Picked up a VZ 24 action yesterday

i suppose i'll just use 0000 steel wool on the receiver and parkerize it.
Click to expand...

OK, I'm not a complete traditionalist, I'm ok with scopes on lever guns, and I'm a fan of oversize rubber grips on my Ruger SAs.

But, Parkerize a Mauser?? :eek:
gasp, spit, choke, (why is there no "vomit" smilie???)

No, sorry. Might just as well go get a can of Krylon and spray paint the whole thing....

I won't say it's blasphemy, but its just ....wrong...

Its your gun do as you want, but always remember there is a difference between what you can do, and what you should do.

I've had sporterized Mausers in calibers ranging from .22-250 to .458 Win Mag. Built several, myself, finished the build on others. Never parkerized any. Mausers should be blued.
'
Your "bottom metal" appears to be a commercial after market part. I doubt its stainless steel, more likely regular carbon steel "in the white".

If your VZ were a complete rifle in "GI issue" condition, I'd say don't touch it. since its just the action, do whatever floats your boat. Parkerize it and put a plastic stock on it, covered with rails, its your gun, do what makes YOU happy.

I might puke at the result, but you aren't making it for me....

40, 50+ years ago we used to sporterize everything, Mausers were the best, but we did it to everything, because the military rifles were cheap, and we could make a good rifle, or a fine rifle, as good as any Remchester, (often better) for the same, or often LESS money.

That is simply not possible today. The money part, for sure.

A word about "matching numbers", few nations were as detail obsessed with their small arms as the Germans. Nobody cares much about "matching" parts (other than period correct) in the guns that didn't get half their insides stamped with the last 2 digits of the serial #.

Not having matching numbers doesn't make the gun worthless (no or almost no value) it just makes it worth less (a lower value than maximum) to collectors.

A bare action has no collector value (today anyway), so, nothing lost there.

Good Luck with your project. If you have questions, ask. Odds are good that someone here has experience with whatever it is you have questions about.
 
Its your rifle,and no skin off my nose if you paint it pink.

Parkerizing requires a boiling water tank and a good degrease job.

And,IMO,its a bit aggressive for the bore of a good barrel.I'd plug it.

I have actually used one Brownell's iron tank of boiling water and a weedburner for heat to do a very nice rust "blue" job.

I used a Mark Lee "Express Brown" solution for browning muzzle loaders.

After boiling and carding with a fine,soft stainless brush,I would not call it quite "blue" This is more a very black espresso.IMO.most hot salt blues are a black oxide. We don't see much of the really "blue" on modern guns.

However,Mark Lee DOES offer a "Express Blue". I have not used it.

My point,with one boiling water tank,you can get a very nice,deep,real thing rust blue job using Mark Lee products. I'd keep them out of the bore!

http://www.markleesupplies.com/what-is-rust-bluing.html
 
PHP: 
Mausers should be blued.

i always thought hot bluing was more difficult to do.

i quite like a blued gun w/ nice walnut and i'm not making some god awful tacticool rail monstrosity.

i know it's not a stainless bottom metal since it took a patina when i removed the rust.

thanks for that, im going to look into the bluing options like HiBC mentioned, may do the slow rust blue to get a nice deep finish.

i guess after thinking about it parkerizing it is kinda like rhino lining your car in a sense
 
If,from Numrich or wherever,you can score a commercial Mauser bolt,like a Zastava,Mark 10,FN...it will probably fit your rifle just fine.Check how the lugs bear.
An outfit called Alex Imports was selling Italian ones for $65 new years ago.

I saved a lot of work. That and an FN type bolt sleeve,and a Timney trigger with safety.

In some closet corner I have a real pretty 1909 Argentine,your exact same bottom metal,a commercial bolt,Gentry sideswing safety,Lothar Walther barrel,...maybe a #3? or one lighter.And a Garrett Accralite foam core glass/Kevlar stock in a M-70 fwt pattern. Chambered 30-06.I've got a Timney,and I think Warne Weaver pattern bases.

I was figuring on putting a 6x by 42 mm Leupold fixed power on it and calling it a hunting rifle.

