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Best mauser 98 for a refinishing project/shooter?

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mlv2k5 View Drop Down
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    Posted: May/29/2009 at 23:38
So I've spent untold hours scouring the internet and reading up on all the different variations of the milsurp mauser 98 and all I've really decided is that my head hurts Whacko. Anyone have suggestions for where and what to look for? I have found some different things on gunbroker and gunsamerica as well as some different offerings from southernohioguns or samco...
-Michael
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote silver Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/30/2009 at 07:04
Are you going to rebarrel?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote John Barsness Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/30/2009 at 08:12
....and how far do you intend to go in other ways?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RONK Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/30/2009 at 09:13

 Buying a surplus or obsolete military rifle to turn it into a sporter can be a fun project, and was done millions of times since WWI, and earlier, (in fact probably from the Revolutionary War....)

 But it really is kind of like buying a rusted-out '59 Ford pickup and trying to turn it into a convertable sports car.

 It will be time-consuming and expensive to do right, and unsatisfactory as a final product if you don't do it right.
 
Then there is the issue of what many consider the destruction of guns that have at least some degree of historical significance.
 They are actually a lot of fun to clean up and shoot as-is, especially if you handload.
 
For a sporter, you are probably better off just going with a Kimber or something on that order.
 My opinion.
 Edited to add:
 I didn't read the original post carefully enough to notice that you didn't even mention sporterizing, only refinishing.
 In that case - carry on!
 


Edited by RONK - May/30/2009 at 09:18
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dogger Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/30/2009 at 09:21

Are you stuck on a '98 or would you consider a Husqvarna M38, 6.5x55 as a project gun?

Easier to find and generally very good bores if you are choosy.  Did one up years ago and it is a real shooter. 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mlv2k5 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/30/2009 at 20:05
Yeah, I'm not planning on converting one into a sporter, I just wanted a fun summer project do work on. Probably going to try to clean up any rust spots etc and touch up the blue (if it has already been arsenal reblued), as well as remove that lacquer that tends to be on many milsurp 98s and restore the original oil finish. 
Dogger: I hadn't considered it, but my decision for a 98 isn't necessarily set in stone...I was really just looking for a fun gun that I could get a good deal on to mess around with. The thing that drew me to the 98, aside from the legendary action, was the 8mm mauser caliber. I like the fact that I have the ability to shoot either very mild and low recoil american factory ammo, or buy much hotter shooting european stuff for hunting purposes (I haven't yet got into handloading...yes I know I'm behind).
-Michael
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Kickboxer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/31/2009 at 08:58
Originally posted by mlv2k5 mlv2k5 wrote:

So I've spent untold hours scouring the internet and reading up on all the different variations of the milsurp mauser 98 and all I've really decided is that my head hurts Whacko. Anyone have suggestions for where and what to look for? I have found some different things on gunbroker and gunsamerica as well as some different offerings from southernohioguns or samco...

www.mauser.org
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John Barsness View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote John Barsness Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/31/2009 at 20:07

There's a wide variety of milsurp Mausers out there, and and a good one is always fun. Emphasis on GOOD. My own prize is a pre-WWI Erfurt 8x57 that is almost new.

You might also look at a Swiss K-31 7.5x55. They can be had in excellent condition for less than top-grade M98's, usually shoot very well, and brass and (especially) bullets are very available. Bullets are .30 caliber. I got one a couple of years ago in almost-new condition that shoots great (1-1/2" groups at 100 yards with iron sights) for $150. They are built like, ahem, a Swiss watch....

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RONK Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/31/2009 at 20:50
 I have an M48A Yugoslavian Mauser in 8mm that was almost like new, except for a rather rough bore, which lapped up nicely. It is a very well-made receiver action, tight and very smooth. It is a slightly shortened action compared to most other K98s, and fits the 8x57 cartridge perfectly.
 I understand that it was manufactured near the end of WWII by slave labor in Yugoslavia on German tooling that had been moved out of Germany to prevent it's loss to Allied bombing. 
 It has a Teak stock! It's one of my favorite rifles.
 
 My K31 is another.
As John mentioned, they are a steal, even though prices have tripled in the last few years. I got mine for $79.00 a few years ago, and if I couldn't replace it with another, I wouldn't take $2000.00 for it.  No joke.
  I think you should get one of those first, as supplies are much depleted compared to Mausers, and there weren't nearly as many built to begin with. I think about 700,000 altogether. Compared to what; tens of millions of various Mausers?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mlv2k5 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: May/31/2009 at 22:58
Haha, its funny you both mentioned that because just before reading your posts I was looking around and stumbled on some information about them...wow, what a gun. I think I may have to look into one of these first and I'll find a mauser to toy with eventually. I know the k98's and other battle rifles from this time period were not designed for scopes and the scoped or scope ready "sniper models" are often obscenely expensive. Is it possible to mount a scope on a K-31 without having to do any major alterations like drilling and tapping the receiver etc?  I think I may have read about a specific sniper model K-31 so I'm assuming that you can't just slap a mount and scope on the standard version without altering it right?
-Michael
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RONK Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/02/2009 at 22:07
 I have a scope mount that I recently put on my K31. It is the St. Marie product sold through Brownells. It clamps very solidly to the receiver, a bit to the right of center. No permanent alteration of the rifle required, which was very important to me, also. I haven't gotten rings for it yet, so I haven't shot it so far, but I have high expectations. It is a well-made mount.
 P.S. I just read your other thread. Congratulations on your purchase of a K31!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mlv2k5 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/02/2009 at 23:18
RONK, thanks for the congrats. I may check out that mount you mentioned. I also found another clamp on style mount that mounts onto where the front sight is situated. Its a frontier style scope mount-I dunno whether I like the idea of a forward mounted scope instead of a standard mount over the receiver but it sure looked cool in a picture I saw. Come to think of it a fast acquisition scope would work well for my purposes with this rifle...
-Michael
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote RONK Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/03/2009 at 06:15

 One nice thing about a forward-style scout scope setup is that you can still use stripper clips to charge the magazine if you shoot some type of rapid-fire events or just want to be able to reload quickly. Stripper clips are cheap and quite readily available for the K31.

 The robust rear sight housing is very robust and would work well as a platform for a good scout mount. Darrell's is the best one out there, (according to Internet rumour...)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote mlv2k5 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/03/2009 at 15:06
Yeah, Darrell's is the one I was looking at.
-Michael
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote koshkin Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: June/07/2009 at 14:04
Darrell does indeed make the best scout mounts available for milsurp rifles.  Still, for K31, I much prefer the clamp on mount.

As far as cleaning up Mausers goes, I have Yugo M48, Czech VZ24 and 98/22, as well as a Turkish M38.  

Generally speaking, the Yugo Mausers were mostly imported to US unissued, so they tend to make good shooters with very little work.  They do like heavier bullets and a couple that I have really like 200gr SMKs.  One problem with military Mausers is that they all have pretty crappy iron sights.  Easily the worst of all milsurp rifles I have.

For quick shooting, I think French MAS 49/56 rifles are the best with their nice ghost ring sights.  Besides, these are usually in very good condition: never fired, dropped once.

Swiss K31s have nice iron sights with an open notch rear and the best trigger of the bunch.

Mosin Nagant rifles have pretty serviceable iron sight on all of the variants, with the FInn M39s probably being the best sorted out.  Finn Mosins also have better triggers, but Mosin triggers are generally not hard to clean up.  Of course, if you like Mosin rifles nothing beats M28-76 military match rifle.  I've got a couple and they are awesome.

ILya
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