser into a smith to build a custom .35 Whelen. The first thing he told me was if I could take 3 $100 bills, line them up and watch the first one burn without grabbing the other 2 he would go ahead and build a rifle. Thought about it and looked around for a few years, found a used Remington M700 .35 Whelen, for about the cost of a nice custom piece of wood. Ended up swapping the action for a pair of 870 shotguns.
Its only been the last few years that I've been able to afford a couple of nice customs built on military Mausers. They are beautiful but don't shoot any better or kill any quicker than my best factory rifles.
About 10 years ago I took a very nice military Mauser into a smith to build a custom .35 Whelen. The first thing he told me was if I could take 3 $100 bills, line them up and watch the first one burn without grabbing the other 2 he would go ahead and build a rifle. Thought about it and looked around for a few years, found a used Remington M700 .35 Whelen, for about the cost of a nice custom piece of wood. Ended up swapping the action for a pair of 870 shotguns.
Its only been the last few years that I've been able to afford a couple of nice customs built on military Mausers. They are beautiful but don't shoot any better or kill any quicker than my best factory rifles.
Dfariswheel
New member
Custom rifles are a real money burner hobby. However, if you rally want to do this, or can't find a factory rifle that suits you, go for it. You won't save any money over new factory, but you will get a rifle that is distinctly yours.
One of the very best 98 Mauser actions for custom use is the 1909 Argentine. These have incredible quality that's as good or better than new factory guns. They also have commercial rifle features like the pear-shaped bolt knob, and the hinged floorplate. The '09 Argy has been a favorite of custom builders for years.
I have an old Gun & Ammo Annual that has an article on why custom 'smiths like the 98 Mauser action. The author stated that the Argy had such high quality, that to reproduce it to the same stadard would cost $3000.00. This was written in the 80's.
They are fine actions.
One of the very best 98 Mauser actions for custom use is the 1909 Argentine. These have incredible quality that's as good or better than new factory guns. They also have commercial rifle features like the pear-shaped bolt knob, and the hinged floorplate. The '09 Argy has been a favorite of custom builders for years.
I have an old Gun & Ammo Annual that has an article on why custom 'smiths like the 98 Mauser action. The author stated that the Argy had such high quality, that to reproduce it to the same stadard would cost $3000.00. This was written in the 80's.
They are fine actions.
You can't beat this type of rifle with the following qualifier:
Its not always economical (more later)...You can buy a factory gun cheaper...
Now, I bought a VZ24 (Czech M98, basically) gun pretty rough, but the action was actually good for $60...Cleaned up action with Dremel and files, polished, its smooth as butter! Bought turned down Bolt on e-bay. new 30-06 barrel on Gunsamerica ($16 and $40)...Also, a decent used stock ($35) on ebay also, but I don't like it that much, making my own.....Still need special safety for Scope, and scope & mount...Probably another $200.... So even doing it as cheap as possible, I'll have $400-500 bucks in it, and I'm doing work myself...Can by many new/used rifles for under $500...So economically it doesn't work...And then I'll have many,many hours work in it, besides....
So you ask, why do it......just 'cause I enjoy it! But definitely not smartest use of time and money
Its not always economical (more later)...You can buy a factory gun cheaper...
Now, I bought a VZ24 (Czech M98, basically) gun pretty rough, but the action was actually good for $60...Cleaned up action with Dremel and files, polished, its smooth as butter! Bought turned down Bolt on e-bay. new 30-06 barrel on Gunsamerica ($16 and $40)...Also, a decent used stock ($35) on ebay also, but I don't like it that much, making my own.....Still need special safety for Scope, and scope & mount...Probably another $200.... So even doing it as cheap as possible, I'll have $400-500 bucks in it, and I'm doing work myself...Can by many new/used rifles for under $500...So economically it doesn't work...And then I'll have many,many hours work in it, besides....
