Mauser Rifle Repair vs Restock

[Sika98k]

A European (Norwegian) gunsmith commented to me some years ago that it was not uncommon for sporterised 98s to crack behind the rear tang.
He advised a bit of epoxy in behind the tang.
Thinking about it most sporterised 98s lack the recoil lug and don’t have a laminated stock like a lot of issue 98s do/did.

 

[bruce moulds]

if you put bedding material in the barrel channel, put 2 layers of gaffer tape on the barrel first.
when this is removed, the barrel will then float as it should do.
bruce.

 

[fourfive8]

If you decide to “free float” the barrel, make sure it is free floated under all shooting rest conditions. If the stock occasionally touches the barrel with variable rest or grip conditions, there will certainly be random “fliers” on target.

 

[WebleyGreene455]

A European (Norwegian) gunsmith commented to me some years ago that it was not uncommon for sporterised 98s to crack behind the rear tang.
He advised a bit of epoxy in behind the tang.
Thinking about it most sporterised 98s lack the recoil lug and don’t have a laminated stock like a lot of issue 98s do/did.

As I said, I suspect the lack of the recoil lug is a prime candidate for why there's a crack. Walnut sporter stock vs laminate mil-issue stock might also be a factor but since most of the ones I've seen don't have the lug either?

 

[bruce moulds]

Webley,
if the crack is behind the rear tang, it is not the fault of not having a crossbolt behind the recoil lug with that cartridge.
it is the fault of incorrect bedding at rear of rear tang and/or rear takedown screw.
fail to do this and a stock will split there even with a recoil lug crossbolt.
this is because the wood springs on recoil.
this is also why bedding should be stress free.
the action must be able to return to the same battery for each shot.
it is the reason the rear tang screw is never tightened as much as the front screw - the rear tang must be free to slide and return to battery for sameness.
it is why bedding should not be tight.
in fact a well bedded action should be able to fall out of the stock when unscrewed.
if the wood under the rear tang is oil soaked, you can drill it out to the diameter of the tang, and replace the wood with epoxy.
doing this as part one of a bedding operation allows you to wrap the rear tang screw with tape, which when removed gives clearance on the screw.
use release agent on the tape.
drill holes sideways in the big hole to give more grip to the epoxy.
treat the new hole with hydrogen peroxide to degrease/deoil it so the epoxy can bond to the wood.
you are in fact making an epoxy pillar.
behind this a cross pin should be glued in.
a piece of nice dowell can look acceptable and works well.
another crossbolt between the trigger and magazine will minimize springing.
this done, epoxy behind the recoil lug should be all you need.
bruce.

 

[fourfive8]

Here's the bedding I use on all my hunting rifles. I just shot this rifle yesterday- I like to take the big gun out occasionally so I don't forget how to handle recoil. While not a 7x57, the bedding/stock work principles would be the same.

This is a Montana 99 with late New Haven Win 70 stock. Chambered in 450 Watts and has an 8 groove Lilja barrel. Leupold 2.5 fixed power with 4.9" eye relief and turned 90 deg left to as much as possible completely clear loading/ejection port of any obstruction. Mounted with dual dovetail mounts. It is alum. pillar bedded and full length bedded using Miles Gilbert compound with ceramic micro beads. Both recoil lugs are relieved on bottom, sides and front and have full contact to the rear. The barrel is not free floated. Two targets shot at 50 yards using same load but shot 4 1/2 years apart with no changes to rifle. The bottom metal is also bedded. It's important there is no contact between the mag box and the stock and that the action screws have relief within the pillars.

The targets shot at 50 yards from bench. 1st target 4-21-2015, 5 shots, chronographed. Target yesterday 10-8-2019, 3 shots. A system that, to me, has always shown stability and consistency. When bedded this way, the action screws are indexed to the bottom metal with witness marks so rifle can be transported as a break-down in a shorter case and once re-assembled the POI doesn't change when test fired at destination. Has worked many times and every time I've tried it for traveling. All this work was DIY, except I had a friend with a lathe and mill cut the chamber and mill the dovetail for the barrel recoil lug.

