ORIGINAL: okcmco

My Grandfather was a gunsmith. He claimed that the Argentine Mauser (model 1909) was the strongest of the millitary action. These were made (I believe) By Deutsche Waffen or DWM). My Grandfather made me a custom 1909 in .300 win mag. It has been a great gun after 1000 rounds. Still going strong.
Most of the DWM mausers are great.
The swedes are wonderful Mausers. Since they were used in sweden, and sweden NEVER used corrosive primers. So thier barrels are usually in great shape. They were made well and finished better than any other millitary mauser. But if you like to build up custom rifles, then stick with the 6.5x55 caliber that the swedes came in. These actions are not quite as strong as the 98, 1909, etc. Of course the 6.5x55 swede is a GREAT HUNTING cartridge.
You can also find Commercial mausers out there. Alot of them are made in Belgium by FN (Fabrique Nacional). These are wonderful guns and can be found in 30 06 often. Of course they can be a little pricey. You can find commercial Mauser actions pretty easily. Get a Shotgun news and scour the adds. These Belgian Commercial mausers are my favorite!
There are a few companies making guns on the Zastava (Yugoslav, I think) and CZ (Czech) mausers. I have a CZ and it is a fine gun. You can pick one up for about 100 bucks.
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