I'll finish it up someday..I figure a grandson might need a Mauser Bubba gun after a while.Something Grandpa cobbled together.

I've "bubba'd a few bolt handles. You need a threaded heat sink to screw inside the bolt.It soaks heat and supports the bolt sleeve threads.I actually made a water cooled one.Its best if its threaded,but if its a snug slip fit to the bolt thread ID,it can work,especially if its copper or bronze.I just drilled through and put a barb tube fitting on it.Drilled a port out the side. Hang a water bottle like a blood plasma bottle. Do it right,the weld stays dry,but a water dribble feeds into the ID of the bolt right at the root of the bolt handle.Cocking cam stays cool. I made mine out of steel

Imagine the rifle horizontal,like you were shooting it. I hack saw down from the top of the bolt handle,just about at the edge of the receiver.I go about 3/4 the way through.

That's going to make a hinge for a nice,clean bend. Put some quick heat from an oxy-acetylene welding torch up from the bottom where you cut.When its red,pull it down about 75 deg. Use that heat sink,do not get the cocking cam hot,or it will go soft. Cool it quick with an air hose.

Now you have a nice Vee to weld up. A 120 volt wire feed will work. Gas shield is probably better,but we used flux core. Bubba,remember?. Do just about 3,maybe 4 seconds at a time.Stop,cool,chip,brush,etc till its filled.

Heat and bend the lower to suit.

You'll maybe notch a little clearance in the rail,clean up the underside of the root. That is your clocking stop at full battery.Do not let it over travel.

Figure out your scope ocular bell plus some clearance,maybe .100.

Get a mounted grinding wheel that size,and a flap wheel.

Put it in your drill press,max speed. Set the table so you can rest the bolt face on it. Visualize the scope and you can grind scope clearance into the bolt handle.The centerline of the stone will be over the centerline of the bolt. The handle root will be 12 oclock Flap wheel will finish it pretty nice. Do have a water bucket handy for cooling.

I drill the end of the knob sometimes. I generally reduce the size of the ball a bit and pear shape it a little,but don't loose any length! Take the steel from the root side.

Between opening that notch and reshaping the knob,you lose that "Too Short"
bolt handle appearance.

Of course.30-06 is a good choice. 25-06 ,and .270 are great cartridges,and factory loads.

If you handload,the 6.5-06 is not a bad idea..270 brass forms down only from .277 to .264 in the sizing die.Or 280 only sizes down .020. In my experience,that works easy.
Coming down .044 from .308 to .264 in one pass can be done,but some will wrinkle and the necks will thicken.Turning,reaming..Its unnecessary. The 6.5 is all the long range rage these days,which means bullet makers will make some nice bullets.
 
Last edited:
would i need to bend the bolt handle for a lyman sight?

i like the straight handle with the big ol' ball on the end for some reason.

though if i ever do want a scope, having a spare bolt to switch out would be cool.

i was also wondering, mostly out of curiosity, would a 45-70 work in it? magazine would probably need some work i would think. but it's relatively low pressure.

edit - got the 45-70 question answered when i googled it, don't know why i didn't think about it being a rimmed cartridge, so yeah. that's why one would get a siamese mauser
 
Last edited:
No need to mess with the bolt handle for iron sights.

A 45-70 would be wrong for your rifle.

However,if you run across a Siamese Mauser,its a strong 98 pattern perfect for a 45-70.

If you want a fatbore thumper in that rifle,you CAN have one.

338-06,great elk cartridge. 35 Whelen,no slouch. The 400 Whelen has been done,it would headspace on the case mouth. I don't know if there are any feed issues.
IMO,the sweet spot,efficiency and bullet choices,would be a 338-06. Off the top of my head,about 2700 fps with 200-210 gr bullets.

I have a receiver nearly identicle to yours,but it is a1952 Mauser Commercial FN magnum action. I neck .458's down to .375 to feed that one.

