Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Mausers and Military Rifles Firearms International Corp. Washington DC

I picked up this rifle recently. Its been considerably modified with a 26" Shilen barrel in a varmint profile, Timney trigger, and in what may be a Bishop or Fajen stock. When I got it the stock was painted black and looked terrible. I spent three long days and nights stripping paint, sanding then applying about eight coats of Tru-oil to the nicely figured walnut stock. All the metal has a nice gloss finish which was already done previously along with a reshaped bolt handle. It also came with Leupold rings and bases. Along with the rifle I got RCBS dies, 93 pieces of fire formed brass and a sack of new Winchester brass. Almost forgot, caliber is 6MM Ackley. Out of pocket cash was $365. I don't know much about the Firearms International actions so anything you can tell me would be greatly appreciated.

They were built on Commercial FN 98 actions. Sounds like you got a great deal!

Sometimes you regret repeating what you read but I read they were FN actions and one of the best to build off of. I thought it was a good deal especially if you deduct the cost of the dies and the brass. Now just need to find a load it likes.

Do you see the FN logo on the left rail? May say FAB.NAT.D'Armes DE GUERRE Herstal-Belgique.

No Sir, just Firearms International Corp.Under the stock on the right side,front of the action there was what looked like an FN stamp and 1948.

Sounds like like FN for sure. The action is probably worth pretty much what you paid for the whole deal. Good pick-up.

One of my .270s is a F.I., also a 1948. Check the breech. You may have lucked into a rare C-ring like I did. Those were only made in 1948 AFIK. Adds a bit to your score if there.

Mine has a pretty heavy barrel. The complete rig with an M8 6x in regular Talleys and a B&C Medalist is 9lbs 4.9oz. Just switched out the standard trigger for a Timney set at 2.5lbs.

I'm a little uninformed (dumb) about Mausers even though I've had a couple. Whats the C-ring?

Original Mauser design only had one raceway cut thru the barrel abutment ring, hence a "C". Much later to ease machining I think two cuts were made. Maybe it's a point with purists, but I doubt either is stronger or better, it's all about ease of manufacture. I think...maybe...probably...perhaps. Where the hell is gnoaaaah?

Had one that I never used in a 300 Win and traded off. A well assembled and good looking rifle that I wished I could recover when I moved out west.

In my opinion, anything 98 is a pretty good deal at that price. Of course I'm a Yugo lover and there's much smoother 98 styles than a yugo.

flintlock described it well. A search will provide a good image on a barreless action. Not a strength issue so much as a gas-handling one. In the event of a case failure, the extra cut on the left allows escaping gas to go down the left raceway straight towards one's pretty face. With the original bolt shroud in place, it may be deflected. Also, military actions, in addition to the c-ring, have the thumb cut for stripper clip loading which gives gas another place to go. I've seen comments that declare that thumb cut to be a deliberate gas-handling feature, but I'm inclined to think that benefit was a happy accident.

Not a big deal if one's Mauser lacks the c-ring, but a nice bonus if it's there. I've owned a number of FNs and a couple of Mark Xs. Only my 1948 has had it. Case failures are less common than they once were, and there's always that shroud flange.

Open your bolt and look at the chamber area. If it looks like a "C", you've got one. If there's a cut at 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock, it's an "H" ring. Don't fret in either case, you made a good score.

BTW, we want pics! It's almost a rule here, dontcha know.

I looked and mines not a c-ring. But I think its going to make a nice rifle.

Without question.

Now, about those pictures......

Sorry but I don't know how to post pics.

I looked again today in better light and my action is a c-ring action. I guess thats a good thing??????

Meh, not in today's market and only if you plan on selling the rifle to someone who just wants the action to build on. Won't make it shoot any better currently!

Around here Mauser's aren't hot items. There are still some that like them. I bought it knowing it will take someone special if it ever goes up for sale. I bought it more as a project and I liked the caliber. The Mauser action doesn't bother me. I have a Ruger 77 and a Beretta Mato. Not a lot of difference in them. Its going to be fun to shoot and thats the main objective.

You got a fine deal.

Well it certainly doesn't hurt!

Just another raisin in your good-deal cookie. Some prefer them (and also the thumb-cut) to the extent they'll go to the considerable extra trouble of using a military action for builds, or so I've read. I wouldn't go that far.