So you ask, why do it......just 'cause I enjoy it! But definitely not smartest use of time and money
I spent just over $1000 building this one:
http://www.geocities.com/gew98.geo/interdiction.html
What did I get for my money? A rifle that's unique, and uniquely mine. But I'll never get what I spent out of it, save for the pride of ownership, and knowing that it performs just the way I wanted it to. That does have a certain intrinsic value.
http://www.geocities.com/gew98.geo/interdiction.html
What did I get for my money? A rifle that's unique, and uniquely mine. But I'll never get what I spent out of it, save for the pride of ownership, and knowing that it performs just the way I wanted it to. That does have a certain intrinsic value.
Mike Irwin
Staff
My gunsmith in Pennsylvania was with a battlefield salvage and recovery unit during World War II.
He said after the German army started collapsing in France, he was sending up to 50 Mauser actions home a MONTH.
He just hacked off the barrel, dropped it into a shipping container, and away they went, a couple at a time.
When he got home from the war, he had several hundred Mauser actions, and proceeded to build custom rifles on them for years.
He said after the German army started collapsing in France, he was sending up to 50 Mauser actions home a MONTH.
He just hacked off the barrel, dropped it into a shipping container, and away they went, a couple at a time.
When he got home from the war, he had several hundred Mauser actions, and proceeded to build custom rifles on them for years.
Dfariswheel
New member
Good, with that settled, the quality and condition and of the selected action will pretty much determine how good the finished product is.
Thats why I recommend the 1909 Argentine action. Many of the items custom 'smiths add on are already present on the Argy. The commercial hinged floorplate most civilian rifles use, was copied directly from the '09, as was the pear-shaped bolt knob.
I'd find a good condition complete rifle, or check around for an action. You might find either at Springfield Sporters, or mayby somebody on the boards will have a source. I'd buy the best condition action I could get.
Thats why I recommend the 1909 Argentine action. Many of the items custom 'smiths add on are already present on the Argy. The commercial hinged floorplate most civilian rifles use, was copied directly from the '09, as was the pear-shaped bolt knob.
I'd find a good condition complete rifle, or check around for an action. You might find either at Springfield Sporters, or mayby somebody on the boards will have a source. I'd buy the best condition action I could get.
texas gunman
New member
I hade a 98mauser action,and hade a local gunsmith do his magic on it, he added a new barrel,trigger,and a custom stock.
and it has a sharp mirror bluing.
it is a beautiful rifle,and it is chambered in 30.06, 1" groups or better at a 100 yards.
it sits in the gunsafe along with my other rifles and handguns
TG
and it has a sharp mirror bluing.
it is a beautiful rifle,and it is chambered in 30.06, 1" groups or better at a 100 yards.
it sits in the gunsafe along with my other rifles and handguns
TG
Last time I priced 1909 Argy's they came in at about $300 for a select grade... I still might build something up on one of these...
Don't let these responses dissuade you from going custom on a Mauser action...
You can run the entire spectrum in Mauser rifle quality from a Bubba Special on a poorly milled and pitted receiver with the bolt cold hammered down with crooked drill and tap for Weavers and ill fitting Williams sights on some magnum wildcat cartridge with "engraved" aluminum bottom metal to something like Wells, Burgess, Ottomar or Holland & Holland, Jefferies, or Rigby would turn out in .375. .275, or .30-06... severely classic.
Have you or anyone else considered the BRNO 98 Mausers/Barrelled Actions that EAA Corp is now offering??? I'm not sure but I think the gun is less than $400.
What caliber were you wanting?
www.eaacorp.com
Don't let these responses dissuade you from going custom on a Mauser action...
You can run the entire spectrum in Mauser rifle quality from a Bubba Special on a poorly milled and pitted receiver with the bolt cold hammered down with crooked drill and tap for Weavers and ill fitting Williams sights on some magnum wildcat cartridge with "engraved" aluminum bottom metal to something like Wells, Burgess, Ottomar or Holland & Holland, Jefferies, or Rigby would turn out in .375. .275, or .30-06... severely classic.
