bolt, through the two large gas escape holes, and rearward into the bolt-stop and ejector openings. Other openings, especially during rain and freezing weather, are the clip guide slot in the bridge, the space between the bolt sleeve and bridge which exposes both ends of the bolt guide groove, and the space between the extractor and bolt. The problem was evidently considered serious enough to warrant development and manufacture of a breech cover to shield these openings.
Unlike the Type 38 and 99 Arisaka military rifles, whose actions were initially designed for a sliding cover, the M98 action was not so designed, and a cover had to be made to fit it. This was accomplished, as shown in the illustrations. The cover was so constructed that it could be easily attached to the unaltered Gew-98 rifle with the straight bolt handle. Although it was a sort of make-shift affair, the cover did effectively shroud the greater part of the action.
This breech cover consists of two main parts: the cover and the clip by which the assembly is attached to the rifle. These two parts are attached to each other by a telescoping hinge joint, so the cover will open and close with the bolt.
The clip is made from a piece of wide spring-tempered steel. The top of this clip encircles the exposed top part of the breech end of the barrel, between the rear sight and barrel shoulder, then extends over the left and underside of the forend. It is made with enough spring tension so it is not easily unsnapped from the rifle, once it has been pressed into place.
The cover, which is also made of spring-tempered sheet steel, is accurately formed to enclose most of the top of the action. It extends from the rear of the receiver ring to just forward of the safety, and is wide enough to cover the top of the receiver ring and run over the edge of the stock. It’s wider at the rear to cover the entire bolt stop, bridge, the flared part of the bolt sleeve and the root of the bolt handle. The rear end of the cover is turned inward and cut out to conform to and contact the contoured surface of the bolt sleeve. The rear right side of the cover is notched to fit over the bolt handle, and a simple spring bar latch, fastened at the edge of the cover over the notch, loosely fastens the cover to the bolt handle.
The critical part of the breech cover assembly is the telescopic hinge on the left side. The outer part of this hinge is a steel tube securely fastened to the left of the clip. This tube extends about halfway back on the cover. A long thin spring rod, rolled into the rear left bottom edge of the cover, extends forward into the tube to complete the telescopic hinge, allowing the cover to open and close and slide backward and forward as the bolt is operated.
When the breech cover is in place, and the action closed, it effectively encloses the main part of the action, protecting it against the entrance of foreign material. The cover in no way interferes with the normal operation of the safety, and when the action is open it does not obstruct loading the magazine in any way. On opening the action, however, the cover rises on the bolt handle stem and this makes it necessary for the shooter to grasp only the ball of the bolt when the action is operated.
The breech cover is readily removed by first releasing the bar latch under the bolt handle stem, swinging open the cover and drawing it to the rear to separate it from the clip. The clip can then be removed by pressing the underside of the clip to the left, until it separates from the forend.
Apparently the breech covers were not widely used since they are scarce today. Perhaps they were not developed and made early enough to be used before WWI ended, or maybe the cover wasn’t entirely successful.
M98 breech cover in place on the rifle, showing the bolt handle and breech cover raised with action open.
Mauser Model 98 FdH
Original M98 Mauser rifle.
THROUGH STUDY OF other rifle actions and his own development work, Paul Mauser gained considerable insight into precisely what features were necessary and desirable in a military rifle. He knew that each of his succeeding designs was better than the preceding one, so he probably felt that the Model 96 action was still short of perfection. It’s interesting that there was a lapse of two years between the introduction of the M96 Swedish Mauser and the advent of the M98, while most other successful Mauser designs were only a year apart.
There was indeed a great advance from the basic M71 blackpowder action to the next important change, the smokeless powder cartridge M88 action. The latter introduced dual-opposed forward locking lugs and the one-piece bolt drilled from the rear. The next major and important design changes were in the M92 action, which introduced the non-rotating extractor, and in the M93 with its flush staggered-column, nondetachable box magazine. All of this design activity by Mauser on his bolt-action system culminated in the design and the perfection of the inside collar in the receiver ring, the third, or safety lug on the bolt, and the improved firing mechanism of the M98.
This achievement was crowned when Germany, his native country, adopted the Model 98 Mauser rifle. Although Mauser continued to invent other arms, some of which were outstanding, it is the M98 action for which he is best known. Paul Mauser died in May, 1914, just at the start of WWI, a conflict that would see his M98 pitted against a variety of inferior rifles.
The Action
The one-piece receiver is machined from a steel forging. The recoil lug, an integral part of the receiver, is located about 1.43” behind the front edge of the receiver. It is about 1.1 ” wide and .25” in depth, ample in area to secure the action in a reasonably hard, wood stock if properly bedded and tightened in place. Behind the recoil lug the bottom of the Mauser receiver is flat, including the tang.
The receiver ring is threaded inside to accept the barrel shank. The threads are of common V-type, but with a 55-degree angle rather than the standard American 60-degree angle. The barrel breech is flat, with the chamber edge slightly rounded. Inside the receiver ring there is a collar against which the breech end of the barrel abuts. This collar extends entirely around the inside of the receiver ring except for an extractor cut. It forms a ring that closely surrounds the bolt head when the bolt is closed. The rear of this collar, beveled toward the chamber, forms a wide funnel which sometimes helps to guide the cartridges into the chamber.
This collar strengthens the receiver ring and, except for the extractor cut, provides a good seal around the bolt head. Normally, the barrel shank is made to butt tightly against this collar so that the shoulder of the barrel need not nor should contact the front edge of the receiver.
The magazine well of the M98 action is milled from the bottom of the receiver, between the bridge and ring, leaving lips at either side of the upper edge to hold the cartridges in place. The front of the well is milled to form a shallow “U” ramp to guide the cartridges into the chamber. The right side of the receiver opening is cut very low, leaving little more than the side rail of the magazine well. The left side of the receiver opening has a wall extending about two-thirds of the way up the receiver ring which is milled for the left locking lug raceway. However, the rear of this left wall, close to the bridge, is cut as low as the right side to form a thumb recess to aid loading the magazine from a charger clip. The only really weak point in the action results from this notch— more on this later.
The top front of the bridge is slotted for the charger clip. The top of the bridge behind the charger clip slot is milled thinner to remove excess metal. The rear of the receiver ends in a tang, grooved to accept the cocking piece cam.
The bolt is a solid steel
