Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Mausers and Military Rifles Belgium FN 98 30-06

https://www.libertytreecollectors.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=5041

These guys have stocks/hardware for Belgium 98 Mausers made in the same time period as my 98 30-06. The main difference seems to be barrel length. I suppose the short rifle stock and hardware would be wrong for my 98???

The "short rifle" is only short when compared to the original 98, which had a 29" barrel. If yours is 24-ish inches, then it's a short rifle. Carbines are more like 16".


Okie John

nice old rifle and thanks for all the pictures. Pete53

I got the correct stock and hardware ordered - can’t wait.

The stock came today but without the upper hand guard. Any idea where I might get an upper handguard?

Still looking for that Handguard

My go to source nowadays for military Mauser parts is Apex, unfortunately they don't have an FN handguard for my own FN stock.

I resorted to taking a Brazilian Mauser long rifle handguard and cutting it shorter, then filing the front of the handguard to size for the barrelband.

Thanks. Will look into that.

The term "Carbine" is entirely generic and really needs to be defined in context of the particular make, model & era of the underlying rifle. Excellent example, the German carbine: "Kar 88" with a bit less than 18" barrel. The World War I "Kar 98" a bit less than 24" barrel! Different strokes for same folks! I am here speaking of nomenclature just as actually applied to subject rifles!

To seek a component irrespective of specific 'genre', as to seek a mate irrespective of specific 'gender'... Hazardous 'fit'!

Be careful what you wish for... Lest you get it!

Best!
John

I have a handguard ordered. I'm on the Apex site and see they have a milled floor plate for a large ring Mauser. They list it as 8.75" length. This is close to matching the length on my Mauser, BUT, there seems to be so many variations, I'm hesitant to purchase. Besides, If this isn't original then it's still a parts rifle, so to speak. Further there's no floor plate and associated hardware to go with it. Should I go somewhere else, If I do, what should I be looking for? Thanks.

I am planning on replacing the trigger guard. I pulled the one that came with the rifle out. That trigger guard is 8 5/8" long. I checked to see if it would fit into the stock I bought from Apex. The hole spacing was similar, but the overall length of Apex stock opening is 8 3/8" long (1/4" short). So, I'm looking at Numerich (gunpartscorp), Apex, and E-bay for the appropriate trigger guard. Ebay and gunpartscorp do not show trigger guard length and as stated in the previous reply the length of the Apex trigger guard is 8 3/4".

Advice please.

This probably won't be of a great deal of help since I just play around with surplus stocks and barrelled actions to make "militaryish" configured shooters, but after looking at your post I tried a comparison of two trigger guards I have laying around with the Liberty Tree FN Mauser short rifle stock I have. (btw I am aware that the shape of the FN military trigger guards is slightly different in the front than that of the usual military trigger guards of other nations.)

The Zastava LK M70 commercial trigger guard (made in the late 1980's) was a perfect drop in fit to the FN military stock from Liberty Tree. This I attribute to the suspiciously strong possibility that the Zastava action making machinery was bought from FN when FN exited the commercial mauser rifle business. Since the postwar FN actions, both military and commercial, had the same dimensions, it makes sense - at least to me.

I've seen it reported on other forums that the dimensions of the FN receivers and Zastava M70 receivers are the same - for example,you can use the same scope bases on either one interchangeably.

If you're looking for a quality near original configuration, well I'm no help. You could glue in some slivers of wood to any gaps between your stock and any other military mauser trigger guard you have on hand.

Then again, you may be a normal person instead of one who has no qualms about strapping a live, screaming victim mauser stock to the operating table and disemboweling it with a dremel, files and sandpaper. In that case, you see, I'm no help.

I bought two of the Numrich "commercial mauser" (hinged floor plate trigger guards) and also tried one of them in the FN military stock.

It wasn't a drop in fit, though close. But - and this is big - the reproduction trigger guard from Numrich is not exactly the same dimension as the Zastava. It's close, but there are some slight gaps in places and too tight in others.

You'd have to sandpaper the trigger guard opening to get it to fit and there'd be 1/32" or so gaps up in the front.

The Numrich reproduction is kind of off a little bit in other dimensions. One example is in the floor plate. On trying 4 military and one commercial follower springs to install in the floor plate, I found not one of them will fit the Numrich without filing the sides of the spring to fit under the ledges in the floor plate. Bummer, but fixable with time and elbow grease.

