Turn NEW bolt rifle into OLD Mauser lookalike

T

TheCarrot

Inactive
Hi all, I am new to his forum.

I am wondering about the feasibility of turning a newer rifle like a Ruger M77 into a Kar98 or Yugo M48 lookalike.

I really love the look and feel of old Mausers, but 8mm is drying up and I am not a reloader. Additionally, I am not so interested in the collector value of the Mausers (I just like them) and as such I would really like something that wasn't beat up and would prefer to have a new production gun with a factory new bore that I can shoot a lot. So one thing I could do is just buy a modern Mauser-like rifle like a Ruger Hawkeye or something, but I am really not a fan of sporter stocks. I really like the full length military stocks of the old Mausers, with the top hand guard and everything. I have seen full length Mannlicher stocks you can get for more modern guns but they don't look anything like military stocks.

So, I am wondering:


- Is it possible to fit an old Mauser stock for K98 or Yugo onto a modern rifle like a Ruger M77 type gun (I doubt it but I might as well ask)?

- How much effort and/or money would it cost to have a stock made like an older Mauser stock for a new gun?

- Are there any stocks out there like this, that look like a military style stock from the old days that can be fitted on newer guns?

All responses are greatly appreciated. Thank you!
 
I wish I had an answer for your direct question, but there's quite a lot to fitment of the receiver, stock bolt spacing, bottom metal fitting and angles. Barrel diameter and top and bottom stock pieces would not be too big of a chore.

However, when it comes to balancing pennies- let me swing this past you... How about getting an actual Yugo or some such Mauser and have the barrel/caliber of your choosing installed? A big heap of the cartridges I imagine you would be interested in already share the same case head diameter as the 8mm. Of course there will be the added expense of having the period correct sights put back on the new barrel, but that's a minor task for a properly outfitted Gunsmith. A job like that will likely run over your initial cost estimate, but it doesn't have to be done and paid for all at once. There's nothing quite like owning a unique rifle that "you" had built to your tastes.

edit: Welcome aboard!
 
Are you any good at wood working?

I have friend who collected and restored old war rifles. Every now and then he would "un-sporterize" them. Most of the time he had enough stocks and parts around to do minimal alterations to the wood. But every now and then someone would have him do a restoration for them, and sometimes he'd do replica stock from a raw hunk of wood.

Cut the profile, shape the contours, mill the space for the receiver, trigger barrel and hardware...

It was a process, but they were convincing.

Doing something like that would be really time consuming, especially if there's a learning curve, but it may be fun.
 
While certainly not impossible, provided you have a lot of money, you are way better off either finding a .308 Mauser, or finding a basket case Mauser and rebarreling to .308.

This one is pretty much top of the line for IDF Mausers, but I bet you would spend that or more trying to make one out of a modern rifle
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/757631513

7.62 NATO Mauser barrels are also available, either surplus from Israel or Norway (I think), or new from Lothar Walther, if you go that route.

An even better solution is to start reloading. It is not difficult, and there are lots of ways you can do it in even in an apartment, either with a kitchen table-top setup of some sort, or a smal portable bench that you can shove in a closet, which is how I got started handloading ~30 years ago. Discussed briefly here: https://thefiringline.com/forums/showpost.php?p=6289800&postcount=16

Another advantage to handloading, the ammo is better. Same rifle, same day, handloads that were worked up for a different gun, 100 yards with a scout scope:

k98_ar42.jpg
 
I don't have a lot of time to devote to this because I am very busy trying to make my BMW M3 look like a 1963 Ford Falcon. However, you could get a real Mauser, a Model 1891 Argentine, for not that much money. There are original long infantry rifles, carbines, and a host of so-called "sporterized" cut downs. (Check out GunBroker) Some just have the military stock and barrel shortened with new sights attached. Companys like Sears, Roebuck and J.C. Penney bought many during the heyday of surplus rifle imports, did the work, and sold them for bargain prices. I have one such with matching serial numbers and new condition including perfect bore.

The Argentine fires the 7.65 X 53 Mauser cartridge. Ballistics are comparable to the .308. Factory ammo is still available, albeit not in a great variety of loads.
 
Just look for a nice Carl Gustav Swedish Mauser in 6.5x55, no ammo issues there and they are great rifles. While not cheap, I’ve still seen them around for $600.00-$700.00 in excellent condition.
 
Wow I appreciate all of the responses!


I think perhaps finding an Israeli Mauser in 308 or rebarreling/rechambering a Yugo Mauser might be a way to go versus transforming a Ruger. Either that or just getting a new gun and just living with it.

I have some experience with woodworking and have access to everything I think I would need to make a stock, but I have never made a stock and would have to do some research into how to make it proper so as to not ruin performance and accuracy. Maybe I will do that if I don't find an Israeli Mauser in 308 in good shape for a decent price.