While the magnum thing can be done to your receiver,I'd strongly recommend against it. You said you have a CZ? That would be a good action for building a Magnum,and Brownell's sells them .For some day,if you keep building rifles!
 
would a 45-70 work in it?
Click to expand...
Having built a few rifles, I will say that using a rimmed cartridge in a M98 is not a great idea unless you start out with a Siamese Mauser. Now, if you just want a big ol' thumper, hows about a 444 Marlin? I have built a few of them over the past 5 years on M98s, and it is a quick and easy build, mostly due to the fact that the 444 is semi-rimmed and fits into the M98 action with no modifications other than opening the bolt face.
 
Why not something simpler like a 9.3X62? It's solidly in the big bore category and shouldn't take any modification to the action. Ammo is fairly available l and pretty reasonable in some brands.
 
The original 8x57 chambering is a good choice IMO. Brass and ammo is available and it's very versatile with bullets as light as 125 grains and as heavy as 220. My favorites for deer hunting are Sierra's 175 grain Pro Hunters.
 
i was mostly curious to see if it would work, but those all sound like good options, the 338-06 and the 444. just tossing ideas around.

i'll have to keep an eye out for a siamese mauser next time i'm out and about.

i'll have to archive this thread for future projects.

for hot bluing the barrel, what would you use for the vat? i doubt i could find a cheap pot that'd fit a 24" barrel
 
If you're considering a different chambering, .308/7.62 NATO works well in the K98k, and was in fact used in military conversions after WWII (Israelis, for example), as well as new production Mausers by FN.
 
CZ Action...

CZ action: Many consider CZ's to be the best of the 98 actions. One problem, to me, with actions is how the barrel got removed. Many years ago a Bubba explained how he had to get the receiver ring red hot to remove the barrel from a 1903A3. Next, the point was made here of expense of converting a military action to build a custom rifle. I already had the converted action. The work including parts ran $1100 for first class work on that BYF 43 action. Your action should clean up. I'd clean it up to see what was actually there. Recently, I had a bolt handle welded onto a Mauser Military action. That work alone was a hundred bucks. I used a Mark X trigger guard on that action. The TG is very similar to that on your action. Go for it but be aware you can buy a pretty nice factory rifle for the cost of converting a good Mauser action. Right on medium length cartridges or one with short bullets-35 Whelen and the like.
 
I'll agree that the 308 CAN be made to work in a milsurp Mauser but its NOT a reliable drop in. Been there,done that.

The .308 has less case taper and it does not stack properly in the Mauser mag box.The shoulder dia stacks tight in the box,while back at the case head its slopping. The bolt face tends to over ride the case head,and dig into the case body.

Yes,it CAN be made to work,but the OP has a desirable full 30-06 length commercial mag box.
That TG/mag box was made for 30-06. I do not understand why anyone would make it a 308.

The Israeli conversions,in an arsenal,made sense because its the same 7.62 NATO round the FAL,etc uses. Logistics. A good reason.
 
Action Condition-Addendum

Another thing us novices look to is the springs. If all the springs are "dead" this is a serious red flag. The dead springs have no strength. This condition is that the action has been in a fire. I'd suggest going to all lengths to find if the action is safe. This does not mean asking Bubba. For example a local old time gunsmith was asked to see too a head space problem. The rifle was an engraved Springfield Sporter. Yes, the the rifle had a head space problem. The engraver in Japan had annealed the receiver to soften the metal. This was to make the metal easier to engrave. The lugs had set back because of the soft receiver. Here, in the day, a Springfield action was used as an example of high pressure set back. :eek:We got the action in a flea market. The action had the barrel removed. Springfield actions are highly useful unless abused. Same for a Mauser. The conversion work discussed here to be done right requires training and experience. YMMV
 
i hadn't thought of that. the springs seem tight though, i disassembled the bolt until i got to the point where you have to compress the spring since i don't have access to a shop at the moment where i could've put it in a wooden jig to keep from snapping the firing pin. that spring and the one on the bolt was tight. but the numbers don't match so the bolt could have been replaced

since it's been hardened on the outside it probably wouldn't do anything to get it rockwell tested.

however, it hasn't been prone to surface rust even before i got it, which is something that heat treating will help with. so i think it's good to go.

i'll probably just keep it in a 30-06 to keep things simple. it works and i already get ammo for it for my other rifle.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top