Hello friends I just recently inherited this model 98 but i have no idea what caliber it is. It seems to have had a lot of work done to it and it is in great condition. Was just going to take it to a gun Smith but I thought I would run it by you guys first. It's in great condition and I would love to take it to the range. Any info on the rifle is appreciated.
Mauser Mod. 98 Custom What Caliber???
- Thread starter Saxon3289
- Start date
Someone did a nice job of sportorizing the rifle. I love the nice comb on what I am guessing is a walnut stock. It reminds me os a Fajen STock.
There is no guarantee the previous owner left it with its original military caliber. He put a nice stock and a nice scope on it. It would almost lead one to belief he had a custom barrel in a more standard hunting caliber screwed into the action for the rifle. You will have to take it to a gunsmith to determine what it is chambered in.
There is no guarantee the previous owner left it with its original military caliber. He put a nice stock and a nice scope on it. It would almost lead one to belief he had a custom barrel in a more standard hunting caliber screwed into the action for the rifle. You will have to take it to a gunsmith to determine what it is chambered in.
Jim Watson
New member
Stepped barrel with German stamp is probably original, so it is 8mm SOMETHING.
Likely still 8mm Mauser, but it might have been rechambered to 8mm '06 or even PMM.
A chamber cast would be the safe sensible Internet Way.
An attempt to chamber a .30-06 case and a comparison of the bolt face with a belted Magnum case would be a start for me.
Likely still 8mm Mauser, but it might have been rechambered to 8mm '06 or even PMM.
A chamber cast would be the safe sensible Internet Way.
An attempt to chamber a .30-06 case and a comparison of the bolt face with a belted Magnum case would be a start for me.
What you have is a step back in time.My guess,early to mid 60's.Before the Gun Control Act of 1968.
Magazines likePopular Mechanics,and all gun mags had ads where anyone could order milsurp rifles through the mail from Klein's or other outfits.IIRC,a 98 Mauser was$30 to $50. A Garand was about $80.Mostly folks joined the NRA and got a 1903 or 03A3 Springfield for a very reasonable prices .
Fajen and Bishop sold stocks I still have an old catalogue. From Brownells,you could get Mark 2 safeties,as yours has.Bases,rings,etc.
Your friendly crotchety local gunsmith was good for parts and services.
Among the common folks,some shop skills and the DIY spirit were strong.
It was common to strip and clean up a military rifle,buy a 98% shaped and inleted stock,etc. You might pay the smith to alter the bolt handle,drill and tap for scope,and blue it.
A lot of folks had wood shop and could sand and apply Tru-Oil or LinSpeed finish
Some of these rifles were built start to finish by a smith,but most were home built by a hobbyist with some help from a smith.
Which means about anything is possible,not all of it good.
Maybe the work was done right,maybe not.
Stock inletting ...recoil lug,flat even floor,mag box height right,etc...it might be right. Many are not.
It does appear to bean original barrel. Folks did not do extra work to step the contour! Replacement barrels usually were not stepped.
It might be original 8x57. Sometimes people reamed out the chamber to 8mm 30-06. Some rebored to maybe 35 Whelen. You just do not know.
So let a smith figure out what cartridge it is,check headspace,and see if the wood is mostly fitted right.
IF your smith lets you know what ammo to shoot and declares it safe and sound ,you have a hunting rifle. Enjoy!! Eat venison.
Value? Its worth what someone will pay,really.Market is not great. No put down intended..bottom end maybe $150,top maybe $250.I'm not an appraiser.Thats a guess.
But it will probably hunt as well as a $500 rifle.
Magazines likePopular Mechanics,and all gun mags had ads where anyone could order milsurp rifles through the mail from Klein's or other outfits.IIRC,a 98 Mauser was$30 to $50. A Garand was about $80.Mostly folks joined the NRA and got a 1903 or 03A3 Springfield for a very reasonable prices .
Fajen and Bishop sold stocks I still have an old catalogue. From Brownells,you could get Mark 2 safeties,as yours has.Bases,rings,etc.
Your friendly crotchety local gunsmith was good for parts and services.
Among the common folks,some shop skills and the DIY spirit were strong.
It was common to strip and clean up a military rifle,buy a 98% shaped and inleted stock,etc. You might pay the smith to alter the bolt handle,drill and tap for scope,and blue it.
A lot of folks had wood shop and could sand and apply Tru-Oil or LinSpeed finish
Some of these rifles were built start to finish by a smith,but most were home built by a hobbyist with some help from a smith.
Which means about anything is possible,not all of it good.
Maybe the work was done right,maybe not.
Stock inletting ...recoil lug,flat even floor,mag box height right,etc...it might be right. Many are not.
It does appear to bean original barrel. Folks did not do extra work to step the contour! Replacement barrels usually were not stepped.
It might be original 8x57. Sometimes people reamed out the chamber to 8mm 30-06. Some rebored to maybe 35 Whelen. You just do not know.
So let a smith figure out what cartridge it is,check headspace,and see if the wood is mostly fitted right.
IF your smith lets you know what ammo to shoot and declares it safe and sound ,you have a hunting rifle. Enjoy!! Eat venison.
Value? Its worth what someone will pay,really.Market is not great. No put down intended..bottom end maybe $150,top maybe $250.I'm not an appraiser.Thats a guess.
But it will probably hunt as well as a $500 rifle.
