I' m in the market to purchase a 98 Mauser action to use on a custom built rifle I am thinking about. Does anyone know which manufacturer has a good reputation. I see them listed in all types of configurations and manufactured in many different countries. Is there a country of manufacture that I should stay away from? Is there a country that I should really look for when I make a purchase? I try to get all the info. I can before I make any decision. Thanks in advance for any help you can give.

Hi Superpig,

I would suppose that the " best" of the 98' s were original German manufacturer, (except for some mid to late second world war production models). After the german model 98' s I would think the Czech' s were next in quality. And some of the Yugo 98' s weren' t bad. (I own one of the Yugo 98 built for Egypt...actually called a model 48....it was built after the war on equipment originally installed by the Germans for the war effort. It has some stamped parts and the magazine rails were designed to feed " pointed" (spire or spitzer) bullets. It will not feed round nose bullets unless the feed rails are altered. I intend to keep it in it' s original condition and will not customize it! )

If I were to build a custom rifle on an original military 98.....it would probably be either German or Czech! One other current option is a barreled action from CZ. They even currently manuafacturer it in a true " Magnum" size if you so desire!

Good luck with your project!

check out the ' 98 mausers imported by Charles daly...they come with adjustable trigger, bolt handle altered, drilled and tapped for scope mounts, safety altered, hinged floorplate....and the price is less than you can rework a real ' 98.

1909 Argentine is one of the better ones according to most Gunsmiths...I have owned 2 of them and they were very well made...now if I had to do it all over again...I would buy a CZ or some other sporterized mauser that is already 90% of the way and have a gunsmith smooth it out...

Be careful that there are tons of Mauser actions out there but not every military action is a 98. The 48' s are not 98' s. They are actually a slightly shorter action than the 98. Not all Mauser actions will handle the same length or pressure cartridges.

If you' re looking for a cheap true 98 to chop up, the Yugo 98' s would be a good choice. These are true 98' s versus the Yugo 48' s and 48A' s.

Better yet, buy a Czech VZ-24 for around $75 and you have a very good action to build from. The 98/22 has the same action, but will probably cost a few bucks more for an entire rifle. ANything with ' ceska zbrovka' (CZ) or ' BRNO' stamped on it is going to be a high quality receiver.

I agree with the M48 actions- not the best quality- I' ve had two of theose rifles and both had poorly fitting partrs, and one had a very soft receiver.
A Yugo M24 or a M24/47 will give a much superior receiver.

The 1909 argies are the best, but if you were to find one in its original condition, its worth more than a remington 700 or winchester m70 so its prety much self defeating to cut one up.