I have come into possession of a Mauser '98 with a Venezuela Crest. It appears to be a sporterized version, with a buellar (sp) safety, bent bolt handle, and is drilled and tapped for a scope mount. The action is labeled "FN" (I abbreviated to alleviate spelling), the barrel is "stepped", and it came with a Herter's stock. Anyone have any opinions on rebarrelling this rifle to a '06 cartridge derivative?

That's a model 1924 that were actually made up until 1950. The ones made prior to about 1948 are C ring actions and a little better than the later ones.

All are very good, well heat treated alloy steel and suitable for most modern calibers.

Too bad it has been bubba-ized, it was worth about $600.00 in excellent condition. Still is worth about $250.00.

Thanks for the replies. I got the whole rifle for $75. I pulled the action out of the stock, and noticed some minor pitting on the sides of the receiver below the stock line. I'm assuming that these are fairly easy to grind/polish out? The action is VERY smooth and feeds wonderfully. The two stage trigger is horrible. Any suggestions on replacement?

Any of the '06 cartridges will work ok I believe. I had a custom built on a VZ24 action last year in 275 Rigby. I have a Timney trigger on mine and no complaints at all. If you have it rebarreled at any of the major manufacturers you can have it polished then matte or gloss blued very inexpensively, or GunKote finish which I have on mine.

You'll probably do more harm than good trying to get the pits out. Since they're below the woodline anyway, clean them out well, have it blued / other finish, and then fill them up with wax or other sealant before putting it back in the stock.

Todd