Q: It is common knowledge that the actions on which Mauser sporting rifles were built were all of the Model 98 pattern with two locking lugs at the head of the bolt and an auxiliary safety lug at the root of the bolt.
These genuine Mauser 98 actions came in a number of different lengths. Can you tell me what they were?
Oscar Schneider
A: The standard Model 98 military and sporting action has an overall length from the front of the receiver ring to the rear of the tang of just over 22cm (8¾”). It was used for cartridges like the 8×57 and .30-06.
It came in various modifications with double-set and standard military single-stage trigger, with square bridge, and with two types of hinged floor plates.
It was also fitted with a special side safety on occasion.
Another action, sometimes known as the Model 1912, is 6mm (¼”) shorter and usually, but not always, has a small receiver ring. This is the action used particularly for the 7x57mm cartridge and is similar to the Czech VZ-33 action or G-33/40 made after the German occupation.
Actions of this type were used to some extent by Yugoslavia and Mexico.
Often advertised as ‘short’ actions, they were definitely not genuine Waffenfabrik Mauser Kurz short actions.
The genuine short action has an overall length of a little over 20cm (8”) or ½” shorter than the 7mm action and ¾” shorter than the standard action.
This little ‘K’ action was strictly made by the Mauser Werke for the 6.5mm Short (6.5×54), the 8mm Short (8x51mm) and the American .250/3000 Savage and .35 Remington cartridges.
The Mauser magnum action had an overall length of around 23cm (9”). Diameter of the receiver ring is exactly the same and except for the longer receiver, bolt, floorplate etc, the action was identical to the regular Model 98.
So far as I know, the magnum actions were always made with a square bridge and a hinged floorplate, with the release button in the forward part of the trigger guard, but modern copies offer more variations.
0 Comments