Which Mauser is the strongest / most desirable
- Thread starter Gerbil boy
- Start date
It's been a long time since I used a Mauser, but I once had a 1909 that made a beautiful rifle and I hunted with it for some time. It, however, did not compare to a friend's single shot Oberndorf with a set trigger. It was a real jewel. Good shooting...James
I machined the sleeve myself, I have a full thread on the build over at Mauser Central http://mausercentral.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=44844 I wanted something unique and converted the bolt for a small base case (204 Ruger).
I have always heard the Persian 98 Mausers were the best ones made. Pricey now.
Larryh128
Silver $$ Contributor
There are a lot of good Mauser actions, quite often you can pick up a used Charles Daly at a decent price for the action. They are made in the Zastava factory and are a good action. I would stick to a commercial action unless you can do the work yourself . The FN's are about the top of the heap. Extremely good and tend to be fairly expensive.
I would vote the VZ-24, pre-1942. I have a 404 Jefferys built on one. I also have both a 375H&H Imp and a 425 Westley Richards on early postwar FNs.
The 1909 Argentines are also very well made. I have two in 6.5 and 8 X68.
I do not think the CRF features of the 98 can be improved upon for a hunting rifle, especially one you would take to Africa hunting Dangerous Game.
I have been blessed to hunt Africa three times. Zimbabwe for Cape Buffalo, and RSA twice for Plains Game.
The 1909 Argentines are also very well made. I have two in 6.5 and 8 X68.
I do not think the CRF features of the 98 can be improved upon for a hunting rifle, especially one you would take to Africa hunting Dangerous Game.
I have been blessed to hunt Africa three times. Zimbabwe for Cape Buffalo, and RSA twice for Plains Game.
Riesel
Gold $$ Contributor
But they are a delight when rebarreled to a good quality 6.5 barrel and chambered in their original 6.5 x 55 Swede, and a pleasure to shoot. I have on my "to do" list a mauser action chambered in .35 Whelen.
swd
Silver $$ Contributor
Very cool, how's it shoot? I'm guessing I already know...
To me, best classic Mauser for really big bore cartridge is the Brevex Magnum series 400 action:
https://www.google.com/search?q=brevex+magnum+mauser+action+pictures&tbm=isch&imgil=iEY3Zw_8jZ88QM%3A%3BoJJ-oTe1cDCYtM%3Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.africahunting.com%252Fthreads%252Fi-found-a-real-sleeper-unidentified-416-rigby-real-cheap.20866%252F&source=iu&pf=m&fir=iEY3Zw_8jZ88QM%3A%2CoJJ-oTe1cDCYtM%2C_&usg=__XKj76jqAKx0Uwa5d_5lo6UEABUY=&biw=1024&bih=494&ved=0ahUKEwjVm-ubtePUAhXl64MKHXrTCL4QyjcIPw&ei=4SJVWZWnFOXXjwT6pqPwCw#imgrc=iEY3Zw_8jZ88QM:
https://www.google.com/search?q=brevex+magnum+mauser+action+pictures&tbm=isch&imgil=iEY3Zw_8jZ88QM%3A%3BoJJ-oTe1cDCYtM%3Bhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.africahunting.com%252Fthreads%252Fi-found-a-real-sleeper-unidentified-416-rigby-real-cheap.20866%252F&source=iu&pf=m&fir=iEY3Zw_8jZ88QM%3A%2CoJJ-oTe1cDCYtM%2C_&usg=__XKj76jqAKx0Uwa5d_5lo6UEABUY=&biw=1024&bih=494&ved=0ahUKEwjVm-ubtePUAhXl64MKHXrTCL4QyjcIPw&ei=4SJVWZWnFOXXjwT6pqPwCw#imgrc=iEY3Zw_8jZ88QM:
Iirc, Roy Weatherby used FN Mauser actions on his first rifles. A friend of mine has one chambered in 7x57, and it's a pearl. I have a 1916 Danzig, 98 built into a 30-06 that an old friend and LGS built for me in 1969. He was an excellent stock maker and made mine from a piece of French walnut, with curly forend tip and grip cap. I just have to put this rifle back to work this fall as I haven't hunted with it for about 10 years. I have a 94 and 96 Swede that I use more and more. Come to think of it, I have more rifles that I have time left to use. Enough rambling. Barlow
holstil
Silver $$ Contributor
I don't know a lot about Mausers. The Mausingfield caught my eye when it came out a while back.
https://www.americanrifle.com/product/mausingfield-bolt-action/
Cigarcop posted a pic of his, I'd like to have one.
https://www.americanrifle.com/product/mausingfield-bolt-action/
Cigarcop posted a pic of his, I'd like to have one.
