New member, new rifle, few questions

[carlosmaurixio]

Hi all,

I am a first time rifle owner and a new member to THR. In the past I have followed a few posts on here as a visitor, mainly regarding hunting spots in North Texas. So, here it goes... in advance, I apologize for my lack of knowledge on the sport and in the terminology involved in describing firearm parts.

Nonetheless, today I picked up a German Mauser with a "98" marked on it. It is chambered in .308 and apparently has been modified.

It is in rough shape so I want to do some work to it. There is no rust, but the metal has some spots. It has a replacement bolt handle that appears to have a different angle to it, also, the rifle is d/t for a scope at several places, it has an aftermarket safety with "buehler" engraved on one side. The stock has been replaced with a black synthetic piece.

First, I want to ask about the finish on the barrel and action. What is the barrel made of? Can I polish it to a mirror like finish or would it be best to clean it well and re-blue it? What can I do about the action, it seems to be a different finish altogether.

Second, I want to know if there are necessary precautions that need to be taken when replacing the stock, the PO seems to have just slapped on a replacement piece. But I read online that it needs to be "embedded" somehow.

Third, How do I go about covering some of the extra drilled scope mount holes?

Fourth, Looking at the work I need to do and things I need to buy for it I might have been ripped of.

Thanks for your help, I am looking forward to learning alot about rifles. I have never owned one and have only shot a .270 in the past. I own a 9mm Beretta 92FS, a Bersa .380, and a 12ga Escort.

 

[451 Detonics]

The barrel is likely carbon steel, this means it will rust very easily if not protected by some king of finish. I would have the barrel and action reblued.

Bedding is best for accuracy and is not that difficult. Some stocks have bedding pillars in them to reduce the need for glass/epoxy bedding.

Any decent gunshop should have filler screws for the extra holes.

Not knowing what you paid and withoput seeing it it is hard to say if you got a good deal or not.

 

[carlosmaurixio]

Thanks for the reply. I will let a competent gun smith fix the hole issue. As far as the finish goes, I am thinking maybe I could paint the barrel and action a matte black and polishing the bolt since it seems to be stainless steel and not carbon steel.

Any advice on this? Will a specific paint be needed?

Also, the stock seems to be very snug all around on the rifle specially the barrel, there is no bedding, should this be a concern?

I was simply mentioning the ripped off part as a buyer's remorse =) not being serious. I will post pictures later. This new project is exciting. I rebuilt a 1968 Mustang from the ground up and a year after finishing had to leave it behind and move 500 miles away for school so I am looking forward to a new hands-on hobby.

 

[BrocLuno]

The bolt is likely nickle steel and was left in the "white". It will clean up fine with 400 grit wet or dry paper with light oil while sanding. You can get small blind screws for the odd holes. A gun smith will have them, but so will a big industrial hardware store - they are called plug screws.

The thing about extra screw holes is that you need to be sure the screws do not penetrate into anything important like one of the bolt lug race ways. You can get extra long allen screws that will fit, make up some JB weld and set them to the correct depth. After they are dry overnight, you can file off the excess sticking up.

I would not get it reblued. It is not the most durable finish. Since the gun has a synthetic stock, I'd go a for a good rugged field finish like KG Gun Coat or CerraCoat or similar. Get the semi-gloss black and have the barrel and action blasted/coated/baked. Very tough and it will bring all the metals into one color.

Before spending any money though, there are a bunch of things to check out. Bolt fit and headspace, barrel/bore condition, muzzle/crown condition, guard screws and bedding, magazine guide ramps/lips, extractor & ejector. Any of these things can make a rifle less than useful. Need to get all this looked at, fixed, or tuned before worrying about finish.

What sights are on it? What do you want on it?

 

[carlosmaurixio]

For finish I was planning on Brownell's AlumaHyde paint for the barrel and receiver but I am not sure if it will work.

Is there any part of the bolt that needs to be left coated? The rear of the bolt has a cap-looking piece that seems to be a different metal. I am referring to the piece that holds the firing pin and safety lever. Both this piece and the safety lever itself (an aftermarket buehler lever) seem to be different.

There are no sights, it came with 2 piece weaver mounts so four holes out of the 10 that is has now have to be left open for those pieces. I plan to put a scope on it.

Thanks.

 

[carlosmaurixio]

On my hunt for a gunsmith I spoke to someone with gunsmith knowledge and he gave me some tips before going out further and seeking help. Apparently the Mauser is built like a tank, very robust metalwork and good engineering.

Says to look at the barrel's tip for cracking and to look down the barrel for abnormalities. Didn't say how to check for excessive rifling wear, maybe this is done with a gauge of some sort.

Nonetheless, according to him the Mauser has a shroud over the bolt head area and port holes to exhaust any gas if there were headspace issues. Therefore, I can "safely" go fire it and the first shot will tell me if there are any problem with headspace clearance. he advised to collect the spent cases and go over them carefully checking the neck and sides of the case for bulging while checking the base and primer area for abnormalities.

I am not sure if this is correct or safe, I'm sure the best thing is to take it to a gunsmith, but would it be terrifyingly horrible to do it that way? I simply don't want to verify headspace issues on my way to the hospital.

As always, I appreciate anyones expert input.

 

[BrocLuno]

He pointed you in the right direction on checking some things. Is there a local gunsmith? Is there someone in your neighborhood that shoots and has any spent brass you can borrow? If you take a flash light to the chamber area and look very carefully, do you see any issues? The muzzle is pretty easy to examine.

If you can get a good spent cartridge, and you disassemble the bolt for inspection and cleaning, you will be able to test for function. Use the empty brass and the bolt without a firing pin and see if a cartridge case will chamber easily and extract easily. If there is much resistance it's not good. If the cartridge sounds or feels loose in any way - that's not good either.

If all looks and feels well as you clean and examine your rifle, you may be good to go? If anything about the action looks or feels not right, stop and get it to a gunsmith for an examination. We don't want you (or anyone else) to make a trip to the hospital either.

 

[carlosmaurixio]

Thanks!

 

[huskershooter]

Try duracoat they make a very durable finish and do make it in gun blue or parkerized

 

[huskershooter]

Oh and they do chrome and various shiny finishes