Bringing New Life To An Old Sporting Rifle

Like so many surplus military rifles, this 1917-dated, large-ring Mauser 98 action was “sporterized” in 1967 by an unknown gunsmith with the addition of a 26" sporter-profile barrel chambered for the .30-’06 Sprg. cartridge. A military trigger guard, possibly the original for the rifle, was separated from its floorplate and recontoured, giving the gun a blind magazine. A two-position wing safety replaced the original military safety, and the bolt was jeweled.

Many thousands of these rifles exist, and their transformation into handy sporting guns at the time was understandable. New actions were expensive and surplus military Mauser actions were cheap. Today, these guns have virtually no collector value, as most of their original military components are gone. Through the years, this rifle has suffered the ravages of age and use; the stock had softened below the action, probably from over-oiling, and cracked. When the front action screw snapped in two during a routine zeroing session, it became clear that this old sporter needed a refresh.

Externally, the old Mauser 98 looked fine, but the stock was in poor shape and needed some help.

The centerpiece of this refurbishment came from Boyds, which offers Mauser 98 action fits for its line of rifle stocks. In keeping with the gun’s classic 1960s aesthetic, I selected the Heritage walnut stock profiled for the No. 1 sporter barrel currently on the gun. I elected to go with the Claro XX walnut upgrade on the stock for a bit more character, along with the classic polymer tip, grip cap and white-line spacers, but a simple walnut stock would have been a sufficient upgrade, too, and that can be had for $233.

It’s worth noting that the Boyds stock does not come with a cutout for the bolt handle, due to the many variations out there, so it will have to be cut by hand. I found that to be a perfectly doable DIY job, but it could also be done easily by a gunsmith. Boyds stocks are also inletted to accept the original Mauser 98 military floorplate, so I went to Sarco, Inc. and ordered up a milled Mauser 98 trigger guard assembly ($35). Some quality time in the garage workshop with files and sandpaper eliminated the rough World War II-era patina and provided a canvas for a new finish that matched the high-gloss bluing on the barrel and action. As I don’t have a hot-bluing setup, I sought a suitable alternative, and at the recommendation of David Labrozzi, this magazine’s art director, I tried Van’s Instant Gun Blue, a cold-bluing solution ($13). While not as durable as traditional bluing, I was pleasantly surprised with the results. As the milled floorplate needed new action screws and capture screws, I turned to MidwayUSA and ordered a set that fit well ($15).

The Tasco optic and mount that had come with the rifle had seen better days, and the original screws had been pretty well marred by someone in the past using an ill-fitting screwdriver—time for a replacement. I turned to Warne Scope Mounts and got the company’s Maxima M960M Zero MOA Base for unaltered Mauser 98 actions ($90), and it fit perfectly. A new set of Burris Optics Zee Weaver-pattern 1" rings ($28) for the now-discontinued Trijicon 3-9X AccuPower scope I had kicking around completed the setup, and this old Mauser is now ready for the deer woods once again.