I have a 06AI and 338 Win Mag both built on the VZ24 action. I love those guns. As per the recant above, the Mauser 94, 95, and 96 actions are not near strong enough for the big boomers. They make great little guns from the original 6.5x55 and down, like .243AI, 250-3000, 22-250, etc.
The 1909 from Argentina are a good action. J&G Sales in AZ has some on their recent email. I have a couple of those, well, three actually. Orginal 7.65x53 Argentine, a war built 7x57, and a war built sniper in 7.62 aka .308. Gunbroker still has these showing up all the time, but the prices are getting steeper. Get them while you can. I got a lot of mine from "Big-5" sporting goods on the west coast. They used to sell several different models every week in their add. I was buying enough that I got to be good friends with a manager and was able to go into their gun vault and pick and choose from the various ones. Most of them were imported by Century Arms....haven't dealt with them in years so do not know if either of them are still selling them. Quantities of these old war horses are drying up fast.
Sometimes I hate it when these subjects come up. I got to thinking and it has been 20 years since I built that 06AI...dang, I am getting old....seems like yesterday tho...and I would do another in a heartbeat if I had a inkling....fun projects.....now days it is specialty pistols built off Remington XP-100 actions.....they only make the wallet sore....
The 1909 from Argentina are a good action. J&G Sales in AZ has some on their recent email. I have a couple of those, well, three actually. Orginal 7.65x53 Argentine, a war built 7x57, and a war built sniper in 7.62 aka .308. Gunbroker still has these showing up all the time, but the prices are getting steeper. Get them while you can. I got a lot of mine from "Big-5" sporting goods on the west coast. They used to sell several different models every week in their add. I was buying enough that I got to be good friends with a manager and was able to go into their gun vault and pick and choose from the various ones. Most of them were imported by Century Arms....haven't dealt with them in years so do not know if either of them are still selling them. Quantities of these old war horses are drying up fast.
Sometimes I hate it when these subjects come up. I got to thinking and it has been 20 years since I built that 06AI...dang, I am getting old....seems like yesterday tho...and I would do another in a heartbeat if I had a inkling....fun projects.....now days it is specialty pistols built off Remington XP-100 actions.....they only make the wallet sore....
Merely being an old Mauser 98 action does not detract from its strength,if it is in good condition,with no rust pits chambered and headspaced correctly it is capable of any modern load properly loaded.
jackieschmidt
Gold $$ Contributor
Any time the discussion of vintage military actions comes up, the question of strength is the primary focus.
one thing to always keep in mind, Countries are not in the habit of manufacturing rifles for military use that are not strong enough to withstand the rigors of combat When firing the ammunition for which it was designed.
The vast majority of military actions, regardless of which country of origin, were manufactured from Carbon Steel, in particular, Carbon Steel with enough carbon content by percentage to enhance it‘s Case Harding capabilities.
Case hardening carbon steel has the advantage over what is commonly called alloy steel in that you can achieve a good hard surface to reduce wear in less than pristine conditions while maintaining a a relative soft core for ductility combined with an adequate strength to handle the load exerted on the parts. This can be achieved with a considerable cost savings over more expensive Alloy Steels when you are contemplating hundreds of thousands, even millions of numbers of parts,
Most Carbon Steels only have two other chemical elements of value, that being manganese and silicon, both which while not adding strength, to help maintain the initial properties during the manufacturing process.
When you get into true Alloy Steels, of which there are untold numbers, you see many more alloying elements to increase the inherent deep strength and hardening ability while still maintaining a high degree of ductility in relation to tensile strength. The most common we usually talk about are Chrome Moly, (4140), and Chrome Nickel Moly, (4340).
The material in the actions referred to in post #13 is 8620, which takes the properties of Carbon Steel and combines it with an excellent carburizing feature which result in an extremely hard surface with a strong core maintained by having a rich alloying content, one in particular, nickel.
A modern Mauser Action machined from either Alloy Steel at the proper hardness level or one of the modern carburizing steels such as 8620 will handle anything practical cartridge you can stick in it.
And keep in mind. Simply having a vintage action re case hardened does not ad to the strength in terms of tensile, yield, and ductility. It does add to the surface hardness for wear ability.
One other item to consider in steel is the actual quality of the steel. You can have two identical pieces of steel in respect to meeting the actual chemical composition, and one be much superior in the all important ductility feature simply because of the manufacturing process, that being maintains the cleanliness of the steel at the molecular level.
