I have 3 surplus military mausers around the house. How easy is it to rebarrel a military mauser in something like a .35 Whelen, 9.3x62, or maybe even a .404 Jeffery? I have almost no gunsmithing know-how. If I were to take it to a gunsmith, how much woult a rebarrel job like this cost?

I live across the river from you. I have the equipement; if you want to come learn how, we can do this together.

quote:

Originally posted by Rusty Marlin:
I live across the river from you. I have the equipement; if you want to come learn how, we can do this together.

I just might take you up on that offer. I don't know if it is a project im going to do soon, it is in the official planning stage of "just thinking about it." Also I need the money, I'm only 16 and am looking for a job. Also because of my age I need my fathers OK to do this. I'm really looking forward to my first big bore rifle and would love to do this in 404 jeffery. But can't find a barrel on any web sites I go to.

Do yourself a large favor and don't tackle a .404 first off. Making one feed properly is something often challenging for a pro and I would hate for you to get discouraged on the first rattle outta the box.

Start with something simple like a 9.3x62. You can get a Art. 724 9.3x62 for a little over $200 direct from Lothar Walther and all you'll need is a lathe and a Go-gauge to install it. Then, with all the heavy lifting done, you can go wild installing sights, scope mounts, etc. until you are content with your rifle and ready to start on the stock. None of this is cheap mind you, but it is certainly a lot of fun. Then someday after you have a rifle or two under your belt and feel ready for something more challenging, then try a .404. The caliber will still be around and you'll be all that much more pleased with the rifle you built.

The only warning I give you is that you may find this awfully addictive and may soon be apt to spend lots of time daydreaming about the perfect rifle you'll build. Mausers to do that to you...and there is no cure!

To do the first one on "the cheap", may I suggest one of the fine N x 57 calibers.
1) the actions are already set up for feeding these. ie saves you time (money) fooling around with longer calibers.
2) the 9x57mm will do just about anything the the .35 Whelen will do, or close enough that it would be snapping at farts to argue it.
3) brass is CHEAP, necked up 8 x 57's

Doing anything in .404 is going to be wicked expencive. Have you priced dies, brass and bullets for this number? It will stager you.
If the .404 is your final want, you could rebuild two, sell them and put the money toward the .404. Good luck talking Dad into this, I remember conversations like this with my father. LOL

Yes,
I would have to agree with Tex, and the next thing you know it's 20 years later...................but then think of all the fun you had, and what you learned in the process, well worth it. Go for it, you can't really loose. Just be sure to do the best work you are capable of.
Timan

quote:

Originally posted by Tex21:
Do yourself a large favor and don't tackle a .404 first off. Making one feed properly is something often challenging for a pro and I would hate for you to get discouraged on the first rattle outta the box.

Start with something simple like a 9.3x62. You can get a Art. 724 9.3x62 for a little over $200 direct from Lothar Walther and all you'll need is a lathe and a Go-gauge to install it. Then, with all the heavy lifting done, you can go wild installing sights, scope mounts, etc. until you are content with your rifle and ready to start on the stock. None of this is cheap mind you, but it is certainly a lot of fun. Then someday after you have a rifle or two under your belt and feel ready for something more challenging, then try a .404. The caliber will still be around and you'll be all that much more pleased with the rifle you built.

The only warning I give you is that you may find this awfully addictive and may soon be apt to spend lots of time daydreaming about the perfect rifle you'll build. Mausers to do that to you...and there is no cure!

Cory , this is sound advice, the only thing I would add is to drill and tap the holes for the scope mount BEFORE you screw on the new barrel, this will save you a lot of time and effort latter on.
cheers
Pete

Most all the advice given is good. I too, would recommend the 9.3 X 62. I just put one together using a PAC-NOR barrel (they .404 barrels too) and it feeds with no issues from a surplus Brazilian 98 I have. No mods to the mag box, feed rails or ramp, I just put the barrel on and fed four cartridges like it was made for it. Must be the reason it was so popular in pre-WW2 Africa and it out classes the .35 Whelen.

Cory

I'm going to try a project too. It's on a VZ24. I bought a 7x57 barrel (RSI?) military type, Williams go/no-go gages, barrel and action vise, iron sights, barrel band, bottom metal, 3 pos. safety, G&H side mount and a GAG Shutzen stock both from years ago. I may take a while to get going on mine..

Good luck with your's.

