Mauser 98 Question

On the gauges, it's measured to around the middle of the shoulder, the sloping part, not the end. If you're good enough to get that by hand, go right ahead. Likewise, if you're confidant of your bluing skills, that looks best. Bolts I don't think are stainless, but they are often left bright and stay that way with just regular cleaning and oiling, probably because barrels, actions and especially floorplates often have sweaty hands all over them, but the bolt is well protected in there. I applaud your attitude - go for it.
Did you ever figure anything out on the bolt face?
 
The bolt would have been blued originally.

As to the barrel, I wouldn't make any decisions on finish until you clean it up. Start with a rag and oil, you will be surprised how much rust comes off without hurting the finish.

Aside from what us920669 said about measuring headspace, keep in mind brass is pretty pliable, so even if you make a home-made nogo out of a case, it will probably still close on it because of the leverage in the bolt.

The good thing is that it is the same headspace gauge for everything in the .30-06 family (25-06, 270, etc), so it is pretty likely a competent gunsmith will have the gauges, and shouldn't charge too much for the 45 seconds it takes to check.

Or, you can rent the gauges here: https://www.reamerrentals.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=30-06.g

Did your dad use the rifle? If it worked when he put it away, it is probably fine.
 
I will take a pic of the bolt face tonight ...
As far as my dad shooting this rifle... Well here is the deal..
He died in 1990 and i think this is one of his guns from way back. He moved from VA to NC in 1972 and all but stopped hunting, not sure why, and sold many of his guns. I think this is one he did not sell. That said, I never talked with him about the history of this gun, and now unfortunately it is too late. So I am not sure on this history, that is kinda why i am wanting to finish this gun. I only got 2 of his guns... He had just started buying new one in late 80's and my stepmother took all of them. He and the Ruger Rep from this area got to be friends and he somehow got some of his samples : .41 Mag Blackhawk and .45 Long Colt BlackHawk. he had Rem 1100, Winchester 30-30 and a Marlin 30-30 and this 25-06. I guess my stepmother's son did not want this gun and i got it... The only other gun was a T/C .54 Hawken Muzzle Loader Kit that is just finished in Dec. here are some pics of it:
http://s1379.photobucket.com/user/truckeic/library/Black Powder Build?sort=3&page=1

So that is why i would like to get this shooting and not a rust bucket....
So I appreciate all of the input and help...
Thanks !!
 
That's a very clean bolt face. I think it was resurfaced when the new barrel was installed. I bet it's hardly been fired at all since it started its second life as a 25-06.
 
Well that is cool wish I knew the history on this rifle....I am going to clean the bore this weekend...
So I am assuming this gun looking good to shoot
 
Definitely a candidate for a serious polish and reblue job. Military Mauser 98 action, commercial .25-06 barrel. The mark on the top of the barrel by the receiver ring might be the barrel maker's logo or proof mark. I can't tell what it is due to the angle.

The "bird" on the side of the action is (I believe) the middle version Nazi proof mark. Used on the Luger from 1936 to mid 1939. I don't have the data for its use on rifles, but I would expect a similar time frame. It is the "passed test firing" proof mark, not the WaA Pruf service acceptance mark. There is a good chance that mark is somewhere else on the rifle, or possibly on a part now "sporterized", and so missing or defaced. Also sometimes the marks are very faint and only partial stamps.

There should be other markings under the front scope base, if not obliterated by the mounting holes.

Definitely get the rust off, and do a polish on the barrel at least, then reblue.

Mechanically, the action and bolt look excellent. After a headspace check it should be fine to shoot, You are probably going to want to look into an aftermarket trigger, that alone can make a huge difference in how well one shoots. The original bottom metal can be cleaned up and used, or you could look into a sporter style replacement with a hinged floorplate, etc.,
 
Yup, Weimar eagle. Nice and clear too. The letter after the serial number is the block, they would go from 1 to 9999, then start over 1 to 9999a, then 9999b, and on up. Yours was "g" block, and assuming it is a S/42, they went to Z block in 1936, so yours was probably made in March or April.

You don't have to take a photo, but can you tell me any numbers on the Eagle/number inspection stamps, like the one on the floor plate?

It is definitely not a bad idea to have the headspace checked, but if it was me, I would take it out and shoot it.

The history would be kind of cool to know, did you have any relatives that fought in the war? If your Dad was born in 42, his father and maybe uncles could be the right age. Or, he could have picked it up from a barrel in a hardware store in the 50s, then had it converted to a hunting rifle.