Have you or anyone else considered the BRNO 98 Mausers/Barrelled Actions that EAA Corp is now offering??? I'm not sure but I think the gun is less than $400.
What caliber were you wanting?
www.eaacorp.com
Abominable No-Man
New member
I always thought that I'd like to build up a custom rifle on a '98
action, too. I'd do it for the reasons stated by Gewehr98: to
have a unique rifle that you can hold up and say "I BUILT THIS
ONE!". I'm kind of kicking around the idea of becoming a gunsmith; I built my own 1911, I put together (except for the barrel) a FAL for a friend of mine, and I'm currently working on
a G-3-type rifle.
Look at it like you would if it were a house: if you bought it, really
about all you can say is "I bought this one". But if you were to
BUILD your house, how much more pride would you have in it?
Same thing with your rifle. You could buy a mass-produced rifle
(and that's not saying that they're bad), and get a gun that is
about the same as everyone else's, or you can spend a little
more money and some time and assemble your own the way you
want it. Kind of like going to McDonalds (where you get what
they have), versus Subway (where you can get what you want).
ANM
action, too. I'd do it for the reasons stated by Gewehr98: to
have a unique rifle that you can hold up and say "I BUILT THIS
ONE!". I'm kind of kicking around the idea of becoming a gunsmith; I built my own 1911, I put together (except for the barrel) a FAL for a friend of mine, and I'm currently working on
a G-3-type rifle.
Look at it like you would if it were a house: if you bought it, really
about all you can say is "I bought this one". But if you were to
BUILD your house, how much more pride would you have in it?
Same thing with your rifle. You could buy a mass-produced rifle
(and that's not saying that they're bad), and get a gun that is
about the same as everyone else's, or you can spend a little
more money and some time and assemble your own the way you
want it. Kind of like going to McDonalds (where you get what
they have), versus Subway (where you can get what you want).
ANM
If you are looking for a 1909 Argentine action to build on, check out the offerings from JLD via Cruffler.com. It appears that you can get a barreled action for $90. Since only the action is needed, you should not have to buy a complete gun, not to mention the fact that you should not chop up a complete military Mauser. www.cruffler.com
What people tend to forget...
1. It's not always a money thing. Otherwise nobody but WalMart or other bargain-basement outfits would sell any rifles, and we know that's not true. Everybody would be driving a Chevy Cavalier, or Ford Escort/Focus. People are not afraid of spending more to give them what they really want, vs. buying an "everyman's" rifle. Shooters wait years and pay tons of money for custom 1911 pistols, why should it be any different for custom rifles? People still call me an idiot for fitting an expensive Krieger barrel, Canjar trigger, and titanium firing pin to the 1916 J.G. Haenel '98 action you see in my website above. But when 5 rounds go into 1/4" at 100 yards, I could care less what they think. Or when that same rifle rifle drilled a golf ball at 500 meters during a competition.
2. When you build a rifle on an older '98 Mauser action, you're dealing with a piece of metal forged and crafted from steel that immediately brings to mind the Krupps name. Granted, it's an old piece of steel, I'd have the donor action magnafluxed prior to working with it. Of course, stay away from last-ditch WWII samples. But you got something to work with.
There's a reason that the post-'64 Model 70 Winchester and Model 700 Remingtons are built the way they are - cost savings. They've engineered away the last little bit of excess material and manufacturing processes to cover the profit line per unit.
There are all of about 2 or 3 modern manufacturers of the true '98 Mauser action these days, assuming the late Robert "Teenut" Bastow's business (Express Rifle Company) survived after his death. Mauser-Werke reintroduced the classic '98 action just recently. Guess what? They're EXPENSIVE! But I'd have no problem taking a '98 sporter in the proper caliber out on safari, with controlled-round feeding, positive safety, 3 locking lugs, excellent gas escape system, etc.
