Accurizing an old military M98 - Any tips?

[Syncrowave]

Hey, all,

I recently picked up an old FN Mauser 98 that was made for the Armed Forces of Colombia ("Model 1950" ... chambered in 30-06 to take advantage of cheap surplus 30-06 ammo after WWII) and I want to keep it in its current military configuration as much as possible, but also get it to shoot better, because although the barrel looks good, it doesn't seem to want to throw a group with anything I've fed it yet.

Can anyone offer any tips on how to get this gun to shoot better? In my sporter M98-style rifles (like my M70), I remember reading that if it didn't want to shoot, try tightening the front action screw and applying upward pressure to the barrel at the forward-most 2" of stock, and if that didn't work, try floating the barrel and tightening the front action screw.

Right now, I can only partially tighten the front action screw. There isn't enough space to tighten it to the next notch for the set screw that holds the front action screw in position. Should I shim the recoil lug so that I can tighten the front action screw such that it's tight when I lock down the set screw?

Any other tips? I don't want to get into rebarrelling, changing triggers or sights or epoxy-bedding the action...just looking for the standard non-surgical fixes, at least for the time being.

(I haven't tried any handloads yet, but plan to try loading some with bullets seated to just contact the throat when the bolt is cammed closed, and I suspect that will improve whatever I've got now, but also trying to do everything possible to accurize the rifle with off-the-shelf M2 ball...)

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[GotRDid]

Most of the best M2 Ball I’ve shot in my Garands has been, at best, 2 MOA. This includes the Danish AMA-91, LC-66, HXP-88, and an odd lot of AP. The best standard bbl’s I’ve shot were a Danish VAR, a nearly pristine LMR, and a 65 series on a Letterkenny rebuild WWII Garand. Of course this is with irons sights on SR targets at range or JCG Matches on the SR-2 targets.
My particular Garands were not tweaked in any way, even to the allowable “improvements”, such as a GI profile aftermarket bbl. They were selected primarily for their consistency on target from Position in my leather jacket. I did realize that shooting my Handloads with a 155 AMAX or 168 SMK improved the grouping and wind calls, but only bumped my averages up by small percentage. Finally built a Garand up from a stripped receiver with a Criterion bbl taking care to use minimum spec parts and my best Handloads. Again the limitations were more the singer than the song, but still satisfying to run a Rifle that I assembled.

If your bbl is appreciably worn, you may realize better performance with Handloads with better standard match bullets. Given the standard sights on my DUV Mauser, and if your’s are similar, the front triangle profile and wide rear leaf are crude but field expedient. This will be a limiting factor.
Likewise, have you “slugged” your bore to determine actual diameter? Cast g/c bullets sized .001” over bore diameter may help, or
perhaps you could try a larger jacketed bullet if the bore is appreciably worn.
Lapua made a 170 gr FMJRBT back in the day that breathes new life into my older Garands that are kept historically/period correct.
Check your bore dimensions, then try a better bullet than the M2 construct, and if you wish, I can share a quantity of the Lapuas for further experimentation.


GotRDid.

 

[akajun]

so what we found for the springfields in the games matches would probably work for a military mauser. We cant bed or modify the gun with modern parts and methods but you can do trigger jobs. However repairs are allowed? I
First and foremost the bedding must be addressed. Make sure there is enough wood in the stock at the front receiver flat that the bottom metal does not completely bottom out on the bottom of the receiver. IF it does sometimes you can grind away the top of the pillar on the bottom metal to gain a little clearance. Dont overdo it. Ive been told this is allowable or maybe just nobodies challenged it yet but you can also add small shims of walnut veneer on the pad in the stock to bring back up height glued down with gorilla glue to replace wood "worn away". Make sure the ferule is in the stock on the rear screw too , sometimes they fall out.

Also make sure you have clearance all the way around the magazine box
Next free float the barrel from the front receiver ring to the front forend pad of the stock leaving about 2" of forend touching the stock. Here is where it gets tricky. You need at least 7 lbs of upward pressure from the forend on the barrel. Easiest way Ive found to measure this is with a fish scale, hook it to the barrel and pull away the forend with your hand. now to increase your upward pressure, you have to either scrape the pad under the front receiver flat to bring it down or glue wood veneer shims to the forend pad to build it up, or make a "duffel cut" at the first step down on the stock and re attach it with dowels and epoxy to bring it up.
Gets tricky there because one thing affects the other.
Now you need to relieve the upper handguard where its resting on the stock only and not touching the barrel anywhere, especially around the forend or front band if you plan to shoot with a sling.
As far as the trigger, some mauser triggers , sears, and cocking pieces are soft, basically if you can cut them with a file, find harder ones or spot harden them with casenit. If they are not hard enough the trigger feels sticky and will not reset if you let off the first stage and dont make a shot. YOU can improve them with carefull stoning if you ensure the angles stay the same but Ive gotten much better results with a surface grinder. Maybe a stoning jig from Powers Custom would help if you dont have one.
DOnt fool with clipping the sear spring, in fact if you stone the trigger for a trigger job the weight will decrease but can be increased with small shims.

