Old semi-sporterized Mauser - project or money pit?

[Jubjub]

I have a Mauser 98 in 30-06 that was a Montgomery Ward purchase in the early 60s by my father. Action is a prewar Brno VZ-24, originally a Guatemalan Army 7x57 short rifle, going by the crest on the receiver ring.

The barrel is a little bit puzzling. It appears to be a commercial contour, with a dovetail for an open rear sight, and a pinned on ramp for the front. It is a 2 groove barrel though bright and shiny. I thought that 2 grooves were a WWII Springfield thing.

At any rate, the action is pretty much bone stock. The bolt handle is turned down a bit, but basically sticks out at 3 o'clock. Two stage trigger, no provision for scope or receiver sight. Very slick working action.

The stock is unusable. It is split through the wrist.

Finish isn't bad. There are some darker spots on the bolt, and some on the bluing, but no pits or real rust. The polish wasn't much to begin with, but it's presentable.

This is what I'm thinking.

Take it somewhere, get the bolt handle mounted as it should be and get it drilled and tapped for scope bases, or maybe for a Lyman 57. Have headspace checked.

Get an inletted stock, bed and finish it myself. Install a Timney (or some other) trigger.

What I fear is that I'll do this, and put a few hundred into it, then I'll find that it shoots 5" groups. And then it will be a new barrel just to make it shoot, and then a new trigger guard/floorplate to dress it up, and a new blue job, and then the cheap stock won't do, and soon I'll have another $1200 Mauser that's worth $400.:banghead:

If I can just keep it to stock, trigger, bolt handle, receiver sight...

 

[critter]

I'd shoot the thing now to see if it had potential as a shooter. If it does at all, you have a great fun project to fix 'er up. Should be a great gun and you can make it JUST like you want it.

I have 'rescued' several this way and have never been disappointed. At worst, you have a good base for a truck gun, a scout rifle, a loaner or just a blaster for readily available cheap surplus ammo. At best you have the basis for a 'homegrown custom' rifle.

Have fun as it is a nice trip!

 

[rbernie]

I have 'rescued' several this way and have never been disappointed.

I'm not quite so lucky. I've rescued three and had two turn out well - the third was a turd that may be salvagable for parts.

 

[Art Eatman]

I go along with critter. Heck, you can do a "fix" with baling wire, long enough to get a notion of how good it shoots.

I'd wait until last before buying the Timney. Get the stock done right, and check the system again after you get a scope on it. Worse comes to worst, you'll have the scope handy for some other project...

, Art

 

[mustanger98]

I vote Lyman #57.

Aperture sights are great.

Did I mention I like aperture sights?

 

[Jim Watson]

I have seen old American Rifleman articles about using surplus '03 and A3 barrels on all manner of other rifles. Probably a then - $10 barrel and some lathe time to put it on a Mauser back before the 7x57 was rediscovered.

As the one article said, you can have a nice sporter out of a military rifle but you have to work with what is there. I second the peep sight so you don't have to pay to alter the bolt handle and safety. Nothing wrong with a two-stage trigger, target shooters pay good money to have them put on ARs. A plain stock fitted and finished DIY. Then stop and shoot it. Else you would be out cheaper with a Savage with Accutrigger and scope holes.

 

[BigG]

There are two schools of thought on this to me:

1. You didn't pay for it so you aren't out any money. If you can shoot it as is, you have a free gun. However, any modifications you do will not add to the resale value of a sporterized mil.gun.

2. Run away from this - fast!

 

[Jim K]

Go to a gun store. Look at a brand new Remington 700, Winchester 70 or Ruger 77. Look at the price tag on the one you like.

Figure that even if that old Mauser cost nothing, making it into the equivalent of the modern sporter will cost at least what is on that price tag, if not more.

If you want to tinker, and do a little at a time, and hope that someday you might have something usable, good luck. If you expect to save money in the long run, fageddaboutit!

Jim

 

[schromf]

Well I am one of the biggest Mauser nuts on the planet and honestly here are a few rules on Mauser conversions. Not hard and fast but it will save you some serious time and money in the long run.

1. You cannnot convert a old mauser to a modern firearm cheaper than you can buy a complete used gun. It is doubtful you can convert it for the price of a new gun. Sit down and make a list, add all of the parts needed, by model number and real costs. Then add labor for items you are unable or unwilling to perform. Total it up and you will probably have twice as much in your parts gun.

2. Military Mausers are bad candidates for custom rifles. There is a little leeway on this but after you have dumped a lot of money into converting the military mauser, the gun is worth less than the sum of parts. If you want to build a Mauser your better off with a commercial action. Less work needs to be done, and the value is higher in the end. There are a few of the miltary mausers that hold there value well, they are the exception, were rare or desirable to start with, and must be done correctly to have any resale value.

