Jargon & Mr Weibe,
Do these krauts really know what their doing or not?
http://www.waffenjung.de/html/fertigung.html ..
There dont seem much beef behind those lugs for a .416rem that factory fumes at 62kpsi?..

I guess it makes the receiver lighter.
I would certainly be careful with that one.

quote:

Originally posted by SR4759:
I take it you have never ever witnessed a major gas leak from your comments. Again I ask would you like to touch one off like that?

I've actually WITNESSED quite a few, and have had face-to-face discussions with a man who I dare say had blown up more different-manufacture bolt actions than you probably own. The first one I actually WITNESSED was when I was attending Trinidad in the '60s, a fellow touched off what he thought was a 270 cartridge in a 270 Ackley-built Mauser about 5 feet away. The stock was shattered, the chamber bulged, the bolt frozen shut and of course the report was much louder. The shooter was so shocked that he immediately threw the rifle to the ground. We later examined the rifle at leisure when the owner brought it into the school for evaluation, the only thing that was any good on the entire rifle was the bolt stop and part of the scope mounts, when the shooter threw it to the ground he broke the nice Unertl scope.

Damage to the shooter? None, except one splinter from the shattered stock hit him just below the eye. All gas and all case fragments were obviously directed elsewhere by the fine 98 action and bolt.

I graduated from Trinidad in '67 and was building rifles long before that. I expect that I've probably seen somewhere around a dozen blown-up actions in my own shop or at the range, plus the ones the school had for us to examine. Also, please see my previous comments on my friend Jerry Dykes and his multiple blowup experiences.

In short, I resent your rather condescending attitude toward my words, and will match my own experience and expertise levels against yours any time. Basically I think that you are at best sadly mistaken and at worst....well, let's just say that I don't believe you.
You have a good day now, y'hear?
Regards, Joe

For those who know these type actions, what is your view of .416 in the Whitworth 98 Mauser action as marketed by Interarms?

quote:

In short, I resent your rather condescending attitude toward my words, and will match my own experience and expertise levels against yours any time. Basically I think that you are at best sadly mistaken and at worst....well, let's just say that I don't believe you.

Well Joe like it or not I know what I saw and I know you didn't see the blown rifle I was speaking about. If your experience doe not include such an incident then your experience is not complete.
The stock split back through the pistol grip and cracked on one side of the magazine. Other than that there was no splintering. However the guy's was leaking from many spots above and below his glasses.
I find the incident consistent with the two times I have been gassed.
Both times were using firearms you would not expect to have a path to your face. One was a 320K Mossberg .22 with the plug in the rear of the receiver. The other was a Remington double barreled shotgun.
If you can't believe it work on your imagination a little. Like a lot of gunsmiths I am sure you have worked on your share but a lot of the time you have spent working on them I spent shooting them.

quote:

Originally posted by SR4759:
Like a lot of gunsmiths I am sure you have worked on your share but a lot of the time you have spent working on them I spent shooting them.

Sorry, gotta confess I've fired only about 50,000 full-bore CF rounds and maybe twice that many RFs. I bow to your vastly greater shooting experience (VB & sarcastic G).

Don't forget that A) we can shoot all year down here, B) my truck has A/C and C) I'm on Social Security, I've had a lotta years to shoot.

I hope you never buy another one of those dangerous ole 98 Mausers, you need to leave them for the rest of us who don't mind risking our lives with 'em.
Regards, Joe

quote:

Originally posted by J.D.Steele:

quote:

Originally posted by SR4759:
Like a lot of gunsmiths I am sure you have worked on your share but a lot of the time you have spent working on them I spent shooting them.

Sorry, gotta confess I've fired only about 50,000 full-bore CF rounds and maybe twice that many RFs. I bow to your vastly greater shooting experience (VB & sarcastic G).

Don't forget that A) we can shoot all year down here, B) my truck has A/C and C) I'm on Social Security, I've had a lotta years to shoot.

I hope you never buy another one of those dangerous ole 98 Mausers, you need to leave them for the rest of us who don't mind risking our lives with 'em.
Regards, Joe

I see you insist on throwing your meat out on the table and coming up short.
Down there? It may be up there to me. I can assure you that I live just as far south as you, maybe further - all my life too. I have no idea why you think AC in a truck is unique????? I also did a lot of shooting before AC was commonly put in trucks. My old 4WD Suburban has AC also.
I got a huge head start on you living on a farm and getting ammo for my allowance some 45+ years ago. 100K rimfire is nothing to kids that shoot up 1K in a day. Can you say $.17 for .22LR and .$12 for shorts? And I had white tail hunting a few hundred yards out the back door.
I will keep shooting M98s same as always. I also shoot M91s, M95s and M96s. Right now I am shooting Dutch M95s. (The Dutch M95 barrel supports the case head much better than an M98 BTW.)
I just don't believe in the fantasy that an M98 really protects you that much better than anything else.

quote:

Originally posted by SR4759:
I just don't believe in the fantasy that an M98 really protects you that much better than anything else.