Lots of military rifles were modified back then to make them more suitable as hunting rifles in the years after WW2, simply because a new commercial Remington or Winchester was pretty expensive, possibly a few weeks wages, where you could pick a surplus rifle for ~$10.

And get to work on that rust.....:)

Really sorry about your Dad, that is way too young. You only getting the scraps of your Dad's guns is a load of Scheiß

Oh, this is from me to your step mom and her son....

dick_move.jpg
 
With that much rust, you will probably best have the barrel reprofiled so it doesn't look like an escapee from the zit factory. A nice, clean surface will make the end result much nicer.
 
So you guys dont think that I can polish "sand" this barrel down to get the rust off and hopefully get the pitting cleaned up.
I dont hunt so this will be just a project gun to have one of my dads guns..
I do want to shoot it, but it wont be shot that much. And who knows if our country continues down this road and the bottom falls out of the economy. I may need to hunt for food... never know...

So my plans are to try and clean the rust off, probably polish the barrel and any other places that have rust. Polish the bolt and floorplate then re-blue the gun and try and keep it from ever rusting again.
Many of you have talked about the stock, I have a sporting stock for it. It is not wood but some synthetic camo thing. I am assuming the wood stock pictured is no the original... does anyone have a pic of what this gun would have looked like originally?
 
I think you never know until you try, but again, start with gun oil and a rag. A lot of that will come right off.

Better yet, if you can find it, Kroil.

Stay away from abrasive until you see what you have.

On edit, it would have looked like this:

ar42_full_s.jpg
 
I wouldn't sand it either except as a last resort. I'd use some fine steel wool and Kroil. For stubborn spots you can use a copper penny, just make sure it was made before 82. Once you get the rust off you can see what you have and figure out what to do next.
 
Kroil and steel wool will work. But with rust that aggressive, I'd grab some naval jelly first. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Loctite-16-fl-oz-Naval-Jelly-Rust-Dissolver-Bottle-553472/203009241

Use as directed, then clean off thoroughly. If there is obvious pitting you will want to steel wool the surface to matte it up a bit. If the pitting is really bad then you can use wet/dry sandpaper to redo the finish, but that is definitely a "once you start you can't stop" sort of project. At least in my opinion.

I've reblued some older sporter barrels relatively nicely by thoroughly degreasing them and rinsing them under hot water until the metal is good and hot, then using Birchwood Casey cold blue to redo the finish.

The exterior of the barrel doesn't matter so much for accuracy, so as long as someone oiled the internal bore and chamber you could have a very nice barrel. I don't know, but it's worth checking out.

Either way, it's worth it to put the time in on a family gun like that.

Jimro
 
Jimro said:
I'd grab some naval jelly first.
Click to expand...

Naval Jelly will remove the rust, it will also remove what finish is left. Until he starts working on it, there is really no way of telling what is left. As an added bonus, if he starts with gun oil and a rag, he probably doesn't need to buy anything.

In this case Naval Jelly should be just above sandblasting in the order of operations.

Start with the least aggressive. Advance to more aggressive if and only if necessary.
 
Thanks for all the info..I am going to start on this very soon and will post pics if you guys want to see?

I do have a question...

Anybody got a trick to get the barrel off? I was thinking about making a barrel vice which seems easy, but action wrench may be an issue...
 
It's a question of how tight it is. If it's one I put on it's probably not too tight while a factory job can be incredibly tight. In any case an action wrench is necessary. There is just no other way to grip it around the ring. Sometimes they are sold on ebay, but I don't know if they are any good. Clamping the barrel can be trickier than you might think. It's got to clamp really tight and allow for the contour of the barrel. Then there's the matter of anchoring it. Some gunsmiths use a floor-mounted hydraulic press. I've been able to clamp it to a heavy bench, thought I would knock it to pieces pounding on it. First one I even did I stood on the vise and kicked the wrench for a while. Penetrating oil and heat will help, but don't overheat it. However you approach it, you should have the right tools. If you buy them you might be able to sell them on ebay for close to what you paid, although shipping is pretty costly. Do you really feel you have to take it off?
 
Maybe i don't really need to get it off,
My plans are to just refinish the barrel. Rather than trying to just get the rust off... I don't mind wet sanding it and I think I can get it pretty nice.. I did a good job on that Musket barrel.
The other parts I might just try and get the rust off, bolt and receiver magazine etc... or may just blue the whole gun...

Would you shoot this before you did anything to it?
 
If it were mine, I would scrub the active rust off with oil and fine steel wool, then I would SHOOT THE GUN and find out if it is worth fooling with.

Taking the barrel off will probably take tools you don't need to buy for one job. Just blue the barrel and receiver together. The factories do.
 
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