A chamber cast is in order to find out what the chambering is. It looks like a standard gunsmith build, pre-carved stock, rollover cheek piece, Pachmayr pad. Nicely done, but still a standard type of sporterized rifle.
As stated, values tend to not be high on the old sporterized rifles, but I would put that one around $400 with the scope on it.
As stated, values tend to not be high on the old sporterized rifles, but I would put that one around $400 with the scope on it.
As was said already, it's probably an 8MM Mauser (8X57) That's absolutely what it was when it left the factory as can be seen by the military proof marks on the barrel. One test you can do is to take an empty 30-06 shell and see if you can chamber it. If you can, someone has opened it up to an 8MM-06. If not it's about 99.9999% likely it's still an 8X57. As scorch said, chamber casting is in order, but if it's not opened up to an 8MM-06 it's super unlikely to be anything else.
8X57 is a very fine cartridge and will do about anything the 30-06 will do. It needs no apologies anywhere to anyone. I killed a large bull elk and several deer with mine last season and I killed my 4X4 Buck about a week ago with it too. Graf and Sons sells both empty brass and also loaded ammo if you don't reload.
If it were mine I'd leave it alone unless the bore/chamber was bad. If it is bad contact me. I may have a solution for you that you'd like.
Use it. Hunt with it. Enjoy it. You have a great rifle there, more reliable then many you can buy today.
8X57 is a very fine cartridge and will do about anything the 30-06 will do. It needs no apologies anywhere to anyone. I killed a large bull elk and several deer with mine last season and I killed my 4X4 Buck about a week ago with it too. Graf and Sons sells both empty brass and also loaded ammo if you don't reload.
If it were mine I'd leave it alone unless the bore/chamber was bad. If it is bad contact me. I may have a solution for you that you'd like.
Use it. Hunt with it. Enjoy it. You have a great rifle there, more reliable then many you can buy today.
Stepped barrels were rarely used on re-barrels. So it's most likely a 8mmX57 or an 8X57 rechambered to 8mm-06. Only way to know for sure is a chamber casting or a series of checks and measurements. Take it to a gunsmith. Whatever your chosen path, make sure you KNOW what it's chambered for before trying to fire it.
Saxon3289,
You have one beautiful rifle.
Many Mauser 98's were sporterized to fired the '06. If yours is chambered for 8MM Mauser, you're in luck. The 8MM Mauser is a very powerful cartridge. It will kill every big game species in North America.
Now all you're gonna need are tags for bull elk & bull moose, a very sharp skinning knife, a bone saw, and game meat bags.
I hope your rifle brings many seasons of hunting success to you and creates treasured memories for you.
You have one beautiful rifle.
Many Mauser 98's were sporterized to fired the '06. If yours is chambered for 8MM Mauser, you're in luck. The 8MM Mauser is a very powerful cartridge. It will kill every big game species in North America.
Now all you're gonna need are tags for bull elk & bull moose, a very sharp skinning knife, a bone saw, and game meat bags.
I hope your rifle brings many seasons of hunting success to you and creates treasured memories for you.
I have a twin to your rifle, built on a good german 98 mauser 8mm rifle. mine was built in the early 60,s by a local gunsmith who knew what it took to make nice sporterized rifle out of a military rifle. if your a hunter shoot it, as you may be surprised on how accurett it may be. I know mine is. the leupold veriable scope by its self would bring close to 200.00. eastbank.
Beautiful rifle.
Even though it would not chamber on the .30-06, get your smith to do a chamber cast.
If it is truly 8x57 / 8mm Mauser, American made 8x57 is weak tea, loaded very weak. Get you some euro-made 8x57 and shoot that: S&B, Norma, Lapua and Privi Partisan for blasting. Skip the milsurp in that pretty baby.
Even though it would not chamber on the .30-06, get your smith to do a chamber cast.
If it is truly 8x57 / 8mm Mauser, American made 8x57 is weak tea, loaded very weak. Get you some euro-made 8x57 and shoot that: S&B, Norma, Lapua and Privi Partisan for blasting. Skip the milsurp in that pretty baby.
FairWarning
New member
Very fine stock on that piece!
Nosler makes three excellent full power loads ranging from 180 to 200 gr in 8x57. Tends to be cheapest to buy directly from Nosler.
Very powerful 196 gr loads from Sellior & Bellot (best value) and Norma, 195 gr from Hornady, and 180 gr from Laupa.
And I just picked up some Norma Ecostrike 160 gr @ 2789 fps copper ammo. Take wait to try it out! Should be ideal for whitetail. The ~200 gr loads are more than a bit heavy, although they definitely work!
Nosler makes three excellent full power loads ranging from 180 to 200 gr in 8x57. Tends to be cheapest to buy directly from Nosler.
Very powerful 196 gr loads from Sellior & Bellot (best value) and Norma, 195 gr from Hornady, and 180 gr from Laupa.
And I just picked up some Norma Ecostrike 160 gr @ 2789 fps copper ammo. Take wait to try it out! Should be ideal for whitetail. The ~200 gr loads are more than a bit heavy, although they definitely work!
Jack O'Conner
New member
Years ago, my hunting mentor always carried his Mauser in 7.9mm chambering. The rifle was a German built surplus item but the sights had been professionally replaced. The rear was a peep sight and the front was a modern post type. He killed many animals with this sturdy rifle including mule deer, pronghorn antelope, and elk. I'm not sure why someone would re-barrel such an efficient rifle but I guess the 7.9mm cartridge is not for every hunter.
Jack
Jack