As far as your loading, dont overthink it. Ive done very well with 47 gr of 4895 or 4064 and a 135 matchking and I jump the crap out of them. Like 1moa at 200 all day long. Low recoil, fairly cheap, usually easy to find. SOme buddies have done well with 125 tnt's and even 110 v max loads.
If you just want to buy off the shelf stuff the red box 150 gr fmj American Eagle shoots very well too, but good luck finding any right now.

 

[ebb]

Ggmac is your guy.

 

[jackieschmidt]

Those locking screws are an attempt to keep the main action screws from becoming loose backing out under combat conditions.
They are not needed in your application.

If your barrel is not shot out, the single best thing you can do to the Mauser is a good bedding job. Since the back of military Mausers tend to be flimsy, most concentrate the bedding in the front area and the chamber portion of the barrel.

There are multitudes of instructions on line about ow to properly bed a Mauser.

 

[Evan]

it doesn't seem to want to throw a group with anything I've fed it yet.

Can you quantify that? 4 inches at 100 yards is what I would consider normal, particularly if it is in original-ish condition, unbedded, and the bore is of unknown orgins or lifespan. I'll echo that bedding the action is your best bet. Any of the other little tricks sometimes suggested are often temporary or ineffective at making it shoot better for very long and you'll end up chasing it regularly.

 

[normmatzen]

I am not familiar with this rifle, but I have built two hunting rifles on a Spanish Mauser as well as a VZ-24 actioned M98 with a WWII 7X57 barrel cut down to 24".
The Spanish Mauser shot well with a re-chambered used 7mm barrel. But I couldn't make my VZ-24 M-98
shoot as good as the Mod 93!
I was using Barnes solid bullets (Yes, California!) and I read that they should have a long jump. Tried 0.090" and it now shoots Less than 1" groups! Pretty good for a barrel as old as I am!
Just don't forget to check and see if the rear piller is in place. Many folks don't realize that old Mausers had a piller on the rear action screw. Often, folks would take them of or just lose them. Without it, it will not shoot up to its potential. The front action screw also has a sort of piller in the action casting has a built in piller.
I wouldn't be surprised if that would not improve things with longer jump and insuring the piller is correct.

 

[nicholst55]

You're limited in how much wood you can scrape out for the receiver flat with a Mauser, because you run into the recoil cross-bolt. How much cleaning rod wear is there at the muzzle? An old gunsmith who made a living sporterizing milsurp rifles back in the day told me that he always did one of two things when utilizing the original barrel - either cut one inch off the muzzle and recrown, or else run a neck and throat reamer one inch into the muzzle to effectively counterbore it. This would typically remove or minimize the effects of cleaning rod wear.

Remove the trigger guard lock screws and store them away. You're concerned about accuracy, not in preventing the TG screws from coming loose and falling out.

Sarco sells a tall front sight that will enable you to get a 100-yard zero:

Swedish Mauser High Front Sight

www.sarcoinc.com

 

[wkdickinson]

I just finished sporterizing a 1945 bya M98K. Bought it from a guy at our club maybe 25+ years ago and it was always going to be a "some-day" project. With COVID I decided now was the time. The guy I bought it from had done a nice job of "sporterizing" the stock, so there wasn't much to do there, other than float the barrel. The bore was awful, so I knew up front I had to replace the barrel. I had intended to buy a short-chambered barrel from Brownells, but kept looking at a "take-off" Obermeyer 1:11", .30 cal. match rifle barrel that was sitting in the corner. Ultimately, I decided to use that barrel. The bad part of that barrel was fire cracking in the breach area. Since it was 28" long and I wanted a 22" barrel on the Mauser I figured I would lop off 5.5" from the breach and .5" from the muzzle. But that meant I had to teach myself how to re-profile the barrel, cut & thread a new barrel tenon, chamber and crown it. I have a 1937 South Bend 9" lathe, but I am nothing more than a hobby machinist.

Anyway, I read a bunch, got some help from folks on this forum, bought a new 308 Win reamer from Manson, made a bunch of tools and taught myself how to do it. I added a EGW picatinny rail, Burris Zee rings, a Nikon Monarch 3-9x40 scope, Timney "featherweight" trigger and Limbsaver recoil pad. The trigger is a necessity, but can be tricky to install (lots of wood needs to be removed and I ended up having to shim the back of the trigger because the bolt lift effort was way to high).

Frankly it turned out far better than I expected. I learned A LOT and enjoyed every bit of it. Pretty gun and it shoots good too.

