Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Mausers and Military Rifles What did I get and did I do ok?

Was at a sale today, and a 338-06 came up for sale. It was labeled as a Mauser 98, no name on the barrel. Following are a few photos of what I got...







So a few questions, What exactly did I get? I assume I should have no qualms about shooting it chambered in 338-06? Also it appears like someone tried bedding and free floating the barrel. I hope that means it will shoot! I paid 475 for it with the older VX II Leupold scope on it. I figure I basically paid 200 for the scope and got the gun for 275 which to me seems like a pretty good deal.
As an aside they also had an Enfield there that was chambered in 340 weatherby Mag. Someone had painted the stock an ugly black and threaded the barrel. That also had a scope (I believe Leupold) and it only brought 350 bucks! Also an old 6.5x58 rifle that sold for 300 or so. The guys there wanted modern stuff, so I was glad for that! Thanks for the help!

You got a good deal on a Brno/CZ Mauser.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zbrojovka_Brno

I'm not an expert in these matters, but in my opinion, if this rifle shoots adequately well for your purposes and doesn't have any real flaws, like excessive headspace or whatever, you did alright. Any time you can get a rifle/scope combination that 1. includes a name brand scope that can be factory refurbished and 2. a decent action that can be used as a donor if it doesn't work for you in the configuration in which you bought it, for under $500 you're probably doing okay. I think BRNO actions are good, but, as I said, I am sure no expert. There are many more here better qualified than I to make that determination. I would check to see if the lugs seem to have been lapped in (both making good contact) and check it with go/no go headspace gages, then if everything checks out okay, try it out. You might want to check under the butt plate/recoil pad to see if whoever did the work left anything indicating such. Given the kind of sloppy nature of the bedding compound, I would guess that it was done by someone trying to make it shoot after the work was done or that the whole project was an amateur self-help project. Let us know how it goes.

You might get more responses in the custom rifles section. A lot of guys there know the various 98's etc. I think here it's mostly just the guys that like to shoot the old wardogs in their original form.

Nice rifle. Looks like you did great. cra1948 added a lot of great advice. I'd definitely do as he said. That bedding looks scary to me though. Not how I would have done it, but to each their own. If it checks out good, shoot it and let us know how it does. I look for those kinds of deals. I recently saw some very nice mauser 98's myself. Some chambered in African big game cartridges like the 458 win mag. Rifles look very nice, but in plastic/tuppwerware stocks. Prices on those range from $349-$400.00. Some have new barrels and are nicely blued. When I go back on the 13th, I may buy one. Maybe one in 7x57 or 8x57. One in 338-06 would be cool though. Nice find..

Yeah, I'd redo the bedding, grind that [bleep] out and bed the action. The Brno actions are good. Forget lapping the lugs, this ain't a through hardened action.

Looks like a Czech VZ22 or VZ24 action with a newer commercial barrel and altered bolt handle. Typically well made Mauser M98 variants. While the bedding may look messy it might be perfectly functional. Have a gunsmith check the headspace or shoot a couple of rounds of inexpensive commercial ammo and check the case web for stretching. If OK shoot it and worry about the bedding later.

338-06 brass maybe fire formed from 30-06 brass with filler and a few grains of fast burning powder. I've fire formed cases by firing 30-06 factory loads in the 338-06 but that might not be safe in your rifle.

I would have grabbed that rifle too!

Nope.

Im not mad at you........

ha ha. I agree with zr1 on this one.. Who just slops that schidt in there like that?? Bubba.. and we all know about Bubba.

ha ha. I agree with zr1 on this one.. Who just slops that schidt in there like that?? Bubba.. and we all know about Bubba. At a minimum, I'd remove that garbage and then glass the recoil lug area. Keep clearance around the rear tang, as we normally do with mauser type actions.

I wonder why he/she bedded just that area and left the recoil lug untouched

It's a Bubba free floating barrel job.

