Many 98's were issued with "long " headspace. Use layers of "scotch tape to find where the shouder
just touches. Once fired brass may be necksized and reloaded safely. New brass is safe to fire once.
Good Luck!

What headspace gueages are you using? What is the difference between go and no-go, .004? .004 isn't anything, you can go to .010 easily.

I went to the various BIG5 stores two years ago when 98/22s were on sale for $76 out the door.

All were miserable dogs, but one. I don't think it was issued to anyone who slept on the ground.
It has a yellowish orange wood.
In a room with 25 Mausers, it screams, "I am the best!"
in this picture it is the one on the left

I would pay $300 if I could another like that.



Anyway,
A .338 expander ball will open the neck of 8mm brass.
You can then partial neck size the brass with an 8mm sizer die with sizer ball removed until it headspaces in the rifle with long headspace. The brass for that rifle must be kept separate and only resized to just bump the shoulder. This is the handicap of long headspace.

Big 5 is a great way to go. Talk to the manager, get access to the back room and cherry pick their stock. I always do this at Big 5 and have gotten some wonderfull rifles. Bring a rod to punch the bores. One of my turks is 99%.