3. Completely plan out any custom rifle, down to the smallest details, then ask someone what it is worth. Very few custom guns are anything but money pits.

4. If you plan on a custom and have number 3 figured out, fund it because it is really what you want, and you cannot buy what you want, and you plan on keeping it to shoot your value out.

One last note if you look in Shotgun News, seems to me I saw a cheap Mauser stock for under $50.00, fixing what you have and making it servicable does not involve any of the above.

 

[mustanger98]

What kind of shape is the present .30-06 barrel in? If it shoots good, I'd recommend sticking with it because not having to rebarrel will save you money. Anything you do as far as sights, stock, trigger, those'll make it more to your liking and that counts for a lot. So the naysayers don't know everything- their con may just be your pro.

The fact that it's a BRNO VZ-24 action, according to some of my reading, makes it a better candidate for the sporterize. (You said it's already somewhat sporterized.) What I read is the Fabrique National, Oberndorf Mauser, and BRNO make the best candidates for sporters because of the quality of steel compared to other '98 pattern receivers.

On stocks, Cabela's has Bell&Carlson and some others- I don't consider their prices too bad and a '98 Mauser action will drop right in according to the catalogs. (May actually require a little fitting, but I wouldn't consider it a big deal if one takes his time.)

Sometimes it ain't about saving money in the long run, but rather about doing a little at a time and coming out with something special to its owner. A while back, I held in my hands a beautifully sporterized 03A3 with Remington C stock. The original military barrel had been lathed to a sporter's contour and it has a globe front and Williams FP rear with target knobs. I mentioned this rifle in another thread. The owner got it from the DCM years ago and made it into a real work of art, yet retained a good bit of its military background such as trigger and receiver markings. I can hear some guys hollering "hack job" but this was about the farthest thing from it. And it holds a great value to its owner as it is now.

It's not that a custom gun is a money pit, but rather that it's generally only worth it to the one that set it up.

 

[rbernie]

A Timney Sportsman trigger will set you back about $35 @ Midway, and Brownells has a decent quality unfinished (inletted, but you fit the barrel channel to your barrel) 98-pattern walnut stock for about $80. Drilling and tapping the receiver and adding a scope base mit rings will probably cost you around $100. If you have an interest in the rifle - you *can* get it shootable for less than $250. Otherwise, you can sell the action+barrel for (I'm guessing) $100-$125 and put the money towards another rifle...

 

[VG]

Replace the stock and otherwise keep it as your father had it. So it reminds you of him. It is from a time and place in his life.

 

[TooTaxed]

Considering prices on available second-hand commercial sporting rifles at local gunshows, it's not worth spending much money on.

On the other hand, you can have a lot of fun tinkering with it...and take special pride in shooting it...but you'll spend money, time, and effort, especially if you've never done something like that.

The advice provided in previous posts is on target. First thing, fix the stock (broken stocks can generally be repaired by filling the crack with epoxy, pinning with a cut nail 1/8" beneath stock surface, and clamping in a padded vise until set), free-float the barrel, and shoot to determine inherent accuracy, rechecking the free-float with a sheet of paper as the barrel warms up. If unacceptable accuracy, don't waste your efforts...trade it or hang it on the wall out of nostalgia for your father.

For best results, bolt modification, scope base mounting, and muzzle cutting and crowning should be done by an experienced gunsmith. You might also should consider having the barreled action professionally polished and blued. I draw-filed the rough lathe marks on my barrels, but turning a stepped barrel into a tapered barrel gets very tricky. You should be able to do your own stockwork, including bedding...but you will need some additional tools. Inletted fiberglass tickets are the fast and easy way to go, and are not likely to slightly warp under wet field conditions. Fancy grade wood inletted stock blanks are EXPENSIVE!!...but are a thing of joy.

 

[Mannlicher]

It always comes down to how much money you want to spend. It helps if you know EXACTLY what you want in advance. With Gunsmith time going for up to $90 an hour for metal work, and god knows what for wood work, you had better have a plan up front.
With the ability to use the internet, you can readily find bargains in new or used rifles. Most of the time, brand new is much cheaper than redoing some old warhorse.

Having said that, I have a couple of wonderful old rifles I have poured buckets of money into. In one Mannlicher-Schoenauer alone, I have over $3000. You can buy a lot of new rifle for that kind of money. Yeah, I love it to death, but if I were to do it all over......................... I wouldn't.

 

[goon]

Strictly speaking, almost every gun that I have ever owned has been a money pit. No matter what you do with them, you end up spend money out the wazoo on ammo, optics, holsters, magazines, reloading dies, reloading manuals, better sights, whatever.
The thing is, I am going to have to spend my money on something anyhow. I would rather it be guns than most anything else.

 

[fistful]

If you are anywhere near Saint Louis, Missouri, I can reccomend a smith who did a beautiful job on my VZ-24 trigger. It's now a light, sweet single-stage.