 

[mauser284]

If a Mauser has a good or excellent barrel and is otherwise sound it will shoot decent as is. That said a Mauser wearing stock cosmoline soaked, water swollen stocks with questionable chambers, barrels or mismatched bolts is a crap shoot.

I own several LR Mil-Surp Mausers and they either shot great when I got them or they needed your average amount of work like any factory action to make them shoot. Just like not every Remington 700 is a 1/2 to 1 MOA rifle. That said I have seen plenty of Military NOS Mausers like the M48 Yugo's shoot 1 to 2 inch groups with decent ammo from prone.

If it is Columbian it was not made in 30-06 it was either 7x57 Mauser rechambered to 30-06 or it is some 7.65 cartridge rechambered to 30-06 and is .311 inch in bore. I have seen this before but have never run into a "1950's Columbian" that actually had a .308 inch bore.

I am not a Gunsmith or expert and my experience is limited but I actually have campaigned a Mauser in F or rather I built an F rifle for my son on a Mauser Surplus Military M48 action.

If you run across any military surplus Mauser and it is chambered in any 7.62 cartridge that has been used by the USA and NATO or Israel always slug the bore! Seldom do you have a re-barreled rifle you instead have one that some arsenals which may have been a good arsenal or may have been more like Buba's has simply re-chambered the OEM barrel. Some places like Norway I think made some fantastic barrels in 7.62 NATO for Mausers post WWII. In fact those barrels NOS sell for more than would think considering that Coles sold them for $49 or $79 or something like that they go for $199 today when you can find them.

Do not go grinding off the early attempt at pillar bedding of Paul Mauser. If the stock needs work just by a modern Mauser Military Stock and modify it to better fit your rifle. You can also find NOS Mauser stocks and if need be metal on ebay and Sarco and the like! The single best thing that has ever happened to any of my Mausers is cutting down the stock, refitting it to the barrel and action and getting rid of the metal bands and top hand guard. Just like the Houge Over Molded Stocks freq. do not shoot and the second people put their rifle no matter if it is a Howa or a Remington 700 into a stiffer stock they all shoot more consistently.

Always check Mausers for setback of the lugs, lug engagement. Look down bore with plenty of light to make sure the bore is clean, shiny and straight. Gently remove the steel bands and the top hand guard and check barrel channel for contact with barrel. Always check headspace if rifle is not shooting. While you have all the metal off of the rifle that is not part of the action check that everything is tight and does not move.

So like any rifle that does not shoot no matter if it was made in 1920's or 2019 check the same things. People get rifles from all major OEM's with lose action screws and scope base screws right out of the box. People get rifles new today that have poorly cut chambers, throats too long, action not remotely concentric and perpendicular. Stock does not fit action or barrel properly. Even with AR's you see brand new rifles with head space and firing pin length issues all the time and that should not be possible if Quality Control is enforced. That is what happens when you put quality control onto the shoulders of your suppliers and do not double and triple check for yourself!

Reloading is the best way to improve the accuracy of most problem rifles with out custom machine work.

 

[Clark]

I have got sub moa from a $50 Turk Mauser from BIG5.

a) Buy dozens of Mausers to get one with shiny grooves.
b) Bend the bolt. Below pics are:
..1) forged VZ24s
,,2) TIG welded 1903 Turks
..3) unprocessed 1908 Braz
..4) Commercial or welded bolts from eBay, not shown
c) Drill and tap.
d) 40X scope.
e) Glass bed and float the barrel
f) Sierra bullets. Never waste time with surplus ammo components
g) Ignore 35k psi SAAMI. Mauser case heads used in 270 are rated at 65k psi.

 

[Syncrowave]

Thank you all for your really great replies. I'm going through them now and digesting...hopefully your replies can help me keep them all on an SR-1 at 100!

 

[Evan]

Thank you all for your really great replies. I'm going through them now and digesting...hopefully your replies can help me keep them all on an SR-1 at 100!

Does it completely miss an SR-1 at 100 yds now? If I'm not mistaken, that's a ~20" square target, right? Just trying to understand what your expectations are, because if the rifle misses a 20" target then there are large things to correct: is everything screwed in tight, is the barrel bowed or bent, does a fired case spin true or sit square on a table (indicating how concentric the chamber is and if the bolt face is square).

 

[akajun]

Does it completely miss an SR-1 at 100 yds now? If I'm not mistaken, that's a ~20" square target, right? Just trying to understand what your expectations are, because if the rifle misses a 20" target then there are large things to correct: is everything screwed in tight, is the barrel bowed or bent, does a fired case spin true or sit square on a table (indicating how concentric the chamber is and if the bolt face is square).

He may be wanting to keep them in the 10 and x ring for a vintage match like me. If so, practice offhand lol

 

[jasophil1]

Take the lock screws out tighting the front screw first change trigger spring fore lighter one get some good brass and bullets these can be very accurate rifles got couple .

