Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Desirable mausers??

Im trying to find out how the different Mauser actions are ranked in "desirablity". Im buying two more rifles, and these are what I have available. I allready have a ZG47 but, maybe I should get one more?


BRNO ZG47
BRNO 21H
Husqvarna 146
Husqvarna 640 ( with or without C-ring )

These are the most available for me.. Im trying to diversify, but I want to get a good one! Are the BRNO 21s better machined/slicker then the FN built? Or is it the other way around?

They will ultimatly be made into a customs.. But I would prefer to keep the actions as close to factory as possible.

"They will ultimatly (sic) be made into a customs.."

Criminal !

Personally I prefer the Brno small ring rifles. I would look for one that has already been modified or altered. I wouldn't want to ruin the collector value of a pristine example. That being said, once you buy it you van do as you please

You have what I consider to be the king of them all! ZG47!!

Yeah.....tell me where you go to find one of those....I don't think I have ever held one in my hands that I can recall.

Not counting the premium mausers (Granite Mountian, etc .) the BRNO's and FN's are my favorites in commercial actions. I really like the small ring actions on the BRNO 21H and 22F's with the integral mounts for the foundation of a custom rifle. While not a true M98 the Husky 1640 is pretty nice too.

Over the years I've grown to really like the small ring actions mainly because you can scale everything down a little to match the action and build a nice trim rifle off them.

You hear a lot about not wanting to use Milsurp actions because of the cost. I can appreciate that but on most customs I've had done over the years including the commercial actions I end up changing the safety and bolt handle anyway so for me it's not a big price difference. The list is long on the Milsurps.

Terry

I've always been attracted to the FN's and Husqvarna's (made by FN). Excellent quality, excellent finish, smooth and just darn good!

A lot of guys wet their pants over a ZG but I'll bet if there were a ton of them, it would be just another well finished large ring mauser...rarity is a feature stuck between a guy's ears...but none the less...:)

I like to snag small rings for same reasons as Terry--those that have had some work done on them. For large rings the FNs or any commercial with excellent workmanship for that matter. Got lucky and got a few Browning FN Browning 98 actions, so you get the workmanship and the M-70 trigger...

So how much would a Husqvarna 1640 action cost?

I bought a worn out Husky 1640 here on the classifieds for IIRC $325 a few years ago. I got $60 for the stock on eBay and the barrel went in the garbage can. IMO, if you go this route try find one with steal bottom metal. They made some with aluminium BM's and they aren't very attractive.

Terry

Don't agree, these actions and rifles are more common here in Canada, but, they have always had a hardcore following. I consider them the finest production bolt actions ever produced and have owned six ZGs and seven 21/22 rifles.

I currently have ten, of which seven are rifles, three 21/22s, four minty ZGs and two 21/22 actions plus a polished receiver ZG action, if, I ever get around to building on them.

I never modify a complete original and I have some truly choice specimens, however, I do find and modify altered donnors and have custom mountain rifles built on them. I prefer the 3-pos. safeties I am used to, good synthetics, my favourite being the Micky Edge MKX style and Recknagels, plus Talleys, Zeiss Conquests. I don't spend coin on fancy wood anymore, not for BC hunting.

The most attractive of these, to my eyes, is the very rare 22F "roundbolt" with the ZG locking safety, full "stutzen" stock and 60mm barrel in 7x57 and I have seen only two of these in my 45+ years of buying and using these superb rifles.

I have FNs and various Husqies, have had others, none of them are equal to the Brnos and neither are my Dakota 76, the three minty M-S rifles I had and just sold the last of or the 43 P-64 Mod. 70s I have had since 1968. The Brnos are, with minor mods to triggers and safeties, the best and are worth the price one pays for them.

A case in point, I recently saw stone mint ZGs factory built in 9.3x62 selling for $1495.00 CDN and very choice ones at substantially less here. My P-64 Mod. 70 Alaskans in .338WM and .375H&H will go for roughly twice that and are NOT as well designed, finished or made of equal materials. So, if you can find a classic Brno, I have enough, buy it and have a GOOD smith build on it, you will love the end result if you are a true rifle nut.

