I did some reading on the subject and found that there are different ways to make an action.One is called investmenet casting, (Ruger,cz 550,) another is forgeing,and the best and most expensive is from solid block(Hartmann and Wiess,and some others). I would prefer solid block,so I narrowed my choices.I like rifles and want a real action.Don't give me a fake because a company wants to make their business profitable.I want the real thing.Now I know that Martini and Hagn make the best rifles.I'll just have to save my pennies up.

Been lurking a while here, good forum. Had to jump in on this one. CZ actions are forged not cast. Ruger is cast and may be the only one that is. Modern actions based on the Mauser design are usually improved. The CZ is. I have the CZ in 416 Rigby. All it needs is polishing of the trigger and action and it's good to go. The only improvement might be to the mag, maybe to increase capacity, maybe to make it detachable if one preferred. Hard to beat this one for $800 bucks.

Does anyone kknow if other factory actions are milled from a single block of steel? Winchester? Is case hardening beneficial to an action? I notice sako,and some other european actions have this.

quote:

Originally posted by JJ_Miller:
Ruger Magnum in 416 Rigby. Send it off for a recoil pad, trigger and stouter ejector spring and you have the best DG game rifle period.................JJ

Can you tell me more about the ejector spring? I did do the trigger and pad.
Thanks

Mausers and the newer Sako-CRF have a solid fixed chunk of steel for an ejector. The Ruger, M70-classic and CZ use a small steel blade that pivots on a pin and are pushed up in place by a small spring. On any of these; lack of maintenance, gunk, rust, grit, etc. may cause the ejector blade to be sluggish or bind.

As far as the Ruger investment casting is concerned, I cannot see how the end user would ever be able to notice any lack of strength when compaired to the other actions listed.

As far as Mausers go, they seem to be worlds apart. Do you choose old school mild steel w/ a hard outer shell or modern steel? A true magnum length action or a cut up smaller action to squeeze in the bigger cartridge? Do you use a real mauser with the solid steel fixed ejector or a knock off with a blade ejector on a spring?

I guess it depends on how deep your pockets go.

GVA

GaryVA,when you say Mausers do you mean actions with the same dimensions,or actions made from that manufacturer? Is the Hartmann and Weiss a mauser? How about the Satterlee?

You don't need deep pockets for what you descibe.Go to page 156 in the Brownells catalogue and you will see a "classic mauser for custom builders" "Precision machined from chrome nickel alloy steel or stainless steel" "fixed ejector gives maximum reliability" price is 300 dollars! There must be more to it than that Gary.

I was being general in terms of the broad differences between the various rifles as far as design, materials, construction and price.

As far as "Mausers" go, I was refering to the "Mauser 98 Rifle". As far as being specific to the ejection why I prefer the Mauser 98 to modern "Mauser styled" rifles such as the CZ, M70, Ruger, etc.; The Mauser 98 uses a large faced steel ejector that is affixed to the rifle with the externally mounted bolt stop via the bolt stop screw. This is very simple yet very stout. In the field w/ nothing more than a screwdriver or back of knife, etc., you can remove the bolt stop screw and access the ejector while the rifle is completely assembled in the stock. The other variations use a small steel blade that fits internally and is held by a small pin and sprung by a small spring.

Additionally, if you look at the simplicity of the Mauser 98 Rifle, you'll see that it is comprised of only 32 simple and basic parts. The famous "pre-64" M70 on the other hand is made up of 50 parts.

As far as deep pockets go; there is a huge difference in price between not only older mauser receivers but newly made modern copies as well. A Mark-10 reciever is in no way near the same in price as a hand made custom version such as those listed.

I have not recieved Brownells #59 yet, but #58 only shows the Dakota(copy of pre-64), CZ(not a 98), and Ruger(it's a Ruger). The Brownells dealer pricing in US dollars for those three range from $529.83 for the stainless Ruger 338WM to $2,000.00 for the Dakota Afican action. If you are able to purchase through Brownells a modern stainless steel Mauser 98 action for $300.00, then that's your ticket and go forth and prosper. When my #59 comes in, I'll look through it and see if it is available in the US.

good luck,
GVA

Still, not so simple. Squre bridge, single bridge?
Surface ground, polished, or ready to go? Rehardening needed? Ejection port need modified or good to go? Gary already hit on the ejector and bolt stop. Does it come with bottom metal and trigger guard? Will that need cutout to fit a particular trigger? The list goes on and on. I am a true devotee of the mauser actions, however choosing between various makers takes a bit more work. OF course the last and for most of us overriding factor in choosing is price. You need to look at the total package rather than as individual pieces.

What are the actual mechanical differences between a mag Mauser, WFF Hein, Dakota 76, Granite Mountain, etc?

I have been told it is not possible to take an unloaded Mauser, open the bolt, drop in a round and close the bolt.

I was told it was engineered so that the extractor can not be pushed over the rim of a bullet that is in the chamber.

I was told that you must have a round in the magazine, then open the bolt all the way so that the round is gripped onto the boltface, then you close the bolt thereby moving the round into the chamber.

All comments to educated me on this are appreciated.

I don't know which Brownells catalogue is being referred to, but on the pages referred to I only find springs, etc. All the actions and barrelled actions are on pages 2 and 3. This is from edition 59.

Geronimo

sorry,that's catalogue 55,page 156 and is called the KBI INC Charles Daly mauser action

I use czs actions in most of my heavies ,but my favorite is a mauser 458 made by my friend Amestoy-Hoffman.Juan

quote:

Originally posted by shootaway:
JAL,are you feeding with one firm uninterupted motion?

No, I was simulating screaming,kicking,jerking,etc.

When calm and collected and slamming the bolt closed fast, I'd have got 2 shot off OK the third had a strong tendency to jam into the top lug cutout. Pulling the bolt back allowed it to fall free and the forth fed in OK.

3 out of 4 with a shuffle in the middle aint bad
I've read of many CRFs that couldn't do that upright.

CZs for sure or a Ruger 77. If money and time was no problem a Mauser magnum length would be at top of list.

Ruger 77

Well, a real Mauser M98 Magnum costs around $14K. What's up with that? I'd buy a double in a heartbeat over an M98. My dealer has a beautiful '38 Rigby for $6500. Why would one pay double that for a bolt gun. Go figure.

It seems that the mauser company stiil makes rifles for hunting.I saw a picture of one and it had a long magazine area like a Sako with a bolt that is case hardened.I noticed Granite mountain arms also makes them with a case hardened bolt.

As far as I know CZ are now making the M 555, a push feed. Apparently the Germans asked for it.
Must have got sick of those "rough" CRFs.

Looked at that Rigby again and it's not as old as I thought I was told. Whadduya know it's built on a CZ action.

Mauser 1898 in several calibers.

Mauser, Winchesters, Brno, as long as the rifle is fitted to the cartridges and functions well, its a BG/DG rifle. That is more important than what the name tag says, but then its the feeling of the CRF action also, that is a psychological factor for me thats difficult to get away from...

magnum mauser...paul

I Voted for Satterlee because I know him personally and know that he has fed hundreds and hundreds of BIG CRF rifles. He knows what he's doing. I would however be thrilled to hunt with the Enfield I saw posted here a while back that was built by Burgess & Fisher.

JAL

We are going to have to get you into one of the 378 based Wbys. Now that is true CRF

Of course the 378s cheat because of the magazine system but all is fair in love and war.

Mike