K98 Sporterizing Questions

C

ccwebb

Inactive
Hello All,

I am new to the forums, having found my way here while searching for info on K98's. This is a great forum and am glad to be here. I have already found answers to some of my questions regarding military Mauser's but I have a few gunsmithing questions that I had couldn't seem to find existing threads on.

I am about to order a K98 which I want to convert to a sporter-of-sorts with minimal modifications. Basically I want to take the original K98 action, sights and barrel (shortened to 20") and place them in a sporter stock. The questions I have concerning this build are probably elementary to most everyone reading this but I'm clueless when it comes to gunsmithing so thought I'd ask!

1. Is it possible to have the original barrel shortened/recrowned to 20" or would this create a problem given that the twist rate was calculated for the original 23"(?) barrel length?

2. Based on a shorter barrel length of 20" would I need to change-out the original sights or could I simply retain the rear sight and reinstall the front sight onto the now shorter barrel?

3. Are any of the aftermarket stocks designed to accomodate the military barrel or are they are all designed for aftermarket sporter barrels?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

-Chris Webb
 
For what its worth, it may just be worth having your action rebarreled with an aftermarket barrel. It seems like it would solve your issues. It should run you less than $200 I would imagine for the barrel and would improve accuracy. If you choose not to rebarrel, then you can adjust your sights (by filing if necessary). As for the stocks, I think you can get them inletted for either, but sporter contour may be easier to find. You can even have the original barrel recontoured as another option.
As for the twist rate, I don't know whether or not the shortening will affect it's accuracy.
 
Converting a full military configuration K98 to "sporting' configuration is not a good idea. It'll drop the value by roughly 50%. Find one that has already been bubba'd. There are all kinds of them in gun shops, at gun shows etc. Mind you, a rifle that is in poor condition would make a candidate for your plan.
Cutting the barrel will cost you about 100fps in velocity per inch of barrel. 20" is too short.
 
Thanks for the information.
It does sound like an aftermarket barrel may be the way to go both in terms of accuracy and for stock selection. Or just a Bubba'd rifle!
 
Also bear in mind that if you cannot do the work yourself, you will be stunned at the cost of hiring a gunsmith to turn a surplus rifle into a pale imitation of a commercial sporter.
 
After having a recoil pad put on my 1887 Norinco lever action shotgun it wasnt cheap. The quality of the work does make up for the price and the butchery I would have probably wrought upon my poor shotgun. :D
 
The twist rate has no relation to the length of the barrel.

For an 8mm, I agree that 20" is too short; you won't be using ear plugs and muffs when you are hunting and even if you don't notice the blast in your excitement at getting a deer, your ears will be hurt anyway.

Stick to the original barrel length.

Jim
 
Thanks for the additional info. I'm now convinced that the original barrel length is best left alone. Sounds like all I need is an aftermarket stock.
 
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