Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Mauser 98 bolt and action rough, is there an easy fix

I got a mauser 98 action from a guy and he said at one point it was rusty he cleaned it as best as he could but it binds at the end of the backstroke. Its a 338-06 and super accurate, I would like to use it as a back up for elk season is there any simple fixes? I tried ultra gun coat with no luck.
Thanks Scott

Bolt body and extractor need polishing. Inside of action needs to be lapped. Brownells has all the stuff you need.

you can use fine valve lapping compound from an auto store. Strip the bolt and action bare, and lap out the tight spots. Replace the extractor and lap it too. Then flush the bejeesus out of it with a cleaner, then oil and reassemble.

"it binds at the end of the backstroke."

Does it have a scope? If so, one of the mounting screws in the rear ring might be a bit too long and binding the bolt when it is pulled al the way back.

Actually, if this is what is happening, it wouldn't be the bolt that is binding, but that raised portion of the bolt that acts as a gas deflecter/extra safety lug.

Or, as the above posters said, it could need lapping.

Bolts can bind if they are too loose as well as too tight.

Try pushing the bolt forward and backwards holding the rear of the bolt instead of the handle. If it doesn't bind then, I think it is too loose and tries to angle across the receiver when using the bolt handle.

Attachment shows a highly exaggerated diagram of loose bolt bind.

Bruce

Another possible cause of binding at the end of the backstroke is a dirty or tight ejector/ejector slot relationship.

Bruce

Remove the extractor and then try it.

I had one like that too. Turns out Bubba had used a pry bar between the rails to remove the previous barrel and sprung the rails a few thousands. Viced it back to spec and it worked slick as snot.

Wayne

What is Bubba's fascination with mausers?

For years they were super cheap and there were thousands of article written on how to sporterize your Mauser.

Some were done superbly but most were not.

Make sure the large holes in the action aren't the problem. A sharp edge where the bolt contacts the rear action cutout/holes and, as the bolt gets cock eyed, will cause the bolt to bind or hang up. A slight radius or polishing there maybe all that's needed. What I'm trying to say is it might not be just the rails or the bolt.

The same fascination a lot of Bubbas have with 700s.

Also make sure the rear action screw is not too long and sticking up through the tang.

I would coat the bolt with Dykem blue and work the action to see where the contact points are. Then polish!
whelennut