What value would you put on an FN Mauser barrel and action chambered in 30-06. In is unused.
Barrel stamping fab.nat.d'armes de guerre herstal-belgique.
This is the only information I have on it for now.

Assuming a commercial action with all parts, maybe starting around $500. A lot depends on condition, floorplate, safety and trigger type, sights etc. If truly new, it should sell no problem, but pictures are important. If it’s truly ready to drop into a stock it may bring more; any work that’s required will affect its appeal. Some early ones came untapped for scope use, for instance.

I’m not selling, might buy it.
It’s a buddy of mine that I haven’t seen in awhile. He messaged me wanting to sell it. I haven’t seen it in probably 20 years and never payed much attention to it then. If I remember correctly it was still in the box with factory grease on it back then. I’ll try and get some pictures.

As you describe it, it’d be a great snag for you. They are just excellent rifles.

Check for a crest on the receiver ring. Might be marked FN (very classy), Firearms International (still nice), or just be plain. If the date on the receiver and barrel are 1948, it might well be a C-ring, another raisin in the cookie for you.

Good luck!

What Pappy said....

For the sake of comparison, I got a used, but in very nice condition, fully working FN Commercial .30-06 off Gunbroker for $505. You can also get any number of the very nice J.C. Higgins .30-06's for about the same price. But how much I was willing to pay for the action - assuming it is unused - would depend on what I intended to do with it. If it is truly ready to drop into a stock and start shooting, it's probably worth whatever you would pay for the rifle with an aftermarket stock. Which would be about $600 max based on some of what I have seen and bid on. I have bid on a few other FN Commercial rifles, but I generally drop out of the auctions if they get up between $700-800 with no end in sight. I am not looking to purchase collectable safe queens. I usually want nice old rifles with a lot of hunting left in them. A dent or ding or scratch doesn't deter me, but signs of abuse or neglect or stupid modifications turn me off.

Here’s some pics he sent me. When he gets home he’s going to send me a picture of the trigger.

It has a front sight but no rear sight.

Assuming that's all cosmoline and not rust, you're in great shape with that one at $500

And why would it have a front site but no rear site?

Thats very common, more common in my limited experience than ones with the rear sight, models built for Sears and others excepted. Both of mine are that way as was a Sako High Power I had. You’ll find two holes on the right side of the bridge. Those are for a receiver sight like the Lyman 57FN and others of that era. Those and even the Williams Foolproof are discontinued now, but can be found with a bit of effort.

I see it’s not drilled and tapped for mounts, so you’ll have to get that done if you plan on scoping it. Be sure and find a qualified smith for that, not some goober working part time out of his garage.

This is one of mine with a Lyman 57FN:

I’m probably not going to buy it. By the time I pick up a nice wood stock and have it tapped the deal isn’t looking as good as I was hoping.

+1000 on what Pappy said. You've got one chance to get it right the first time, so make absolute sure your 'smith is qualified, experienced, and has the correct tooling to do the job right. There's not nearly as many of them out there as there used to be, that can do this.

That is a really neat barreled action. Put a Lyman 48 on it , stick it and hunt it

Where could I get a nice drop in wood stock? That wouldn’t break my bank.
And now Frank mentions a Lyman 48, I would need the 48m correct? Those are looking hard to get too. And would the front sight work with the 48?

The 57M didn’t fit the factory holes in that rifle pictured above; close but no cigar. I’d look for the 57FN or the 48 equivalent, but can’t say definitely what that is. The Foolproof is a good sight, just not quite as nice as the Lymans that are steel.

Try Boyds for the stock. Be aware that the inlet for the models with the slide-off floorplate is different than one for a hinged one because of the plunger thingy you see in the picture just in front of the trigger. I ordered the wrong one for my 1948 and had to hog out clearance for it in the aluminum bedding block of a B&C Medalist. Just tell them what you have when you order.

That rifle is worth taking some time with and spending a bit on. As the saying goes, they don’t make them like that any more. OTOH, you could find something like a J.C.Higgins 50 or 51 all ready to go, it just wouldn’t be “new”, but you might be money ahead. Your dime and your time. Good luck, whatever you do.

Is the 57fn aluminum or steel? And would the 48m be the one I would need? And the front sight would stay stock with the Lyman peep?
This is all new to me so I have lots of questions.
With the Boyd’s stock which barrel profile would I need? And would I have to contact Boyd’s to let them know which floor plate I have, or is that just with the B&C stocks?

HL- you didn't mention how much this was going to cost you. $500 was tossed around and I would likely jump on it for that. I have a 1951 FN (#136XX) just like it and had it d&t too. Having said that, it seems a shame to drill that beautiful crest when there are other FNs available that will be set to go. Unless you find a take-off FN Surpreme stock, it won't be a drop in. The barrel contour is unique on the rifle in question and will require some work. You will likely have to relieve some wood for the receiever sights-especially the 48. They are steel and will likely cost a pretty penny. I was not content with the stock trigger so added a Timney. When you get that done, I think you will find you have a pretty heavy rifle (think 9#scoped). Just my experience/opinion, but as noted earlier, I would buy it!