Not necessarily. Generally when floating a barrel, you float the whole thing. Even under the barrel channel. It is obvious that whoever did it, did not really know what they were doing. However, if the action was slightly loose in the stock, that may have been just enough to stabilize it in the stock. Even though it looks crude, it may have made the rifle shoot better, so they left it like that. A lot of guys don't really care what the bedding looks like, since their thought is no one is going to see it anyway. I'm a lot more anal about stuff because I always think about what someone is going to think if I had to sell the rifle. I want it to look presentable and professional. In the back of my mind I'm always thinking eventually you are going to have to sell your rifles. The op's rifle is a cool one. I hope to hear more about it. I don't generally talk about mausers, but I recently bought one for cheap. I have worked on them a time or 2, but much more familiar with model 70's and Ruger 77's and old m1917's. The mauser is the great grand daddy to all of these rifles though, so there is some familiarity there. If it were me, I'd glass bed the recoil lug and freefloat the barel. The whole barrel, even under the chamber area. Just did that on the new Mauser I just bought. I did not want to mess with freefloating it, but it had to be done. The rifle was inletted very well. Nice and tight through the whole barrel channel and receiver. However, it did not shoot to its full potential. Here's how the barrel channel looks after I freefloated the barrel and sealed the wood:

I am a "bubba" of sorts, as I do most of my work with a dremel and steady hand. Take out material in short order, then do final sanding with a socket wrapped with coarse sand paper. it's quick, but you have to be careful. This new to me Mauser, ended up with a nice freefloat shown here:


Take a look at the receiver to wood fit in this pic:

That receiver fits snug, like it was poured into the stock Great work by H&R. ^^^^ Also, generous freefloat now, the way I like it, so I can use a bipod or shoot over a pack and be sure the stock is not going to touch the barrel. With the recoil lug properly bedded and the barrel freefloated, the rifle shoots like this now:




That is with ammo not even worked up in this rifle, but ammo that usually works well in every 30-06 I have. That is a big difference between how it shot when I got the rifle. I'm hoping with a little work, the OP's rifle will shoot well too. I'd do safety checks on it first though. Pull out the go/no go gauges, just to be sure headspace falls within spec.

Now, after looking at the pics of the op's rifle, you can see that the receiver is not inletted as well as the rifle I show pics of. Because of that, I'd glass bed the whole forward section of the receiver to wood at the recoil lug area. Leave the pad of crap bedding that is there. After you do your bedding, remove that glop of bedding under the chamber area. I'd also remove the burrs on top of the receiver at the scope mount screw holes. That is a big no no to have burrs like that on your scope mount surfaces. Imperfections like that always lead to trouble down the road. I always deburr the scope mounts themselves and then blue loc tite the mount screws, not the ring screws. I know this is a lot of info, but it's how I'd approach the OP's rifle.

Geez a Mauser starter kit project! I like it and would have bought it myself. If it sits solid in the stock and shoots OK you could leave it like it is. I would fix it though.

So took it to a gunsmith to make sure it passes the headspace (it does). He looked at the barrel and said it looks like a Douglas. His opinion was the metal work/action barrel etc was done by a gunsmith and the attempt at bedding was bubba. Oh and discovered it has some sort of aftermarket trigger cause it is a 2 stage. He said if I would have brought him the action and got him to replace the barrel, shroud, trigger, do the bolt etc, it would have cost me 700-800 bucks (assuming it is a Douglas). He recommended I drop it in a Bell and Carlson stock and I would have a fine big game rifle. Makes my 475 that I spent seem even better!

Jevyod;
Good afternoon, I trust that the rest of the day went as well as the trip to the smith.

With the understanding that I'm not a trained smith, just someone who likes to fool with hunting rifles and has been at it for more than 40 years I'd say you did well or would have up here for sure.

Back in the day we saw a fair number of Douglas barrels up here because they were a decent combination of price and quality. I've still got one I had barreled in the early '90's on a 98 action.

While I've not worked on lots and lots of Brno 98 actions, the ones I did work on were good examples of nicer military actions as far as fit and finish went.

I'll admit I'm old school when it comes to bedding a military 98 action in that I'll bed the first couple inches of the barrel as well. My thought here is that with the thumb cutout in the receiver it's not that hard to stress them so some support up front can't hurt.

That said, bsa1917 got very acceptable results with the barrel floated, but if I'm not wrong his H&R would be a commercial action with no thumb cut? Not sure there, sorry.

