old thread but worth replying to- on the issue of rechambering to 7.62 x 39- I've thought about having that done on a Mauser rifle as well, but then came to the conclusion it would be a waste of a good M98 German Mauser action. The M98/K98 is well known for its strength and ease of putting a barrel on it. It just doesn't make much sense to use such a dimunitive lower powered round to rechamber it to. After giving it a little thought, if it was going to be rechambered to anything, it should at least be one of the original 55mm or 57mm length cases i.e. 6-6.5-7-7.65-8-9 mm's, or the later 30-06 length family i.e. 270 280 '06 35 Whelen, or the 250 or 300 Savages, or 243/308/358 Winchester family, or 260 Remington.
rechambering to a 7.62 x 39 may sound like a cheap way to shoot a lot of berdan primed milsurp ammo, but the round is barely as powerful as a 30-30, and actually less powerful than a 30-30 with the heavier bullets. Just seems like a waste of a really good action. and that milsurp is mostly low quality and FMJ bullets, and throwaway brass.
the 1908 Brazilian I just acquired, I'm thinking of rechambering to something like the classic 300 H&H, that would be a round that would do the M98 justice. The last K98 I restocked, was rebored/rifled from 8x57 to 358/9x57 (will shoot both .356" and .358" bullets)
keeping the original barrel is a good idea, if you can
a few other rounds that are not too common in a Mauser and would be unique, are the 250 Savage, 300 Savage, 358 Winchester, 280 Remington. I'm actually shying away from rechambering anything to 30-06, because there are a ton of Savage 110's and Remington 700's out there now, for $300, in that caliber already. IMHO if one is going to rechamber a M98, it should be something unique. The original 8x57 and 9x57 fit the bill, especially the latter. Even the 7x57 would be a good choice, or 6.5 x 55
if I really "had to" have a 7.62 x 39 bolt action rifle, it would be on the lesser Spanish, Yugo, Czech, Turk Mausers, not on a German or FN action. That latter are just too good to rechamber to a smallish round like the 7.62 x 39. A shot out Spanish, Mexican, or S. American, or Turk-made Mauser would be a good candidate for a 7.62 x 39, by that I mean made there, not the ones made in Germany or Belgium and sold there as contract rifles. The original German and Belgian made Mausers are of such high quality, they are way too nice to waste on a 7.62 x 39 chambering, IMHO.
I saw a German M98 at a gun show, that was rechambered to 30 Luger by the Germans sometime during/after WWII. It was for sale for $125-$150 and no one even wanted it, and it didn't sell. Who wants a bolt action rifle that shoots a pistol round ? That's a lot of extra wood and steel to carry around to shoot a 800-1200 fps. cartridge. It would be an oddity but have very little usefulness except for putting holes in paper, or shooting varmints at 50 yards.
While the 7.62 x 39 is not quite a pistol round, it almost is.