Link to copy of the Lyman Sight chart, copy and paste:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-WLWJ1QzeL5s/VqGF9zfZcYI/AAAAAAAAAJw/pHrs08Vd66A/s800-Ic42/Lyman%25252048%25252057%25252066%252520sight%252520chart.JPG

48 and 57 are steel. I had to replace my front sight with a higher one, and had to make a relief cut down through the old one with a dremel and hacksaw to get it out since it was there for over 70 years. You may be luckier if you need to change it. This is the sight I used:

https://www.newenglandcustomgun.com/proddetail.php?prod=8196

It was the proper dovetail size for my rifle, and probably yours. Some hand fitting required, on the sight, never the dovetail please unless you pay someone to properly open it to 3/8”.

I left the sight full height, which solved my POI issue and left some room for adjustment.



Just one man’s opinion, but I think the nail polish I used is prettier than anything I’ve seen on Stick’s scopes. It’s called Yellin’ Yellow….

If you do decide to jump I have a factory FN sporter stock I am not going to use.

Most of the ones I have originally had aperture sights.

Do you know if it would be a drop in fit ?

I do not know, I would think it would depend on what barrel yours has.

About half the Mauser rifles I have are FN commercials. One still all original, a J.C. Higgins M50 30-06 from Sears that looks almost new is a good shooter as is. I think I have something like four of the M50s, one made into a 7x57 custom. I also have two of the commercial FNs, one made into a custom with a new barrel, The old one was toast. It's been placed in a McMillan stock. Extremely accurate with 165 gr. Nosler Accubonds. The other is chambered to the .270 Win, stock shortened to fit the original owner. Very accurate running the 150 gr. Nosler Partition. It sits in the cut down original stock that was glass bedded including the full barrel length. It also has a cut down Butler Creek synthetic and is equally full length bedded. I just stuck slip on recoil pads and let it go at that.
Frankly, if I had need for another Mauser and the price was right, I'd be all over that one, JMHO, but I consider a good Mauser, commercial or clean milsurp to be a better rifle than the beloved pre-64 M70 Winchester by a long shot. No pun intended.
PJ

Neat barreled action, could be turned into really nice woods rifle with an aperture sight without a big investment. A classic styled Boyd’s stock would be another couple hundred.

Well I went ahead and picked it up tonight after work.
It did still have the factory grease on it. I started cleaning it, the chamber was loaded with it. I still have more to do. I need to take the bolt apart, it looks like it’s packed.
The trigger is long and heavy so I might have to do something with it. And I don’t know if my eyes will be able to handle a peep and small bead may have to drill and tap for a scope.
I have a stock deal in the works so things are falling into place nicely.

That’s good to hear!

If you decide to look for a fine receiver sight for your new rifle, the top choice, if you can find it, would be the Lyman 48 FN. This is a version of the 48 that is especially contoured for the FN action without the stripper clip hump that military Mausers have. The Lyman 48 M as well as the Lyman 57 SME with not only fit the FN but will also fit around the stripper clip hump on the military actions.
Redfield also made the model 70 and 80 (80 has a quick-release slide like the Lymans, 70 doesn't) for the Mauser.

Good luck with your new rifle!
Rex

So if I decided to go with a Redfield sight the correct one would be a 70m or 80m? And it should bolt right up? How do those compare with the Lyman 48’s?
The Redfield’s look more compact and more ready available.

Correct. The MH has the hunter knobs and MT has the target knobs. I have a few vintage ones on hand if you want to PM me about it. Include the exact center-to-center spacing on your mounting holes, and the distance from the edge of the rear of the loading/ejection port to the forward screw hole so we can be certain of the fit. The hole spacing is the same on Redfields or Lymans, but the position of the sight when mounted may vary slightly.

Cheers,
Rex

Well I have a sporter stock, Redfield sight, Timney trigger headed my way.
I do have another question about the safety. It seems mine is only a 2 position safety. Is this correct or is something wrong with it? All the research I’ve done only shows a 3 position safety.
Mine when down is fire and when it’s at about at a 45* position it’s on safe. There’s no straight up or all the way to the right.

That is the standard safety for commercial FNs. IMO it’s a great one for use with irons, almost like thumbing a hammer. A little troublesome for scope use as the flag rests pretty close to the ocular. Locks the bolt when on, so you need to unload with it in the off position and/or use the floorplate.

Disassembly is also a little tricky, but there are illustrated instructions online. You’ll definitely want to remove the striker for a good cleaning as it may well be full of cosmoline or other grease. After cleaning, I use DriSlide for lube and protection without the possibility of gunking it up again, which can cause misfires and light strikes. Some run them dry. I use moly truck bearing grease on the outer contact surfaces.

