Quote:
Originally Posted by MVP
AZ,
Many years ago I attended the 2yr resident gunsmithing program at Utah Technical College and we built a bunch of sporterized Mausers and Springfields. We did that because they were cheap and we were poor. Both actions are relatively strong but the quality of the Mausers went down significantly as the end of WWII approached and there were many manufacturers. There are a couple of action lengths and if you plan to build a sporter you need to make sure you have the stanard Mauser length, not the shorter Yugoslav M48. As I recall most M98's would not accomodate full-length 30-06 and needed feed ramp / magazine work for 30-06. If you use the short one it will require a special action length stock. Of the Springfields, only the A3/A4 has a good solid foundation for a scope mount. Regardless of which action you choose you will need to plan on bending the bolt or welding on a new bolt handle to clear a scope. There is just so much work it really isn't worthwhile when you can buy a used 700 and then customize the crap out of it if you want a "project". In the end you will have a much better gun with less work and at a lower cost.
If you really like the Mauser design take a look at the CZ Model 550, it has all the features of the M98 plus an improved trigger and safety without the receiver weakening "thumb-cut" in the left receiver wall. It also has integral scope mount bases machined into the receiver eliminating the weak interface between reciever and scope rings.
MVP
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Thanks MVP! I DO really like the mauser design. I'd like to come across a still "new" or lightly used Rem798 (interarms mauser type)...for a reasonable price. That CZ is pretty sweet too!