Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Mausers and Military Rifles Most you spent on a "project " Mauser

Bought a beat up old Mauser at my LGS that had belonged to a deceased neighbor. I got a smoking deal on it but it shot 6-8" groups.
Timney trigger
Bedding job
New barrel
New bolt handle
Bluing
New mounts and rings
Scope
Reprofile and restored the stock myself(at least that was cheap)

My $165 initial investment went up by factors of ??


Anyone else ??

MM


Almost forgot to ad I bought all the reloading components and dies for a 7x57( original chambering) and then rebarreled it in 6.5x55( already set up for that). Sold the 7x57 set up and came out about Dead even.

Yep happens all the time, but you get exactly what you want doing it that way.

It was someone else’s project before it was mine, and I haven’t done anything to it (yet), but I spent $650 out the door on a small ring 98 in a mannlicher stock with double set triggers and a butterknife bolt. Was debating rebarreling it for 6.5 Mauser or 9x57, but I can’t quite bring myself to do it

I have three that I need to do something with. Have under $300 into the bunch with original 8x57 barrels, turned down bolts, and all drilled and tapped. One had a Bubba'd military stock while the others had a plastic Butler Creek and a "fancy" Herter's stock. The Herter's gun will the first that will get done as it is a terrible shooter. I just have to figure out what to do.

Had a friend who was buying cheap custom Mauser rifles and always telling me he was going to have a gun smith do this and that to them. I havent seen him for a few years, but I dont think he ever done anything with any of the Mausers he bought. He would let me look through his man cave while we drank beer, he had stuff leaned in corners, laying on the floor, etc. He had a couple of FN Mauser sporter actions that were brand new.

I'm sure I've totaled over a grand, while DIYing.

Can't really say how much i have spent over the years.

One rifle stands out,it is a Model 98 made in Spandu and it is now a 35 Whelen.

I waited for 8 years to gather all of the pieces and i bet i spent around 300.00.

This was done back in the early 80's.

It started a wave that has not stopped but as most know the prices have gone bonkers on everything.

Mauser action $400
Scope and mounts $300-$400
stock $200 -$400
cheap barrel $100
good barrel $500
It can add up in a hurry even if you do your own work. I was gonna throw together
a rifle for my daughter and wound up with about 1500 in a 6.5x55. the Douglas barrel was the
biggest hit. Its a great shooter but some might say buy a Ruger or Savage for $400. I would
rather do it myself. There is a lot of pride in a job well done. Its not always about the money for me.

I am in total agreement with the pride in the work you do on the rifle and then using that rifle in the field. I even get a little of that with the handloading I do.

Probably not the most but about average for a utility build. this one cost more because I actually had it checkered:




Started with a $50 Big 5 vz24
Had it heat treated,
26" Douglas CM barrel
$100 stock, heavily modified
Rust blued


Sold it to someone who REALLY wanted it many years later.

Very nice! 338-06 IIRC.

Thank you, yes. It was a tack driver. I'm SLOWLY building another.

I found a 1909 Argentine Mauser at a gun show as a barreled action. The guy selling it wanted $600. O offered $300. He declined. That was Saturday. On Sunday he was packing up as the show closed down and hadn't sold it so I told him my offer of $300 still stands. He said he hadn't sold anything both days so said OK. $300. He also had an unshaped piece of wood that was intended to be the stock which came along with the barreled action. After about a week of messing with it I decided it was worth putting some money into the package. The action had little dimples where the the gun had been Rockwell tests so off to my gunsmith to finish the job. I left him with a list of what I wanted done and chained him to his work bench. He tore the whole package down and checked everything before starting work. The he had an accident so had to farm the gun out. He sent it to Sterling Davenport who did the lion's share of the work. Counting the initial cost of the barreled action and 2x4, shaping the stock, checkering and final finish, Niedner trap door butt plate and pistol grip cap. and other things like a proper trigger job the tariff was right at #3,000 and change.
That 2x4 that hadn't really impressed me turned out to be a very pretty piece of wood. In bright light that wood just glows. The rifle is chambered for the .280 Remington and will put three 160 gr. Speer Hot Cores into .75" day in and day out. Five shot groups still stay under an inch as long as I do my part. Every time I look at that rifle, I smile.
Paul B.

A teen in the fifties with opportunity to discover where my talents... Weren't! Quality gunsmithing labor relatively cheap and yet myself then as first real job, grocery clerk. My income of course behind gunsmith services affordability curve. My few project guns, also learning experiences! "How not" & "KISS principle" re project selection & management! Well learned early, worthy experience!

1. All kinds of guns out there. Wide choices. Many of the milsurps, far easier/cheaper to just buy into the "half-vast" product of someone else's money pit than stumble through my own.

2. 'Quick draw', several basic headspace "Field gauges" as critical eye purchase eval, 911 backup! . Stock/sight/accessory swapping, cold blue... Such my realm. All for personal pleasure. Never for profit. In respect of my established talents track record... Thank God!

2. Wisdom from an old Clint Eastwood movie: "Man's got to know his limitations." Well learned both in my few talents discovered & numerous lack of as necessarily admitted.

3. For me, "projects" of whatever sorts, my blind spot seldom dollar costs. "Time drain", the bugger. Under estimation!

Life as a learning experience indeed. Keeping it 'mostly fun and not harmful of others', my personal key!

Perhaps mine not the war stories contemplated by the O/P. But...
Just my take!
Aside... Z1R, beautiful rifle!
Best!
John

As far as time spent maybe 80 hours on my 375 Whelen AI.

Here's my finished product, looks nothing like Z1r's but I'm glad it turned out like it did. I'm kicking myself for not taking a " before " shot.

Long, storied past. Originally Czech built (dot code) in post war 1945, sold to Israel then converted to 7.62 in the mid 50’s. Sold as surplus to Guatemala in the late 1970’s where it was left to the elements till imported here in the 1990’s and sold cheap and in poor condition. There’s a little pitting below the wood line. The barrel was bulged several inches behind the muzzle and the stock was disintegrating. There was dirt and sand and vegetation under the butt cap.
The barrel was cut to 16.5”, a Choate synthetic stock was added, the bolt was polished and a manlicher style bolt handle was welded on. A Redfield receiver sight and steel front sight ramp were added, a Timney trigger, and finally an XS scope mount was fitted with a 2x pistol scope.
The whole process took over 25 years to complete, it’s been sold and re-bought twice to two different friends along the way. Now that it’s done my son can look forward to inheriting it after I get a few hunting seasons out of it.

I bought a mint Husqvarna M38 1995 for $150 intending to install a receiver sight on it. I ended up spending GOD only knows how much $$ on it such that the only parts left from the original rifle are the action and bottom metal. New barrel, new stock, new trigger, new bolt handle, new bolt shround/gas shield, new firing pin spring, express sights, D-T cock-on-opening kit installed, etc. I refer to it as my "money pit" or my "stone soup rifle" 'cause I kept spending just a little more money so many times that just a little evolved into quite a lot in the end. But it did end up looking like a pre-WW2 British sporting rifle and it is chambered in 256 Newton.

Money pit movie was 1986.
Stone soup story I heard from our grade school teacher in 1957.

My first Mauser project was in 1965, my second in 2000, I am working today on a mauser number x.



My Mausers do not cost as much in money as in time.

What you going to make out of that welded short-short action - that looks like a cool project!!

PennDog