Rich

Thank you all for all the helpful info. If any of you could I would like some links to sites where I can get a 9.3X62 barrel as I have decided to go with this caliber. If it ain't too much to ask, i'd also like links to sites where I can get a good walnut stock, sporterized. Also, what else will I need(as far as tools go) to do this project right? From what some of you say I need a go/no-go gauge(what is this??), a lathe(what is this??). What tool do I need to get the old barrel out of the action and put the new barrel in? All info would be a great help. As I said i'm young and money is tight for me so it might be a while befor I can afford this project, but when I do I will be sure to keep you all informed.

Hey Cory,
I think it is FANTASTIC that you are interested in building your own rifle.
If you can... get yourself into a metal working shop class for summer school, I know summer is supposed to be for fun at 16, but trust me. The nature of your questions tells me you don't have the benifit of a basmnent full of "toys" that I was lucky enough to grow up with. (Now the Old Man comes and visits for a week at time to use my "toys", mine are bigger )
If you want to stop by sometime this summer I will be more than happy to show you what all those tools and gages look like and what they do. In the mean time you have some homework to do.
The first book I recommend is "Gunsmithing" by Roy E. Dunlap. Do an search on this title and it ill come up. You can buy new or used over the internet.
The second is P.O. Ackley's Handbook Volume I & II.
The first one will answer all your current questions and a few you didn't know you had.
The second will spark flames of fantacy rifles in wildcat calibers that might even keep you away from women for while.

Be warned, this hobby is a true sickness, once it gets into your system, there-is-no-cure. And I pray to God "they" never find one. I would rather live on hot dogs and rice than be without my shop!

Rusty,
I owe all my interest in gunsmithing, reloading, big bore rifles, hunting africa, DR's, and all the other good stuff to AR. If it wasn't for this site I wouldn't have an interest in any of this. My father was raised on a farm and grew up redneck, so when it came to guns it was strickly hunting mostly, so he was never introduced into this kinda stuff, and because of that, he couldn't introduce me into it. I will surely think about visiting you this summer, once I get a car, maybe a '86 Monte Carlo, oh well anyway back to guns. I will look up them books and read them. Gunsmithing is something i've been thinking about learning, maybe do it as a side job thing when i get older. I'm very interested in Africa (dangerous game) and big bore rifles, are their any books that come to mind for a young hunter, gunsmith wanna-be, shootist to read?

The sickness that Rusty Marlin is talking about is called " rifle fever ".
Symptems include a slightly elevated temperature
99 degrees, this is brought on by thoughs concerning the savage 99. At the same time slightly lower temperatures of 98 degrees can be brought on by the M-98 Mauser and all the thoughts that it can inject into the sub-liminal
mind. In chronic cases individuals suffering from "rifle fever" fail to communicate with friends and family without the subject eventually returning to rifles. The only real cure for rifle fever fortunately is death.
hence the name, Die Hard Rifleman.
Timan

Cory,

I just did my first one (well, I've still got to disassemble and duracoat it and glass bed the stock, but I put it together and it shoots).

There was an American Rifleman article on doing a Charles Daly Mauser with an Adams and Bennet barrel. I used it as a guide, but used a surplus Mauser instead, which meant drilling and tapping for the scope, grinding off the charging flange, and welding on a new bolt handle. Still, find the article if you can. It had parts lists, sources, and pictures.

The first book I'd get would be Jerry Kuhnhaussen's book "The Mauser Bolt Actions: A Shop Manual". I also recommend the Dunlap and P.O. Ackley books, but the Kuhnhaussen book got me through the project.

Steve

Rusty, that is a very generous offer you made. Nice to see that sharing information and time.

I think when I buy one(a barrel) I will get it from Lothat Walther(are these good barrels?). But my question is, what contour, or does the contour even matter? The 3 contours they had for "Mauser 98 sporting contours" where as follows:


Contor #720
OD1=.650"
OD2=.748"
OD3=1.142"
L=23.62"

Contor #722
OD1=.650"
OD2=.748"
OD3=1.142"
L=25.59"

Contor #724
OD1=.768"
OD2=.866"
OD3=1.142"
L=25.59"

Thread for all
1.1"X12TPI

If you want to see the barrels and where all the OD1, etc. stuff is: http://www.lothar-walther.de/html/268.php

Would these work in a M48 action instead of a K98?

Which of these are best, if it matters? This rifle will just be for the fun of it type gun. I would love to go deer hunting with it but where I live it is shotgun/ML/bow only. So no rifles Once again thanks for all the info.