My mauser 98 follower has not been modified and on empty the follower has to be pushed down to close the bolt. Is this proper or should I make it more modern and grind it a bit? Or is a new pre-made follower a better choice. This is on my early 80's Frankonia 404J. I am changing the trigger to get rid of the two stage also. Anything else I should look at?
Thanks

It's your personal preference.

You can shape the rear of the follower to get the bolt to push it down for you.

You may already know this but if not, this was done so that in the heat of battle you would not close the bolt on an empty chamber and loose your life because of it. A rear ramp can be ground onto it as you suggested or a replacement purchased.

That is if it bothers you, I've seen them done both ways when customized. More frequently with the newer double ramp style but it is not "wrong" to leave it as is.

I realized the importance of this feature for battle but was unsure if it was the thing to do to leave it for a sporter. I guess it has some use still and lets me know the roots of the gun. I will shoot it and evaluate.

On a rifle in most sporting cartridges I would modify the follower.

However on a Dangerous game rifle in an appropriate caliber I would leave it intact.

AD