The grain on the stock you've got has good flow through the grip for strength and it's not unattractive really. If it was mine I'd likely grind out the bedding as z1r suggested, bed it and give it a whirl. If it shoots well enough then refinishing the stock might be a fun project too?

Anyways just some random thoughts from a random semi-geezer north of the medicine line.

Good luck on the project whichever way you proceed.

Dwayne

Like it.

Except for those 1980 rings and the lack of a bayonet.

Leave it in the woods stock. It is a good looking rifle. Just needs a little fine tuning. I think you did very well on the deal.

Agree.

If it was mine, I’d grind out all that “bubba” bedding and do it right. Stock looks pretty nice to me and adds to the period/vintage ambiance.

You done good. Those are solid old rifles devoid of plastic and aluminum. All walnut and steel. What’s not to like. And it’s a proven shooter, which enhances its value. Just proving it’s a shooter more than doubles its value.

DF

A nitpick: That's not a VX-II, it's a Vari-X II scope. Leupold's nomenclature is such that abbreviation causes mislabeling.

I don't know if he's shot it yet? I'll bet it shoots well though. But I would not shoot it until a proper glass bedding job has been done to it. You know all about that one. You are one that appreciates proper glass bedding. Really the only way to go. All of my rifles get that done to them, even before I shoot them. Never have to worry or wonder about them ever again. No weird acts of wonky accuracy/precision going on, unless you have a scope puke, but it damn sure reduces the variables of what has gone wrong. You should never have to worry about the foundation of your rifle. Just how I see it..

Any mauser and it's variants need the barrel shank bedded for an inch or two in front of the recoil lug. Since the front action screw goes into the recoil lug, there is a tendency for that to become a fulcrum of sorts when you tighten the screw down and also compresses the wood (unless you sleeve the hole).

My guess is the bedding is an attempt to free float the barrel. Over time I bet the thickness of the stock at the recoil lug 'compressed' and allowed the barrel to set lower into channel. Or there was some wood removed from the action area and made the barrel set too low.

Several past threads on bedding mausers and I think MD did a magazine article about it.

Thanks for the advice guys. I think I will sand out the barrel channel, possibly refinish the stock(I have done several with true oil and really enjoyed it) and probably address bedding the action. I have never bedded an action before, I am kind of nervous to try, not sure if this is a good one to practice on...

Glass bedding the recoil lug is generally all that is needed on these. A lot of guys I know will freefloat the whole barrel. Post up some pics on how your mausers shoot. Thanks. The real proof is always on target. The only time it may be necessary is when the barrel is excessively heavy. Also, every rifle is it's own entity. One may like what you are suggesting and others may prefer what I'm saying. The OP has never done a bedding job, he may want to see if his smith is willing to bed it..

I would not touch that glop of bedding compound, until after you bed the action. That glop will keep it elevated in the stock just right to maintain the freefloat it has. After glass bedding the action, then you can remove it. However, I'd shoot it first to see how it does. That will give you a baseline to work from. Then when you remove that glop of bedding under the chamber, shoot it. If it shoots better, leave it as is. If it shoots worse, put a new bedding pad under the chamber area.

Military triggers are usually 2 stage, if you have pictures of the trigger out of the stock the Mauser experts can tell you what you have better than I. I like the .338-06 so you definitely didn't get hurt at that price. I wouldn't leave it alone, so at $450 it wouldn't be cheap for me.

I'd keep your GS a secret if you really like his work. If his price included a barrel (even Douglas) he's working cheap compared to the guys around here. Though his suggestion of a B&C stock wouldn't be my first choice. Nothing wrong with B&C they're a very serviceable stock, I'm just not sure that it is better than what you have.

A B&C stock will set you back $350.

Good strategy.

DF

I don't know DF. I try to think of things mechanically and from experience. There are many methods, as you know. The main thing is to make sure the foundation is solid. That is first and foremost. Just how I see it.

you can neck up shot 30/06 brass into 338/06, without having to fire form anything..

I've been doing that for a decade or two with my Model 70, that was necked up to that caliber from a 270 rebore...

When I sold my .338-06, I resized those cases back to 30-06. Head stamp never changed.

DF