This question is directed to JBelk as he seems to be the resident expert. Well i wanted to know what country of origin and year he would select if building a rifle with quality of heat treat and accuracy potential as well as reliability in mind. FN Mauser? 1935 Chilean? 1909 Arg? I absolutely love 98s and prefer them but i want accuracy as well as excellent fuction. I would be doing a 338-06 on my next project. What about the Montana actions? How do they compare from a reliability and weight perspective. Cost comparison to make accurate? Thanks, Swede96.

Swede96---

The country makes some difference. That's the country that bought them. Most of the really great Mausers were made in the Orbendorf, Berlin, Brno and Radom arsenals.

The specifications and tolorences of the country that bought them for their army makes a difference. So does the arsenal. Some had better machines and machinst than others.

Each of the contracts had inspectors from the buying country that stood around the plants and made sure they weren't cheated with cheap guns.

The Argentinian and the Peruvian inspectors must have been really tough!!

These days it's the condition that determines the best action for a project.

The really nice actions, little used and well cared for, are getting scarcer. They're making more buffing wheels than Mausers!!

JBelk: Could you pick a Mauser 98, If you could pick any as far as quality of heat treat,metallurgy and tolerances. Which one? How do the german k98s from the late 30s to early 40s rate in this area? I used to have two nice 1935 Chileans that i let go cheap to make room and have been kicking myself ever since. How do the Montana actions you have seen compare to the better mausers? I would very much appreciate an expert opinion. Thanks, Swede96.

I would like to see a quote for turning a Mauser into a fine sporting rifle. This could be compared to a Montana 1999 for instance.

A friend just bought an as new 1909 Oberdorff Argentine Mauser in 7.65. What a beautiful piece of workmanship. My buddy will not have this rifle cut up. Instead he will shoot it just as it is and was made to be used.

The ammo he got that was dated 1944 were all misfires by the way! Slave labor?

One of the most accurate rifles I can remember was built on a FN Mauser single shot action...

I was at a smallbore silhouette shoot and another man was shooting centerfire at the far end of the range. After the match, he came over with his target, showing off his rifle, and stretching his hand out to almost cover the group... I wasn't impressed until someone told me the target was from the 1000 yard range waaaay over there- I could barely see it...

If I were to build a Mauser for a long action cartridge, I'd chose a commercial FN Mauser action- alot of the sporterization is already done for you.

A gunsmith and I were discussing actions and he went into the shop to show me a commercial Mauser type that he had bought on speculation. I opened it to see that it was a single shot with no magazine of course. I asked where does the gas go as there is no hole in the side of the ring, no magazine box and in fact no flare on bolt shroud?

He gently took the action from me and walked back into the shop with it and changed the topic.

Most of those SS "Mausers" had slow lock times. Roy Dunlap used them for some of his custom target rifles. I never saw one win a position rifle match. I suppose one could be speeded up but competative target shooting is not the best application for the Mauser.

Sure would like to see the cost to convert a military Mauser into a fine sporter vrs a M1999.

Swede 96--

Forgive me for not answering in more detail, but over the last two years I've answered that question with several thousand words....

What action to pick depends on what kind of rifle I want to build.

Since there are very few M-98s around with no damage or wear it becomes a trade-off of which action to pick.

Of the large rings and assuming they're all in the same condition, I'd rate the Banner Standard Modelle, 1909 Perruvian, 1935 CostaRicans, most of the pre WW-I South American DWM, Orbendorf and FNs as nearly equal, but the markings of some make them more valuable than others.

The VZ-24s are good actions but it's VERY rare to find one in really good shape.

The early contract M-98s like the Steyr, Sauer, and Erfurts are very well made, but scarce in good shape, also.

Of the small rings the VZ-33 and G33/40s are by far the best, with the 1910 Mexicans close behind.

The cost of a custom gun is dependent on what work is done. It's EASY to put just as much money in a M-70 or a Montana or a Dakota as it is a M-98. It depends on what you want and what you're willing to spend to get it.

The comments about the SS FN are uninformed and generally the ignorant recycling of old, and wrong, theoretical guesses by dumb-ass gun writers.

Any action made by Mauser, DWM, VZ, FN and several contractors between 1905 and 1935 are the epitome of action design. EVERY change since 1936 has been made to cheapen the action (less expensive to make) ...not make it better.

This is how my VZ-24 began ist long journey into a .35 Whelen...It's currently getting the matte teflon treatment and then home to papa:-)



Mike

I have a VZ-24 action that I sanded down to remove any rust, old blue, scratches, etc. I also re-shaped the trigger guard (simular to a pic I'd seen in a gunsmith book), and provided a new bolt handle with a re-shaped ball (simular to a Browning). I took the time to smooth up (with fine sand paper) the feed rails, ramp, bolt body, etc, to allow for a very smooth bolt travel and loading (tips I got from the gunsmith book). I was very pleased with the end result, that I sent them to my gunsmith to be built into an 8x57 scout rifle. It will also be black parkerized, after all Alaskan weather is quite nasty on occasion (I've tried some sort of black teflon backed-on finish and was not impressed by it). ~~~Suluuq