Gentlemen, If I wanted to buy an action-only, Mauser or any other,to build a rifle with, how much should a decent(Not top-end) action cost?
Is $150 even in the ball park?
Where does one even look for such a thing? If I want a short-action for cases like .243/6mm what length differentiates that from a long action?

Is this even the right forum to ask these questions on Yes it's a lot of questions, Pardon my rookie-ness.

Thanks, Barry

A decent Mauser-type action for a custom rifle will cost from $200 to $700. You may be able to use a Turkish action for a little less. Pawn shops, and gun shops are good places to look; here and some of the auction sites are also places you can find them for sale.

I'm not sure what you mean about a "short-action". There are magnum, standard, intermediate and kurz action Mausers. A .243 or 6mm will fit nicely into a standard length.

Yes, this is a good place to ask...sometimes.

You might get lucky and find a good action for $150, years ago I did. Most of what I see these days range between $250-$1000 depending on what you want. Perhaps the best way to start this adventure is determine the caliber you want and let that dictate the action, barrel and other aspects of the rifle. Are you planning on doing most of the work? Do you have the necessary skills? By all means ask questions there are some really top notch professionals as well as avid hobbyists.

quote:

Originally posted by Dall85:
You might get lucky and find a good action for $150, years ago I did. Most of what I see these days range between $250-$1000 depending on what you want. Perhaps the best way to start this adventure is determine the caliber you want and let that dictate the action, barrel and other aspects of the rifle. Are you planning on doing most of the work? Do you have the necessary skills? By all means ask questions there are some really top notch professionals as well as avid hobbyists.

Jim,
Me do the work? not a chance! I buy the parts and have a local gunsmith (anybody with a clue!) put them together.
I can do the stock work so I'll probably get a semi inletted stock from Boyd's Gunstock and finish that part myself. It sounds like a standard mauser action is the right length but from the looks of Jeffeosso's "resource" post above there are way too many to pick from.

I'll keep asking. Thanks Barry

PM sent.

The m98 was designed for a 8x57. A 6mm is nothing but a 6.5x57. In a std 98 I prefer a 6mm over a 243. Actually I prefer a 6mm over a 243 period. In a m98 I've had better luck with a spacer in the back of my magazine when I used a 243. For what you are talking a MKX in 243 barreled action or complete rifle in the 350-400 range as a base. Never had a MKX barrel that couldn't be made to shoot MOA or less.

Barry
You can probably find a decent starting action for 200-400 bucks, though you should be able to find a 1903 turk for much less.

If you plan to scope it, and have someone else mount the barrel, and are looking for "cheap" (there's no such thing)

action 200
beuhler style safey - 20 bucks
AB barrel 90 bucks
"cheap" stock - $150
Pad - 35
cold blue - 20 bucks
$515

gunsmithing (dirt cheap, not high quality)
bolt, drill, tap, safety - $150
Mount barrel, headspace, crown - $200
Install pad, misc work - $50
$400

so, for something you WON'T like, $915 bucks

Buy a remington/markx in 243/308/whatever $650

call jim kobe up I think hes got a few actions laying around & you won't find a much better smith (o chit now i inflated his ego again)

Jeff's right. Guns are like hotrods; you're better off buying someone else's than building your own. But if you just have to do it, don't poor-boy it. What he said will be true; you'll have close to $1000 dollars in gun that doesn't satisfy. And you'll be lucky to get $500 back if you sell it.

Take your time, save your money and buy really good components when you can afford them or better yet, when they pop up for distressed sale.

I ended up with a beautiful first project that way; a 505 Gibbs with integral barrel by Frank Wells, wonderful piece of wood and a modified CZ 550 action (billboard ground off, new bolt handle and Mod 70 safety) for under two grand. But it has taken 3 years to complete. So be patient, patient and more patient and develop a strong sense of what you want out of your first build before you start buying.

Barry, this is how most of us got started in this pursuit, thinking about how to get a nice custom rifle. Like most of us here, I suspect, my first attempt was a pretty poor one. I was proud of it at the time but as time wore on I began seeing things I'd change next time. That first custom rifle of mine was back in 1962, many scores of custom builds ago, and I'm still seeing things in my latest projects that I'll change 'next time'.

