Kar 98 rebarrel

H

hockingsr

Inactive
Hello,

I'm thinking about pulling my first deer rifle out of moth-balls. It is a 98 mauser with 1910 and German markings. My Grandfather found it leaning against a tree back in the late 40's. It had a bulge and split in the barrel near the crown. As a shop project I cut two inches of the barrel and soldered on the front sight.

The barrel bore is dark and at near max loads the bullet will tumble. I'm thinking off rebarreling in 8x57 or 308W. I'll always be using open sights.

What are your thoughts?

Buffalo Bob
 
If you want to keep it looking original, replacement Mauser barrels from that period are quite readily available.
 
Kar 98 barrel

When you say original barrels readily available, do you mean original surplus?
Who is a good source?
 
Car 98? If the rifle is a Car98 it is a large shank/small ring action, I would not suggest the rifle be chambered in 308W, I have one chambered in 8mm06, I also have a 98 chambered in 7mm57 and a CAR 98 barrel chambered in 8mm57, so the CAR 98 will become a 7MM57, the rifle that was 7mm57 will become an 8mm06, as to period correct for the CAR 98 Barrel available, good luck, there are a lot of K 98 barrels with late model sights, if you have the roller coaster sight save it for the replacement.

F. Guffey
 
Rebarrelling that Mauser is quite feasible and .308 Winchester should work fine in a large ring action. (If the rifle is marked "Kar. 98", read F. Guffey's post above.) The only problem is that reworking one of those old military rifles becomes a bit addictive and you can easily end up spending more on it than a modern sporting rifle would cost.

New "screw in" (they aren't quite) short-chambered Mauser 98 barrels are available for anywhere from $80 or so to $250+, plus the cost of installation. I don't suggest barrel installation as a DIY project unless you have the right tools and some experience.

Jim
 
kar 98 barrel

Yes I too like the 8MM. I don't understand why it is not more popular.
It packs a wallop similar to the 30-06 and is more compact. Makes a great gun for white tails.
 
The 8mm Mauser is an excellent cartridge; the only problem with rebarrelling to it is that new barrels are hard to find, unless you can pick up a new or nearly new takeoff. And the use of a takeoff presents its own problems in installation and headspacing.

Oh, and boxer primed brass is a bit hard to find, not like .308 or .30-'06.

Jim
 
The 8mm Mauser is an excellent cartridge; the only problem with rebarrelling to it is that new barrels are hard to find,
Click to expand...

Remington, Winchester, Norma and Privi all make brass, and it is readily available from Midway (Rem and Win) and Grafs (all 4)

Numrich has new Mauser military profile short chambered 8mm barrels, for $100. Not sure if the profile is right for that rifle, though.

Not saying 8mm is the right choice, but those are not necessarily reasons to avoid it.
 
If it is marked 1910 on the receiver it is not a K98 or K98k but a G98 with the old tangent sights - if it is still in its military configuration.

Why don't you help us to help you and put a photo online?!
 
the hard part is taking the barrel off. The internal shoulder sometimes makes it hard on barrel removal.
 
Removing the barrel: The instructions start with install the barrel in a barrel vise, install the action in an action wrench THEN remove the barrel (with slight variations), nothing prepares the person removing the barrel for difficulties as when the cute little wood blocks with rosin can not hold the barrel tight enough without slipping, then the natural thing to do is 'more tight', then the cute little wood blocks crush, not a problem with the barrel vise, it is a problem with the instructions.

After my first attempt at barrel removal I went straight to the press, 20 tons +, and if you want to set the wood on fire keep turning, the wood blocks can be used to install the barrel, the wood blocks act like torque limiters, then there are those with short handles or limited room, with a different design on the action wrench hammers can be used, if there is no movement use a bigger hammer.

F. Guffey
 
Regarding the question about replacement barrels. There are many listed on the auction sites that are takeoffs probably in better condition than the one on the rifle. You need to know exactly what rifle you have in order to get the correct barrel and then you still need to have a knowledgeable person install it and ensure proper headspace.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top