Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing vz-24 mauser 98 question

1909 Argentine Mauser.

I'd really like to build a 9.3x57, but cannot fathom what I'd ever shoot it at. Most deer around here are in the 115-175lb range.

Hell savage, shoot whatever you want with it (critter wise that is). Dead is dead.

Yeah, but I'd like a decent amount of meat to be left over . Would make a good varmint rifle. No more coyotes, just a pile of goo.

You can get Husky 9.3x57s for a song right now. I bought a M146 (98 Mauser) for $225 recently from Sarco.

From what I've seen a small, fast bullet will do a lot more damage to meat than a big, slow one. That 270 gr Speer at about 2300 fps isn't going to bloody as much meat as a 150 gr 30 cal at 3k fps.

BTW- that 6-250 is shooting the lights out! I'll have to send you some pics of what I did with her... she looks pretty good if I do say so myself...

I'm glad that 6mm250 is doing well for you.

I saw in a flyer the other day they had VZ-24's for like $157 in good shape.

The receiver can be heatsinked and the largest of the pits filled with weld if they are really bad, if it is below the woodline, they can be filled with durafill before painting/coating or after bluing. For the most part, some good draw filing will get rid of most of it, and if you grind too much off, you can have it re-heat treated.

You're right on the bullet thing though. A friend used to hunt jackrabbits with a 22-250 with a hand lapped bore pushing 4,000fps. Just a cloud-o-bits.

The VZ24s that I encounter are usually pretty rough,
the one pictured in the AIM ad is really nice shape.

I have been sporterizing Mausers for 45 years.
It is never worth it financially.
You have to want to do it.
The VZ24 is a great rifle for sporterization. I just got 2 more last week.
AIM is always a pleasure to do biz with.

lmartin,

Problem with building on a military surplus rifle is that one can find a Mark X Mauser rifle for $350-$450 with a bit of looking...

For that, you already have an adjustable trigger, bent bolt, hinged floorplate, D&Ted.... etc! Guess what? Barrel threads are the same as a military Large Ring. (Same with the remington M-798)

If you want a bbl, I have an already chambered, blued, and threaded Lg Ring Mauser barrel in .280 Rem. that I can sell you for less than a Midway A&B barrel. (24") I'd be an inch shorter, but a LOT cheaper...

GH

Do you know the barrel make and approx round count?

Midway lists the Zestava receivers for sale.
Butch

Hey Butch, got a link?
I couldn't find them.

Me neither

One of the guys on AR posted a link.
I will try to find it.
Butch

Finally got to my friend at Midway. Ryan said they used to sell them for $279 and sold all they could get. Remington messed that up. They have not been able to get any more and probably won't.
Butch

Kinda what I thought.

Thanks for checking that out for us Butch.

I lucked out on mine. I went an hour away to do an FFL transfer as the shop nearest me wanted a total of $75 after paperwork for a Mossberg 22.

I showed up at a steel building in a field and started talking with the man who ran it. Vietnam Vet, Worked in paper mills as his day job, but he had a little bit of everything laying around Red Ryders to FN FAL's, next to a lathe, and mill, and grinders.

Pretty soon I was coming out there to help him around the shop, do mowing and cleaning, handling small jobs like trigger stoning, polishing, and other tedious things.

Now we build rifles together. I don;t get paid 1 red cent, but I get any lessons I want free, and any parts I want at cost. And I don;t care one bit. He's since built a 100 yard range next to the shop, so as soon as we finish build, and assembly, we can walk 10 feet out the door, sit down, and touch a round off.









1938 Turk Action with the absolute works
#7 Contour Douglas .002 crush fit 55* threads, Match .308 Chamber and I did the crown.
Timney
Worked over floorplate
I drilled and tapped
I did the stock inletting/finishing
I did the parkerizing.

I think, in the end, it cost me $750 with the scope, base, rings, and trigger.

I don;t know how many hours and hours I had hand lapping the bolt raceway, lapping the lugs, working the pits out of the receiver, etc.

It's an experience building Mausers. I do mainly stock work for him now, but it is all enjoyable, especially the machining part. Seeing the threads clean up, forging a bolt, milling a guard. It's all just a blast.

I doubt I have $175 total in the 38 Turk shown below, including scope and mounts and the Timney safety. My labor and the fancy deer antler bolt knob were free. The bolt handle is a 1/4" NC bolt from the junk bin. Laugh at it if you want, but it shoots 3-shot 100 yd groups into 3/4" to 1 1/4" all day long. As every weight and brand of .323" bullet I tried in it shoots great, I use the el cheapo Rem 185 gr PSPCL.

I hacksawed the barrel to 20" which was a mistake as the muzzle blast is fierce. One of these days I might lengthen the barrel with a 2" or 3" piece of galvanized water pipe. I might also splurge and add a store-bought muzzle brake, but why add an accessory which would cost more than the cost of the rest of the rifle?

Here's why I think this rifle shoots so well: (1) The action is heavily glass bedded (J&B Weld) and the barrel is free-floated; (2) I reamed out the channel for the cleaning rod in the stock, shortened the rod and re-installed it in the stock, then filled the channel with epoxy. So add a stiffened, reinforced stock to a short stiff barrel and a perfectly fitted action = a good shooter.

I bet that 20"er is akin to shooting a 38 or 44 nagamt.

You can put a nice crown on a barrel with a dremel stone, brass catrige bolt, and lapping compound.