 

[rookhawk]

Hello all,

I'm hoping to get started on a custom, or semi-custom, rifle build before too long once I've purchased the donor gun. What I've got in mind is converting a worn-out, inexpensive Mauser G.98 from 9x57mm to 9.3x62mm. Along with the rebarrel and bolt modification, the stock (which I'm more than happy to keep using if I can) would need to be bedded for the octagonal-to-round barrel I want to replace the existing round one with. There is one issue, though. The stock has a crack behind the receiver tang. How big or bad, I don't know (buying this rifle online) but my question is this:

Should I repair the cracked stock if possible and hopefully save some $$ or would I be better off just up and replacing the stock?

I'd also appreciate any suggestions y'all might have for someone to do the rifle work I need.

Kindest regards,
~~W.G.455

(EDIT: If this should go under Gunsmithing would someone be so kind as to move it please, if at all possible?)

We didn't see the stock to render a proper opinion, but generally tang cracks are bad and going from a mild 9x57 to a powerful 9.3x62 adds additional risk.

The good news is that there is a sea of used high quality custom mauser stocks in this world. You can buy a $2500 stock for $300-$400 used and put $150 into bedding and additional octagon barrel inletting and call it a day.

 

[Shootist43]

fourfive8, can I send you a couple of rifles to bed? The only catch is that you would have to guarantee that they would shoot like that.

 

[WebleyGreene455]

We didn't see the stock to render a proper opinion, but generally tang cracks are bad and going from a mild 9x57 to a powerful 9.3x62 adds additional risk.

The good news is that there is a sea of used high quality custom mauser stocks in this world. You can buy a $2500 stock for $300-$400 used and put $150 into bedding and additional octagon barrel inletting and call it a day.

That'd be fine with me if I could find the right one. But I honestly wouldn't know where to start looking.

 

[Sika98k]

Take a look at eGun.de. It’s in German but there’s frequently a few stocks up for sale. “Mauser schaft” is what you’re looking for.

 

[C.W. Richter]

Nearly 12 yrs ago to the day, I was in Zimbabwe on safari for plains game with my .264-300 WSM (HS Precision synthetic/AL-bedded stock-super accurate) and .338-06 A-Sq (Walnut stock-full length bedding-super accurate) but the PH suggested I use his battered, old .375 HH Steyr-Mannlicher ST (great action, super accurate, a little top-heavy w/ the heavy barrel, and a cracked stock-as you describe!) on the bigger stuff. After a night by the fire using a cordless Dremel tool (1/2 way between a dental drill & real drill!) and a 1/8" diam. drill bit, we cross-drilled the hairline crack and inserted stout steel baling wire dipped in Gorilla glue. The crack was cleaned, also filled with Gorilla glue, and eventually filled with walnut repair putty. He was so happy with the result (after we re-sighted it, and bagged a blue wildebeest, huge livingstone's eland, and an old male giraffe,) he later gifted it to me (and I completely re-did the rifle-re-bluing, refinished the entire stock, worked out handloads perfect for the gun and took it back to Africa.) After that trip someone who had worked as a Dr. during the earlier civil war paid me a royal sum for the thing, as he'd used same for personal defense back then...Your gun IS repairable, BUT IF YOU'D LIKE A DECENT FAJEN STOCK MADE FOR AN INTERARMS X SPORTERIZED M98 MAUSER, I HAVE ONE. IT WAS USED IN A .300 WIN MAG WHICH SHOULD BE THE SAME LONG ACTION AS BOTH 9MM YOU MENTION. IT WAS FIBERGLASS BEDDED (action-only), SO YOU MAY GET LUCKY WITH YOUR RIG. $250 PLUS SHIPPING AND IT'S YOURS. NO CRACKS!! PM ME IF INTERESTED AND I'LL TAKE SOME PICS...GOOD LUCK! (attached pic is one of the few I could find of the refurbished Steyr a few years later in Namibia)

 

[perttime]

The only thing I have on splitting stocks is a Jack Lott article in Gun Digest 1984: The Bolt Action Stopper Stock.

