I was pondering the possibility of cutting two FN Commercial Mauser 98 actions into two parts; the cut on the first action being closer to the front ring, and then cutting the second action closer to the rear ring. Then proceeding to mate the front of action number 1 to the rear of action number 2 and vice versa. (also modifying the bolts/extractors accordingly) Thus making a LR Kurz action as well as a LR Magnum Action, and being able to use corresponding aftermarket bottom metal.

There are better ways to get a short action as well as a magnum action, and I'm certainly not trying to dispute that fact. I merely think it would be neat to have a matched pair rifles in say a .250 savage and .375 H&H with actions that match the cartridge length. (I have a long action .22-250 that shoots brilliantly but the miss use of space is rather irritating.)

I'm sure I'm not the first to think of this, and I've seen shortened Mausers before, but have any of you undertaken a project like this? What was the cost of the cut and switch? I figure you could look around and find two suitable actions for 1000 USD and if it cost less than 2-3k for the change you'd be miles ahead of trying to buy a pair of originals.

This might just be a pipe dream, but I'm interested nonetheless.

Thanks,

John

I would recommend practice on 4 to 6 crummy rusted old Turks. When you decide it is not a very good idea you will not have much invested.

I think this is only good for someone that is an ace tig welder. But ace tig welders rarely have time to kill.

This was commonly practiced in the 1940's-1960's. Many older gunsmith books outline it with pictorials. I believe there was a good one in Roy Dunlap's book "Gunsmithing", but can't say for sure. They did it with arc welders and ox/acetylene torches. I'm willing to bet there is a 'smith here who can do it or someone knows one who can. With modern equipment I would think the bolt, receiver, and firing pin could be cut w/wire EDM, then the affairs welded back w/TIG.

I found this company that manufactures the actions and bottom metal: http://mayfairengineering.com/

If you search the ACGG website and download Gunmaker Magazine issue 123, Steve Nelson has an article on the action-shortening process. A good article but Kurz is misspelled as "Kurtz" throughout, a pet peeve of mine.

Actually not that hard. Make a jig that fits the raceway of the lugs and Mausers weld up pretty handily. VZ24s are great candidates. If you start with 3, you can nibble away at the third action to get properly curved fillers for the thumb cuts as well. This was one of my "apprenticeship" tests, short and long actions with thumb cuts eliminated and bottom metal screw holes welded up and redrilled and countersunk to fit. I did it all with gas, used 3.5% rod from Brownells (does not hot blue well but rust blues just fine).

The bolts are the bitch of the project. I had to remake the firing pins for my projects, but if you stay within commercial length specs, aftermarket magnum and mini Mauser firing pins, springs, et.al. exist commercially out there.

Don't be discouraged. Buy a pile of 24's and scour old books for reference and have at. When you get done, don't forget to reheat treat both the bolt body and action. Jerry Kuhnhausen's Mauser shop manual hits on it I believe...good book to have lying around anyhoo if you work on Mausers.

That being said, Zastava makes both mini and magnum length Mauser actions for around 5 bills each as complete rifles. Pick 2 and toss out the boat oars (Zastava stocks) and lawyer levers (the 37 pound triggers that Zastava seems to favor). Do a whole lot of polishing, add some decent wood and some nice aftermarket adjustable triggers and you might have a decent pair of boom sticks.

The cutting and welding is the easy part; the hard part is cleaning up all the contours. No need to re-heat treat anything if you don't want to; you aren't welding on any important part of the receivers or bolts. Just in the middle which does not need any particular hardness.

quote:

Zastava makes both mini and magnum length Mauser actions

The 308 length, normal and H&H length Zastava actions are all the same length. The 308 has a spacer the H&H simply has a box extension and metal removed from the feed ramp.

I've always had trouble considering the mini a Mauser.

The 1982 edition of 'The Gun Digest Book of Riflesmithing by Jack Mitchell' has a very detailed (in writing AND photos) of the shortening of a Model 70 by Joe Reid of Tucson. He uses basically hand tools and gas welding, and makes it seem easy. Joe has done quite a bit of work for me when he worked for a friend. Have no idea where he is working now. Joe is probably the best gas welder I have ever seen and I have seen a lot of them. He was strictly an artist with a torch. He was also a very good gunsmith. He fluted a barrel on a Model 37 I had and it was perfect in every respect.

There are certainly a few kinks involved.

I recently had an experienced and capable Gunsmith shortern a standard bolt to fit as Kurz action that had lost its bolt.

He achieved the objective with a functional bolt that headspaced, cycled and has been shot quite as bit, But despite his best effort and quite a bit more time invested than he charged me for, it still didn't feel quite right to either of us.

So I think that the advice to practise before using valuable actions is sound.

Foster.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
No need to re-heat treat anything if you don't want to; you aren't welding on any important part of the receivers or bolts.

If I was planning a high quality project, I would have the two donor actions annealed, and the two finished actions re-heatreated.

quote:

Originally posted by Bobster:
I found this company that manufactures the actions and bottom metal: http://mayfairengineering.com/

The Mayfair website seems to indicate that their short action is a large ring like their other models, not a small ring like the Oberndorf Kurz model.

I believe the 'new' Rigby is using Mayfair Kurz actions, and they like them a lot.

quote:

Originally posted by BaxterB:
I believe the 'new' Rigby is using Mayfair Kurz actions, and they like them a lot.

I can find no mention of a "Kurz" type action on the Mayfair website, though that doesn't mean they don't make it for Rigby. When compared to a Mauser Kurz, Mayfair's "Short" action seems to have a longer magazine, shorter guard screw spacing, and large ring/large shank dimensions (rather than SR/small shank).

Midwesterner,

There's an article in Gundigest "Rifelsmithing" (?) book where Sterling Davenport shortens a Winchester 70 action. That would be very helpfull to you in this process.

Also, years ago, there was a Guns and Ammo (?) article by Jack Lott (?) about modifying a Mauser 98 to .375 H&H length.

All good reading for this project.

Goudy and Blackburn?

quote:

Originally posted by richj:
Goudy and Blackburn?

Exceptionally clean and handsome metalwork. What is involved in making the rear tang modification shown here?

Glen,

Some file work. You take the edges of the tang down until the ends match the bottom of the cocking piece raceway. Then you widen out the entry in a shallow V so that the cocking peice enters easily and doesn't bind on top of the side rails.

It helps the angle of the grip and removes the notch in the stock wood right behind the tang. Much cleaner look.

The work shown here is very fine indeed.

Jeremy

Jeremy,
I am familiar with tapering the tang sides down to the level of the cocking piece raceway and flaring the opening, but the picture seems to show the end of the tang sloping below the level of the raceway. Was wondering if the tang had been welded on before shaping it this way. It looks really nice.

Hi Glen,

Is it possible you are looking at the wood bordered by the checkering pattern, instead of the actual tang?

Bolt

quote:

Originally posted by Redoak8:
Hi Glen,

Is it possible you are looking at the wood bordered by the checkering pattern, instead of the actual tang?

Yes, dammit. Never mind. Need to clean my glasses.

I love this little rifle and have most of the pics from another thread saved but don't have one of the TG from underneath. Any chance of seeing one.

Glen, I wasn't sure if that was what you were asking so I took a stab at it.

Damn, that is clean work when you see it out of the stock. Zero evidence of the alteration. Top notch, no question.

Jeremy

Nice work for sure. The only evidence is below the stock line and only a difference in surface finish at that. My only "complaint" is that they didn't use a small ring action. Beautiful rifle.

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