Before anybody labels me a poster child for Peter Paul Mauser, let me state clearly that the military '98 Mauser is not the be-all, end-all of bolt rifle actions. I'd never build a benchrest gun on one. It's too sloppy, and not stiff enough for guns that need to group in the tenths of inches to be competitive. Hall, Stolle, Nesika, sleeved Remingtons, they're all built for that game. Nor would I use one to build a gun that fired the big Lazzeroni magnums. Leave that to the big actions that were designed from the start for those pressure levels.
I'm sitting here, looking at three more project rifle donor actions. One's a Siamese Mauser that'll be chambered in .45-70. One's a Czech VZ-24 that'll be a .220 Swift. The last is a 1942 byf that'l be a counterpart to my Interdiction Rifle, but in .308.
1. It's not always a money thing. Otherwise nobody but WalMart or other bargain-basement outfits would sell any rifles, and we know that's not true. Everybody would be driving a Chevy Cavalier, or Ford Escort/Focus. People are not afraid of spending more to give them what they really want, vs. buying an "everyman's" rifle. Shooters wait years and pay tons of money for custom 1911 pistols, why should it be any different for custom rifles? People still call me an idiot for fitting an expensive Krieger barrel, Canjar trigger, and titanium firing pin to the 1916 J.G. Haenel '98 action you see in my website above. But when 5 rounds go into 1/4" at 100 yards, I could care less what they think. Or when that same rifle rifle drilled a golf ball at 500 meters during a competition.
2. When you build a rifle on an older '98 Mauser action, you're dealing with a piece of metal forged and crafted from steel that immediately brings to mind the Krupps name. Granted, it's an old piece of steel, I'd have the donor action magnafluxed prior to working with it. Of course, stay away from last-ditch WWII samples. But you got something to work with.
There's a reason that the post-'64 Model 70 Winchester and Model 700 Remingtons are built the way they are - cost savings. They've engineered away the last little bit of excess material and manufacturing processes to cover the profit line per unit.
There are all of about 2 or 3 modern manufacturers of the true '98 Mauser action these days, assuming the late Robert "Teenut" Bastow's business (Express Rifle Company) survived after his death. Mauser-Werke reintroduced the classic '98 action just recently. Guess what? They're EXPENSIVE! But I'd have no problem taking a '98 sporter in the proper caliber out on safari, with controlled-round feeding, positive safety, 3 locking lugs, excellent gas escape system, etc.
Before anybody labels me a poster child for Peter Paul Mauser, let me state clearly that the military '98 Mauser is not the be-all, end-all of bolt rifle actions. I'd never build a benchrest gun on one. It's too sloppy, and not stiff enough for guns that need to group in the tenths of inches to be competitive. Hall, Stolle, Nesika, sleeved Remingtons, they're all built for that game. Nor would I use one to build a gun that fired the big Lazzeroni magnums. Leave that to the big actions that were designed from the start for those pressure levels.
I'm sitting here, looking at three more project rifle donor actions. One's a Siamese Mauser that'll be chambered in .45-70. One's a Czech VZ-24 that'll be a .220 Swift. The last is a 1942 byf that'l be a counterpart to my Interdiction Rifle, but in .308.
Mike Irwin
Staff
"It's not always a money thing."
Boy, is that true!
And, I might add, it's not always a common sense kind of thing, either.
For years I've toyed with the idea of building a rifle for what really constitutes the arcane of the arcane, the 6.5x50 Japanese Arisaka.
I've admired this cartridge for years, and have often lamented the rather poor treatment it got at the hands of sportsmen at the end of WW II.
I bought a Type 38 years and years ago, and was thoroughly impressed with the little round.
It's accurate (just how accurate I can't tell out of the Type 38), it has good power, recoil is very light, and it compares very favorably with the 6.5x.223 wildcat.
Any chance of the 6.5x50 coming back to some popularity has effectively been killed by the 6.5x55, which is a wonderous cartridge in its own rights.
