Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Any Mauser guys out there?

My buddy picked up a mauser rebarreled in 22-250 at a yard sale for a steal @ $150. Here's the problem. He asked me to outfit it with a scope and mounts but I have no clue when it come to mounts on these mauser actions. What kind of mauser was this (besides the obvious Columbian) and what mounts do I need to be looking for? Are all the mauser mounts the same?

The four holes suggests two-piece bases, probably Weavers would be the most common, #46 front and #45 rear. Because there were so many military Mausers made by so many different factories over such a long period time, it is possible/probable/likely that the bases may need to be shimmed to get correct alignment.

A 'smith who built a lot of rifles on military Mauser action told me that there are probably more scope tubes damaged by mounting them on sporterized military Mausers without checking and, if necessary, correcting the ring alignment.

The notch in the front receiver ring was done in the 1950's, when older rifles were rebarrel in 30-06 and the COAL of the 30-06 was just enough longer than the 7x57 that the 5-round stripper clip would work.

What you friend has is a military large ring model 98 Mauser. One of the best actions made - but they require some work to scope properly.

Before you or your friend expend any money on the rifle make certain than the short 22-250 cartridges will feed through the action because feeding can be problematical when the rifle is re-barreled to a cartridge of a different length than original. In the photo the receiver ring has a small cutout that was sometimes done on actions intended for 30-06 or longer cartridges. Checking if the action will feed the intended ammo is of paramount importance. If not; then it needs to go to someone who understands Mauser actions. Mauser feed rail modification is not something all gunsmiths are good at.

1. The clip guide has not been removed from the rear of the receiver so you have to purchase mounts with this in mind rather than use mounts made for commercial Mauser actions such as Mark X.

2. The original safety will not work with most scopes (unless mounted very high) so you will need to replace that also. Several options are available ranging from relatively inexpensive to much more than what he paid for the rifle.

3. It does not appear that the bolt handle has been altered for scope use. This may also be necessary but the photo does not show me enough to be certain.

A further item to consider is the quality of the work to drill and tap the receiver for scope mounts. Are they lined up correctly with the bore? It is not uncommon to encounter holes that are incorrect.

These comments are just a starter. Based on the photos it appears that the rifle needs a visit to a competent Mauser gunsmith.

The bolt handle doesn't need to be touched. 99% of American "gunsmiths" will just screw it up. Nor touch the safety.

Go here: http://www.p-a-distributing.com/mounts.html

If you decide it is too much...

I'll buy it for $175.00.

Bolt handle looks like it has been altered already to me, Had mount issues on a Mauser 98 a while back and wound up using Weaver Grand Slam(Leupold/Redfield style) one piece base. This allowed me to compensate for the rifle being drilled SLIGHTLY off center. Should work just fine for your application too.

Weaver #48916
Leupold#49990

Mauser safeties. Any of the safeties will work. I prefer the M70 style, but have used the Mark II with no issues and the Mark II is an easy install.

Nice deal yer buddy got there.

For reasons already explained I'd do the Leupold standard (windage adjustable) 2-peice bases:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/1362287522/leupold-standard-scope-base-mauser

These will ensure that the rear works in spite of still having the charger hump, and that if the holes are out of alignment you can still line the scope up w/ the bore.

Again nice score!

The bolt handle has been modified - looks like it was cut off and welded back on at a low angle. The Colombian rifle had a bolt handle straight out to the side, and the carbine's was curved to place the grasping ball out from the wood.

FWIW that is a standard large-ring 98 action, by FN. Colombia also reworked other older 98s from 7x57 to .30/06. Colombian Mausers are often well worn and subject to corrosion under the wood, but yours looks to be in good nick.