Joe I have picked up M98's packed with cosmoline so heavily that you pulled the trigger and the firing pin would not fall....so yeah I guess you can pack enough crud in the bolt body so that they won't fire, too.
That guides M70 situation might fall into the "proving a negative" category and asking ourselves how much crud before it fails to work vs a Mauser. I sure can't say and that's an unknown.
I am working from memory here,so will stand corrected....but my memory is the Mausers have a large vent in the bolt body(I think it's a gas vent)that would in theory serve to drain any water that might get into the bolt body, as opposed to trapping and holding it.
I just checked a Classic M70; the bolt body has two small vents; the pre 64 has one. Both are smaller than the vent on a Mauser 98.
The other thing is that a M98 has a heavier, slower firing pin fall than a M70 and
might be more inclined to light a fire if gunked up. Again we can make any of them "fail" but the Mauser was designed to handle more abuse.
Another nice little touch on the 98 is that the interior of the bolt body is machined with a recess that fits a shoulder on the firing pin; if the firing pin is not aligned with that recess the rifle will not fire (meaning the bolt handle has to be fully down before the rifle will go "boom"). A Rem 700 or a M70 does not have this feature...I know you can get a Rem 700 to drop the pin without enough force to light up a primer if the bolt is partially lifted, and pretty sure a M70 will do the same thing.
Maybe the Mauser will do it too but I doubt it.
One thing about a Mauser is it all looks simple enough but you learn after awhile there is not a part, or a feature, or a machine cut,that did not have an important function,all designed to work in sync. Many of us may have no use for these features because we do not abuse rifles on tough hunts and lesser stuff gets us by. But those whose lives depend on a rifle under harsh conditions may have a different mind set to all this. I understand where they are coming from.
Rosco I won't throw a M70 any slack....if it breaks I am not a happy camper, no matter what it is. Nothing bugs me more than a piece of gear that doesn't work when you need it too.
