Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Custom Rifles & Wildcats Glued-in Mauser Taking Bets

I've got a 98 I don't know whether to call Nine Lives or Problem Child. Began as an interwar German sporter in 8x57 with double-sets and I think side mounts. 30 years of me later, the only original iron is the bottom metal, low safety, bolt handle stub and trigger guard. So, I've got this Lilja hanging off it, and decided I'd bed the first handful of inches of the heavy barrel, see what happens.
Well, I glued it in, dummy. I used Simoniz car paste wax (three coats). Dummy!
Action (pillared and bedded) doesn't spring when I play with the action screws in any position up down or sideways. Barrel isn't plugged with goo. I could stick it in the freezer and probably pop things loose (the stock has had a HARD life, hurts to look at, shoots great), but I'm going to shoot it first.
So place your bets....will it shoot:
Better
Worse
Same

Thank you for your concern.

My money says at least as well. Probably better. In which case just take it out and go hunt. Don’t worry about the “glued in”.

Better! Good luck!

I competed with a model 70 push feed in NRA High Power, .308 for many years, any limitations in accuracy were solely mine. The entire barrel channel was epoxied in, the front of the action, and a pad above where the trigger pins to the action. It started as an experiment, worked well right off the bat, I never broke it loose (good thing, it would have broken the stock). Many years later, trying to break it loose, I left the rifle out in freezing weather, removed the guard screws, shot 30 rounds rapid fire...it didn't break loose. It took liquid nitrogen to do the job. Anyway, although it's completely ass backwards to logic and current practices, that rifle shot extremely well totally glued in, rapid fire stages and rattle battle not seeming to wander zero when she got hot. I'd guess...better, maybe much better if there are no weird stresses built into the barrel.

Some benchrest shooters used to "glue" the barreled actions in. Rifles shot well and they did not take them apart. As long as you do not epoxy it in stressed or in a bind, it should shoot just fine. Now, how the OP's rifle is "glued in", who knows? Is it glued in in a stress free or neutral state? I'd shoot it as is and not worry too much about it. When it's time to take things apart, throw it in the freezer overnight and it will probably pop free. That's a general practice for ones that do not have enough release agent, thus "glued in". Good luck to the OP. My only suggestion is to open up the action screw holes so there is clearance on those screws. Other than that, shoot it and see how it does..

I'll go with shooting better.

Actions are still routinely glued in intentionally.

In the event you do wish to remove yours, an "action puller" can be fabricated to make the process easier. With the 3 coats of wax I expect it just needs a little firmer pull.





Let us know how it shoots...

I have NEVER used more than one coat of Johnson's paste wax for any bedding job

This. I wonder if he got some squeeze out into an unprotected area? My protocol is to wax a whole lot more area than the area to be epoxied, just in case.

That, or mausers can have some rough machining that might create some locking interference. I'm getting ready to bed one and have been smoothing/deburring some questionable spots .

I had two BR actions a Teddy and a Panda in old BR guns that were glue in.
I wanted to restock them .
I sent them to Tom Meredith. At TM Stocks.
He used his wife's electric iron.
Sit it on top of the action for awhile the epoxy crap will soften just enough so you can wiggle it out.
I have never been a fan of glue ins.
It's an excuse for not doing a proper bedding job.

Dave

I made sure anywhere it could blooch for a mechanical lock (as opposed to release agent) was cut off.

I did shoot it. Now it shoots "different." The harmonics are changed. Groups were "round" in the 1 -inch range prior, not what they should be. So glued in, I shot several targets and each one had three shots touch and the two others flyers beyond an inch. The touchers were consecutive, too, both front middle and back of the groups. Poink poink poink FLING. It might be seat depth, they're kissing the rifling, I also noted some inconsistency chambering loaded rounds, stiffish closing. Extraction was fine.

So, I wouldn't say better because 3 winners with two flyers doesn't "tell" you anything. Never mind I was kind of rushed for fading daylight and didn't have a lot of cases ready to load at the bench. When I have more time I'll go again, be more careful both loading and shooting, maybe it's just I haven't shot that thing a lot for a long time.

Well, I'm flummoxed.

As noted before, this has been a hard-luck setup for me. After the last disappointing shoot, actually during, I noticed some rounds chambered easy, some tight, not a surprise since not all the brass has been fired in the same chamber -- in fact, it's been three different chamberings with the same reamer on two actions with two barrels. Duh.

So, I did a "sort" and before loading the brass, I pre-chambered and set aside those that had excessive closing force, "tight" rather than "just snug." Loaded up 15 cases with a load that shot well in the previous 2 chamberings and hadn't shown any "issues" in this one aside from piddling accuracy.

Rifle went literally all over the place but there was a stringing component, which went crazy on the final group of three fivers. Last group literally fell off the target, half inch wide and 2 and a half tall at a hundred. Bases? Nope. Rings? Nope. Scope? Um, maybe, but no real way to tell without wasting a bunch more ammo.

So, I've got other glass, not the best but always has kept zero, just retired off my pet 223. And, while I had the scope off, I decide to try popping the poxy -- one dink with a dowel and it was gone, the area that had adhered was spots, totalling about a pencil-eraser's worth. Bed actually looked pretty good. Cleaned the cooties off the metal, back in the stock for a springing check. Nope, it be fine. I guess with the barreled action "free" now, I'll mount the "retired" scope and see if groups change size and shape yet again.

As for the glue-in, I call that a wash. It was no worse, not better, just different in terms of harmonics and group shape. There's nothing obviously wrong with the 98 receiver or bolt, nor the barrel, lugs have 95 percent bearing, bolt and ring have been faced -- it just won't shoot like it should.

What scope was on the rifle? What is the "retired" scope?

Glue-ins are just like bedding. If not right, they don't shoot. A proper glue-in is done on top of a perfect bedding job. It must be stress-free. GD

If it was mine, at this point since ammo and components are plentiful and cheap, I would completely remove the rear tang screw and magazine box and fire a group or two.

I'm honestly thinking I'll need to gouge everything out and start over.

Box and bottom metal are clear of the receiver, no binding. Box is integral with the bottom metal. Rear screw doesn't spring, neither does the front. Now that it's "unglued," it drops right in and pops out as it should, clickety snickety and lays dead as the screws seat.

Scopes are/were a Simmons 8 32 44, brand new replacement for another that was dropped and bent, being new and unproven, I decided to pull it just to get rid of an unknown; current retired scope is a Trashco 8 32 50 that has been on my Savage 10 FP for about 18 years. Not the finest optics, nope, but it's always kept zero and actually tracks properly. So I need to center it up (Millett rings) and fire a couple of groups somewhere on the paper, see if there's a change on paper.

If not, I've got a "test bed" Mauser stock I use to initially shoot barrelled actions before getting all excited about finish stock work, bedding, load development, et cetera. It's all hogged out except for a couple of big aluminum pillars, pillar holes big enough to clear the usual bolster at the screws and let the lug seat. So, that's on the list of things to try, too.

The tragedy of all this was...I'd just put on a new Lilja on the original action, and the third load I tried shot a 261, the first two had been in the 400s. Next shot, with a different load, I dynamited it. Got off lucky, just a little blood, the action killed itself to save me, basically. I was working on a big forestry article, so dummy me, there I was at the range, and DISTRACTED. I left my bullet kissy feely rod in the barrel, never did find that. Cut the barrel off about four inches, got it X rayed, bore scoped it, no APPARENT damage, bought another 98 action, did the usual to that action before mounting the barrel, but it's just never really shot like a Lilja. As I said -- a hard luck rifle, and quite the teaching instrument. If I ever get it to shoot, it will be a master class in Murphy's Law.