Regarding gunsmiths, it's a lot easier to find a gunsmith that really knows how to chamber and build an accurate rifle without taking five years if you have a Remington 700 action. I've had plenty of heartache with gunsmiths building Mausers. Many of whom I've run across and are willing to work on Masuers, aren't great at machine work, but know how to make them feed and often know how to build a nice looking and handling rifle. I would currently recommend one gunsmith, who posts on here, for a nice Mauser build, though I am sure others are out there. Additionally, I know one other gunsmith / benchrest shooter that will cut a precision chamber and is willing to work on a Mauser and will do so in a reasonable time period. With him, a person would need to figure the feeding and stock work out on their own. I doubt he would want his name publicized so I won't mention it.
I would agree with that. There are fewer and fewer folks who will do good work on a Mauser these days and those guys aren't young anymore. The heyday for that work was after WWII when there were boatloads of surplus 98s kicking around, but those actions are drying up and as is the demand. Those who do that work with a good reputation don't seem to be lacking for work though.
OTOH .... There are lots of guys out there that can do excellent work on a LEGO 700 gun.
