Mauser 98 action

[Slater]

I read an article that said that the Mauser 98 repesents the pinnacle of bolt action technology, and hasn't been improved much upon in the last 100 years or so (it began before heavier-than-air flight and continues in the Space Age). Do many modern sporting/hunting rifles employ the basic Mauser design or is there some better overall action out there?

[1006587]

Ruger M77 sure looks a lot like a Mauser. So does the new old pre '64 style Winchester. Don't know if they are controlled feed or not.

[bushka]

most are bastardized mausers although the SIG
line of boltguns may have some modern improvements.

[1006587]

CZ-USA is a faithful copy of the Mauser action. Check them out at JG Sales: CZ at JG Sales (http://www.shooterstore.com/acb/showprod.cfm?&DID=111&User_ID=1836701&st=8262&st2=-148894297&st3=559136605&CATID=631&ObjectGroup_ID=1809)

[ByronF]

The Ruger does copy some features of the Mauser action. I'd say there are many more Mauser inspired actions than just the Ruger, although others may be more of a departure from the original. Examine some old turn of the century military bolt guns such as the Mosin Nagant, Enfield, Carcano, etc. Only the Mauser was deemed worthy of duplication. I'd say virtually ALL modern commercial bolt guns are copies of the Mauser to some degree. NONE are copies of the Mosin Nagant, Enfield, or Carcano, and borrow virtually nothing from these action designs. I think that fact is the most convincing testament to the superiority of the K98 action.

Until I became interested in the old military bolt guns I didn't appreciate how copied the Mauser principles were: bolt cocks when lifted, zig-zag stacked box magazine, 3-pos firing pin blocking safety, controlled feed, large front ring with substantial rear bridge, turned down bolt, etc. While the Rem 700 has some notable departures from the Mauser, one could hardly associate it with any other old action type. It's probably just the most advanced of the lineage with its spring loaded ejector, recessed bolt face, integral extractor, improved trigger, etc (as recent lawsuits suggest, they should have copied the safety as well).

Byron

[hsp223]

The 98 Mauser is the pinnacle of bolt action designed guns. The problem that modern bolt rifle companies have is that it is difficult to manufacture a true 98 Mauser that will be cheap enough to sell and make a profit, hense the so called improvements such as push feed, trigger saftey, etc. There are a few companies that make a true 98 action and they are expensive or use a lot of cheap labor to get costs down. There have been bonified improvements such as the side mounted safty of the pre-64 mod 70 and better scope mounting designs, but remember Paul Mauser designed the 98 as a battle rifle and not a hunting rifle. Soldiers don't use scopes for the most part and the gun must be fool proof as well, as many of them may never have handled a gun before, hense the controled round feed. This will not allow rounds to fall out of the gun when loading in a tight situation (dangerous game hunters demand this) and it prevents double loading. The three position saftey is marvelous. All the way to the right the saftey locks the bolt so that it can't be opened and the cocking piece is blocked, straight up and the safety blocks the cocking piece but the bolt can be opened up (this allows unloading the rifle in a safe manor) and to the left she is ready for firing. Most modern companies use a safety that blocks the trigger or maybe the sear but the fireing pin can be jarred and an accidental discharge could happen. I can say this, everything on a Mauser is there for a reason, nothing is left out and nothing extra is added. Also an added safety feature is the way it was case hardened. The metal on the outside surface (including the inner rails and shoulders etc)is hard while the inside is ductile and soft. This means when a catostrophic failure occures the receiver will puff up and maybe crack while a newer receiver will most assuridly explode and break into many pieces. Like the English side by side and over and under shotguns, the Mauser bolt gun was perfected well over 100 yrs ago. The only additions or alterations to the design are to cut manufacturing costs, generate interest for sales or adapt the design for a particular use.