M98 in 35 Whelen

B

baddarryl

New member
Hi all. I stumbled across a 1930's German made M98 that has been restocked as a sporter and re barreled in 35 Whelen. The action is slick and the trigger very nice for such and old rifle. I have read up on the Whelen and while I really don't need it it would be cool to have. The owner of the shop did not know much about it, but did know the guy that built it. Even gave me his name. I am very tempted by this cool rifle, but I want to make sure the conversion was done correctly. Since it is in a shop I seriously doubt they would let me take it to a gunsmith.

How do I know this thing was done right? I would be a little nervous to take and just shoot with without knowing. It looks really well done, but I just don't know. Thanks.
 
If he won't let you have it checked out, don't buy it. I went a long time deciding between a 338-06 and the Whelen back in the 80s. Great thing about both is you can load a 200 to 2500fps and it will blast through any deer or black bear.
 
Another thing to consider is that it was likely rebarreled before the .35W was standardized. I'd want a chamber cast or at a minimum measure a fired case from it and compare it to factory ammo to see if it reasonably matches the ammo available now.

Haven't been once burnt on a used custom rifle, I'm more than twice shy now...

Tony
 
If you have the builder's name, give him a call. I have "built" 2 rifles that I had professionally rebarreled. I did the stock, trgger, and safety. Maybe he did the same. You can do a safe and decent barrel replacement yourself, but you are not going to do as well as a good smith. Look at the safety. Is it the military original? The replacement safeties vary, some are better than others, and there is obviously a "safety" issue with installation. And, of course, have it checked by a pro. Why would the shop not agree to that?
 
Does it come with dies? You are going to need to feed it. Factory loads will be uncommon. There were some variations of the wildcat Whelen. And there is the Remington factory cartridge.

It would be good to ask the shop to remove the barreled action from the stock..

Evaluate the inletting/bedding . Quality vs hack work will be apparent.Let the shop re assemble.

Tell them you want to shoot it before you buy it.

See if you like shootng a Whelen. See if it will shoot a decent group.Don't expect sub MOA,but I might not buy a rifle that was worse than 2 MOA.

Evaluate feeding,extraction, and the before/after brass. Measure case head to shoulder with the Hornady caliper comparator doohickey.

A headspace check would be a good idea. 30-06 headspace gauges would probably work.(But I don't know that for sure)

All that would tell me whether I would buy it. It might be an excellent rifle
 
Wow. Thank you very much guys. As I expected a lot to consider. I didn't say the shop wouldn't let me take it, I just don't know. I am not going to ask unless I am serious. $700 seems a bit steep for an unknown rifle. I'll see if they will put me in touch with the builder.

As far as headspacing and all of that I have been doing a lot of reading and even have some of the case tools, comparators etc. due to my interest in accuracy and NRA Hi Power that I haven't dived into yet. So I am familiar but don't feel I have the skills for that type of evaluation.
 
In pricing these old Mausers, there can be a lot of variation. Real nice stock, bedded action, professional looking blue job, Winchester style safety, $700 is probably a fair price. Generally, though, $400-500 for a "pretty good" one.
 
I gave $900 for my .35 Whelen on a Mauser action. Turned to be one the of the best buys I ever made. Been a lucky elk slayer from the get go.
Paul B.
 
I've read that was actually a popular conversion back in the day. Probably a great rifle if in good condition. I have a ruger Hawkeye, a distant relative of the Mauser, in 35 whelen--it's awesome.
 
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I would buy it if you have the disposable income. I don't feel $700 is a big risk, but I'm not you or know your situation. I recently spent over $1K n a M700 rifle with a busted stock, $500 for the rifle the rest on hotels and and restaurants taking my wife out for a weekend to the other side of the state. I did however plan this weekend getaway all around the rifle purchase.

Then if you add in a new stock from Grayboe, threading the barrel, ASR muzzle device for my suppressor, and paying for a bedding job, I've spent a lot of money on a rifle that I haven't shot yet.
 
I've seen 1903s that were "sporterized" and rebarreled in .35 Whelen.

They used to call the cartridge the "poor man's magnum." All it took to get a guy into it was the cost of re-barrelling a standard 30-06 rifle.
 
If you've got the money, buy it. What's the worst that could be wrong? And even if something is drastically wrong, its a 98 Mauser, which is not a difficult fix.

IF, for example the Whelen barrel is bad (somehow) replace it and you can pick any of a number of cartridges that won't require any more work than just properly fitting the new barrel.

I've had sporterized 98s in calibers from .22-250 to .458 Win Mag. I'm a big fan of good sporter conversions. Done some myself. owned lots done by others, some really really well done.

Just not worth much on the market for the last 30 years or so. Great if you're buying them, sucks if you're trying to get what they are worth to you out of them.

A lot of the sporter conversions were actually labors of love and I consider those to be not just fine examples of craftsmanship but also virtually objects d'art.

Another point is that these are not mass produced by a factory, each and every one was made special, by or for someone who wanted it just that way.

But they just are not valued on the commercial market anymore, so often they go for less value than was put into them.

IF I were in the market, I'd buy the gun, get the headspace checked and go for it. The performance in the game fields by the .35 cal bullets at the speeds a Whelen delivers is not well reflected in the paper statistics and figures.

Do your part right, and the Whelen flat knocks them down, something the charts can't show.
 
i own and hunt three 35 whelens, a ruger #1, a remington 700 and a van patton custom 98 mauser. none have given me any problems and have indeed killed every thing i shot with them. think serra 225 spbt at a mild 2500 fps.
 
98k

As a teen, way back when, I bought a 98k Mauser for $39.00. Rebarreled it in 6mm Remington with a heavy bench rest stock.

It has been a tack driver ever since. These actions are excellent.

I would at minimum, shoot a box of .35 through it and see how it prints at 100 yards.
 
OP Here: Thanks everyone. I was just thinking I have a Hornady OAL gauge as well as Headspace comparator. I guess as long as I have those I can be confident loading for it. I just got them and am learning about the to develop loads for Hi Power.

I tried to call the man that built it, but the number is disconnected. I know he has a good rep though. It is not a safe Queen but rather looks carried and hunted with yet still in what I would call good condition. Scope rings look to be original. Sound like a fair price to you guys? I am thinking so.
 
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