I was given a JC Higgins Model 50 .30-06 this past weekend, so I've been doing some investigation to what this gun is. I believe that it is a Mauser 98 action made by Belgium Fabrique Nationale.

I've tried to remove the bolt, but for some reason am not able to get it out. My other rifles are Savages, which are easy to remove the bolt, but the trigger does not move whatsoever on this gun when the bolt is not seated. Is anyone able to help me with this?

On a different note, the gun has a very strange mounting system for the scope. The gun currently has a scope that is off-set (not in line with the barrel of the gun), which allows for the use of the sights. Was this a common way to mount scopes in years past?

I'm relatively excited by my "new" gun, even though I have no real need for it to replace my .270 Win or 7mm-08. Does anyone have information that is pertinent to this gun that I should be aware of?

Welcome to the forum.

If by removing the bolt you just mean taking it out of the action and you can open the bolt and make sure the rifle is not loaded. Then look for a small lever on the top/left side of the rear of the action and push it to the left and pull the opened bolt out of the action.

The actions are FN, the barrels are high standard.
They are good shooters.
It is a lever on the left side that you swing out to remove the bolt.
Sounds like it has a side mount for the scope, if so, that may be in the way of the bolt release.

Thanks for the quick replies and insight. I will check it out when I get home from the office. I took the scope and mounts off this morning, but didn't try to remove the bolt and didn't look to see if there was anything "new" revealed.

You have a really fine rifle there.

As stated, the Model 50 was made for Sears by Fabrique Nationale. It is indeed a commercial Mauser action. If you ever restock it, you'll find that the trigger guard is about 1/4" shorter than the military trigger guards. The actions are typically smooth as glass and they are very accurate hunting rifles.

The FN action Sears rifles are first rate. My son has a beauty, and it gives consistent tight groups at the range.
The barrel on his is chrome lined as well.

I restocked one in .270 for one of my grandsons--it shoots and handles well. He loves it.

The thing that looks like a box on the left side of the action at the rear is actually a bolt release lever. the front end of it swings out and then the bolt can be removed.

If you've done the above and the bolt still won't come out, remove the rear base screws and it should come out now. Sometimes the screws are too long.

Terry

Thanks again for all of the replies.

There is a small crack in the stock behind the receiver (going toward the butt), so I will likely look at getting a different stock. Does anyone have suggestions for laminated gun stocks?

Thanks for the input, as I was able to remove the bolt and totally clean the gun. I'm happy to say that the even the hidden metal on the gun does not show any signs of rust.

Another question I have is if some place like Brownell's sells the sight that 5" in front of the receiver. Sorry for not knowing what this sight is called.

I thought about restocking the 270 that I had, but the thing is such a nice shooting rifle that I was afraid I would mess it up. No kidding, I actually won two turkeys with it and I am not that good of a shooter.
The only thing I did was freefloat the barrel and put a Timney trigger in it.
My son has it now.

I'm not sure why the scope mounts on the side since Model 50s came D&Ted for standard Mauser mounts from the factory. 60 years ago when these guns were new scopes weren't as trusted as they are now and perhaps someone wanted to be able to switch back to the irons quickly.

If you restock it you must be sure that the stock dimensions are exactly the same as original. The Model 50 has an unusual two piece trigger where the sear is in the action but the trigger is in the trigger guard. The trigger may not work properly if the distance between the two is not exactly correct. Or you could just replace it with a Timney.

At any rate they are very well made guns and extremely accurate. The actions were made by FN in Belgium and the chrome lined barrels were made by High Standard.