I know very little about either and on the surface they appear quite similar. What's the difference in the two or the advantage of one vs the other?

M 98



M 03

I do not think the M03 has a claw-extractor and thus is not control-feed like the 98. I imagine it does not have a fixed-blade ejector either, but I could be wrong.

Looking at the brochure on their website, it also has a cock-decock instead of a safety. Like some other "modern" designs, the M03 is cocked before shooting it. The bolt lift is 60 degrees, unlike a 98. It has a different locking lug configuration. For my money, it is a modern design that has only the name Mauser to associate it with what I consider to be a Mauser.

I suppose it could be a perfectly good rifle. I have not even handled one, let along shot one.

M03 is a modular interchangeable barrel system design. Primary competition in the market is the Blaser R93 and Sauer 202. They are all about $3,000 rifles and VERY good ones at that price.

The current M98 is basically a re-hash of the 1936 M98 and M98 Magnum design using modern materials and machining. The Magnum sells in the range of $15,000 and would compete with M98 type customs available from inumerable shops worldwide.

btw, it is important to note that mauser makes NO sporting rifles anymore.. the name is under license to sauer

quote:

Originally posted by jeffeosso:
btw, it is important to note that mauser makes NO sporting rifles anymore.. the name is under license to sauer

Well, that's not a BAD thing.......

nope, i think think it's a good thing.. especially since "mauser" is making war systems, and the option was no mausers!!

quote:

Originally posted by Macifej:
M03 is a modular interchangeable barrel system design. Primary competition in the market is the Blaser R93 and Sauer 202. They are all about $3,000 rifles and VERY good ones at that price.

The current M98 is basically a re-hash of the 1936 M98 and M98 Magnum design using modern materials and machining. The Magnum sells in the range of $15,000 and would compete with M98 type customs available from inumerable shops worldwide.

Sauer, Blaser, and Mauser are all owned by SIGARMS, so competitions is a relative term. More like market dominance here in Europe.

The R93 was the rifle I saw the most of in Spain, but I did see the occasional 202, and they were all take down. I have never seen a single rifle shop here in Italy, but the magazines seem to have all three rifles equally doing task.

I am fairly certain that both the R93 and the Mauser 03 are made in the same shop by the same hands.

So your alternative then is to buy the Heym SR30 so as to have a proper Germanic device AND be unique! Bet it's a tad quicker than the R93 too!