Before deciding your rifle is not worth keeping, consider a fresh muzzle crown. You would be amazed at the possibilities. I cured a horribly inaccurate (would not stay on a washing machine at 50 yds) BNIB Winchester Big Bore Carbine with a new crown.
Oh, there's all sorts of things I know I can do with it before giving up. The question is becoming how much I want to sink into this money pit before I give up.
Here's a question I've been wanting to ask y'all: This rifle has the original stepped barrel on it. It's bedded. It's an okay bedding job. Let's say I wanted to rebarrel it. Are their easy options besides another K98 barrel? I'm thinking of the future here, and I've vowed to slowly work myself towards lighter shooting deer rifles. I bought what I proclaimed to be my "last 30-06" a few years ago. Would a 7X57 barrel fit on this action? I know I'm way ahead of myself here. 8mm should be a fine whitetail round, and there's every reason to expect the rifle will shoot well with a little bit of load development. I'm just thinking.
Sitka: Thanks for the offer. Let's see how this thing shoots first.