Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Proper Bedding for a Mark X mauser?

I like to have my rifles bedded and free floated. This is a Mark X in factory wood stock, 30-06. I usually ask for Pillar Bedding and about 1 1/2" of the chamber area bedded too. Does the Mark X have any special areas that need more attention to detail? I'm after all the accuracy help I can get. Don't have the rifle yet but putting together a plan, i.e. I know I want a Timney Featherweight w/safety added, Any help is appreciated from all! thanks guys...Rev Jim

Mule Deer (and others) on bedding a Mauser-type action:

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbt...e/mule-deer-post-on-bedding#Post14725727

Thanks Shinbone!

Jim,
Depending on which version of the Mk-X you have, you may find the original trigger is fine. I have several, one of which is a custom made back in 1991 by Frank Wells of Tucson. Frank just used the original Mk-X adjustable trigger, and it breaks just fine. The only triggers I have replaced on Mk-Xs are the non-adjustable ones on the very early versions.
Cheers,
Rex

Thanks T- my smith is a very fine "trigger man", ha. He will attempt to work pn just about any trigger, and has even stoned/finesse some non adjustable triggers for me, mostly leverguns. I then discovered the "Happy Trigger" and just used them in levers from then on. I like a really light pull, and its only in late winter, really cold, that my old hands lose their "touch", ha. But since I have started using Trigger Techs, I can just crank them up close to 3# and I'm fine. If it was a money hunt ( antlerless, etc) I would take one of my TT equipped rifles. But, for coyote hunting I like to take my game rifles and get some use out of them. I've used the Nosler 125 BT for decades in the 30-06 for varmints/coyotes.

This particular Mark X looks like one of the "Cavalier" Mark X, and they do have an adjustable trigger. Its a higher end Mark X for sure.

On my Mausers (except for the one with a McMillan's stock where I had them add a rear pillar), I glass in this ferrule at the rear screw to provide metal-to-metal contact. This is especially true on military actions vs. commercial. I had an old riflesmith recommend this to me on a VZ24 build because of concerns that the rear of the action could bend if over-torqued; his particular concern was around trigger/sear trigonometry.

So you "glass bed" this ferrule, aka pillar only on the rear, no pillar on the front, just bedding?

The Mk X's front action screw lug and the post on the front of the bottom metal mate together, essentially creating its own pillar. But, yes, I bed the front action lug recess in the stock and below about 2" in front of the action (e.g., beneath the barrel chamber).

Yes, I glass bed the ferrule into the stock. The ferrules I've used have a OD that is slightly under 3/8" (around .350") so, in the past, I've drilled or bored out with 7/16" bit. I've used a 3/8" bit before, but I found it too tight....pushing in the ferrule pushed out most of the bedding glass. I also drill from both top-down and bottom-up to try and ensure it's as straight as possible (you don't want that rear screw binding against the ferrule); if I take out slightly too much, the glass compensates.

With Mausers, I always bed the entire action plus about 1.25-in pad under the barrel. One detail that's often overlooked is the small rounded tang of Mausers - especially with wood stocks - if you're as old as I am, then you've probably seen lots of military and sporter Mausers with cracks and chips where the rear of the tang came in contact with the stock. You should ensure that the rear radius of the tang has a small gap so that it does not contact the stock at that point. When I bed a Mauser, I always put about 3-4 thicknesses of tape there extended around both sides of the tang, then use a razor to neatly bevel-trim the ends inline with the sides. Does the trick and the wood-to-metal fit still looks neat and clean.

About 10 years back I won a Gun Broker auction for a Zastava Charles Daly commercial 98 action. A friend sold me a short chambered 7x57 barrei for $125. I took it to my gun smith to chamber and head space. While he was doing that this same friend had a stock he said he thought would fit that he would give me. He sent the stock while my gun smith had the barrel and action. So I finished the stock in True Oil. I had it nice too. Then when the gun smith called me and told me he had finished barreling the action I went and got it and tried to bolt it into the stock. OMG it didn't fit at all. I had to use a Dremmel Tool and a lot of epoxy to bed it in. I almost punted and got a Boyd's Stock but I perservered and got it in. It was a chore and I had to refinish the stock again. As the pours of the wood were already full it didn't take near as much work,. Anyway, it's finished and looks very good and I ended up doing as was suggested here. I have no clue what rifle that stock was supposed to be for but it sure as hell wasn't for a Zastava commercail 98.

Got the rifle in, took it straight to my smith. It "appears" this one ( like the last Mark X Cavalier .270 I bought) has also never been fired! It had good "ferrules in place (he will bed it) but the trigger was really nice looking. It has adjustments for everything, ha. My smith will try to get it as close to 2# as it will safely go, which is fine by me. He will add a Limb Saver Pad and clean it all up, etc.Thanks for the info guys! I appreciate it!