IMO here's 2 things to keep in mind: use quality materials and quality workmanship, regardless of time & aggravation cost.

I don't waste $ on poor-quality materials whether it be the barrel, action, wood or whatever. Takes the same amount of labor, frequently more, to work on poor stuff and when you finish it's still poor stuff. You don't hafta buy the very best or the very most expensive (BTW they're not necessarily the same) but don't go the El Cheapo route, use at least medium-quality materials. Example, barrels; Douglas or Shilen or Walther or Green Mountain are OK, anything less expensive is suspect IMO. I've used Kreiger, Ron Smith, Hart, K&P, Badger, etc etc and of course they are also OK but cost more.

Workmanship is a can of worms when it comes to gunsmithing work in general, and that's especially true of custom work. Like it or not, most local smiths are bubbas when it comes to really high-quality work. But how can you tell which ones are OK, ahead of time? 2 ways: is he/she a Guild member? Not necessarily a guarantee of anything except a higher price, but, like union labor, sometimes the higher price comes with the expectation of at least minimally-acceptable quality. Second way, closely examine some of the smith's work on several projects similar to yours and ask plenty of questions about his interpretation of your specific requirements. Of course in either case you should also ask some of his customers about his business practices.

Above all, don't get in too much of a hurry, anything really worth doing is worth taking the time to do it right.
Regards, Joe

When I had my lathe, I built numerous "custom" rifles for my friends and myself. They liked them and I liked them. That still doesn't avoid the fact that factory made rifles are cheaper. If you just want something somewhat unique, by all means have a rifle built. If you just want a good shooter, get a WIN/REM/RUGER and be done with it.

Barry G

You can learn a lot by looking at this thread

http://forums.accuratereloadin...1043/m/386106468/p/3

In addition, if you have a VCR (still) send me a PM and I will arrange for you to watch the 4 set video on building a mauser rifle that was put out by AGI a few years ago. You can learn alot from those videos.

Well gentlemen, you have given me a lot to think about. I'm not one to "chince" on things but spending $1000 plus was not what I had in mind. I simply haven't found an action I like in a caliber I want. Not to mention a stock that fits like I like it to. I suppose the simplest solution would be to find a stock and action that works and replace the barrel.

On a similar note I have looked at Douglas barrels which look to be extremely accurate and not that expensive eg. $289 for one I may consider. Some have said good things about them others don't like them. Is that just a taste thing or is there some other factors to consider?

Thanks again, Barry

douglas makes good barrels, and stands behind them

I have just finished reading this thread. Now I have some questions. As you look, there are several countries of origin of the large ring Mausers. What is the list of choice? There are the Finnish, the Argentine, and many more that I don't know about. After reading this threa, I understand that the Turks are not high on the list. Also, are the pre 64 Model 70 actions as good as I have heard? My dream is to build a 6.5x284. Not sure why, as I already have an excellent 26-06 Thank you for your time

You can go to www.thebarrelman.com. He has CM Shilen barrels for $145 and I would spend another $30 to have it lapped.
Butch

quote:

Originally posted by hta:
I have just finished reading this thread. Now I have some questions. As you look, there are several countries of origin of the large ring Mausers. What is the list of choice? There are the Finnish, the Argentine, and many more that I don't know about. After reading this threa, I understand that the Turks are not high on the list. Also, are the pre 64 Model 70 actions as good as I have heard? My dream is to build a 6.5x284. Not sure why, as I already have an excellent 26-06 Thank you for your time

Pre-64 M70s are considered weaker than some, with relatively poor gas-handling qualities, but they're visually quite attractive and have the always-desirable controlled feed and good crisp triggers. Many custom builders have had their pre-64 actions re-heat-treated but I personally don't know whether that extra expense would truly be worth it or not. I've built several custom pre-64s and will probably build a few others, it's a good action.

