I have a VZ24 that i think needs to be bubba'd. since it doesn't have many matching parts. I think if i cut the stock down and redid the finish i would be happy with that, where is the best place to cut the stock?? any tricks to making it look good? my barrel is a sewer pipe so i think i am gonna change it with another VZ barrel or maybe a 7x57 if it will fit easy. The whole point it to keep it cheap, other wise i could just go buy a new rifle, also is there a way to put some decent scope mounts on this thing i don't mind drilling and tapping. any suggestions would be appreciated

CC,

The cut down military stocks I've seen were so ugly I wouldn't bother. Seriously, I'd refinish it and hunt with it like that; it will kind of look like a full-stock / Mannlincher. Tap it for a scope, add a scope-friendly safety, a trigger, and forge the bolt handle and you are all set.

And don't sell that barrel off until you shoot it; many look like sewer pipes, most will still shoot.

Todd

This barrel will fit the vz24 stock but the bayonet lug will have to be cut off because it will be longer than the short barrel. The headspace was fine on mine the way it came. I just screwed it on.
Model: Mauser 98
Item No. 48710
Additional HVY ITEM charge: $1.00
$45.30 for quantities of 4 or more.
Retail Price: $51.45 Add to Basket:

Numrich Gun Parts Corp

http://www.e-gunparts.com/

Midway had a real nice stock for $75.
and some nice barrel and stock combos for cheap
if you take the barrel off you can drill and tap it yourself before you put new barrel on easy
SS

Those Numrich barrels are quite nice. I have one. Brand new, but at least twice as old as me. They are 19.5" long, ~5" shorter than your VZ-24.

So where is the best place to tap for scope mounts there isn't really any room on the back of the reciever for the bases to fit?? also what is the best thing to do with the bolt, is there a way of bending the straight bolt i already have or would i need to get that kit that involves sawing off the bolt handle??

Natchez has Ramline stocks for $63, the VZ-24 will drop right in.

Todd did your Numrich barrel screw on without anny headspace work?

CC There is a one piece base made for Mausers. Also there is room for one hole in the back of the receiver. I have a FN98 Mauser I customized. Looks good, shoots even better.

The Redfield JR base is a one piece that will fit without charger hump removal.

The bolt can be forged or cut and welded. If this is to be your only project I'd just get a pro to do it. Fairly inexpensive job.

-M

do those ramline stocks looks nice i have seen a few replacement stocks that have built in scope mounts and i think they look ugly, also how does the 8mm cartridge compare balisitcally to say the 338-06??

The only inexpensive aftermarket stocks for Mausers that I think look decent are the laminated Boyds and the synthetic Butler Creek. Ther are a few walnut sporter stocks around that look pretty good as well, but finding them is sometimes difficult. A handloaded 8 X 57 and a 338-06 are going to be very similar ballistically, and no differance what-so-ever will be noticed by the game. - Dan

[ 02-12-2003, 02:20: Message edited by: dan belisle ]

For God's sake man, don't use that cut-off and tap bolt handle job! You can either get it forged or weld on a new one. Either way it's a job for a gunsmith, and you can expect to pay anywhere from $35 to ??? for it. Look in the back of Shotgun News -- there's an add section for gunsmithing work, lots of choices there.

As someone said you can use one piece standard bases, or Warne makes a two piece Weaver-style base set that works with the charger hump. I like this option. Cheap too. Dayton Traister makes the easiest and cheapest replacement safety -- just drop it in, most of the time you're good to go. Throw the little piece of plastic that comes with it away -- it makes it too hard to work, and there's no way the safety can fall out once you assemble the bolt anyway (you'll see what I mean).

I personally have not had good luck with Timney triggers -- I have only tried one, and doubt I will ever try number 2. Dayton Traister triggers work great.

Look at the stocks here:
www.boydboys.com
Less than $70 for a walnut stock? Can't go wrong with that.

Staying with the 8x57, a caliber that I have ever-growing respect for, you can have your sporter for about $150.

HTH,
Todd

Roundbutt,

I have only tried the barrel on an action with lug problems, with headspace estimated at .020" or so

I will try it on a new Brazilian tonight or tomorrow, and post here to let you know. A factory cartidge protrudes .095" so I'm thinking it is fully chambered.

Something interesting I noticed about this apparently unfired barrel is that the lands don't start off sharply at full height near the leade, but appear to taper off. I have noticed that in many 8x57 barrels, but assumed it erosion from 1000's of rounds. Anybody know?

Todd

Is there a way to use the saftey that i already have or is it just too much of a PIA with a scope and if so how much is a replacement saftey and what happens to the existing saftey unit that is already on the bolt??

on edit: man Todd that place really kicks butt for stocks!!! have you bought any from them? if so which one did you get

[ 02-12-2003, 08:21: Message edited by: cummins cowboy ]

CC,

You would need very high rings to use that safety. The D-T safety is probably cheapest and simple. I think they are about $20 from Brownells.

I haven't bought a Boyds stock, but have had the opportunity to look them over. They look nice for the $$ you are spending. I have heard occasional stories of misaligned or sloppy inletting, but I'm sure you could get a replacement if that was the case. I would go for the JRS Classic in nutmeg laminate, just because I think laminate is more interesting than unfigured walnut.

Todd

Well took the VZ to the range today and only managed to get one bullet on the paper this is with open sights so i can assume that I am shooting all over the place. I would have tried shooting from 50 yards but my range only had 100yd range. I think before i fully give up on this barrel i am gonna take it and see what it does from 50 yards but i have my doubts seeing that an 8mm bullet slides into the muzzle almost up to the brass. I would like to thank everyone for their imput especially Todd. I orginally ran out and bought this gun a little half cocked and prolly should have looked around a little more. I want to collect military surplus guns but feel this gun with mis matched parts is not of any value in that area, so I already have a .270 a .22-250 that covers my varmint and deer so i think i want to definatly keep the gun in 8x57 so my questions is this i want to make the gun a sporter i also what to keep it as cheap as possible, in the event that i replace the barrel would i be best served getting a k98 vz 24 replacement barrel to save money or should i get a new replacement barrel. so to sum up all the parts i need.

