Saw some pictures of special built Mauser rifles. Good rifle action, like 1911, still very usable, and a beauty to look at. Built by at least the legal Mauser company. Might add, they are not in my price range. MAUSER 98 And a "dated" post, around 2010, that indicates what rifles used to be available and what they cost then. Don't expect to find those prices today or a Moisant and a tin of ammo for $100 either. Modern rifles with mauser actions? And here are at least some choices today in 30-06 that are closer to what I can afford. Note, I don't know off hand which have the claw extractor or the Springfield extractor. Eight Great .30-06 Rifles Under $800 - Guns and Ammo Have an 03 Springfield that was built for WW1 that the government gave me for being in a rifle team in high school in 1954. Still have it and it will with proper care still work in another 100 years. Shoot reloads with Korean era brass or earlier and they work well as I do not full length resize the cases and do anneal the necks. Served me well my whole life and I know it can do the same for the next one that keeps it. Don't really feel like I own it, more like I have been able to use it and take care of it for a while.
Those are gorgeous rifles in the 1 of 25 thread by Mauser. My K98 is a WWII bringback 8mm that was rebarreled fifteen years ago as a .30-06. It's a frankenrifle, in a Bell & Carlson stock, with a 26" heavy stainless steel barrel with a 1 in 12" twist and a Timney target trigger. 2" was the best I could do with 180gr jacketed bullets, but I found a couple of loads it likes. 150gr Remington or Hornady flat base bullets with IMR 4895 that you can completely cover three shots with a quarter at 100 yards. The 165 grainers are a bit better with IMR 4350. Three shots completely under a nickel at 100 yards. It is heavy, though. Ten pounds, before I swapped the 3x9 out for a 4x12.
I'm a die hard Mauser 98 fan, something that drove my Grand Father nuts, butt he also LOVED that I loved them so much! Gramps was a WInchester guy, especially the Levers, but wouldn't turn down a lonely Mod 54 or a Early Mod 70, and he would buy them cheap and re work them into exceptionally fine rifles! He and Grand Mom traveled all over the states and loved nothing more then finding little shops and second hand stores and they would buy up old and neglected rifles and shotguns to restore and improve. When I was in my middle teens, They sat me down and asked me what rifle I wanted as my main hunting rifle, Naturally I said Mauser 98! They asked what flavor ( Caliber) and with out a second thought, said .375 Holland & Holland! Grand Dad walked out to the bed room and a few min came back with a little felt bag in his hands and handed it to me. I opened it up and inside was a receiver and bolt for a M-98 Comercial Magnum the same as supplied to the bit name Brit Rifle makers. I was beyond excited to say the least. My Grand Parents were kind of well knows stock makers, and Gramps was extra gifted in metal working, he had his own blueing tanks and his own formulas, was expert in ash and bone char bluing, and rust bluing as well as parkerizing. Grand Mom did cut checkering at the kitchen table on a special rotary stand grand dad had designed and made just for her, and her work was exquisite, so naturally, to have a fine piece made by them was priceless to me, course I had to both earn it, and had to help build it, doing a lot of sanding, filing, and polishing of all the parts. We picked out a barrel and had it spec'ed just the way I wanted, then we turned in in the lathe to get the taper and couture just right, and finally installed it and set head space. Every part was hand fit and tuned to perfection and then polished till you could see your reflection in it, then media blasted with baking soda and corn husk before dipping in Grand Dads secret sauce Deep Blueing,, then oiled and polished! Meanwhile, Grand Mom was hard at work inletting the stock, doing the pillar bedding and cross bolts and then the cut checkering, I went with a semi fancy pattern, this was meant to be a working mans rifle, so I didn't want extra fancy, but I ended up extra fancy despite that! LOL Behold my beauty, by far and away the nicest rifle I own and have ever owned, and she shoots lights out all day long! Reamed the chamber to .375 Weatherby Magnum for even more power and versatility, and yes, it hurts to shoot, but it's the good kind of pain, reminds you of what your doing, and what your about to do, makes you OWN it!
My last rifle build, also a Mauser 98, this one a one of a kind custom action one of only 3 made, and mine is number 3, offered to me by it's maker who knew my grand parents and knew I was a 98 guy through and through! This one was an all out build, no expense spared build! I inherited most of Grand Dads gun smithing tools, but at the time, I couldn't take the big stuff, the wood stash, or any of the other big items, so I made a deal with my brothers and cousins to store some of it, and I would help them with any builds later after I retired! This is the custom 98 action raw in the white with it's barrel fitted! That barrel is from the Spanish barrel maker Bugera, arguably the finest barrel makers on the entire planet and near galaxy, their stuff is legendary, they were THE supplier to Remington when Remington owned the world of precision rifles, chances are quite good if you have a Remington 700 made between 1994 and around 2009, you have a Bugera Barrel! This one I ordered bored to 11.5 mm rough, and then sent it to Danny Peterson in Pason Az, to have it final bored and then Cut Rifled on his Vintage 1865 Pratt & Whitney Sine Bar riffling machine, to a 1/12 twist and had the chamber roughed out to .500 Jeffery! Then sent it to Douglas Barrels and had the bore melonited as deep as they could ( Kind of like face hardening) before I got it back and finish reamed the chamber and then set the throat before hand lapping it and then proof testing the barrel! Once that was done, it all got married for the last time and then deep blued using Grand Dads secret sauce bluing for that ultra rich deep blue we all know and love! Meanwhile, I have all of Grand MOms stock patterns and many of Grand Dads Special stash stock blanks, so I chose the pattern I wanted, and the blank, which is Bastone Walnut, and went to town on it. Took me more then 2 years to build, but boy did she turn out, and she really turns heads. She is also a shooter, and she is an absolute sledge hammer tack driver! Fun to shoot little carbine, and a serious tool for serious work, though it has yet to go to Alaska or Africa, some day!
Thank you for sharing with us. The rifle is beautiful and the story behind it makes it even more so. Seldom do we see today the results of a family or a company that has spent many years developing their skills. Most of the things we use today are made by companies that out source their product to a company in " pick your choice" and the individual operating the machines that makes it still goes back to his village for the new year celebration and really could care less about the product. I guess that is why the Mauser ad touched me. It has done so for 125 years, thru 2 world wars, some really bad times, and still they seem to be very proud of their heritage. Most American rifle manufacturers got caught up in the maximizing of profit and were basically badly damaged by the bankers and big business interests that bought and sold them. Living in NH, Ruger was some what of an exception. God knows he had his quirks, but he did keep control of the company while almost all the others were either absorbed or went out of business. I must say that this is really well done gun porn. Seldom are we honored with both views of the parts, the action, or the results of its use, lying next to the hog. It adds to the beauty to know that it is not only a thing of beauty, but perfection in its operation as well.
