Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats 98 Mauser on a diet

That looks nice Dwayne. I ordered an Edge stock for my Husqvarna small ring 1640 in 7x57 today. I'll let you know what it comes in at all done up.

Scott;
Thanks I look forward to seeing it.

I do know a 98 is not the best place to start when one really wants light, but this one has been sort of like the Cadillac in the Johnny Cash song, you know - one piece at a time!

Again I look forward to seeing the finished small ring.

Dwayne

I'm pretty sure the blue tape takes at least 2 ounces off.

Dwayne, FWIW, I used a 3/8" drill bit to "swiss cheese" both sidewalls of the magazine well/box, also - which I noticed was lacking in your bottom metal.



I've also drilled a series of shallow 3/8" holes all along both sides of the lower action body, below the stock line, ala the lightwieght Mauser 33/40, because I don't have a milling machine to machine a slot there ILO the line of blind holes.

If a side-safety type trigger is used, at a negligible weight gain, then a smaller/lighter safety-less FN-type bolt sleeve may be used, at a much better weight savings.

.

Nice looking rig BC!

I ordered a McM with Edge fill for my G33/40 and without ammo or sling and in Leo rings/bases and a 6x36 Leo it weighs 6 lbs 15 oz if I recall right. I used a Sunny Hill trigger guard, that darn thing was 6 oz! And I have a Gentry 3 posi on it.

It feels nice but I'm still really fond of my old Brown so I'm not sure if I'll keep it or not (the Edge). Guess I've been toting it so long it's kind of hard to move on.

Pretty sure I could lighten it up a bit by changing the rings/bases (would like to go Gentry) and perhaps doing something to the trigger guard but then I'd just make up for it by sticking on a new tube with some more weight to it.

I'm not a big fan of buggy whip tubes (Lilja #1 cut to 23")

But, you did a right nice job with it, and thx for sharing.

Dober

Dwayne,

7 2/3 pounds all up with five rounds of ammo and sling is nothing to worry about.

Ted

Mark, if you decide to rid yourself of the Edge let me know, I have another HVA coming and suspect that a G33/40 and HVA inlet are very similar.

It looks like 7 pounds 3.7 ounce

Rangr44:
Thanks for the note on drilling the holes. I also "Swiss Cheesed" the whole thing after I took the photo, but neglected to take an "after" photo. According to the scale, one hour on the drill press yielded just under 1oz reduction in weight.

I know a fellow with a mill and considered having him attack the action along the lines of a G33/44, but somehow when I added up what I'd spent so far in money and time on it I lost my appetite!

Knowing me, I'll likely have him do it in a year or two when I forget how much I've spent so far.

The 98 project was a fun challenge for me to fool with is all. I emphatically know that starting with a Remington action or just buying a Kimber off the shelf is the way to go when one is really serious about losing pounds.

That said not counting the scope or any of my time, as far as I can recall I'm into this for $736 thus far, which would buy me just over half a Kimber here in Canada.

Thanks again and have a good weekend.

Regards,
Dwayne

You bet! And I would take that 7 2/3's pounds in a minute over something lighter,just to have that good, tough 98 action working for me........

BC 30,nice rifle! Good job....that rifle smacks of "rugged" which is a very good thing......no comment on the chambering

interesting project BC30cal.

Are the Wildcat stocks molded then machine inletted? or is the inletting molded in?

that steel bottom metal you have pictured is from an early HVA 1600 btw.

For those interested in putting a Decellerator on a diet, I recently helped a buddy re-do one

the new pad



ground flat on a belt sander, so 1/32" - 1/16" of the hard rubber is left



find the edge of the insert with an xacto knife and cut around one side



metal insert pulled out and ready to glue on



On a postal scale, the pad lost almost 2 ounces. Actual loss will be less since you then grind away some of the outside. Still, for 5 minutes and no cost, it beats fluting a bolt for a 1-1/2 ounce reduction.

The weight loos (in my estimation) is as much in getting rid of some of the hard rubber as it is in getting rid of the steel insert

free miner;
Thanks for the photos and info on putting a Decelerator on a diet. I believe I will try that on one in the near future.

The Wildcat stock had the inletting molded in, or so it appeared to me. The owner, Stuart, was great to work with and I'm sure he'd be able to answer any questions you had.

He can be reached at: http://wildcatcomposites.com/

I liked the fit and finish of the blank I got and would buy another one today without hesitation. There were a few other things I liked, in particular I thought the aluminum blocks molded in to hold the swivel studs were a
good idea.

