Czech or Turk Mauser Actions...Good?

[TooTaxed]

Am considering building a .308 Win rifle for informal target shooting from 100 to 500 yds. I note Turkish mausers are selling cheap, due to worn barrels, and Czech mausers are not prohibitively expensive...I may be even able to find one with a bad barrel cheap.

Questions: How are these actions for a basis for building a rifle? Any barrel thread problems? Downsides as compared to WW II German mausers? Compatible with aftermarket trigger assys and barrels? Is it worth the effort?

 

[Clemson]

Frankly, you would be better off buying a Remington Model 700 for a .308 target gun.

The Czech mausers, VZ 24 and 98/22, are of excellent quality -- generally better than the WWII German production.

The Turk Mausers are a crapshoot. They are inexpensive, but you have to deal with small-ring barrel threads in a large-ring action, and you must remove the recess at the front of the action that was intended to hold the handguard. Some are German-made and others are Turkish manufacture. some are Model 98's and some are Model 93's.

Sporterizing a Mauser correctly will cost you more than a factory-new rifle.

Now, if you are determined to proceed, do it right. I LOVE to build Mauser sporters. The upside is that you get an action that is much better made than commercially available rifles. My 1909 Argentines have better machine work than pre-64 Winchester Model 70's. You can put a custom stock on the gun that fits you exactly, and it can be made from the finest exhibition walnut or a synthetic of your choice. The barrel, from a good barrel maker like Shilen, Douglas, PacNor, etc., will be better, and most likely more accurate, than any factory barrel. The only way to make this even modestly cost-effective is to do the work yourself. If you do, you can spend around $1200 or so and make a really nice custom hunting rifle. If that is more than you had in mind, go to Walmart and buy a 700 ADL for less than $400.

Clemson

 

[Jim K]

Hi, TooTaxed,

I don't think any Mausers were actually made in Turkey (many were modified there), but otherwise, I agree with Clemson. Even if you were given the action, making an old military rifle into the equivalent of a Remington 700 or Winchester 70 will likely cost more (a lot more) than buying one of those guns to begin with, especially if you can find a nice used one.

If you decide to go ahead, do it for fun or as a project gun, not with the idea of saving money. I have known a lot of folks who bragged about getting a "huntin' rifle" cheap, but when I asked them to sit down and add up the figures, they were amazed at how much that "cheap" rifle actually cost them.

Of course if your "sporter" job consists of hacksawing the stock, you come out ahead, but not many folks stop there.

Jim

 

[TooTaxed]

What you say makes a lot of sense...and that's also the reason I haven't jumped into the process. The first rifle I rebuilt was a Springfield 03-A3 I bought from the DCM for $18, as I remember...that's about 1955! I used Herter stock components and tools, and it still gives me slightly over 1" groups at 100-yds. The second was going to be a Swedish Mauser...bought the rifle about 1995, and while shopping for a fancy stock blank at a Texas gunshow I noticed a Kimber-sporterized M96, complete with scope, for less than I was prepared to pay for the stock blank! Snapped it up, sold my military '96, and that Kimber is still my favorite deer rifle...nothing but one-shot kills.

I don't really have the necessary tools anymore...and am sort of transient. Guess I'll shop around for a Rem 700 or Savage...

 

[Crosshair]

What about the $90 "exelent" condition Turk Mausers. How is the rifling/general condition on those as compared to the $65 "good" condition?

 

[dfaugh]

$200 each

That's what it cost me to build 2 different "sporterized" mausers, including (inexpensive) scopes and all...One on a 1893 Turk(small ring), the other on a VZ-24 action....Both shoot about 1 MOA, but still playing with handloads

Rule #1 EBAY IS YOUR FRIEND

Rule #2 I did all the work myself(mostly just to see if I could do so)

Having said that, it WAS alot of work, and if you're not into it, its probably not worth the effort, when you can buy a very nice, new gun for under $500 less scope...

P.S. The large ring (and maybe the small rings as well) Turk guns were made by the Czechs, anyway...But, for some reason, the Czech guns seem to be a little better quality than most of the Turks I've seen.....

 

[Clemson]

Hi, TooTaxed,

I don't think any Mausers were actually made in Turkey (many were modified there), but otherwise, I agree with Clemson.
Jim

Jim, you may be right. I had always assumed that those marked "K. Kale" were manufactured in Turkey. Lud Olsen shows at least one Turkish manufactured rifle on p. 198 of his book.

I have several 98/22's made by BRNO that were obviously used by the Turks, but these are not usually the rifles that we refer to as "Turkish Mausers."

Clemson

 

[saands]

Looking at the turks another way, the fact that the threads are small ring sized (on a large ring receiver) means that you can get a Rem700 takeoff barrel for $40 or $50 and recut the threads on it to fit the receiver. I have done several of these ... 243, 308, 300 WinMag, and even a 45acp - OK I got bored But I'll admit that to keep costs down, I've never made just one copy of any of them. I've always gotten friends or relatives to join in on the fun and spread the costs of the reamers and other tools around.

Here's my basic bill of materials:

Barrel = $50
Reciever = $40 - I bought my Turks a while ago
Walnut blank = $23 from Calico Hardwood
reamer = $70/3 = $23
Weaver bases = $6
Rings = $40 - I like Leupold QRW's ... what can I say.
Recoil pad = $15
Scope = $100

Total $297 ... if my addition is correct

I don't see how Sub $200 could be possible unless you keep the original caliber or you get relly lucky and don't need a reamer and you get REALLY cheap optics ... I thought I was cheap

Saands

 

[Crosshair]

saands

even a 45acp - OK I got bored

I'm going to do that to an Enfield.

 

[saands]

My 45Turk is a total hoot when it comes to prairrie dogs! I load it with 250 grainers and call 'em bunker busters ... you can take body shots when just the top of their heads are sticking out of the hole It kicks like a 22 and hits like a sledgehammer.

Saands

 

[Ignition Override]

The Turks bought a lot of Czech Mausers long ago.

 

[fguffey]

"importers even marked converted 1893 and 1903 rifles on the barrels with Model of 1938".

"K.Kale marked rifles"
"It appears that the vast majority of receivers marked with K. Kale are new receivers, probably made in Turkey, clearly some have been manufactured elsewhere and are simply rebuilds. Most K.Kale marked receivers that are obviously rebuilds are from 1940. The only certain way to tell the difference is to look at the receiver face to see if there are old marking underneath the new Turkish marks. If you strip down the action, you can also check the barrel size. Receivers made specifically for Turkey are going to have small shank barrels even when they have the large ring of the 98 series (LRSSM)".

F. Guffey