Like some folks I have not seen a Mauser that I would turn down.
Sure some are better than others but it's what you do to them that turns them into nice good looking,shooting rifles,that YOU can be proud of.

What P456 said +1...I am in the process of becoming an addict to these critters after handling a 1640 Model B last fall. Snooze Ya Looze is a hard lesson to learn when you find a $300 bargain.
Ron

Look fellas, I'm going through rehab for Mauser addicts right now and this thread isn't helping.
Argentine's; G33/40; Husky's;.........
Well now I've gone and done it.
The only rifle I like almost as much as a Mauser is a Ruger #1, any #1.....

Grinning Dewey--did not expect to troll you out of the deep...where have you been? Have missed your Brno posts, though Savage99 has inexplicably taken up the slack

IIRC, the ZG47 were only made for a handful of years...and they are as rare as hen teeth around here.

With that in mind I certainly would procure and adulterate an original specimen if given the opportunity, but have not had one...:)

Bit slow here but did you unload that aluminum bottom metal you were replacing?

My favorites are the FNs, and the commercial Oberndorfs make me go all loose as well. Even at todays 'smithing prices, they are worth working over into fine custom rifles.

Of the ones listed, my favorites are:

Brno 21H for small ring action
Brno ZG47 for large ring action
Husqvarna 640 C-ring (built on an early post-war FN action)

Of course the fact that I have one of each has nothing to do with my preferences. :-)

I like the integral scope bases of the Brnos, and the workmanship is outstanding IMHO. I really like the 21H stock design as it makes for a fast-handling and natural pointing rifle, at least for me. The ZG-47 is heavier in both action and stock due in part to the large ring action but has a nice hinged floorplate and adjustable trigger.

The early Husqvarnas also have very good workmanship but the bedding can leave something to be desired. On mine, the stock had cracked behind the recoil lug due to bedding problems and needed to be glass bedded and reinforced. This is apparently fairly common - if you do a web search the bedding problem on Husqvarnas is mentioned by others including custom maker Mike McCabe (aka Z1R). Of course if you're going to be tossing the stock anyway that doesn't matter.

On the down side, neither the early Husqvarna FN action or the Brno 21H have a hinged floorplate and trigger guard release which seems to be required on a modern custom gun :-^

I prefer the C-ring FN action used in the early Husqvarna 640s to the later H-ring as they are marginally stronger and have significantly better gas handling in case of an admittedly rare case defect or blown primer. The H-ring action was a manufacturing short-cut, and negated a significant design feature of the original 98 action.

I believe that at least some Husqvarna 146s were built on the Swedish 96 action - I could be wrong about that, but I've seen some pictures of what are billed as 146s with 96 actions - which is a significantly inferior design to the Mauser 98. Incidentally the later Husqvarna manufactured small ring actions were actually modified 96s and lack the internal gas collar of the 98. Although they are strong, well built actions they are inferior in design to the 98 IMO.

Here is an example of a nice VZ24

I have been here and there, tied up with wife's medical issues, now doing better and other stuff.

ZGs were sold between 1956 and 1963, with probably a few both before and after those dates. There were about 21,000 sold and most went to Canada, Africa and "Yurp", with some to Oz and Kiwi and few, if any, to the USA. They are not hard to find here if you really want one, but, from what I have seen, most Yanks want P-64 Mod. 70s more than the old Brnos.

I am not certain which bottom metal you mean as I had several, but, just sold my last, a Duane Wiebe dropbox for my Browning Safari .458WM, when I decided to sell all my spare parts, non-bolt riflee and also some of my bolt guns. So, any that I may now have are in collections of parts as rifle projects and not for separate sale.

I won't sell any of my Brnos and hope to build on the actions I have as rifles with pristine actions, such as the three I have salvaged are actually more "rare" than examples of these that show use but are too original to strip. So, it takes time, searching and money to get these and I am going to hang on to mine for the forseeable future.

It may have been some time back now, I don't know, IIRC you were exchanging some LW to steel for durability.

Am looking/wondering if anyone ever made aluminum bottom metal for standard length mausers (3.115 mag length). I know the 3.400 length ones are available at Brownells.

Without checking, I think Parker Hale bought some ZGs into the US

Glad your wife is doing better...