An elderly Mauser 98 I picked up in a pawn shop for $350.00 because it had a funky-looking blue job on the barrel shoots quarter-sized groups at 250 yards off a sandbag rest. It's got a 26" heavy varmint barrel, a massive Fajen stock, and has been converted to single shot configuration, and it's chambered for ".22 Varminter"- - - -the granddaddy of the .22-250. The original military trigger has been converted to single stage, with about a 6-ounce pull weight. That's with an ancient 10X Weaver steel tube scope. The gunsmith who built it obviously knew what he was doing. The rifle weighs around 12 pounds. It looks like it was probably built in the early 1950's or so. I had ideas of installing a more modern scope, but the burning question is "Why?" A groundhog or crow doesn't care whether or not I spent a few thousand dollars to give it a terminal case of lead poisoning, and I'm far beyond caring what a bunch of keyboard jockey trolls that I hope I never meet in person think about anything.