 

[mauser284]

Get the receiver accurized by a good gunsmith that works on Mausers or has in the past. Get a new barrel either a NOS barrel like a Yugo NOS M48 barrel or a something better.

If the receiver is good and you get is accuraized so receiver face trued, secondary shoulder trued, bolt face trued and lugs lapped and put a decent barrel on it like a Wilson, Criterion, Lothar Walther, Prefered, X-Caliper, Bergara, Douglas no reason that this rifle can not shoot 1/2 MOA or better with good ammo assuming you are able to shoot 1/2 MOA.

Plenty of people in the 1950's through 1980's have shot 1/4 to 1/2 MOA with reworked Mauser's and Springfield rifles!

 

[hoz53]

Get the receiver accurized by a good gunsmith that works on Mausers or has in the past. Get a new barrel either a NOS barrel like a Yugo NOS M48 barrel or a something better.

If the receiver is good and you get is accuraized so receiver face trued, secondary shoulder trued, bolt face trued and lugs lapped and put a decent barrel on it like a Wilson, Criterion, Lothar Walther, Prefered, X-Caliper, Bergara, Douglas no reason that this rifle can not shoot 1/2 MOA or better with good ammo assuming you are able to shoot 1/2 MOA.

Plenty of people in the 1950's through 1980's have shot 1/4 to 1/2 MOA with reworked Mauser's and Springfield rifles!

this is cool mauser you answered this thread back in 2021 and you answered it today(several years later). good 2 see ur still truckin

 

[lost okie]

If a Mauser has a good or excellent barrel and is otherwise sound it will shoot decent as is. That said a Mauser wearing stock cosmoline soaked, water swollen stocks with questionable chambers, barrels or mismatched bolts is a crap shoot.

I own several LR Mil-Surp Mausers and they either shot great when I got them or they needed your average amount of work like any factory action to make them shoot. Just like not every Remington 700 is a 1/2 to 1 MOA rifle. That said I have seen plenty of Military NOS Mausers like the M48 Yugo's shoot 1 to 2 inch groups with decent ammo from prone.

If it is Columbian it was not made in 30-06 it was either 7x57 Mauser rechambered to 30-06 or it is some 7.65 cartridge rechambered to 30-06 and is .311 inch in bore. I have seen this before but have never run into a "1950's Columbian" that actually had a .308 inch bore.

I am not a Gunsmith or expert and my experience is limited but I actually have campaigned a Mauser in F or rather I built an F rifle for my son on a Mauser Surplus Military M48 action.

If you run across any military surplus Mauser and it is chambered in any 7.62 cartridge that has been used by the USA and NATO or Israel always slug the bore! Seldom do you have a re-barreled rifle you instead have one that some arsenals which may have been a good arsenal or may have been more like Buba's has simply re-chambered the OEM barrel. Some places like Norway I think made some fantastic barrels in 7.62 NATO for Mausers post WWII. In fact those barrels NOS sell for more than would think considering that Coles sold them for $49 or $79 or something like that they go for $199 today when you can find them.

Do not go grinding off the early attempt at pillar bedding of Paul Mauser. If the stock needs work just by a modern Mauser Military Stock and modify it to better fit your rifle. You can also find NOS Mauser stocks and if need be metal on ebay and Sarco and the like! The single best thing that has ever happened to any of my Mausers is cutting down the stock, refitting it to the barrel and action and getting rid of the metal bands and top hand guard. Just like the Houge Over Molded Stocks freq. do not shoot and the second people put their rifle no matter if it is a Howa or a Remington 700 into a stiffer stock they all shoot more consistently.

Always check Mausers for setback of the lugs, lug engagement. Look down bore with plenty of light to make sure the bore is clean, shiny and straight. Gently remove the steel bands and the top hand guard and check barrel channel for contact with barrel. Always check headspace if rifle is not shooting. While you have all the metal off of the rifle that is not part of the action check that everything is tight and does not move.

So like any rifle that does not shoot no matter if it was made in 1920's or 2019 check the same things. People get rifles from all major OEM's with lose action screws and scope base screws right out of the box. People get rifles new today that have poorly cut chambers, throats too long, action not remotely concentric and perpendicular. Stock does not fit action or barrel properly. Even with AR's you see brand new rifles with head space and firing pin length issues all the time and that should not be possible if Quality Control is enforced. That is what happens when you put quality control onto the shoulders of your suppliers and do not double and triple check for yourself!

Reloading is the best way to improve the accuracy of most problem rifles with out custom machine work.

This one. Mine marked 30-06 has a 7.65 bore.

 

[clowdis]

I've seen mausers with either 8mm or 7.65 bores chambered in 30-06 also. It was a South American country, I think it was Argentina. Check your bore before you shoot anything again.