Apparently, sporterized Mausers often have little wood between trigger and magazine, and the stock sides are thin in that area. The stock bends, or, "accordions", under recoil, first splitting between trigger and magazine, and then the split spreads into the grip area. The magazine can also be fitted too tight against the wood behind it, causing constant pressure, which isn't good. His solution consisted of embedding bolts and nuts, with eboxy, in the web between trigger and magazine - and behind the trigger. Mainly just hardware store items of suitable length and diameter. They don't have to be visible from the outside.

Obviously, it all has to be bedded so that the action is not moving in the stock.

 

[Kawshik Rahman]

Synthetic?

View attachment 308688


View attachment 308689

Walnut all the way!

Pheroze
That stock is excellent. Is it French Walnut wood or American Walnut wood ?

 

[Pheroze]

Pheroze
That stock is excellent. Is it French Walnut wood or American Walnut wood ?

Thanks! Its English walnut

 

[Kawshik Rahman]

WebleyGreene455
I would personally replace the stock if l were you. It is going to be a new gun , and l feel that it should be given a new stock to start it's new life if money is not a problem.
In regards to splitting wooden stocks , based on what l have seen , the old pattern model 70 rifles from Winchester ( with the mauser type extracting claw device ) were notorious for having their wood stocks crack . I have personally held one example myself ( calibrated for magnum .375 bore ). The reason is because , they had a single recoil lug pin. Later models ( without the extracting claw device ) had a second recoil lug pin to reduce strain on the stock . The example which l have held belongs to the grandfather of a forum member here and he had bedded the stock with fiber- glass later on , some time in 1967.
May l ask what kind of terrain you wish to hunt in ? Synthetic stocks can be very durable indeed , however l am an old soul and my fondness lies with the traditional French and American walnut wood stocks .

 

[WebleyGreene455]

WebleyGreene455
I would personally replace the stock if l were you. It is going to be a new gun , and l feel that it should be given a new stock to start it's new life if money is not a problem.
In regards to splitting wooden stocks , based on what l have seen , the old pattern model 70 rifles from Winchester ( with the mauser type extracting claw device ) were notorious for having their wood stocks crack . I have personally held one example myself ( calibrated for magnum .375 bore ). The reason is because , they had a single recoil lug pin. Later models ( without the extracting claw device ) had a second recoil lug pin to reduce strain on the stock . The example which l have held belongs to the grandfather of a forum member here and he had bedded the stock with fiber- glass later on , some time in 1967.
May l ask what kind of terrain you wish to hunt in ? Synthetic stocks can be very durable indeed , however l am an old soul and my fondness lies with the traditional French and American walnut wood stocks .

Hi Kawshik. Well, I don't really know what terrain. It'd vary with whatever state/country and game I was after, so... I suppose a little of everything bar arctic tundra or actual desert, or full jungle. But a synthetic stock on this rifle is not even a consideration, and while I'm fine with a new stock, I still want to see if repair would be OK.

 

[Kawshik Rahman]

W

Hi Kawshik. Well, I don't really know what terrain. It'd vary with whatever state/country and game I was after, so... I suppose a little of everything bar arctic tundra or actual desert, or full jungle. But a synthetic stock on this rifle is not even a consideration, and while I'm fine with a new stock, I still want to see if repair would be OK.

WebleyGreene455
Alright. Best of luck with the repair. I prefer Walnut wood stocks over synthetic stocks myself , as well.

 

[perttime]

I can totally relate to the wish to repair the existing stock, especially if it fits you well. If a replacement becomes necessary, I'd take a look at laminated wood stocks. Very rugged, and with a good choice of colors, they can be quite attractive. Obviously the "figure" will be more regular than a single piece of wood.

Photo reduced from the Sako website:

 

[WebleyGreene455]

Hello everyone. Unfortunately the rifle I intended to purchase has been sold, so the project is off. Thanks for your help and suggestions anyway.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Hello everyone. Unfortunately the rifle I intended to purchase has been sold, so the project is off. Thanks for your help and suggestions anyway.

@WebleyGreene455
For future reference you can look at Boyds stocks in laminate or walnut for under 150 dollars depending on the add 9ns you want like recoil pad or checking .
Bob