Anyone have experience handling or shooting one of these rifles ? I will have one that has been sporterized by next week. Just curious if they are a good rifle. Are they Just a 98 chambered for 30-06 Any quirks about them?Good steel used in them etc.
Here's a Belgium FN 98 with custom work and Canjar trigger I picked up from a Fire contributor. Built it into 9.3x62 with Shilen barrel. Then, I traded for an AHR CZ 550 in 9.3x62. I sold the 9.3x62 Shilen barrel and put a 6.5x55 Shilen on the action. Stock is a B&C Medalist. Those are nice actions for a custom build.
Thanks for info I think I will just leave mine in the Mundane 30-06.Stepped barrel and all. If it shoots good that is. If it doesn,t then I may have to rebarrel . To another barrel in 30-06 ! Mauser in 30-06 just seems to be a great combo. I do hope that these rifles are not super heavy though.
Thanks,this one will come with original stepped barrel,Dont know how much the stock is going to weigh. I just dont want to start with a rifle that weighs 9 pounds without scope ! Tough using rifle is exactly what I had in mind for a Mauser 30-06 I already have a couple of 98's in 8x57 J and both are lightweights so I needed this like I need another hole in the head BUT I wanted it ! I really like Mausers!
I think you will be pleasantly surprised. I have been wanting an FN action with the stepped military barrel in 3006 for quite a while. The action will weigh around 45 ounces and the stepped military barrel will be slightly over 32 ounces, depending on where the steps in the barrel are. A 29 inch barrel cut down is usually heavier than a 24 inch from the factory. If it is an FN barrel they are usually quite accurate. So depending on the stock the gun should weigh slightly less than 7 lbs, which is a very nice weight. Enjoy.
I have owned a couple of FN Mauser rifles, a 30-06 and a 250-3000. Very nice rifles, dont see many of them around anymore. Would love to own one in 9x57mm, but have never even seen one.
My primary carry rifle for many years was one of those FN actions with a FN stepped 30-06 barrel. The stepped feature kind of grew on me and It shot so sell I purchased a couple extra surplus ( new in factory wrappers ) barrels .
The rifle you reference was made between about 1949-1952. The "C" ring inside is broached on only the right side. Unlike most Mausers they are made of 4140 ordinance steel. They may be the finest sporting Mauser action ever made other than the GMA's which start at $3500.
“Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away”. Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Posted by Brad.
My custom FN Mauser sporter in 35 Whelen is so well balanced that it definitely feels lighter than it is at about 8 3/4 lbs scoped. The stock fits well so the recoil seems less than my 30-06. I expect you will be happy with the rifle.
Nifty-250
"If you don't know where you're going, you may wind up somewhere else". Yogi Berra
I've had a couple of the rifles made for Sears on the commercial actions and one of the FN sporters, which I never fired. I just can't seem to hold on to them for some reason.
They're a little heavy, the bolts wobble a bit, and the front action screw goes right into the small recoil lug; all deadly faults according to current thinking. But to my eye, and in my hands, nothing can compare to a good 98, and the FNs are among the finest, certainly the best within the grasp of most of us. There's something about that big chunk of machined, forged steel that just shouts "Rifle".
Here's a Belgium FN 98 with custom work and Canjar trigger I picked up from a Fire contributor. Built it into 9.3x62 with Shilen barrel. Then, I traded for an AHR CZ 550 in 9.3x62. I sold the 9.3x62 Shilen barrel and put a 6.5x55 Shilen on the action. Stock is a B&C Medalist. Those are nice actions for a custom build.
DF
I was about to pull the trigger on that action when I phoned my Smith to ask a few build questions, went back to holler the three magic words and it was gone, you fast drawing *^$@#$%^&*%#$.
bcraig; Thanks for starting the educational thread, I appreciate yet again the input from our members.
As it turns out the FN barrel information is timely for me as I'm putting together an '06 for our eldest daughter using a stepped FN barrel and VZ24 action. It shot quite well in the tester stock and so she's going to get the first full length, Mannlicher style stock I've ever built.
I'll say before leaving that subject that inletting the steps into a full wood stock is proving to be much more time consuming than I'd thought it might be.
As far as the FN actions, as others have stated they made actions for a lot of companies, among them the large ring Husqvarna rifles from the '50's.
While overall quality is very much a subjective thing, I'd say that in my opinion based upon playing with various Mauser type actions over the last 30 + years that it'd be a toss up between FN and the Swedish built actions for overall fit and finish.
I can only guess what a new one would cost these days, but it would likely be quite steep judging from the finish on today's rifle actions.
Hopefully that was useful information to you or someone out there this morning sir. Good luck with your rifle whichever way you decide.