Thanks as well for letting me know what the bottom metal came from. I believe someone else told me it was off a Husqvarna as well. The rifle went through a fire and the bottom metal although somewhat rust pitted, was the only salvageable part on it apparently.

Thanks again for the Decelerator idea, I like it!

Have a good weekend.

Regards,
Dwayne

Fellow Campfire Members;
Should anyone be interested in this sort of project I thought I'd give a quick update.

On the 'Fire here in the gunsmithing section another member made me aware that a lightweight aluminum bottom metal unit for a 98 was available from Brownells.

Hopefully this link works OK:
http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=9718/psize=48/Product/MAUSER-98-TRIGGERGUARD-FLOORPLATE

The only proverbial sticky wicket for my Canadian brethren here is that it can't be imported directly into Canada from Brownells.

After a wee bit of thinking outside the box, I was able to get a used one sent up here and that appears to be OK with all parties. Well it's here now anyway.

Brownells says it's 3.7oz, but our scale read 3.6oz.


The installation of the aluminum bottom metal brought the total weight down to 7lbs even, which includes 5 rounds of 130gr GMX's and the sling.



Anyway, should any of my fellow 'Fire members want to go down the path of putting a 98 on a diet, this seems to be a fairly easy result to obtain.

Thanks for looking and all the best to you all in 2012.

Regards,
Dwayne

One has to wonder if the Germans knew something that we don't...

My M-98 "Guild Gun" in 8mm/06 has a 23 5/8" barrel, iron sights, steel military trigger guard, wooden stock, and steel butplate, and a Leupold Pioneer Scope. The entire package tips my Fed/Ex scales at a mere 6.7 lbs.

Trust me, this is waaaayyy too light for an 8mm/06! Which explains why I've never fired it... But it's on the list for load work-up this next summer...

GH

Cool rifle Dwayne!

Dwayne,

Looks like you have been productively busy--and ended up with a VERY nice rifle!

Thought you might be interested to know that Eileen's latest favorite big game rifle is one of the small-ring Husqvarnas mentioned earlier in the thread. I bought it for a very reasonable price on the Campfire classifieds. The original barrel had been replaced with a very slim contour 22" barrel in .243 Winchester (dunno the make) just enough smaller than the original barrel channel to be free-floated. It has the aluminum/zinc bottom metal mentioned by Greydog.

The rifle turned out to be quite accurate, and with a 6x36 Leupold in Weaver mounts (the bases came with the rifle) it weighed exactly 7 pounds--with the original wood stock.

Eileen killed a big whitetail with it and I am in the process of remodeling the stock (including installing a recoil pad and checkering) and it will weigh about the same as your rifle when done.

I've done some light Mauser 98's over the years, but very few large-rings end up as light as yours. Congrats on a nice rifle!

John;
Thank you for the information on Eileen's rifle, as you surmised correctly I am always interested in those sort of details.

Hey that's part of what makes us Loonies, correct?

It sounds like a wonderful project and as I believe I've said before, a reasonable fellow would have started with a small ring Husky to begin with.

I worked on a logging truck driver's Husky in .308 this fall and it was a beautiful handling rifle with an exceptionally smooth action. The Swedes surely didn't take a back seat to the Germans when they wanted to make something well - or so I've come to believe anyway.

I wouldn't have been able to reach that weight without the help of several folks here on the 'Fire who put me onto the stock maker out of Edmonton, the folks with the light recoil pads in Dawson Creek and finally the lighter bottom metal as mentioned above.

If you are so inclined when you are done the project rifle John, why don't you put up a photo or two on your rotating photo album? I'm certain I'm not the only one who would like to see the finished product.

All the best to you and Eileen in 2012 John and thanks for the input and information.

Dwayne

Really sweet. Diggin the paint job especially.

Slick project. I would think that the M96 Swede would be a good place to start depending upon desired caliber. My walnut and steel one in 7x57 with 22" barel, quarter rib, banded front sight, banded sling swivel base, steel buttplate, steel quick detachable rings and Leupold VX-II scoped weighs 7# 10 oz empty. I have to believe that one worked up with the goal of being a lightweight can get well below 7#.

I'm down to about 7lb 5oz on a large ring 30-06. I used a bansner stock and a decelerator. The trigger guard hoop on the original aluminum bottom metal had broken, so I shaved off the triggerguard and floorplate, left the front recoil screw boss (filed it into a round ADL-style protrusion), and glassed this into the stock. I then took a fire-damaged steel bottom metal set from Sitka Deer, whacked off the triggerguard, filed a front tang tab on the triggerguard that catches the glasswork I did (kinda like a kimber), and created an ADL mauser. I like it. Barrel measures 0.64" at the muzzle.