I just picked up a Turk Mauser receiver that I had rebarrelled with a Remington Barrel. I've noticed that at the top of the barrel, there is a tiny gap, about .001-.002", between the back of the barrel and the front of the receiver. At the bottom, it is snug.

Is this any cause for concern? Someone told me that if the front of the receiver is not exactly square, accuracy will suffer.

In normal practice the barrel on a mauser is seated against the inner collar and may be free of the front of the receiver all together. I think it is preferable to ensure that both the inner collar and the face of the receiver are perpendicular to the bore of the action and paralell with each other then fit the barrel sothat it contacts the front of the receiver about .001 or.002 before the inner collar. Regards, Bill.

Paul Mauser designed the 98 Mauser for the breech face of the barrel to seat against the torque ring inside the receiver, that is part of the equation of it's great strength.
Look at some of the original military rifles and you will observe a slight gap between the barrel shoulder and receiver ring on them too.

Some gunsmiths fit the shoulder of the barrel to torque against the receiver ring. That is correct for other actions but not the 98 Mauser. If you torque against only one point it should be the torque ring. As your barrel was fitted.

When I fit 98 Mauser barrels I go the extra mile and machine the front receiver ring true to the axis of the bolt way. Then I machine the barrel so that the breech face contacts the inner torque ring and the shoulder of the barrel contacts the front of the receiver ring at the same time. This is verified by coating the barrel shoulder and breech face with dykem blue and screwing together by hand. When dimensions are correct the blue will be wiped off of both surfaces equally. Then the barrel is torqued to final specs.

I beleive this method is worth the extra trouble as I have a very high percentage of accurate shooting rifles when using this method.

Good Shooting,
Craftsman

Craftsman,

Please contact me via the email icon above if you are accepting Mauser work.

Don

Craftsman,
That is why after ensuring that the face of the receiver and the inner collar are paralell I cut the barrel tenon .001 short of the distance from collar to the front of the receiver. In practise .001 is nothing and compression at the barrel shoulder allows solid contact at both points. Contact at the barrel shoulder definitely adds rigidity to the unit. Anyway with careful measurment one can dispense with the Dy-kem! Regards, Bill.

Bill,

I think were both headed for the same destination, just taking a slightly differant route.

Craftsman,
I think so too . Regards, Bill.

Dear Denton, When I do a Mauser I square the front of the receiver prior to checking the bolt lugs for engagement. All being OK I use a depth mike and measure from the front of the receiver ring to the internal "ring" and deduct .003-004 from this measurement. This is usually .625-.630 for Mauser 98s. When machining the barrel shank this is the length I cut to and the .003-004 is the crush factor for fitting the barrel tightly to the receiver.This way both the shoulder and the breech face bear evenly against the receiver. This is the way I was taught. Aloha, Mark[in Ore]kailuacustom@aol.com