Boy, is that true!
And, I might add, it's not always a common sense kind of thing, either.
For years I've toyed with the idea of building a rifle for what really constitutes the arcane of the arcane, the 6.5x50 Japanese Arisaka.
I've admired this cartridge for years, and have often lamented the rather poor treatment it got at the hands of sportsmen at the end of WW II.
I bought a Type 38 years and years ago, and was thoroughly impressed with the little round.
It's accurate (just how accurate I can't tell out of the Type 38), it has good power, recoil is very light, and it compares very favorably with the 6.5x.223 wildcat.
Any chance of the 6.5x50 coming back to some popularity has effectively been killed by the 6.5x55, which is a wonderous cartridge in its own rights.
Since so many of you guys are mentioning the 09 Argentine, I might start looking for one but I had planned on going German for this project. I've seen a few WWI and post-war rifles online but I haven't really had a chance to look around my area.
As far as what caliber, I'm thinking of a few different sizes ranging from .257 Weatherby up to .300 Pegasus but I haven't decided yet. I'm leaning towards the .300 Pegasus for the simple reason that nobody else has one. But it all depends on whether or not I can find brass and dies.
As far as what caliber, I'm thinking of a few different sizes ranging from .257 Weatherby up to .300 Pegasus but I haven't decided yet. I'm leaning towards the .300 Pegasus for the simple reason that nobody else has one. But it all depends on whether or not I can find brass and dies.
Dfariswheel
New member
Sorry we didn't make it clear, the Argy '09 IS German. They were built for Argentina by DWM of Germany, when quality and workmanship was KING. These are almost certainly the finest quality '98 rifles ever built.
Ah Ha! The caliber!
I would not recommend the Mauser action in any mil surp configuration for a super high intensity cartridge like the .257 Wby or .300 Pegasus...
You'll undoubtedly have problems with set back- the action was built for 8x57mm. Some gunsmiths may flat out refuse to chamber the gun for such calibers. Most Mausers are very strong and probably could withstand the battering for a while- but why risk it?
I'd look for an old Remington 700 Magnum rifle. I saw an ugly one in a gun shop I haunt last week for $325... Notice you don't have to get a new bolt forged on ($80-100 bucks savings), drill and tap (4 holes x $10/hole= $40 savings), have the bolt face opened to magnum and the rails reworked ($50+ in savings)... That puts the 700 back around the price of a Mauser and you get a stock that is fully functional (with a refinish) to boot...
Hmmm... I hope I didn't just talk myself into another rifle project...
I would not recommend the Mauser action in any mil surp configuration for a super high intensity cartridge like the .257 Wby or .300 Pegasus...
You'll undoubtedly have problems with set back- the action was built for 8x57mm. Some gunsmiths may flat out refuse to chamber the gun for such calibers. Most Mausers are very strong and probably could withstand the battering for a while- but why risk it?
I'd look for an old Remington 700 Magnum rifle. I saw an ugly one in a gun shop I haunt last week for $325... Notice you don't have to get a new bolt forged on ($80-100 bucks savings), drill and tap (4 holes x $10/hole= $40 savings), have the bolt face opened to magnum and the rails reworked ($50+ in savings)... That puts the 700 back around the price of a Mauser and you get a stock that is fully functional (with a refinish) to boot...
Hmmm... I hope I didn't just talk myself into another rifle project...
Dfariswheel
New member
To make things simpler, I'd stick with rounds the length of the original 7.65 Argy or shorter. If you go with something as long as the 30/06, the magazine and feed ramp need to be altered.
In the late 80's, Springfield Armory was selling the '08 Brazilian rebarreled for the .308. These worked very nicely.
Whatever floates 'yer boat.
In the late 80's, Springfield Armory was selling the '08 Brazilian rebarreled for the .308. These worked very nicely.
Whatever floates 'yer boat.
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