An Old Mauser

Anyone who has been following my articles in American Gunsmith knows I am a fan of the Mauser action, especially the 98s and 96s. Recently, an interesting custom Mauser 98 originally assembled in the early sixties came across my bench. This rifle was built by a gunsmith residing in Berlin, Pennsylvania during the heyday of converting military surplus rifles to sporters.

It shows almost all of the features offered by the rifle builders of the day and is one of the most representative examples of the era I have ever seen. If one of these comes in your shop it deserves tender care and respect as this was your granddaddy’s favorite arm. While there is not necessarily a lot of how-to in this article, there is a wealth of how-it-was-done in the golden age of sporterizing old rifles. This gun crossed my bench for something as mundane as a loose forend cap.

After all these years, whatever glue the gunsmith used hardened and came loose. Acraglas was available in the early sixties but I would bet something like Elmer’s Carpenter’s glue was used on this gun. The forend piece is made of Rosewood and a matching grip cap compliments the walnut stock. Both are separated from the stock by the mandatory white-line spacer that seemed required in the day and was held in place by the standard method of an angled dowel locking it to the stock.

A little hand pressure was all that was needed to separate it and give access to replace the adhesive. After consultation with the owner I decided to go ahead and use Elmer’s Carpenter’s wood glue again on the dowel and its seat. After all, it had lasted almost fifty years. The white spacer, however, is some kind of weird plastic available in the 1960s. After I took a wire brush on a Dremel tool to rough it and its mating surface on the wood, I used some Gorilla glue, which seems to hold anything.

I clamped it down with some surgical tubing and left it sit overnight. It seemed to do a good job. The stock itself is a straightgrained piece of walnut with a sharp grip, a pronounced Monte Carlo above the cheekpiece and two deep flutes cut in front. The butt is protected by a "honeycombed" recoil pad marked "Trademark White Line Pachmayr Gun Works Los Angeles 16, California USA." Two permanently attached sling swivels are inserted at the front and rear—no quick release here.

The stock features checkering at 18-lines per inch in a sort of a point pattern on the grip and a drawn in "boat" pattern on the forend. I couldn’t find anything to match it in Monty Kennedy’s tome on checkering, but I’m sure I’ve seen it someplace before. At any rate, both patterns are functional except that they are not finished. The diamonds are not sharpened.

Kennedy does have a small section at the back of his book describing English flat checkering, which he didn’t think much of, but our gunsmith was definitely not using this technique. It appears that only one pass of the checkering tool (maybe two) was all that the gunsmith used on this stock. There are hardly any overruns, however, and the checkering is entirely adequate for the gun’s intended purpose of varmint hunting, specifically Pennsylvania groundhogs and crows.

Tempted as I am to sharpen up these diamonds, I’m leaving things alone. If any of you have ever been in the south central part of the Keystone State’s geography, you will have noted that the area is mountainous and dotted with small farms. There are lots of hay fields and pasture lands covering the landscape even now. Imagine what opportunities a roving pest hunter might have in the ‘60s when a "posted" sign was an oddity.

The forend on this piece is more rounded and thinner than a modern varmint rifle made for shooting off bags. It works very well, however, and the weight of this rifle qualifies it as a "walking" gun. This rifle is also of interest since it was chambered in what was a wildcat, the .22-250, or the .22 Varminter as it was known at the time. Remington didn’t "legitimize" this cartridge until 1965 and the current owner bought this rifle from its previous owner before then.

As a wildcat, Browning began marketing rifles chambered for this cartridge 1963, prior to having a SAAMI specification or commercially-available ammunition, such was its popularity. When Remington did adopt the .22-250, adding the Remington name and chambering their model 700 and 40XB match rifles for it, all became right in the shooting world and the grand .22-250’s success was assured. Having worked with many Mausers I was impressed with some of the features the gunsmith added to this gun.

The action’s military heritage is clearly evident in that it is marked, "Detsche Waffen Und Munitions Fabriken Berlin 1916." The left side of the receiver has the serial number and the left rail is marked "GEW 98." It has the thumb cut for use with stripper clips. This rifle began as a standard German military arm during the middle of World War One.

I recently read an article in another magazine criticizing the Mauser action as being inherently inaccurate because of the thumb cut compromising rigidity to the receiver and removing it from consideration by serious varmint hunters

22-250 Remington was still a wildcat. It shoots very well and has a lot of years of useful varminting left. An angled dowel holds it in place. Elmer’s glue and Gorilla glue was used to repair it. Note the white-line spacer which all the guns from that era seemed to need. and target enthusiasts.

