Need info for an old small ring Mauser.

[Noel]

Just bought this :
http://www.simpsonltd.com/product_info.php?products_id=5222&osCsid=442fc73a9e1a893acfa751d163e1eb39

It is a 98 Mauser action, but a small ring. One fellow I was speaking to mentioned it could possibly be a pre-WWI production rifle. He also mentioned because of it's age it is possible the receiver is not tempered the same as later ones.
Can anyone confirm this or steer me in a direction to find out more regarding the possibility?

Can it be taken to a Smith for hardness testing? It will be used for hunting and I would like to know what kind of potential I have to work with as compared to my Husky 146 I had a couple years ago.

Thanks,
Noel

 

[SuperCub]

Nice rifle! ...... Any NDT company in your neck of the woods would offer hardness testing. We do it here all the time. One of those digital Accutip units would be the best/easiest route.



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[Nechako]

That sure is a pretty little rifle.

You could try the AR forums, they might be able to help.

I don't know if this will help you but IIRC an old small ring 98 action is safe if the barrel has a small ring shank but you can run into problems with a small ring action and large ring barrel shank.

I might be wrong, can anyone confirm this?

Richard

 

[Noel]

A friend emailed me this from the Jouster site:

Quote:
The pre-98 Mausers were of quite low carbon steel, something like 1020 or 1030 (the first number indicates carbon steel, the second the percentage of an alloy, and the last two being the carbon content in hundredths of a percent).

As in other guns and tools where iron or low carbon steel was used, they were case hardened to make them surface hard and very wear resistant. 98 Mausers had a higher carbon content, with a steel equivalent to 1035. Again they were case hardened, but had enough carbon to allow some core hardening.

The Germans never bothered to use high carbon steel, feeling that a relatively soft core would yield under high pressure rather than crack, while the case hardening would stand up to normal wear. But there was a difference in the steel between the earlier rifles and the Model 98. (Of course, not all of the many makers of Mauser rifles adhered to the German specs; Spanish rifles tended to be lower carbon and have a lower hardness rating.)

Hardness testing of any rifle that has been case hardened is misleading unless the core is tested and not just the surface. But generally, German rifles are not nearly as hard as U.S. rifles; the M1 and NS M1903's run up to 65RC, as opposed to the K.98k average of around 35. (Any one who has ever tried to drill and tap those U.S. rifles has found out the difference the hard way, with emphasis on the word "hard.")

None of this, of course, has the slightest relationship to the finish or workmanship of the rifles. So one cannot really look at even the finest older Mauser, like a Model 1891 Argentine, and determine how strong the action is or how well it will hold up.
Unquote

I have BHN/RC test equipment here but it sounds like it will be of little help if the receiver is only case hardened. From what I gather here all 98 actions were stronger than earlier designs.