The Numrich reproduction sort of ok looking, but is fairly roughly made. I think it can be made serviceable.

Thanks for the replies! I guess it will be try it and see if it works type of a deal. My hopes for drop in parts maybe optimistic! I sort of was hoping for a FN Mauser that all would be similar to original.

One thing at a time. let's see how much work it will be to make the handguard work, then the floor plate. The barreled action seems to be too good to not make it right.

Hard knocks school on Mausers...

I strongly considered paying someone to make an FN hand guard for me, but decided against it since I'm not minded to ever again fall into the money pit of mauser restoration. Good luck on your journey. These two barrelled actions I'm working with are the last I ever intend to do. You might - might - get lucky enough if you contact enough stock duplication services to find one that has an FN 1950 handguard pattern on hand to duplicate for you.

It was fun and fairly easy to do back in the 70's and 1980's when there were far more cheap parts and parts houses around.

Last whole couple of decades parts prices have gone up materially and skilled labor way up! Since the pandemic about out of sight for a lot of 'stuff'. Considering we're not talking "new" or recent transocean shipment, a lot of simple price gouging. Not into playing to that market!

As we're talking FN Mausers, I'll share my miltary crown jewel rounding out a couple of 'teaser pix' from my first Post in this Thread. A postwar double broached receiver my guess as made in early fifties as FN moving to semi-auto Model 49 & later production. Small quantity orders clearing out Model 98 bolt inventory. This was walking around at one of the huge SoCal gun shows of maybe several decades ago. Tried to tell me a "salesman's sample". I bought the gun as really reasonable without the 'story'. It's judt into four digit matching SN on barrel, action and bolt as only such numbers visible. I've seen some few" in same "profile FN Carbines, but never one in the flesh with the commercial receiver ring markings! It's about minty condition. Chambering appearing 8mm.

The lucky of us with FN rifles to enjoy!
Best!
John

I’m frustrated with trying to get this back to military configuration. I bought the correct military stock sans upper hand guard. I don’t know how to get a correct hand guard or a decent/good floor plate. Someone interested in this rifle, make a semi-decent offer and it’s likely to be yours. BTW: with the correct stock the floor plate that was with the stock on it when I purchased it won’t fit???

The stock I bought on-line for that 98 had the waffle type butt plate - like shown by iskra.

Sorry to hear you're having so many problems. Have you tried flooding the WTB Gun Forums where available? Sometimes the problem is exactly of too active seeking! A fixation & maybe just giving it a break? If your "due diligence is exhausted, guess you have the correct resolution! I haven't read back through the Posts so flying on one brain cell only...
'IF' just a floorplate, I don't understand the issue. Such should be plentiful in your instance. Your Belgian Model 1950 military used the regular commercial Belgian FN commercial floorplate. It shared 'most features' of the commercial but for the receiver thumb slot, military bolt handle config and no-low scope safety of course. The FN Factory was actually accommodating small quantity Model 98 military orders into the fifties! But of course what could have happened with your parts gun purchase, the bottom metal may not be from the same series of 98 rifles at all!

Suggest your WTS should be in such Forum. I think it fair game here since it sort of "the end of the story" with a moral about parts gun misadventures appended. But the proper sale forum, some good pix and ethical disclosure... There's always someone out there to pick up the gauntlet, as "challenged to succeed".

Good Luck & just my take!
John

I agree with what you’re writing. I think the people following this forum might be the wisest as to what the issue(s) would be for this rifle.

Example: I had a 62 Impala for sale that was in a condition such that it was about a $2,000 car. A college girl wanted to buy it and asked for CARFAX on it. I told her she was not the right person for the car. I sold instead to a guy that restores cars, he was tickled to get it.

I didn’t know that a factory FN floor plate would work for instance. I’ve been shooting Mausers all my life, but am not knowledgable regarding Mausers. My first center fire was a Mauser 98. I’m still a novice and I don’t want to sell it to someone who’s less knowledgable than me.

I finally got my 30-06 put together thanks to the help of the guys on this thread.. The first load I tried was some 150 grain Blems - I think they are Inlterlocks. The bullets stike 12" high at 60 yards. with the rear sight at the lowest setting.

The front sight -









This rifle will be shooting mostly cast b ullets and I suspect they will land a little lower...