While I agree that if I was building anew target rifle I would use a more modern action, this rifle shoots as well as almost any factory heavy-barreled rifle I have ever seen, and it is consistent, holding its groups in the same place for many years. The best thing about it is that the owner paid one hundred dollars for this gem, not a princely sum even then. The military bolt shroud has been left in place and a Buehler-type wing safety has been installed.

The nonhinged floorplate has also been left stock (but nicely polished) and requires that a button be pushed at the rear to release it. Ostensibly, a pointed 8mm Mauser bullet was to be used for this purpose on the battlefield. The barrel is 25.5 inches long and measures 0.715 inches at the muzzle. My customer says he was told it was a "target barrel." I would classify it as a middle weight.

It sports a simple hunter’s crown and I can agree as to its target status since I have been present when the owner has shot numerous sub-one-inch groups at 100 yards. The barrel is unmarked with either maker’s name or caliber—not good and we will have to stamp this barrel for caliber according to federal law. In reloading for this rifle we cannot find any differences in specs from the legitimized factory round and a standard set of RCBS dies has done yeoman duty for many years.

Apparently, the original reamer adhered to the 28-degree shoulder standardized by Remington. A dated modification on this rifle is that the magazine follower is beveled to allow the closing of the action without pushing it down with a finger. Military 98 Mausers stops the bolt from closing unless the magazine has at least one cartridge inserted. I don’t modify my guns this way but it may be a useful idea, at least the old timers thought it was.

Measuring with a protractor, the bevel is around thirty degrees, if you should attempt to modify one of these followers. A little trial and error will be of benefit but that measurement will get you started. It also seems to be dished slightly. What’s puzzling is that the extractor has not been beveled to allow it to pass over a chambered round when the bolt is pushed forward.

This stock is not cut in the modern "varminter" style with a straight comb and fat, flattened fore end. It was probably not very expensive but it has a certain quality difficult to obtain now days. On the left is the modified follower on our rifle which allows the bolt to be closed when the magazine is empty. This is not a bad idea for a varmint rifle where one shot may be needed quickly. My best guess is to start with about a thirty degree cut and use trial and error to finish this job.

Why modify the follower if you don’t want to close the bolt with around in the chamber? While I don’t modify the Mausers I put together in this fashion, I concede that it may be useful in a varmint hunting situation where only one round may be needed quickly but, in this case, why one without the other? At any rate, I understand that this was a common practice during that era. This got me into trouble when another gentleman and I were shooting at a local range with one of my guns.

He stuck a cartridge in the chamber and tried to close the bolt. Luckily I stopped him before he broke the extractor. This left a cartridge in the chamber and, unfortunately, I didn’t have a cleaning rod with me to gently nudge it out. We solved this by unscrewing a radio antenna on his car. Well, we were able to keep shooting that day and he learned a lesson about Mausers. Improvise, adapt, overcome, as Gunny Highway motivates us.

The stock on this rifle is bedded at the rear tang and the front of the receiver at the recoil lug. The barrel is free floated the rest of the way. Over the years this compound—whatever was used—has deteriorated and could use rebedding. However, this gun shoots all out of proportion for its age and oneinch groups or smaller for five shots at 100 yards is the norm. Until the groups go sour it stays as is. The feature I most admire on this rifle is the double-set triggers.

An eye-opening contrast from then to now is in the Shooter’s Bible No. 55 Mauser used pillar bedding over a hundred years ago. The bedding is deteriorating but, until the groups go sour, it stays as is. The action proper is not bedded with any compound and the barrel is free floated. 1964 edition. A Peerless double-set trigger for model 98 and FN Mauser actions is advertised for the grand sum of $12. Brownells currently lists a NECG double set trigger (#661-098- 100) for $203.25.

That shows how forty-eight years has affected our dollar. If only I had bought a half dozen of these along with all those ‘55 Chevys and Panhead Harleys that were sold for practically nothing compared to today.

This job certainly can be done with just a few files and stones, but a milling machine will quicken the pace. The areas that needed to be changed have been whitened for the photo. Note that the guard must be enlarged to allow the larger set triggers to drop through, an easy job on the milling machine. The trigger on this rifle is an old one and I can’t find any markings on it to identify its maker.

