Could someone post some thoughts on the various commercial mausers that have been produced under the assorted trade names such as Santa Barbara, FN, Midland, BSA, Interarms,JC Higgins, Browning etc.? Do they all have hinged floorplates?, what the diff. between an FN sporter and a supreme? or a browning safari? which had side safeties vs traditional flag or cocking pice safeties? etc.

I'm really amazed this has gone unanswered.

Probably because no one can type the hundred or so pages it would take to give you a proper answer. Your best bet is a copy of "Bolt Action Rifles" by Frank de Haas.

Basically, the best commercial mausers were made in Germany, Czechoslovakia and Belgium. Yugoslavia is next, and any others a distant last. The better ones were made prior to about 1960, with earlier ones being truer to the original 98 pattern.

For Interarms the answers are: They have hinged floorplates. They have a side safety which should be inspected prior to use if not shot between seasons. The triggers on my Interarms feature adjustments for sear engagemnet, pull weight, overtravel and safety engagement. There is a spring on the safety engagement adjustment and the factory spring loses it's "spring" after 6-10 years and will then slip from safe to fire without a detent effect. Not a very safe safety when the spring gets weak

Well, let's limit this discussion to actions made essentially on the '98 pattern.



Several of the ones you mention, plus many others (Browning, Higgins, Weatherby, Sako, H & R) were made on FN Mausers (Fabrique Nationale [sp?]) of Herstal, Belgium. There are a few variations of this action, but the two main ones are the "short" extractor and "long extractor" models. FN Mausers are regarded as very high quality actions, and most, if not all, used a milled steel floorplate. Some of the early ones used a cocking piece safety, but most of the later ones used a trigger safety.



The '98 design being long since beyond patent, a number of other manufacturers have built actions that are essentially '98s with various "improvements". Among them are Sante Fe, Santa Barbara, Interarms (Zastava, now being imported as Charles Daly), and a few others. Safeties vary with the manufacturer, but all of the Interarms use a trigger safety, and most of the "commercial Mausers" from the '50s and '60s used a cocking piece safety.



Most of them are close enough to the same dimensions and design to adapt to the same "pre-inletted" stocks. The fit, finish, and metallurgy on them varys with the manufacturer, so when purchasing one, it is "caveat emptor".