Sporterized Mauser 98 pickup

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gotboostvr

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Firstly let me say, I wouldn't do this to a nice original Milsurp nowadays. If it was in restorable condition, I would to the best of my ability, restore it.

This thing's been reworked considerably already. So any further tinkering on my part is guilt free.

So today I finally made it over to my FFL's place to pick up some recent deals I scored.

Most interestingly I think was this Gew 98 1914 Amberg that had been pretty heavily modified.

full&d=1544746078.jpg

Rebarreled to "something 30 cal" with Lyman peep sights with a drift adjustable front ramp, and a Fajen stock.

I was in the market for a general purpose kinda kick-around, large/medium game, off hand shooting rifle.

Being a reloader (with plenty of 30cal bullets) I wasn't scared off by the mystery caliber. I do know it will feed/extract a 308Win dummy just from playing around with it.

I'll need to figure out where I can rent some go/no-go gauges. I'm fairly certain that as long as the chamber and headspace are correct this could be safe with 60K SAMMI ammunition correct? I'm mostly planning on running 150's around 28-2900 fps, and 180's occasionally around 2600fps. If it's out of a 7.62x51, 30-06, or some other similarly sized wildcat is yet to be seen.

Once I verify the chambering I think I'll have a very handy iron sighted game rifle. I was considering a Savage Hog Hunter 308 and adding a rear peep sight, but could never "pull the trigger". I saw this on gunbroker and threw out a low-ball bid. The mystery chamber probably scared most bidders away, but worst case scenario I have an excuse to rebarrel to 35 Whelen.

I've got me a certified project rifle!
 
I have a reliable sporterized, resporterized mauser in 30-06 myself. After a week of scrubbing the barrel and installing a timney I had laying around it turned out to be a decent shooter. I wonder if the chambering is stamped on the bottom or breach face of the barrel?
 
can you do (or get done) a chamber cast? that should clearly define what you have.
 
First, remember that the GEW98 Mauser receiver is just plain carbon steel, it is case hardened on the outside and has a relatively soft center including those lug recesses.

This from an old THR thread where I posted,

"WWI 8x57 mm proof level loads are posted online in numerous places with some disagreement but generally agree that service level ammo was about 44k with 1930's increased to about 46.5k. SAAMI figures reckon .308 Norma at around 55K or so. Modern CIP for the 8x57 Mauser is about the same or a little higher 56.5 K. "

IMHO, firing some cartridge at about 60000 psi is a bit too hot for this old WWI era action as you are right at proof level or above which is usually about 25% over the stock ammo and occasionally is a bit higher. What usually happens in Mausers firing too hot loads with repeated use is lug setback which increases headspace over time. Sticky bolts are not uncommon at that point. Essentially at that point, the receiver is toast unless you like to live dangerously. Even requalifying the barrel or putting a new bolt in will not stop the deformation of the lug recesses once started.

Merle1's recommending a chamber cast is a fine idea and also check your receiver and bolt for evidence of any problems where high powered ammo was fired. Try reamers4rent or its competitor which I forget once you find out what it is chambered in or simply visit a gunsmith to have it checked which is probably cheaper. BTW, have the barrel stamped when you find out what it is for the next poor fellow who owns the rifle.
 
Regarding chamber casting, the seller was pretty sure it was a 30-06 so I'm starting there with go/no-go gauges, if those aren't correct I'll do a casting myself and sit down with my calipers and go from there.

I'd like to be able to do this myself as much as possible.
 
@boom boom

Any specific points where the reciever will show deformation?

I'm not too worried about keeping my loads down I don't need a loudenboomer. I'll have to get the action out of the stock and give everything a good cleaning and once over.
 
@boom boom

Any specific points where the reciever will show deformation?

I'm not too worried about keeping my loads down I don't need a loudenboomer. I'll have to get the action out of the stock and give everything a good cleaning and once over.
Good idea.

If you have small fingers and a good sense of touch, you can actually put your finger into where the bolt lugs rest. If you feel ridges, humps, etc., then have it checked. It should be smooth with some wear being ok. You can also apply marking fluid (sharpies work ok) to the bolt lugs where they bear on the lug recesses and work the bolt a time or two. Make sure to clean, degrease and deoil the area first before checking. If you see stripes or lines alternating between areas where the marking fluid was removed and areas where it remains, then you could have a problem (or simply dried cosmolene crud). If you have a small angled mirror and a bright led light source for firearm inspection, then you can get a direct look at the lugs recesses which is easier if the action is removed. Best is a bare receiver where you can use depth gages and determine the squareness of the receiver and get a good visual inspection of the surfaces. You can also determine with a bare action how the bolt and receiver match up, fix minor issues, clean the area thoroughly, and determine (on mausers) if the barrel need to be requalified (set back).

