I know virtually nothing about them, save for I just read a 10 year old article on them in Guns & Ammo. I know some of them are cheap, and some are damn expensive to collectors.

If I find one in a pawn shop or at a gun show, if the bore is nice, and it doesn't look very worn, is it going to be a pretty shootable gun? Are there certain countries of origin to avoid? What is "hot" on the milsurp Mauser market right now?

What sorts of fun rebarreling projects can you do? Is there a .35-.375 wildcat that is common? In all truth I'll probably (if I even get one) leave it in 8x57 because its such a cool cartridge anyway.

I've read the threads about sporterizing it. I dont plan on going all out on that, maybe a new stock, or cut the handguards off the old one. Maybe new sights (I like peeps a lot). I can live with the bolt angle, an ugly duckling look, and probably without a scope.

Well, let's see...Spanish 98 mausers are reported to have soft steel and will/may cause setback of the recoil lugs into the receiver over time. Any 98 mauser made in the years 44-45 - these were supposedly rushed into service near the end of the war and may have problems, some were reported to have been sabotaged by prison laborers who resented the work. Chinese 98 mausers cause they were so poorly made. Being an admirer of 98's I cringe when I hear someone mention cutting the handguards, before you do that research a little on curioandrelic.com or milsurpshooter.net or gunboards.com cause some handguards are valuable to collectors. Difficult sometimes to locate a clean walnut guard depending on which model. Midway has barrels and stocks for diff calibers - a friend has rebarelled his into a 35 whelen from Midway and it looks very good, shoots good too. If you want to rebarrell cheapest would be a vz24, can be had for about $120-$150, very good actions. For an excellent shooter as is look for a Yugo m48 or m48a, about the same price. Current "hot" items are k98 mauser russian capture's - true german k98's with original german markings that have been refurbished by the russians, mine looks new except for dark original stock and even that's not bad and is cleaning up well. 8mm is not a very popular caliber in America but it's starting to. Factory ammo is deliberately downloaded to prevent damage to older 88 commission rifles (a very old design, not a 98)but with reloading it can be a potent 32 caliber round that performs equal with 30-06, very good on large game. My 98's are my favorite shooters and even one's with worn or corroded bores usually shoot excellent...Gary D.

I used to buy guns just to take them appart, clean them, think about the design, reassemble them, then overload them and try to blow them up.

Then I took appart a '98 Mauser.
It is the best gun I know of.
Trying to blow one up in an incremental work up may let gas excape when the brass fails, but it does not hit the shooter. [image]http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=49766.jpg[/image]
http://www.thehighroad.org/attachment.php?s=&postid=49766

The guys who know the most about re barreling are right here on accurate reloading forum: gunsmithing.
http://www.accuratereloading.com/ubbthreads/postlist.php?Cat=&Board=UBB5
They are pro's.

The amatuers doing it are at:
http://pub86.ezboard.com/bmilitaryfirearmrestorationcorner
click on "sporterizing"


Yes the 8mm is fantastic for deer, bear, or elk. Handloading the 8mm is a must. In 1905 the Germans introduced the 8x57JS and got 2900 fps with 150 gr.

Now the factory ammo and IMR load data is in 30-30 performance levels.

If you don't handload, shoot surplus, it is cheap and powerful.

I have rebarreled them to: .308, 45acp, 243, and .257RAI.

Don't screw around with Midway or FAC barrels.
Get a Lowthar Walther barrel and get the advantages of factory hand lapping: extreme accuracy and fast copper foul cleaning.

I have always liked the Czech BRNO rifles. The non-pariel of Mauser 98 type rifles is probably the BRNO produced Persian. These are a beautifully constructed and finished rifle and can still be had for a reasonable price in nearly "new" condition. I have a couple of the BRNO produced K98k rifles, and even though late war "Kriegsmodels", they are a fine rifle. I have one that I re-barreled with a Lothar Walther barrel in .308, but retained the original stock and WII appearance. A very similar rifle was used by Isreal, in .308.

"Sporterizing" etc. is generally frowned upon today, as there is not an endless supply of these rifles available in good condition. The VZ24 is an excellent action, though it is hard to find one with a good bore as they lived through a very active time.

Interesting, thanks for the facts.

*IF* I were to rebarrel, I'd probably want to go up (what about a 9 or 10x57?). I'm not too much of a fan of the mainstream calibers, so I might just leave it in 8x57 and handload, also doesn't Norma make a good round for it?

I've read that the VZ24 is availble in 7.65x53? Is this related to anything I would know of? What's it comparable to, little less than a .30-'06?

Just one person's viewpoint:

Don't try to rebuild these old rifles into something they are not. Shoot them and enjoy them for what they are.

