A number of their hunting rifles were chambered in Norma Magnums.....that doesn't say rear locking lugs to me. They did design a military rifle of sorts, used by some border/ranger type services....perhaps that is the one with rear lugs?
What is so great about Mauser rifles to make used ones so $$$?
- Thread starter cath8r
- Start date
A number of their hunting rifles were chambered in Norma Magnums.....that doesn't say rear locking lugs to me. They did design a military rifle of sorts, used by some border/ranger type services....perhaps that is the one with rear lugs?
Some of my 'old reworked military rifles '(Husqvarna) have machining ,fit and finish rivalling or better than many 'modern' production rifles...and about the best value for your money..I have bought several from Tradeex,excellent barrels in very good condition.You can spend a lot more ,but you might not get more...
You can often get a very fine Parker Hale sporting rifle built on a Mauser 98 action at a reasonable price( got to chuckle at the snotty nosed self appointed purists showing their ignorance when they call them 'bubba'd)
You can often get a very fine Parker Hale sporting rifle built on a Mauser 98 action at a reasonable price( got to chuckle at the snotty nosed self appointed purists showing their ignorance when they call them 'bubba'd)
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He is clearly asking more than that, and knowing Mausers history, popularity, designs and innovation is part of understanding who and what Mauser the company is.
The Mauser name has a certain panache to it in some peoples eyes, as you can probably tell by this thread. That said, so does a 57 Chevy and Special K. If someone likes it and decides to 'build' on one then you can get to 3500$ quickly. Rebarrel, restock, pay a gunsmith 80-150$s an hour and you can get an expensive rifle in no time. If it is a built custom, than truthfully the Mauser name means nothing, other than the panache (I have a Mauser, oooooh check it out, you have a Remmy 700....ewwwwww). You can achieve the same results and costs on any makers action (ie chevy, ford, VW), but brand loyalty and fixation mean alot to some people.
If its an original gun, say a commercial hunting model rather than some beat up military surplus klunker, then again you have a 'legend' affect, like pre-64 Winchesters, where people will pay extra for the name and legend. Alot of US gun writers hyped the old Mausers as the rifle to be had when going on safari etc, and 70 years of that has created this mythical status, as well as the never ending CRF debate.
Mauser has a huge 'legend' attached to it, and the 98 more so. Most people who will blather on about Mauser being the epitome of rifles cant name 5 other Mauser models, or tell you why a 98 is better than a 95, or 66 for example. In reality you arent missing anything, other than as with all consumer products, some take on a legendary status where people will pay more for the name, than they will for the exact same product if it had someone elses name on it.
The basic Mauser-designed action cross the spectrum from the lower end right to the stratosphere. What you are paying for in the expensive ones is the time and expertise of the person who worked on the rifle. If you compare a Ruger with a Dakota, Darcy Echols, Holland & Holland it usually doesn't take long to understand the difference and why some are more expensive than others.
The S&L M54J, M60, M65 and M68 really are rear locking actions.
Model 54J was, indeed, designed for the 7X61S&H and S&L also made a large rear locking rifle (same as M60) for Roy Weatherby for several years when he introduced his .378WM before he introduced his Mk V actions,
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BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
As with the '03 Springfield (which itself was such a blatant ripoff of the M98 Mauser that the US had to pay Mauser royalties) the actions were cheap and plentiful which lended themselves to the custom trade. The quality of custom jobs is, of course, extremely variable. But some American customs were done extremely well (and continue to be). In England, Mauser supplied Rigby with actions (and eventually they supplied everyone) and numerous very well known makers built best-quality rifles (many made to order which was standard for the day) using those barreled actions.
When they're good, they're really really good. When they're ####ty, well, like anything...####ty is ####ty.
There are also a boatload of factory rifles using everything from pure M98s to modified models by various manufacturers. And, as already pointed out, most modern bolt rifles owe their design to the M98 Mauser.
- Location
- Western Manitoba
Hmm. If I look at my true 98 Mausers (FN, DOT, DOU), I notice that the rim behind the bolt face is undercut, and the extractor has a matching dovetail. If a case was stuck, the mauser system would actually cam the extractor tighter against the cartridge case rim on extraction - I don't think the other "controlled round" modern rifles have that detail.
So, one has to wonder, given above comments on this thread - yes, mausers were amazing design for the time and the technology - still today a premium. I have really wondered about the mysteque though - I have probably fired 25 rounds at game and 2,000 rounds in practice from a push-feed Model 70 XTR Winchester 308 - never had a jam or double feed. I have to ask what a mauser would have done better?? The story I hear is about the rifle jamming when faced with a charging elephant, buffalo, lion, tiger, rabid skunk or whatever - why would that be?? If the user fired a couple thousand rounds through the rifle, why would it jam that once?? I read of the African professional hunters describing clients who ship rifles with no scopes and never fired , then ask guide to mount scope and sight in gun - those type of "shootists" probably could even get a mauser to fail - I'm thinking I had read once of the number of rich British young'uns sent home in boxes from Africa and India even though equipped with Rigby's (which were fine mausers!)
Actually, both the 308 Norma Magnum and the 358 Norma Magnum were first chambered in S&L rifles that had rear locking lugs. The 7X61 Sharps and Hart was also chambered by them using their rear lug actions.
Ted
BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
Let me know when you sell your Mausers. If you look at them the same as everything else there should be some good deals...priced the same as Post64 M70s and Sears-Roebuck branded rifles.
Not being able to discern the difference between a Zastava and a Rigby is hardly something to be proud of.
For those that understand no explanation is necessary. For those that don't no explanation will suffice.
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Now that's quotable.