You buy a rifle with a bad receiver like the top pix below, you have to then disassemble the whole rifle and find a new receiver which won't match your bolt and barrel, may have to requalify the barrel and move sights, etc. Easier just to buy them separately and then fit them to have good headspace and bolt contact.

That was one of the reasons that I started restoring rifles as shooters--it was for a time cheaper to buy a bare receiver and junk it if it wasn't up to specs and rebarrel/requalify for headspace. The parts are getting too expensive now unless you buy a junker and a receiver.

Here are some pix
LugSetbackTop.jpg
A milder case below, that might be rectified

95ring3-vi.jpg

Note the vertical lines where the receiver lug surfaces have been deformed. Shiny is ok on a used action, ridges, lines, dark spaces on one lug surface and shiny on the other also indicates that the bolt lugs are not distributing the recoil force equally.

The top one is toast and cannot be economically fixed unless you have mad tig skills and a heat treatment oven to reheat treat the receiver (which can still warp it and make it unusable btw).
 
This is not rocket science. Plug the barrel distal to the throat, cast the chamber with Cerrocast from Brownells or midway,
Buy a $15 caliper from Harbor Freight, and you’re gonna know what you’ve got.

The Geweher 98 actions are generally pretty bulletproof. I’ve “rescued” conservatively 50 bubba’d examples from pawnshops etc, and have had zero issues wit use in magnum conversions.
 
Where I'm at: I was in a shop not long ago. I was shown a custom rifle in 300WSM. They had used a WWI GEW98 action. This conversion required the bolt face to be opened for the larger case head. How wise was it to make a 300WSM in that action. The newest GEW 98 would be a hundred years old. Personally, I'd leave the rifle in a caliber most nearly like the original cartridge as to pressure etc. To each his own. YMMV (WW2 German Mauser's are usually marked Mod 98 with date)

Addendum: My preference is to get a complete Bubbized barrelled action. I have heard first hand from Bubba how he heated the receivers red hot to get barrels out. This was done on Springfield's that had been drill rifles. This was many years ago. Not telling what those idiots desecrated.
 
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GEW 98's are rock solid actions. 30-06 is not a problem with it.

You should get the chamber checked out. Probably 30-06 but who knows. There are a ton of 30 caliber rounds out there.
 
Checking on the caliber: In the day it was a big deal to rechamber 03A3 and the like to 308 Norma Magnum. One of those guns circulated here abouts caliber unmarked. No telling how many owners rifle that had before it left these parts. Somebody could have gotten killed with the rifle. Having the caliber verified by competent gunsmith is a good idea.
 
Checking on the caliber: In the day it was a big deal to rechamber 03A3 and the like to 308 Norma Magnum. One of those guns circulated here abouts caliber unmarked. No telling how many owners rifle that had before it left these parts. Somebody could have gotten killed with the rifle. Having the caliber verified by competent gunsmith is a good idea.

It could be done with a simple chamber reamer is why. The Springfield's coned barrel feature required expensive (at the time) aftermarket barrels that have mostly dried up which put off some folks.

The drill rifles, at least some of the 03a3 types barrels were tack welded to the receiver and another tack weld was done in the less important area of the mag cutoff lever.

Later plugs were welded into the barrels and some receivers were torch cut at the bottom of the receiver rings where they could never be restored but the damage would be hidden. British and Indian deac's normally simply drilled a hole through the chamber and bore.
 
I once had a WW2 Kar98 in 8MM-06. good shooter when I got the right dies and the right size bullets.
Yes, pretty common for some as again, I think all you need to do is ream out the chamber. It was a pretty common wildcat I understand after WWII. I have one of those barrels in 29 inches and pristine somewhere and thought about mounting it to an action but did not want to run the risk of confusing ammo as I have rifles in both .30-06 and 8x57's.
 