Im confident Paul Mauser would have likely said the same thing.

quote:

Originally posted by Shack:
For those who know these type actions, what is your view of .416 in the Whitworth 98 Mauser action as marketed by Interarms?

I owned one for many years that started life as a 375 H&H from Zastava, graduated to 375 Weatherby and finally to 300/8MM Mag (8MM rem mag necked to 30 cal with no other change) before I barreled it in 416 rem Mag. I shot max loads for the most part in all those calibers. I doubt it saw a single load under 60k psi for the 15 years I owned it. I sold the 416 Rem barreled action to a friend who can find me anytime he wants. I figure you can guess my opinion of the idea from all that...

But like Jorgen says, the idea that never killed anyone is not necessarily a good idea. Use your own judgement, not mine.

Thanks tiggertate. That was really what I was interested in knowing. The one I'm looking at has very nice woodwork, is in the .416 Rem Mag, and says F.R. Wells on it. He would be the builder. It also says Interarms and Whitworth. It has the 3 position safety. Also says "108" on the right side of the action. Gunsmith didn't know what that meant but thought it might refer to the type action.

I presume it's not the military issue as it doesn't have the loading slot on the left. The gunsmith I would be buying it from has shot it and says it feeds and runs smoothly. He says Whitworth made their own actions based on the 98 in three different styles and that this is a "standard" one. At least I think that's what he said. He showed me the bolt face and compared it to another for a 7 mm or something smaller. The rim on this bolt had been widened compared to the other. He said that was unavoidable, was done by Whitworth, and shouldn't present any risks. He did not think the bolt stop had been modified.

He's asking $2,500. Does that sound unreasonable? It does look like more expensive guns. Also has a scope but it's just an inexpensive Redfield, put on mainly just so it'd have a scope of some sort.

I looked on GB but wasn't able to find any comparable Whitworths.

Btw, not that it has anything to do with Whitworths but I too can well remember when A/C in cars and trucks meant rolling the windows down. And being told here's ten .22lr bullets, go bring back ten squirrels for dinner...

Others will chime in but if it's Fred or Frank Wells, $2500 is a good deal. There were two "Whitworth" action sizes, standard and mini. They are actually made in the Czech Republic under the name Zastava. Have been for decades when it was Yugoslavia. There are many many posts here you can research here on AR about these actions. The standard action is a copy of the FN 98 Mauser in '06, short mags like the 7 Mag or 300 Win and the 375 H&H/458 Win Mag. That's probably what your 'smith was referencing with the three "types". The mini is usually 223, 7.62 x 39 or 22-250. The long magnum is offered in 375 H&H and 458 Win Mag and is a copy of the FN Deluxe which is the same standard action opened up and the magazine modified. They are outstanding options and if you can buy one from either great gunmaker named Wells, I would jump on it.

SR4759, you would sound a whole lot tougher if your posts were not anonymous. Tell everyone who you are if you are that experienced and stout.

"throwing your meat" sounds like it was typed by a high school kid.

Most everyone knows who everyone is here. Use your name, big guy.


Josh Amerine

Thanks for that, tiggertate. I wanted the gun to start with but since dangerous game rifles aren't an area of the shooting sports I'm experienced in, I was just looking for a little more info.

The round he showed me was, now that you mention it, a 7.62 I think. I don't know if the action or barrel said FN somewhere or not (I did get to have the fun of being one up on the smith who didn't know that FN means National Factory). I was particularly interested in knowing if it was either an FN commercial or military in view of what all's been said here so far.

The smith mentioned Well's first name and it was either of those. He thought that gentleman's son was more involved now and named where he was.

We weighed the gun and without sling was 9 lbs 10 oz. He said the recoil pad was standard. It's black, thick and has a soft area in it. I've heard of pads here with mercury in them? Would that be worth looking into if I don't find the recoil to my liking?

He did come down a little on the price...maybe an invite to go turkey hunting at the farm helped.

Anyway, it really does look a lot more pricey than it is. So thanks again. I'll be taking it home this week.