The Mausers IMO can be judged largely by the factory of origin, not necessarily the country of origin or original sale. IOW a Mauser made at Oberndorf IMO is MUCH more desirable than one made at Berlin or Spandau or Erfurt or Herstal or wherever. Many Spandau- and Erfurt-made Mausers have proven to be somewhat soft, and even a few Berlin-made DWM actions have proven to be somewhat variable in their hardness. Turkish actions IMO are the roughest and most likely to have problems, while I personally have always had good luck with actions made in Herstal and Yugoslavia. Lots of opinions on this subject, it's worth it to do your homework.
Regards, Joe

Be wery wery careful with this "I want a nice rifle on a Mauser type action" thinking. It can take you places you never thought you would go.

quote:

Originally posted by J.D.Steele:
[...I personally have always had good luck with actions made in Herstal and Yugoslavia. Lots of opinions on this subject, it's worth it to do your homework.
Regards, Joe

The yugo made actions I rate second to last, behind the Spanish made actions.

Far more important these days than factory of origin is present condition. Sure, a DWM made action started out as a nice action but what's it like today? That is the real question.

quote:

Originally posted by Wink:
Be wery wery careful with this "I want a nice rifle on a Mauser type action" thinking. It can take you places you never thought you would go.

+1

Barry, are you looking to build a wildcat or a caliber you can't get in a factory rifle?

I have had three rifles made for me from scratch. The first two were nightmares until I found Tip Burns. The third was made by Tip and no problems. Now it's your money and you ought to be able to spend it like you want to spend it. Sometimes store bought is OK!

Barry, for a "srarter" custom. I would suggest buying a Mark X barreled action and a semi finished srock. Since you said you could do the wood working. Use it as a learning experiance. Even a Win Model70 CRF would also be a good place to start.

If you do go with a smith to build up your rifle, I agree with Rusty, go with Tip Burns. He built a rifel for me and I could not be happier with it. Some phone calls and some shiooing are a ":cheap" investment to get a very good smith to do the work. Instead of some joker just down the street from you.

Have fun with it.

Keith

quote:

Originally posted by z1r:
The yugo made actions I rate second to last, behind the Spanish made actions.

Far more important these days than factory of origin is present condition. Sure, a DWM made action started out as a nice action but what's it like today? That is the real question.

I expect the later-made (Serbian-made?) Yugos have their problems, but I've had good luck with the original older pre-WW2 military ones. The military Yugos later morphed into the old Herter's sporting J-9 actions which were almost identical to the sporting FNs except they were the intermediate length. These Yugo J-9 actions even had steel hinged floorplates in 2 different styles but unfortunately some of them also had lopsided rear bridges needing some file work. The very earliest MK Xs were also made in Yugoslavia on the intermediate-length action but later the Mk X was changed to the standard length.

So, exactly which Yugos gave you the most trouble?
Regards, Joe

Which Yugo's gave me the most trouble? Well, without a doubt the M48's are #1 in terms of issues. The later 48A's despite having more stamps components were more refined.


The earlier 24's and rebuilt 24/47's are nice actions on par with their FN counterparts. I wonder why?

The few intermediate length commercial actions I worked on were not any better than the M48's though their bottom metal was relatively nice.

The Interarms Mk X on the whole is a decent action especially the earlier variants with the in the bow relaease bottom metal. A pretty good value considering. The later models with the cross bolt release are pretty decent on average but once they were reintroduced as the Charles Daly the quality dropped a few notches. I once went through three in one week that were awful. The boltface differed on average .002" from one side of the bolt face to the other. Threads not true to bolt bore, and "H" ring also varied in distance from place to place. One of the more annoying features on many of the CD actions was that the scope base holes were off. Some on center but drilled at angles, some off center but straight, others both off center and angled. Most were close enough that they could be salvaged by milling a new hole and tapping to 8x40. Some CD receivers, seems like the ones with the matte finish, are nicer.

I have one Mk X in the shop now whose distance from "H" ring to receiver face is a mere .610". The "H" ring is too thick and has a gouge. It will need to be recut in order to keep the exposed casehead under .125"

Still, with the exception of the M48, I'd rather use a Yugo than a Spanish action.

Thanks for your reply, Mike. I've never used any M48 or M48A Yugos, only the earlier pre-war ones. The earliest 1924s were of course made in Belgium by FN (that may be the key to their quality), and the rest of the prewar ones apparently were made with similar attention to detail. Also, apparently, the postwar ones made under Tito weren't nearly as good.

I don't use any CD actions, don't like the crossbolt FP release and the poor quality.

Forgot to mention the Czech actions, I like them all but prefer the ones with the lion crest. Not as desireable as an Oberndorf but quite good anyway, at least the earlier ones are good.
Regards, Joe