When measuring the weight of the trigger with my RCBS trigger-pull scale I found the front trigger (unset) broke at just less than four pounds, which is pretty good. After setting the rear trigger and pulling the front to fire the rifle the weight is undetectable by my scale, a "hair" trigger. This can’t make up for the slow lock time of the Mauser but we find it helps with precision shooting.

Anew firing pin spring and a titanium firing pin would cut this lock time considerably but for the moment we’ll let it alone. When this firing pin does slam home it always goes bang. That’s why a Mauser is built this way. The trigger isn’t any different in operation than ones available today and installed in a very similar manner with some caveats. The trigger was installed with two opposing screws that the gunsmith drilled and tapped in the trigger guard. NECG recommends using pins or solder for this.

Either way will work as long as the housing is held securely. The trigger guard must be milled out to accept the new trigger and the "kicker" must be adjusted to make sure the sear will drop. How this was done and how NECG suggests is an interesting contrast. The "kicker" is installed in the original trigger housing using the pin that normally holds the trigger. Pushing up on the kicker drops the sear and allows the striker to move forward, firing the weapon.

There are two blades on the double-set trigger, one for the front and one for the rear trigger. The front trigger can fire the gun independently if desired. The rear trigger "sets" the front for a much lighter pull, depending on the Corrosion is still evident. The kicker takes the place of the military trigger. The small coil spring may need to be shortened to allow proper function.

The pin holding the housing to the receiver was mangled and had to be straightened to fit properly. sear engagement controlled by the small screw in the middle of the trigger housing. Several professional adjustments are necessary for proper functioning. The top of the kicker is left proud by the manufacturer so it can be judiciously removed to adjust the amount of sear engagement on the cocking piece. The unit is then assembled sans stock to check for function.

NECG cautions against over tightening the rear tang guard screw, creating a space at least 0.012- 0.015" between the kickoff and the trigger blades. This is how the gun

Its twin is on the other side on the opposing end. I think this may be a better way to install this trigger than by using pins or solder. Why three holes? I guess we’ll never know. should be reassembled in the stock. When the trigger is set and the front trigger pulled the kicker should be hit by the proper blade with enough force to release the sear and fire the gun. Carefully shortening the main coil spring in the military trigger body until proper function is obtained may be necessary.

Our old timer definitely lightened the spring since it takes very little pressure to drop the sear. Something else stands out as interesting. It appears that he may have taken too much off the kicker on this trigger as he has soldered up the bottom and matched it to the trigger blades. The solder shows two distinct areas where the trigger blades contact it. Anyway, he made it work.

I have included illustrations showing the soldered area on the kicker and also the relationship of the kicker and the set trigger as it is in the gun. As long as the trigger is fitted correctly into the trigger guard only minor fitting should be needed. Another area where our gunsmith deviated from the NECG instructions is by using two set screws to hold the trigger into the guard instead of pinning or soldering the unit in place.

The screws used are two common plug screws, one in each end of the guard on opposing sides with two slight detent depressions drilled into the trigger assembly to accept the screws. With the tight fitting of the trigger assembly in the guard this method works very well and holds the trigger securely without wobble or any movement to detract from accurate function. No pins need to The hole used for the set screws on both ends of the guard have been welded up and polished so that you would never knew they existed.

This is a very nice touch and I commend the old gunsmith. Anew Simmons 6X24 target scope is mounted. be made or driven out to remove the trigger if necessary and soldering is a more permanent way to install apart like this than I am comfortable with. All these ways will work fine.

I am sure some of you may disagree with me, however, I was able to take the double-set trigger apart from the guard very easily for the process of taking pictures and after all these years the pictures accompanying this article will hopefully show the accumulation of corrosion around some of the parts. I am going

to work on these areas to remove any rust, scales, etc, that I am able to and lubricate where needed. Please note that two set screws on both sides of the guard could have been used but were not necessary. One problem I discovered was that someone (I hate to think it was our old gunsmith, since so far his work had been very satisfactory) had installed the kicker on the original military housing and bent the pin holding the housing to the receiver so it could not be driven home.

It was left in place with an "I guess that’s good enough" attitude, which ticks me off to no end. Anyone who knows Mausers will understand how the whole trigger housing would wobble without the pin going all the way through its seat. This can’t be conducive to accuracy and darned if I can figure out why this rifle shoots so well unless it just has a wonderful barrel. I pulled the pin and straightened it so it would work properly.

I guess that, not finishing the checkering and not stamping the Complete your American Gunsmith collection. Or read up on a special subject! A limited number of the following