I bought a $50 Turk (large ring action, with small ring threads) at Big 5. Bought a brand new stainless Remington 30-06 barrel at a gun show for $40. Had it re-threaded, and mounted on the Turk. Had a gunsmith chop off the bolt handle, and put it back on at 90 degrees, plus he ground down the "bridge", and drilled and tapped for a scope. Added a "low scope" safety. Then I smoothed and polished all the roughness, and had him re-blue. Added a nice walnut stock. Don't get me wrong--it was a fun project, and I ended up with a very nice rifle. But, it would have been MUCH cheaper to go out and just buy a good rifle and have it floated and bedded.

If you want a project, then rebuild an old Mauser. If you want a gun, go buy what you want. If you want a well made, inexpensive rifle, buy a K98 Mauser, or an M96 Swede, or a Finnish M39, and don't do a thing to it except enjoy the heck out of it. Both my Swede and my Finn will do five-shot sub 2" groups at 100 yards, with iron sights, and they are a delight to shoot.

Clark, the 7.65x53 is an argentine 98 mauser, not a vz. These rifles are bult incredably well just like the swedes, persians, swiss's...very smooth actions. They're also expensive compared to others. The 7.65 is a 31 caliber in a case almost the same size as an 06, it's a very potent round and will do pretty much what an 06 will...Gary D.

Denton has some good advise. It took many years of engineering and field tests to achieve the end product-a battlefield rifle. And a fine one it is, too. I have bought Turk mausers, Czech mausers, German mausers, Swedish mausers, and Argentine mausers. Considering cost, quality of workmanship and accuracy, I believe it is hard to get a better deal than the Czech 98/22 rifle. "J&G Sales" has them for $69.95-79.95. The only change that I made to mine is to drop in a Timney trigger (2# pull) and add some height to the front sight. I epoxied a brass bead to the front sight to add about 1/8 inch height to it, which brings the rifle closer to a 100 yd zero. I did this by using a brass door key. The keys have a groove in them that closely matches the thickness of the sight blade. I simply ground off the metal to either side of the groove, leaving it with square corners. I used a good quality expoxy to glue the brass to the top of a thoroughly cleaned and degreased front sight blade. After the expoxy dried, I took a small file and rounded the corners to my liking. Sometimes a little deepening of the rear sight "V" notch is required. These rifles, with good bores, shoot well.

The Swedes are very good shooters as well. I prefer the Mod 1896 over the shorter model 38. Again, a good bore means alot. The Swedes are about 3 times more expensive than the Czechs. WARNING: people who buy Swedes love them almost to the point of obscession.

The 1909 Argentine in 7.63 X 54 is ballistically very close to a .300 Savaqe. It is a great cartridge, but commercial ammo is very limited. YOU MUST LOAD to get the best performance from this cartridge. These rifles tend to be about 5 times the cost of a Czech rifle and about 50% more than a Swede, but worth every penny. Very few of the decent Argentines have bad bores. Seldom hear of a "poor" condition Argie. The Argentine Army either took exceptional care of their rifles or never used them much.

Finally, there is plenty to marvel at when looking at a Mauser. Each variant holds it own mystique and nothing else compares to the strength and simplicity. Good luck with your choice and leave it as original as possible.

Just got back from the pawn shop and they have a Yugo M48, metal is all in good shape, nice shiny action and bolt, no external rust, wood isn't the best.

The M48 isn't as desirable as the VZ24 is it? Shorter action, right?

The M48 can often be found in newish to excellent condition, which is one of it's advantages. They can be an accurate rifle, on par with the K98k type rifles. My experience is that they do not like the commonly available Turk ammo, probably due to differing throat dimensions.

They are worth getting if not too expensive, and in very good or better condition.

I personally like the old M98s, but think a word of caution is in order. Many of them have received some
pretty hard use in not one but two world wars. I have one that was made in 1917. I spent an entire
winter restoring it. It looks great but still doesn't shoot worth a hoot. The action is terrific, but the barrel
is all but shot. If you can find a model from the late 40's it'll probably serve you a lot better. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

I bubba-ized a VZ24 last year, and it was probably the most enjoyable project I ever started. I just picked up a second one, and will likely do the same thing for a rifle for my daughter. Both of these rifles had sewer pipe barrels, and were destined to spend the rest of their lives in the back of the gun vault.
I appreciate the opinions of Denton and BeMan, and in fact I have a K98 that will forever remain a milsup, however I have no problem with someone turning one of these rifles into something that will be shot and treasured forever.

Well, I was looking at rough VZ24s at a gun show, and a guy tapped me on the shoulder. I ended up buying a 1940 KKale Turk off his shoulder, reblued and refinished military stock, great bore, for 100 bucks. Shot it a little, but not at distance yet. It looks miles better than most.

I'm either going to just do a drop in sporter stock replacement (something that can easily be undone) or sell it at another gun show and get a fixer-upper.

Absolutely! The ones I can't afford to buy!

If you want to leave it in 8mm, even if you put it in a new stock I suggest the m24/47. They are a cut above the m48. I own several, some were made by FN, on the original contract. My favorite is an m24/47 that was rebarrelled during the rearsenal process.