Was in Cabella's in Allen this afternoon and saw some new mfg'ed '98 Mauser actioned 8mm's. With a little TLC these could be a solid workhorse of a deer & hog shooter it seems like...and at $299 not a bad price either for a "beater" kinda rifle. Anybody got any experience with these?
Ron

I’ve got a Remington 798, which is a 98 Mauser made by Zastava. Wonderful gun.

I recently read an article about these, don’t remember where. It said the wood fit and finish was awful as well as the checkering. The machining is also rough. BUT! Everything wrong with them can be fixed by a competent DIY guy. Excellent bluing was noted.

Article might be found around a campfire lefty section. Yes, they’re making them left handed now! Pretty detailed thread.

I've played with Mauser actions for years. I have two or three stuck back to build rifles from when I retire.

I wouldn't mind getting a couple for for projects. I have at least 3 English Walnut blacks that are really nice I have put back to build rifles from. Work and not a good shop got in the way of my stock making but one of the things I intend to get back to once i retire in another couple of years.

Thanks, Billy

I have done several load work ups on "custom" Mauser 98 rifles. From now on, I will turn away the work on the Mauser's. 2 had custom barrels chambered up and still wouldn't shoot that great. They are a great battle action from the period. But IMO, they do not make for a "precision" rifle. For hunting, sure, they will work fine and serve you well. But you can not turn an old military rifle into a precision rifle. There's a difference.

I can see how these Zastava '98s would not work without a ton of work being put in the for a precision rifle. OTOH for a "truck gun " I'd think that would be the ticket. 8mm ammo is also not plentiful but PPU is everywhere these days and does a good job under 2-250 yards I'd think.
I was surprised that Cabella's did not have any 7x57 in any label on the ammo wall ...prolly too much 6.5CM selections LOL Even saw some 7-08 PPU & 300BO in PPU...PPU ammo ...the mark of common "it's everywhere" acceptance I guess.

The last time I bought a 8mm was a '98 steel butt plate battle rifle from a drugstore chain in Jax Florida called Pic 'N Save to use in the Osceola Nat'l Forest for hogs, paid $29.95 for the rifle and 10 cents a round for a paper lunch bag full of Milsurp FMJ's. At 100 paces it was good for minute of hog or a good sized watermelon and that's about it, but that old battle rifle saved my NIB Ruger 77 25'06 from getting drug thru the Okefenokee swamp outside of Lakeland in 1972.

Also looked a Winchester XPR in a wood stock rilfe. Surprise surprise when I could run a dollar bill down the barrel channel as the barrel channel was nice and even and the dollar bill stopped where it's 'posed to at the front of the receiver. Yucky looking no discernable finish of any kind on the wood stock though matches the dull matte blue metalwork. ...bolt & ejector setup looked like a Browning ABolt's bolt.
Ron

I ran an as issued military rifle match for about 15 years . The 8mm 98 Mausers were always good for a 1 inch or less 5-shot group at 100 yards with the issued iron sights . Our club record was with a 8mm and was a 0.680 5-shot . Our better shooters could out shoot about 90 % of the other range shooters and their scoped rifles . You just had to know how to reload for them .

Mausers do not have the fast lock time like a Remington 700 for example, they have a long throw. That lock time can be deal with by shorting the throw, but not many gunsmiths in this day and time do not have that skill. I have a gunsmith buddy that is very good at shorting the throw and making a Mauser shoot, but like he says, why spend that kind of money when you can buy a Remington 700 or M70 and be done with with.

With that said, I've seen many sub MOA Mausers over the years, I own more than one that shoots good. A Mauser action is no different than any other locking lug action, M70, Rem 700, lugs and bolt fact have to be true, tight headspace has to be right. Lot of factors come to play to making a rifle shoot. In most cases a rilfe thats put together right will pretty much shoot anything good for the most part. There is no doubt a pet load for every gun, but a good gun shoot within reason pretty much what you stick in it.