The mauser 98 is a stout action, but as eluded to above, due to metallurgy at the time it may be wise to stick to lower pressure loads. If it is 30-06, M2Ball level loads of 46-47gr of H4895 or IMR 4064 with a 150gr should do the job nicely on anything you'd wish to shoot at moderate ranges. You're basically shooting a full-max handloaded .300 Savage at those levels. Sweet rifle, hope it serves you well. If the stripper clip guide is still intact, makes a really fun range toy for "mad minute" on a steel plate. Some of the recently imported Yugoslavian plated clips feed very smoothly in the '98. Swedish ones are even better if your rifle likes them.
 
The mauser 98 is a stout action, but as eluded to above, due to metallurgy at the time it may be wise to stick to lower pressure loads. If it is 30-06, M2Ball level loads of 46-47gr of H4895 or IMR 4064 with a 150gr should do the job nicely on anything you'd wish to shoot at moderate ranges. You're basically shooting a full-max handloaded .300 Savage at those levels. Sweet rifle, hope it serves you well. If the stripper clip guide is still intact, makes a really fun range toy for "mad minute" on a steel plate. Some of the recently imported Yugoslavian plated clips feed very smoothly in the '98. Swedish ones are even better if your rifle likes them.

The Scotch in me (ancestry not booze mind you) winces at mad minutes with all that money sent downrange in a flash. Its enough to make you want to reload using cast bullets made out of free wheel weights.
 
That side view looks to me like the clip guide is still there. And .243/.308 will fit in Mauser clips. If I owned a rifle configured along this line, I'd carry my hunting ammo that way, but no to the mad minute. No need for it hunting and no need to burn the barrel out at the range. YMMV.

Cast bullets in a .243... I'd check Hunter's Supply. MidwayUSA sells their line. You'll need gas checks.

Edited to add a couple days later that I just realized I got this thread mixed up with another Mauser that is a .243... kinda irrelevant here.
 
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I've found no better way to use up random/extra components than to sling them at a steel plate offhand. That being said, I have a pile of '06 military brass from back when surplus ammo in this caliber could still be had cheaply, as well as a pile of IMR 4064 and M2 pulldowns from a fellow shooter's estate who passed it on to me. I also have a similar Mauser 98, although mine is built on a more modern FN postwar action, with a bore that isn't worth worrying about, so YRMV. It's waiting for a rebarrel someday, but probably not until I run out of random .30 cal components to burn through it.
 
AHHH, so you are opposed to having a little fun???

One time, no fooling, at the range, I was shooting .45 ACP reloads even, and I was thinking, my god, I am throwing a dime a shot downrange.

It was those darn Silver Bullets sold by Oregon Trail that got me thinking about the cost--you know how they brag about silver in each bullet along with the lead. Now it would be over 15 cents each with that darn inflation and shipping--I just checked. Now, think about rifle bullets starting at a quarter each on up. I better start picking up aluminum cans on the side of the road so I can afford to shoot.

How's that for an incentive to make every shot count?
 
One time, no fooling, at the range, I was shooting .45 ACP reloads even, and I was thinking, my god, I am throwing a dime a shot downrange.

It was those darn Silver Bullets sold by Oregon Trail that got me thinking about the cost--you know how they brag about silver in each bullet along with the lead. Now it would be over 15 cents each with that darn inflation and shipping--I just checked. Now, think about rifle bullets starting at a quarter each on up. I better start picking up aluminum cans on the side of the road so I can afford to shoot.

How's that for an incentive to make every shot count?


yep - that's really being Scotch! :rofl:
 
yep - that's really being Scotch! :rofl:

Having a Scots surname and a bunch more in my ancestry I understand where Boom Boom is coming from. When I won't spend money on something I think is overpriced and my grandkids are present they say " Grandpa's billfold is biting him in the butt".

I'm sure you know how the Grand Canyon was formed. A Scotchman dropped a dime down a gopher hole. :p
 
I kinda wonder if we do have enough specific information on the rifle. Is one picture of the reverse side of a bolt action rifle enough for an evaluation? We don't know the cartridge. We don't know any specifics on the action. Looks the FFL guy should have a notion of the caliber.
 
I kinda wonder if we do have enough specific information on the rifle. Is one picture of the reverse side of a bolt action rifle enough for an evaluation? We don't know the cartridge. We don't know any specifics on the action. Looks the FFL guy should have a notion of the caliber.

Heck, I have to tell my FFL what the caliber is most of the time on my internet transfers. Any cartridge changes by individuals should be stamped on the barrel as a matter of safety in the first place.
 
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