1. maybe a new barrel (k98 vz24) approx 30-40$
2. new saftey approx $20
3. new stock approx $70
4. new trigger
does anyone know how much the trigger would cost i am just trying to figure how much money i need for this project and have all the parts together so i can take to the gun smith and say have at it i am also open to any suggestion i am overlooking

CC,

Thanks for the kind words. Your barrel may be counterbored, extending from the muzzle approx 1- 1/2" into the barrel -- this was done instead of recrowning, an attempt to restore use to a rifle with a damaged crown. If you can't see rifling at the crown, that is probably the case. These barrels are usually in pretty rough shape anyway, in my experience. As far as I know, a K-98 barrel should be fine; headspacing may even be ok, although I'm not sure how the sights would line up. Try Numrich gunparts ( www.e-gunparts.com ).

Dayton Traister, Bold, and Timney triggers run in the $30 - 40 range. Check Brownells.

Todd

Sights not lining up is not an issue as they are only soft soldered. It is easy to realign them.

Thanks for that tip on the sights, z1r. I have a VZ-24 that needs a new barrel; I thought it would clean up, but it didn't. It tends to pattern more than group. You wouldn't happen to know for sure about the K-98 barrels, would you? I mean about them being exactly the same WRT sights, contour etc. I'd like to keep the gun looking original.

Todd

Todd, i have heard a couple say that a k98 barrel is pretty much exactly the same as a VZ 24, one kewl sight i found for military surplus is
www.milsurpshooter.net have you checked this out?? Also Z1r you are saying that the front and rear sights are just soldered on what is the best way to remove them. if i use a military barrel for my sporter will the rear sights interfere with the scope objective.

I can't say for sure if the K98 & VZ barrels are the same exact contour. Often times there are subtle differences that will fool ya. I have a steyr 1912 barrel in .308 that I am putting on my 98/22 it looks exactly the same as the original but when you try to fit the handguard you realize that the sights are just enough different that the original handguard won't fit. Luckily, I also got the 1912 hanguard.

The rear sight is just a sleeve that is soft soldered in place. Remove the screw at the front of the rear base, it is an alignment screw in addition to holding the handguard in place. If you notice, the tip is pointed. It fits a small hole in the barrel and is used to align the sights before soldering. You'll see the hole once you remove the base.

The same is true for the front sight. There is an alignment screw under the front blade in the dovetail. There are two kinds of front sight bands on the VZ. The first is a band that is larger in diameter than the barrel. The second is more of a sleeve and is the same diameter as the barrel. These are usually fitted so well that without knowing what to look for you'd think the base was part of the barrel.

For all the sights. front and rear, remove the set screws and heat the base with a propane torch until you just see the solder flow. Then drift it off. I use a hardwood dowel. After you get the new barrel properly headspaced, just slip the original sights back into place. The set screws will most likely not align but you can get the sight straight with out the set screw.

If you use a military barrel for a sporter just remove the rear sight base. Polish with a little emory cloth and reblue.

Cummins Cowboy,

If youd like you can come over and see what I did with my M-48. Im in Magna. I reshaped the stock and the rest is all original, I fire lapped the bbl and it too looks MUCH better than it did. It may give you some Ideas.
Most of the reshaping I did was from the pistol grip on back. Its really not very hard to shape one up, Ive done two of them now and I like this stock better than my Savage stock but thats not saying much. At this point I am sticking with the original sights and trying a couple of intricate improvments to try to give them an edge over their original state. The first and easiest thing I did to them helped quite a bit.

E-mail me if your intrested.

You wont regret keeping the 8X57 around, no other round in its class has such inexpensive practice ammo available and it is well suited for Elk sized game, its a very potent little round.

If you are handy with a rasp and the issue stock is in good shape, with no serious cracks , you can save some money by reshaping it. Try copying the buttstock cross-section of a sporter stock you may have on-hand. Also, look in "Mauser Bolt Rifles" by Olson to see some old designs which you can copy.
Add an inexpensive rubber buttpad and you are in business.

If you use a surplus VZ or K-98 barrel cut off the stock at the step where the lower band fits. You can patch/fill the lower sling loop hole and install quick detach swivels. If you remove the rear sight sleeve you probably won't have to inlet the K-98 barrel. Use a wood dowel and epoxy to fill the cleaning rod hole. You may want to use wood filler/bedding compound in the barrel channel to fill in the inletting cuts. I agree with the previous poster that the 8x57 is one "righteous" cartridge when reloaded. You can easily equal .30-06 velocities with all but the heaviest bullets.

The 19 1/2 inch 7x57 barrel presents an interesting option. You could retain the entire stock and by cutting off the bayonet lug on the forend cap and incoporating the aforementioned alterations you can create a Mannlicher design. After you cut off the lug, weld up the hole or countersink it and drive a screw into a plug glued into the cleaning rod hole to dress it off. You can cut the upper band off even with the barrel channel,chamfer the edges, and retain it also. Install Williams Guide sights. The only problem with the 7x57 is that you will need to keep muzzle velocities down for lighter bullets(154 grains or less)so as not to overspin due to the fast twist in these barrels. That's not a bad thing since the muzzle blast with full loads is prohibative with the short barrel.

My local gunsmith has built 4 rifles for me. He charges only $98 to forge the bolt handle in FN style, grind off the charger guides and drill and tap. $50 to install the barrel. If you want his address, let me know. His work is top notch.

Bobster