Review: Mauser M98 Magnum Expert

When you carry a Mauser M98 Magnum on a hunt, it is impossible to ignore the history, craftsmanship, quality and beauty of the rifle. They become part of the hunt. Shooting the Mauser to take game is as much a prize as the game itself.

Much of the appeal is the fact that the M98 is the original. The Mauser Model 1898 is the grandfather of modern bolt-action rifles.

Mauser M98 Magnum review — A fine hunting rifle, the Mauser M98 has been refined to this level over its 125-year history

That statement is a simplification of the whole evolution of firearms but true enough. The current M98 is a subtle evolution of the original, built by Mauser in Germany to a design that’s close enough to the first that no one can seriously deny its authenticity.

That’s 125 years of history, some of it rocky and large chunks of it not written by Mauser, but no other rifle can boast such a long and respected life.

I won’t repeat the whole timeline here but I will make a brief mention of the Magnum’s place in the story. Mauser didn’t make an action this large until 1911 when upmarket English rifle maker Rigby specifically asked for it. Mauser obliged but production of the magnum action ended when WWII started. It took until 2015 for it to be re-introduced.

The Magnum action is both larger and stronger than the standard M98 action, its double square-bridge design putting a lot more metal in the critical parts of the receiver to cope not just with the .375 H&H Magnum cartridge but the more potent .416 Rigby and .450 Rigby as well.

It has the refined gas-diversion features that made the Model 98 such a safe rifle if cases ruptured, and it has the third locking lug at the rear of the bolt body to back up the two main ones at the front.

It has the large, non-rotating claw extractor that provides the much-lauded controlled round feeding that guarantees clean chambering of every round. No dangerous-game hunter would be without it.

The functionality of the M98 Magnum goes deep. The bolt is slick in its raceways, moving quickly back and forth to cycle rounds for follow-up shots, and the five-round magazine capacity in .375 H&H is outstanding — not that I can readily imagine a situation where they’d all be needed, but you never know. Capacity is four rounds in .416 and .450.

The staggered-row magazine is quick to load by thumbing cartridges into the top, and releasing the floorplate empties it.

The safety lever is a slender thing that swings back horizontally, well clear of any optics you might mount. Set it forward to fire, of course, and come back one notch to put it on safe with the bolt unlocked, then back again to lock the bolt.

The square bridges have scope mounting bases milled into them, designed to accept tip-off mounts such as those on the test rifle. You can remove the scope in seconds to use the open sights and, all being equal, remount the scope and have the same point of impact.

You wouldn’t want anything as crass as a Picatinny rail on your M98 Magnum, would you?

All M98 Magnums have safari express sights with a fixed leaf for 50m and two folding ones for 100 and 150m, and a front bead to suit. They are soldered to the barrel, not screwed. The screws you see are for adjustments: front for elevation and rear for windage.

The Zeiss Conquest 1.1-6×24 scope mounted here is an ideal example of how a big-game magnum like this should be scoped. From the end of the muzzle out to 250 metres, there isn’t much you couldn’t guarantee hitting if it’s worth a .375 bullet.

The Mauser will do everything possible to ensure you succeed; it’s a very accurate rifle, judging by my experience, and its design facilities accurate shooting. I should add that I spent three days hunting in the field with this rifle, away from home, and didn’t get anywhere near a range to properly test accuracy (or do any measuring etc — you’ve probably noticed this is not a technical review) but I did sight in from a solid bench at a target 60m away. Using the limited amount of PPU factory ammunition I had, it put three shots into just over 1 MOA and I think parallax at that distance may have mucked it up a bit.

The single-stage trigger is lovely and crisp. The factory sets it at about 1.5kg, and that’s how it felt on this rifle. Spot on.

Then there’s the recoil, which may be on the heavy side because it’s a .375 H&H but it’s superbly managed by the rifle’s balance and weight — 4.6kg bare, and just over 5kg scoped like this. The 62cm (24.5”) barrel is a heavier profile, shifting mass forward a little so that the rifle swings and points very cooperatively.

The straight cut of the stock directs most of the recoil straight back into your shoulder with relatively little muzzle jump and no tendency for the comb to jolt your cheekbone. There’s some torsion, rolling the rifle to the left when you shoot, but it’s not excessive. Overall, it’s pleasant to shoot by magnum standards.

You’re less likely to whack yourself with the scope under recoil because Mauser gives the Magnum a long butt. Its length of pull is 375mm (14¾”), 10mm more than the M98 Standard and 20-30mm longer than your average rifle. Being 183cm (6’), I was comfortable with it.

The slim fore-end lets you get a firm grasp with your forward hand. The pistol grip has a very gentle curve in the traditional fashion and is much more suitable for a big game rifle than the more vertical grips that are so common now.

The stock holds the action very tightly, too. As well as the two horizontal cross-bolts bracing the Magnum, the flat-bottomed action sits on bedding and the action screws run through pillars.

All these things go a long way to ensuring the Mauser will shoot straight. There’s no reason to think this wouldn’t be the most accurate magnum-size variant of the Model 98 because it is made with modern technology and techniques with the tightest tolerances of them all.

The modernity extends to the black finish on the metalwork, which is plasma-nitrided and blued to give a higher level of corrosion protection. The nitriding process also provides a much harder surface. It’s a good looking finish, tending more matte than satin. The black is not a dark shade. The bolt body and its straight handle, by contrast, are polished.

The grade 5 Turkish walnut of the stock is beautiful. Mauser stains it darker than its original tone and applies a matte oiled finish. The elegant figure in the walnut comes out clearly. The black forend tip sets it off well, as does the choice of a black recoil pad.

The fit of the stock to the action is flawless.

It was a privilege to carry the Mauser for a few days as I hunted, and I kept pausing to admire its details and the enduring purity of Paul Mauser’s 125-year-old design. I didn’t find out what it’s like to use the Mauser on dangerous game in the African bush, nor even manage buffalo or scrub bulls here. But I did my best to capture a hint of how the big rifle might perform.

Stalking fallow in the rut, I set myself the task of getting as close as possible. The successful shot was taken quickly and under pressure, well within 50m. With seconds to act, I brought the Mauser to my shoulder, found my eye immediately behind the crosshair, took aim and touched the trigger.

The buck dropped dead on the spot, felled by a bullet that went exactly where I’d intended it to.

In the end, that’s what’s really counts: the Mauser M98 Magnum performs brilliantly. You shouldn’t expect anything less but you never quite know until you’ve proved it.

Mauser has worked with all that history, craftsmanship, quality and beauty, retaining the tradition and reputation it has earned, and put it into a superbly engineered and dependable hunting rifle.

It might cost a premium but you get it all.