Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Did FN ever build and chamber a Military 98 action in a .30-06 with a stepped barrel?

Today I found a sporterized FN Military 98 rifle in a .30-06 with a stepped barrel for $200.
The barrel has been shortened and the stock is an after stock that has also been shortened.
Is this a good price?

I have a Columbian FN made Mauser in 30-06 that originally had a stepped barrel. I have seen several others as well-most marked from the 50's.

Yes it was designated the 1950 model and the reciever ring has an early 1950's date stamped on it. The few I have seen were usually just refered to as the Belgium Mauser, inferring that they werent contract rifles as were the many thousands of rifles they built in earlier years.

I also have a Colombian Mauser in .30-06 built by FN in Belgium. It has a good barrel and is an excellent shooter. The receiver ring on these rifles has a u-shaped notch cut into the rear of the receiver ring to allow clip loading with full-length .30-06 cartridges. They are also stamped ".30" on the receiver bridge.

As to whether the one you're looking at is worth $200, it depends a lot on its condition. Seems a little high to me.

an action pre milled for 30-06 length cartridges would be good for a custom.

Excellent action. Where I live if it's in any decent condition the rifle would be worth that amount.

I just happen to own a Columbian 1950 model '98 Mauser chambered in .30-06 I picked up this rifle in the early 1970's from a gunsmith friend who told me to "go through the barrels in back and see what you can find." It has the military "stepped" barrel.

I had intended to replace the barrel with a .30-06 aftermarket barrel (I'd "assumed" it was 8mm......military, what would you think??) but discovered it was already chambered in .30-06. First time I shot it (still planned to rebarrel) it grouped factory ammo at 3/4 " for 5 shots at 100 yards (5/8" with handloads). I was afraid I'd never get back to where I was.....sooooooo.

25 years later it still has the original barrel even after stocking in a AAA piece of walnut, rewelded bolt handle, aftermarket trigger and bedding. It has at least 5000 rounds through it (that I've shot.....no telling how many before I got it) and will still keep 5 shots under an inch and is semi-retired (although it is still the "go-to" rifle when things are on the line).

A little research turned up the fact that in the early 1950's there were 100 rifles selected for international high-power competition......and this was one of them. Don't know if this rifle was actually used in competition or of it was a "reject" but it is very "special" as far as accuracy.

So.....yes, there were '98 Mausers made in .30-06 and some of them are real jewels. try yours.......it may be one of the special few.

the action is worth $200 sporterized...I'd buy it.

In my limited experience,(sample of one) and from what Ive read, the FN military 3006 and 308 barrels were usually quite accurate.

I have an FN Mauser built in 1952 in 06, with Belgian crest.
I bought it 20 years ago with the intent of making a nice sporter.
Upon cleaning it up, it looked like it was barely used so I decided to leave it alone.
So, still have it today, in it's original military garb. Kind of glad I never chopped that one. Accuracy? It's one of my most accurate milsurps.

I think it's worth 300 easy.
If it is set up for a scope aready i would put a strait edge to the screw holes.
It's a piece of cake to put a timney trigger in one.
With a good stock you should be ready to go.
I recently pain 200 for a slightly less desirable VZ-24 action that was nicly done.
Gonna be a .7X57 mauser...tj3006

In the late 1950's, I had an FN with a Belgian crest and really liked it. Unfortunately, my desire for a Model 70 made me sell it in a moment of weakness. Now, I don't have either.

During World War II some of our latin nation neighbors declared war on Germany and Japan. Mexico, Cuba, Brazil...

Most of these countries used 7x57 Mausers. Since using the 7x57 in Theater would have created an ammo supply problem for the US these countrie's militaries converted over to the 30/06.

Then in the 1950s and 60s they converted to the 7.62 NATO when it became the "Free World's" standard cartridge.

You had a Belgian made FN mauser and traded for a Model 70????? What were you thinking????

What were you thinking......a Model 70 is a Mauser want-to-be......and Belgian made??? Do you have any Savage 99's you want trade for a cheap Wnchester 94's??

Thanks for the info guy.
I think tomorrow I'll go buy the rifle and rebarrel it to a 7x57 or a 9.3x62.

My Douglass-barreled 25-06 is built on an FN Columbian 30-06 action, that I paid $60 for about 24 years ago. Actually, I paid that for the entire rifle, with hacked-off military stock and issue sights.

That rifle didn't look much different in its original configuration, than any of the M98s I have in 8x57, stepped barrel and all.

The well-seasoned old gentleman that installed the Douglass barrel back then, was of the opinion that the military FN action was as good or better, than most M98 military actions. Figure he knew of what he spoke, since he'd been building sporterized M98s since the late 40s?

The action alone is worth $300 and the barrel if good is another bill, so your getting it at about half its value.