My other comment, I've been handloading and building rifles as serious hobby for over 40 years. If I have a gun, mine or anybody else and its won't shoot, I try to find out why. I'll pour a lead plug, mic it and lap the barrel etc, I'll check headspace, I'll lap lugs etc. I've seen a lot of guns over the years that would not shoot at first, but with a little bit of work make good shooters.

Yes, I remember this vividly. It seemed like I was shooting a flintlock rifle with the delay in the trigger before you get a bang.

I had Whitworth Express 375 H&H. The barreled action was made in Yugoslavia and finished in Manchester. Beautiful rifle.

A buddy of mine in Corpus many years ago had a Whitworth in 375 H&H. It shot a ragged hole at 100 yards. Was my first time to shoot a large bore, I had no idea a larger bore could be that accurate. Since then I've played with quite a few big bores over the years.

I have a 458 Lott I built on a Mauser action thats is accurate with iron sights, but not sure how accurate at 100 yds. I prefer not to shoot a 458 Lott off the bench, ya might say it will knock the snot out of your nose. Same or worse for my 416 Rigby, it will hurt ya if it gets a chance.

I love to hand my 458 Lott to a city boy deer hunter and say hey try this!!!!

I have a new in the box Interarms Mauser action from the 60's If I had to guess how old it is. I bought at the Tulsa gun show about15 years ago. Will build something custom on it one of these days. Seems like I have a 3 postion safety I intended to put on it shomewhere. I have another commerical Mauser action new on the box somewhere around here with intergal bases, I need to find it too. I have two barreled actions in my safe I plan to build rifle on one of these days. One is a 300 H&H the other is 338 Asquare.

I have a Savage 99 in 284 win I need to finish too. Too many gun project and not enough time with work, Deer and Hog hunting, 4x4 trucks, Bow hutning, Dirt bikes, and my favorite TRACTORS. I love my 50 HP Mahindra Tractor!!!!

I seem to spend more time playing with Cell trail cams than anything, they are fun too.

The 338-06 A-Square is one of my favorite calibers.

I need to do something with this 338 ASquare, have nice Mauser barreled action, three position Safety with a beautiful bolt handle a buddy of mine did for me. I have brasss, dies everything. I even have a really nice piece of English Walnut for the stock. When we built this new house 3 years back, I never set my stock making vices and reloading stuff back up. Can't remember what kind of barrel I used on this, its been in the gun safe for years.

I should send the gun out, get it blued and buy a Houge stock for now and shoot it. I can always build a stock down the road. I should have rigged up this Asquare instead of the 325 WSM I bought last week. I don't need anymore new guns, Can't believe I bought another.

Now I want a Creedmoor and 270 WSM too!!!

I have 4 very accurate Mauser's presently, 308, 270, 7x57 and 35 Whelen. All will put three shots under an inch with good reloads. The Whelen surprised me for sure. The 270 will do better than an inch. That said they are a bit heavy and I did replace the triggers with Timney's. Barrels are ER Shaw, Douglas and Adams&Bennet. All four have been hunted hard and taken many game animals. I have seen fit to semi retire them in favor of a tanger M77 in 270and a M7 Remington in 7-08. The 35 Whelen has it's own niche so it stays on the line.

I had a Zastava Mini-Mauser M85 chambered in 7.63x39. It was a great rifle. The stock was walnut, but without much of a finish so I applied Tru-Oil on it. It was the lightest hunting rifle I ever carried. The targets on the bench were at 100-yards with cheap steel cased ammo. With my handloads, it was very accurate. The Mini was small for a big guy like me, I tried to find a standard M85 chambered in 308 Win, but none were coming into the country at the time.

I've seen similar results at some vintage matches myself. These days I feel that there are fewer gunsmiths that know how to work on them, resulting in more sub-par rifles. Just a theory.

My best friend's grandad built a couple hundred custom rifles from Mauser and 1903 actions during the '60s to the '90s. I've personally shot over a dozen of his rifles and they all shot great. He knew what he was doing. On many he used NOS military barrels and they are some of the best shooters (especially a couple 7x57mm and 6.5x55mm). My dad had him build a .284 Win. and a 6.5mm-06 and both are great rifles.