the much thicker receiver ring.
Model 98 Mauser bolt face.
Commercial M98 type receivers made without the thumb notch are naturally much stiffer and more rigid than the notched military receivers, so they’re usually preferred for sporting and target rifles. Some gunsmiths stiffen the military receiver by filling the thumb notch with a piece of pre-shaped steel and welding it in place.
Although the 98 action is a very safe one, I believe it would be even safer by having one or two gas vent holes in the left side of the receiver ring and wall opposite the vent holes in the bolt, as in the 03A3 Springfield.
Not a weakness or a fault, but to me a nuisance, is that the bolt cannot (without a great deal of force) be closed on a cartridge that has been dropped into the chamber because the extractor will not slip over the rim. However, this minor nuisance can be corrected by careful alteration— shortening the extractor hook and increasing the forward slope is all that is needed.
It must be remembered that Paul Mauser designed this action solely for military use, and from this standpoint all other features of this action are outstanding. These include the inside collar in the receiver ring, the safety lug on the rear of the bolt, a very rugged extractor which will not let go of a cartridge rim when the bolt is opened, the simple and positive ignition system, the sturdy and reliable safety and bolt-stop, and the fine unbeatable magazine system.
Despite the “militaryness” of this action, German and British gunsmiths soon found that it met all the requirements of sportsmen who desired a repeating magazine rifle for hunting large game. The M98 action was sometimes used “as issued.” Even at the peak of European bolt-action sporting rifle development, the foreign sportsman demanded little more than the basic action, or at most only a lower profile of the bolt handle, and more convenient floorplate release and, for the Germans, a double-set trigger mechanism. American hunters, shooters and gunsmiths, however, demanded more from this action; in time it was found to be more adaptable and easier to remodel than any other military bolt action. So much so that it has been universally adopted by most amateur and professional gunsmiths as their first-choice military bolt action on which to build a rifle.
The M98a carbines have a special hinged muzzle cover. Rifles were stacked with the cap closed to protect the bore from the weather. By opening the spring loaded cap the bore could be cleaned from the muzzle. A hole in the cover, smaller than the bore, prevents wear and damage to the muzzle from the steel Mauser cleaning rod.The cover must be removed to fire the rifle. The projection on the rear of the cover blocks the view beyond the front sight. The 98a’s rugged front sight has a forward hook to engage the muzzle cover. To remove the cover, close the cap, push down and turn 90 degrees counterclockwise.
The M98 action is popular in the U.S. for several reasons, but primarily because it is readily available, especially since 1945. American shooters first became familiar with this action in fair numbers after WWI when the first souvenir rifles appeared. Commercial Mauser sporters had been imported since about 1910. However, it was not until after WWII that M98 military rifles and actions appeared in great numbers. Since that time countless thousands of these rifles and actions have reached the American market. Shortly after WWII commercial M98 actions began to appear, beginning with the Belgian-made FN and followed by others made in Yugoslavia, Sweden, West Germany, Spain and Japan.
There must certainly be far more M98-type actions and rifles in the U.S. than any other centerfire turnbolt design, and perhaps more than all these other actions combined.
The M98 Breeching
I have previously described the M98 breeching system which centers around the collar or ring inside the receiver. The flat breech face of the barrel butts against this collar and the head of the bolt is recessed within the collar, touching the barrel when the bolt is locked. There are other breech systems that are much simpler and equally as strong and safe, but few of them offer the one advantage that has contributed to the unmatched popularity of this action—a feature seldom discussed.
Many people have said to me, “There are several firms making and offering low-cost turned, threaded and chambered barrels in various calibers and weights for the M98 action. Why don’t they offer similar barrels for other actions like the ’03 Springfield and 1917 Enfield, as well?” The answer is that there is no single military or commercial high-power bolt action that is as numerous or as popular, so low in cost, strong, safe and suitable for a variety of cartridges as is the M98 Mauser—and to which a barrel can be fitted so easily.
I cannot go into the detailed procedures of fitting and headspacing a barrel here. Suffice it to say that it is far easier to properly fit a barrel to the M98 than it is to fit one to most of the other military bolt actions, especially those not made to accommodate a flat-breech-end barrel. It is, however, possible and practicable to manufacture barrels for the M98 action to close enough tolerances so that a knowledgeable amateur gunsmith should be able to fit it properly to his action without the use of a metal lathe or chambering reamer. This would be very difficult, if not impossible, with an ’03 Springfield or similar action. The reader should not get the impression from what has been said that fitting a barrel to the M98 action is a snap and simply requires turning it up tightly. This is not the case.
Gunsmithing the M98
To begin with, it is only practicable to use a military M98 action for building a rifle if you can do all or at least most of the remodeling work yourself. For example, if you have an action which cost you nothing, and hired the remodeling work done to equal the commercial FN Supreme Mauser action, then it probably would have been advisable to buy the commercial action in the first place. On the other hand, if you can do the remodeling yourself there is no military action quite as ideal as the M98 on which to build a rifle.
Mauser Model 98
General Specifications
Type . . . . .Turnbolt repeater.
Receiver . .One-piece machined steel forging, unslotted bridge. Stripper-clip guide milled in bridge.
Bolt . . . . . .One-piece, with dual-opposed locking lugs forward. A third lug on the bottom of the bolt acts as the safety lug.
Ignition . . .One-piece firing pin, coil mainspring and cocking piece. Cocks mainly on opening of bolt.
Magazine .Staggered column, nondetachable box magazine, 5-shot capacity. Detachable floorplate.
Trigger . . .Non-adjustable, double-stage military-type pull.
Safety . . . .Rotary wing-type safety built into bolt sleeve. 180° swing from left to right, locking striker only when in upright position; locks both bolt and striker when at right.
Extractor . .One-piece, nonrotating, long Mauser spring type attached to the bolt by a collar.
Bolt-stop .Separate, hinged to the left rear of receiver, stops bolt by contacting left locking lug.
Ejector . . .Swinging type, located in bolt-stop housing.
