I got to handle a new expensive custom rifle, built on a Mauser action. It's a newly built M98 action to the same specifications as the original, only with a wing safety.

When I pulled the bolt back I could feel movement and play between the bolt and the receiver. Not horrible, but certainly more than what I get from regular rifles like Rem 700 or Sako 85.

Is this normal for Mauser actions, even the best built ones? Or was this rifle built sloppily?

Mauser actions tend to have some play. Remember they were originally for military use and were designed to still work in war fighting conditions when soldiers didn't necessarily have a lot of time for cleaning and maintenance. The play usually has no effect on the the rifle shoots, that's a function of how it locks up.

Mauser 98's don't have anti bind systems built into their raceways, like modern actions, the tolerances are a little looser in 98's, but it's the design of the action that causes it. Nearly all commercial copies without anti bind systems show similar movement when the bolt is fully rearward, such as Win Model 70's, Ruger M77/MkII, Kimber 84/8400 etc, etc.
It's normal.

Cheers.

Thank you both for the information. Can you please show me pictures or links to the anti-binding components? I'd love to educate myself on it

Google is your friend. Type: "bolt action anti bind" and get to educating.



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I would not worry about the bolt wobble. It is humorous that you brought this up, as if you read the action debates from a century ago, the fact that the M1903 action had less bolt wobble when the bolt was open was trumpeted to the American shooting public as proof that the M1903 was superior to the German M98 action. Unfortunately, in every point of departure from a M98 action feature, the M1903 action turned out to be inferior. I won’t list them, but concentrating on bolt wobble as a supreme quality characteristic just shows how easy it is to misdirect people and get them to believe misinformation.


Unless the bolt actually binds, bolt wobble is hard to notice during rapid fire. I shot a Columbian Mauser M98 in across the course competition, for years, and bolt wobble never slowed me down in the slightest in rapid fire. My Mauser requires more bolt lift effort, and that tends to move me out of position, but that has nothing to do with bolt wobble. I do appreciate the smooth movement and easy bolt lift of my pre 64 M70. The M70 was an action that was designed to minimize bolt wobble because back in the 30’s, the American public thought less wobble was a supreme quality characteristic, damn issues of reliability, safety, if that bolt wobbled, the action was garbage.

I have a customized M1903, and the bolt binds. Push hard and at an angle, the bolt won’t go forward. I consider that a real issue.

One of the primary reasons for the wobble in the Mauser bolt is that the receiver bridge is relatively short and the bolt, when withdrawn, is mostly out of the bridge. Also, a lot of the contact area is cut away due to other features. At the top of the bridge there is the slot for the guide rib on the bolt. At the bottom, there is the recess for the safety lug. If the Mauser bolts had a tendency to bind because of this, it might be a concern but they don't seem to have this tendency. Regards, Bill.

That play is there by design as is "everything" in a Mauser..Old Paul was so far ahead of everyone on this forum and the rest of the world it makes for an outstanding study, and one realizes why most of the bolt actions of this work copied the Mauser, some even tried to improve it, but all they did was add cosmetics.

The play is so it work in mud, sand and snow, it was originally a battlel rifle, and that makes a great hunting and DG rifle also.

Those custom Mausers that have bolt binding is caused by the addition of welding a scope friendly bolt and softening the V area that should be hardened and polished any time you put any kind of heat on that area even with a heat sink it needs to be checked as its usually softened.

Brian- be at peace with the wobble.
Like Ray said Paul Mauser designed everything with a purpose in mind.

I welcome the wobble as a source of comfort that my Mauser is working fine!

After all, it was designed for the bolt to only be in the fully retracted position for a very brief moment to eject a cartridge. Not long enough to notice a wobble.