Any idea on what the price would be for gunsmith to rebarrel/rechamber a Yugo Mauser to 308? Also if I were to get an Israeli Mauser with a less than ideal bore, how much would it cost approximately to have the barrel redone for that?

Also, would replacing a Yugo Mauser's barrel with an Israeli Mauser's 308 barrel be easier or cheaper to install than having a new barrel done for it? Would it be something I could install myself without much gunsmithing?


Thank you!
 
Learning to reload is easier and cheaper still. It is not difficult, and for a bolt gun, where your round count on any given range trip will be low (compared to say an AR15 in .223), doesn't take all that much time.

Pretty sure the IDF .308 barrels will screw in to any standard large ring Mauser, with the exception of Turks, they had large ring actions but used the small ring threads. The brand new Lothar Walther barrels should screw right in, they have the proper steps for a military rifle, you just need to move the sight bases over.
 
emcon5 thanks for sharing on the input with reloading and the Lothar Walther barrels.

I thought about getting into reloading. Maybe I will do that. I've just been kinda worried about the supply of 8mm. The premium ammo is still out there, but PPU seems to be the only current production target/standard ammo out there. Surplus is certainly drying up with what I have seen. I just don't want to put myself in a corner with a new gun. Perhaps reloading will fix that.

I will do some more research into those barrels. They seem nice!
 
Also, to convert an older Mauser to 308, would getting one of those Lothar Walther barrels do the trick or would I have to make any additional modifications?
 
You'd have to have a Gunsmith do a final chamber reaming- not a big deal. And you'd have to have the sights switched over and soldered on- not a big deal either.
 
What 10-96 said, you would also need to put a finish on it, even the old IDF spare replacement barrels came in the white.

Or, you could order this:
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/4...reech-lock-single-stage-press-anniversary-kit
And this:
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1011211120/lee-collet-2-die-neck-sizer-set
And this:
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/639649/lee-modern-reloading-2nd-edition-revised-reloading-manual
And some of these:
https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/12616
If you need them, some of these:
https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/72658

Buy primers and powder locally, shipping them is expensive due to hazmat charges. For an iron sighted rifle, primer brand doesn't really matter, for powder, hard to go wrong with IMR4064, Hodgdon H4895 or Varget, but lots of others will work if they are in the right burn rate range for 8MM Mauser.

If you don't have a place to mount the first item, then go to Home Depot, have them cut you some 2X4s
4 ea, 20" top and base frame front & back
4 ea, 17" top and base frame sides
4 ea, 24" legs
and whatever scrap plywood they have, 20"x20" and you have a perfect portable reloading bench. If it was me, I would make sure the top is at least 1" thick, so if you get 1/2" plywood, just double up the top.
One box of wood screws. Screw it together so it looks like this:
http://postimg.org/image/xlz0ngeb3/
http://postimg.org/image/55542zxpr/

I bet you could slap something together for under $40 that will fit in the bottom of a closet out of the way that is small and light enough to move wherever you want to work.

If you add more calibers later, all you need is dies, which are pretty cheap.
 
There were a few countries that used Mausers that were originally factory
chambered in 30-06. Shop around for a FN 1950 Belgian.
 
emcon5 thank you for that information on reloading! Perhaps I will have to get into that sometime soon.

BillM thanks I will look into those FN's.
 
Just a small word of caution on "some" of the .308 Mausers. It's a general opinion that the small ring Spanish Mausers built on M95 actions may not be up to snuff and strong enough for steady diets of modern .308 levels. I do believe there is a gentleman within this forum who thinks they are nothing to be worried about and they are plenty strong enough even without the third locking or safety bolt lug.

I'm not a great knower of things to be known on that subject, but I'm personally in the camp that believes .308's and like cartridges should remain in intermediate and standard 98-type actions.
 
Major job to fit an action to a stock that's already inletted, for a completely different action.

The depth of the stock (from top stock line to bottom metal) has to be correct so that the magazine will mate correctly to the receiver when the action screws are tightened.

Of course, the "old, original" inletting needs to disappear and the stock inletted for the new action.

I've done this several times, but a different process as I have a stock duplicator.

You'd need to determine whether the Mauser style stock has the needed minimum depth I mentioned above at the action screws and in between. If it does, then wood can be removed to the required dimensions. If not, you're screwed. You can always remove wood/material, but can't add it... (at least, not on a finished stock unless you're going to paint it).

Hog out the inletting where needed, and epoxy bed the receiver and magazine to establish the "new" inletting. Much faster, easier and more precise than trying to chip away inletting with chisels and woodworking tools- and no special skills required.

Major project, unless you've got substantial woodworking skills I'd fuhgeddaboutit.
 
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