That is why you see different classifications of the same alloy, starting at regular melt, aircraft quality, and premium aircraft quality VAR. In short, this means that in the higher grades, there are few undesirable trace particles that can be present between the individual molecules of steel, enhancing ductiliybat a given RC hardness.
in vintage military actions, you really have no way of knowing the quality of the steel used, especially if that Country was having to cut corners in a loosing war. You might be able to research the Country of origin and ascertain the actual steel used in manufacturing parts, but you have no way of knowing the manufacturing procedures or quality of the material used.
one thing to always keep in mind, Countries are not in the habit of manufacturing rifles for military use that are not strong enough to withstand the rigors of combat When firing the ammunition for which it was designed.
The vast majority of military actions, regardless of which country of origin, were manufactured from Carbon Steel, in particular, Carbon Steel with enough carbon content by percentage to enhance it‘s Case Harding capabilities.
Case hardening carbon steel has the advantage over what is commonly called alloy steel in that you can achieve a good hard surface to reduce wear in less than pristine conditions while maintaining a a relative soft core for ductility combined with an adequate strength to handle the load exerted on the parts. This can be achieved with a considerable cost savings over more expensive Alloy Steels when you are contemplating hundreds of thousands, even millions of numbers of parts,
Most Carbon Steels only have two other chemical elements of value, that being manganese and silicon, both which while not adding strength, to help maintain the initial properties during the manufacturing process.
When you get into true Alloy Steels, of which there are untold numbers, you see many more alloying elements to increase the inherent deep strength and hardening ability while still maintaining a high degree of ductility in relation to tensile strength. The most common we usually talk about are Chrome Moly, (4140), and Chrome Nickel Moly, (4340).
The material in the actions referred to in post #13 is 8620, which takes the properties of Carbon Steel and combines it with an excellent carburizing feature which result in an extremely hard surface with a strong core maintained by having a rich alloying content, one in particular, nickel.
A modern Mauser Action machined from either Alloy Steel at the proper hardness level or one of the modern carburizing steels such as 8620 will handle anything practical cartridge you can stick in it.
And keep in mind. Simply having a vintage action re case hardened does not ad to the strength in terms of tensile, yield, and ductility. It does add to the surface hardness for wear ability.
One other item to consider in steel is the actual quality of the steel. You can have two identical pieces of steel in respect to meeting the actual chemical composition, and one be much superior in the all important ductility feature simply because of the manufacturing process, that being maintains the cleanliness of the steel at the molecular level.
That is why you see different classifications of the same alloy, starting at regular melt, aircraft quality, and premium aircraft quality VAR. In short, this means that in the higher grades, there are few undesirable trace particles that can be present between the individual molecules of steel, enhancing ductiliybat a given RC hardness.
in vintage military actions, you really have no way of knowing the quality of the steel used, especially if that Country was having to cut corners in a loosing war. You might be able to research the Country of origin and ascertain the actual steel used in manufacturing parts, but you have no way of knowing the manufacturing procedures or quality of the material used.
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Buttstock-TX
Silver $$ Contributor
I built my 9.3 x 62 on a Winchester Classic featherweight action. It started as a .270 Winchester but with a Mcgowen barrel, became 9.3 x 62. It is a tack driver now. With three different bullets it shoots less than 0.6" five shot groups! It loves MR2000 powder. In my experience, 9.3x63 is an intrinsically accurate cartridge. I've actually considered selling my .375 since I now own this rifle but my .375 is just too nice! Both are AHR builds.
If it's gotta be milsurp, I liked the 1909 argentine and vz24 and there are surely other good ones as well as aftermarket copies, where the metallurgy is reliable. I'd encourage anyone to forgo using a milsurp or any Mauser and look at any one of the 700 clone customs if possible, though.
The easy button is to find a J.C.Higgins (Sears & Roebuck store brand) model 51. It is a commercial FN action, it is already drilled and tapped for scope bases, the bolt handle is nicely shaped and does not need to be bent or replaced.
They are most often found in 30/06 and were also available in 270. The only thing that really needs to be done to one of them is a trigger replacement - they have a funky trigger that is hinged on the trigger guard but any commercial 98 trigger will fit them.
There are 1,000's of them out there and I often run across nice ones from $350 - $450.
Warning - don't shoot the donor, if you do you may never go ahead with the rebarrel. Yes, the ones I have owned generally shot that well.
drover
They are most often found in 30/06 and were also available in 270. The only thing that really needs to be done to one of them is a trigger replacement - they have a funky trigger that is hinged on the trigger guard but any commercial 98 trigger will fit them.
There are 1,000's of them out there and I often run across nice ones from $350 - $450.
Warning - don't shoot the donor, if you do you may never go ahead with the rebarrel. Yes, the ones I have owned generally shot that well.
drover
butchlambert
Site $$ Sponsor
My 458 Lott is built on a VZ24.
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