I disassemble the bolt last night. It took a chunk out of my thumb. And yes it was loaded with cosmoline. I watched a couple videos on how to do it and they all said to have the safety in the straight up position. Well mine wouldn’t do that and the bolt only would come out in the fire position. So I had to wing it and my thumb got in the way.
I even took the bolt stop off because it looked greased up pretty good.
The chamber and front of the action were packed. It took the most time cleaning, hard getting in the nooks and crannies you can’t even see.
I also ordered Jim Kuhnhausen’s book.

You’re watching the wrong video. The FN bolt differs from military 98s, so you need to get that Mauser notion out of your noggin. Since the FN safety only has two positions and the ON position locks the bolt, once you remove the bolt you have to push the cocking piece against a hard surface and stick a dime or something similar in the little slot that gets exposed to hold it. A Ruger bolt is similar except there’s a hole for a small nail or pin.

This is the rear sight that came with my FN. I have it around here somewhere. Very simple with two settings.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/274448727616?

Of course it has been scoped since I have owned it.

As had already been said, that is the correct safety for your rifle.

I find that style of safety to be very intuitive and easy to use, with or without a scope.

From personal experience, I will say that I much prefer the safety to be on the right side of the bolt. The reason for this is that when I have the rifle slung across my back, it is possible for the safety to get switched off. Not normally a problem since I practice good firearm safety fundamentals, but it did surprise me when it first happened. I didn't have an ND, but hearing the safety click off on its own was a bit disconcerting. Now I am very careful about how I carry my FN rifles, especially my .25-06 custom rifle with FN action, which combines a relatively easy left-sided safety and a hair trigger. I now carry that rifle in condition 3 if I have it across my back.

Well I received the stock and I did have to file a little bit to get it to fit with the rear peep.
There was a 1/4” of stock between the sight and bolt handle but it broke off. Not a big deal and probably wouldn’t have made it to long anyway. I may have to touch it up a bit after I shoot it and see if the sight will need adjusted lower.

Nice. That is the proper factory FN stock.

In the past month I’ve looked at a lot of pictures of these Mauser’s with peep sights and all the stocks have needed modified. Were there any factory Mauser stocks made that didn’t need modified? Because none of them were drilled for a scope but all seem to be drilled for a peep.

Any idea what size screw is used to hold the windage/elevation knobs on the Redfield sight?

I've just caught up with this Thread... A month late! I've collected these FN commercial mausers and perhaps to contribute some info here. First the wider picture! The of FN actions of two basic categories. FN 300 series which nomenclature only becoming relevant as the 400 series appeared, more usefully distinguished as the FN Supreme Action. The earliest Postwar FN Commercial genre were basically commercially finished standard historic pattern mausers in all respects. Bit later same but low scope bolt as same pattern throughout production. Then a transition models with solid left sidewall as residual humped bridge with clip guides. Only Husqvarna models reflecting this unique genre. Moving right along, the standard early FN commercials arriving in 1950 as seen in this Thread, with FN receiver ring logos as undrilled for scopes. later drilled as noted. There's actually a mix of drilled & undrilled within a serial range primarily in 1951. The barrel contours were considerably changed also with earliest fifties models having an elevated open sight and may or not be drilled for receiver sight. And of that subject, the "Armstrong Dual Range" aperture sight was the only one factory furnished. It was expensive and from a couple of specimens I have owned, the Lyman 48 achieved everything at a better price point. As noted, the Model 48 FN would be the correct sight for the factory drilled actions. The Lyman 57 is also a contender. Both nowadays are considered preferable with the "Target" versus "Hunter" knobs which utilize the "coin slot" for adjustment. Lyman made a last Third version of the Model 48 which addressed the otherwise need of earlier editions to be inletted into the stock. The Third, without such need 'unless' the stock dimensions extra thick! The need to inlet a stock rather certainly means a sight to remain lest an ugly void resulting. The fate of the original fifties later vaunted original FN commercial models offered under their name, lasted only through 1953. The cost of production and more lucrative NATO weapon contracts condemned such further production. The FN commercial mauser reputation was of "Expensive European" quality manufacture with their "French Walnut" heralded stocks and relied heavily on that as sinking into the sunset. The FN Model 400 "Supreme" action intro'd of late fifties had the safety moved to the trigger with sliding tang use. Also, alloy bottom metal definite downside. A lot more to be said, but essentially such the essence of the early fifties models. Collector perspective, I'd urge not to D&T an early pristine FN logo action as depreciating value. But as ever, your gun, your choice! That said, you can get a Husqvarna FN era action brand rifle at relative bargain price to the more highly polished better wood, yet original, FN branded logo piece!
Time to bow out as much yet unsaid but moving to nuances!
Best!
John