donmarkey Posted February 14, 2006 Report Share Posted February 14, 2006 Any ideas on lightening a 98 mauser. I found some real light hinged triggerguards that weigh only 3.5 oz compared to a 1909 assembly that weighs 10 oz. I think that would be lighter than a blind mag. I don't like the looks of fluted barrels, so was thinks of milling flats in a med contour barrel to give it that half octagon look. I also was thinking of millling grooves in the action under the wood line. I've hollowed stocks before will good success. Any thoughts. -Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorgansBoss Posted February 14, 2006 Report Share Posted February 14, 2006 This may sound stupid but what is the intended purpose... other than making a light rifle? I mean, what caliber are you intending this for? All that steel is there for a reason - stiffness and strength. Taking it away could be OK for some calibers but could also be counter-productive for others. I've honey combed the mag box before but doubt the weight savings is worth the work unless you're interested in trimming fractions of an ounce to make a specific weight class for competition. Beyond that there are aluminum floor plates, cutting off and replacing the guard bow, honey combing the bottom metal, alloy triggers, bolt shrouds, knobs, etc... A hollowed synthetic stock is probably the easiest weight saver though and takes nothing from receiver strength. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roscoedoh Posted February 14, 2006 Report Share Posted February 14, 2006 Don, Look into a Choate stock. It's a lightweight synthetic that's got a blind magazine built in. And, if it will allow it, get a Krieger or Lilja No. 2 or 2.5 contour barrel. On a hunting rifle flutes are more for looks that for function; just start out with the lightest barrel contour you can find. Next, in terms of the receiver: try and find some pictures of a G33/40. Here's a pair from another forum but they'll get the point across: See the lightening cut along the base? These also have a hollowed bolthandle. This amounts to a savings of a few onces of weight. And from all my research, this about all you can do to a receiver to lighten it. Next up, try aluminum scope mounts and rings and a fixed power scope. And voila! That's about as light as I know how to make a Mauser. What caliber where you thinking of making? Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z1r Posted February 14, 2006 Report Share Posted February 14, 2006 Easiest way is to buy a Satterlee action. A titanium SR 98. Only 1lb 14 oz complete. Jason pretty much outlined many of the easy tricks. A hollow bolt knob saves an ounce. All those lightening cuts maybe a couple more. Easiest way I've found is a lighter barrel. A thinner contour, or if you want a thicker contour then make it shorter. My .308 only weighs 7.25 lbs with scope. I used alu weaver bases and the weaver scope only weighs 8 oz. I also used alu rings. That alone saved lots of weight. Claro stocks weigh less than english. A blind magazine would easily shed the most weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
724wd Posted February 14, 2006 Report Share Posted February 14, 2006 wouldn't a half octogon barrel be square? 8/2=4... there is a guy here in spokane that was known for triangle barrels. pretty neat looking, intergral vented rib like a shotgun... i think i still have the business card somewhere, if you're interested. couple that with a lighweight synthetic stock and some creative lightening of the action (bolt handle, lightweight bottom metal, titanium firing pin, etc... ) you could get down there in weight, but like the others i have to ask, why? lighter guns have more felt recoil, or at least "sharper" recoil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donmarkey Posted February 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2006 Easiest way is to buy a Satterlee action. A titanium SR 98. Only 1lb 14 oz complete. Jason pretty much outlined many of the easy tricks. A hollow bolt knob saves an ounce. All those lightening cuts maybe a couple more. Easiest way I've found is a lighter barrel. A thinner contour, or if you want a thicker contour then make it shorter. My .308 only weighs 7.25 lbs with scope. I used alu weaver bases and the weaver scope only weighs 8 oz. I also used alu rings. That alone saved lots of weight. Claro stocks weigh less than english. A blind magazine would easily shed the most weight. I found a 3.5 oz triggerguard complete with floorplate, do you think a blind mag would be lighter? MB, a tracking rifle, carry many miles, shoot very little. Jason, .270 win. -Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest Posted February 14, 2006 Report Share Posted February 14, 2006 Richard's has a new laminate stock that they claim is 3/4 to 1 lb lighter than a regular laminate stock. Has anyone tried one of these? Might be fun. A featherweight barrel chopped to 20" always helps. David Gentry makes what he claims is one of the lightest bases on the market (it's also steel, looks very "minimalist"). Compact scopes are fairly light as well. I'm very happy with my Leupold 3X9 Compact. I'd try the polymer sling swivels and a nylon web sling rather than the heavy leather type. Hollowing out the butstock with a deep, bored hole will reduce some weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimro Posted February 14, 2006 Report Share Posted February 14, 2006 Don, A blind magazine is built into the stock, depending on the weight of the stock that automatically saves you 3.5 ounces. If the stock you want isn't set up for a blind magazine, 3.5 oz bottom metal sounds great. Either way, if you really want a lightweight stalking rifle, I'd look elsewhere than a milsurp Mauser 98 action as a starting point. Jimro Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donmarkey Posted February 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2006 wouldn't a half octogon barrel be square? 8/2=4... there is a guy here in spokane that was known for triangle barrels. pretty neat looking, intergral vented rib like a shotgun... i think i still have the business card somewhere, if you're interested. couple that with a lighweight synthetic stock and some creative lightening of the action (bolt handle, lightweight bottom metal, titanium firing pin, etc... ) you could get down there in weight, but like the others i have to ask, why? lighter guns have more felt recoil, or at least "sharper" recoil. I meant half oct and half round, oct at the base, a friend of mine up north has a custom win 70 made like this. I own a weatherby .30-378 and don't mind the recoil, so that isn't an issue. I know a surplus 98 action isn't the best for a lightweight gun and was thinking of getting a rem 700 in titanium. But building it is the fun part. Over half the guns I build either get sold or rebuilt into something else down the line. -Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthernGuns Posted February 14, 2006 Report Share Posted February 14, 2006 I saw where someone had taken their magazine well and drilled holes through the sides in an organized manner. You would want to do this after you bedded it, but it could loose quite a few ounces. To help with weight, I chose to go with a 20" sporter contoured 243 Win for one of my rifles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z1r Posted February 14, 2006 Report Share Posted February 14, 2006 I saw where someone had taken their magazine well and drilled holes through the sides in an organized manner. You would want to do this after you bedded it, but it could loose quite a few ounces. To help with weight, I chose to go with a 20" sporter contoured 243 Win for one of my rifles. One of the folks that did this posted that he would never do it again. Way too little weight savings for the amount of work involved. I believe he saved less than an ounce. If you want a light weight rifle specifically a hunting rifle then look to the barrel. My .30-06 weighs a bit more than my .308 but it has a 25.5" barrel vs the 21"on the .308. A thinner barrel allows this. Your standard #3 contour will end up at about 8.5 lbs scoped. By reducing the length or thickness or both you can shed over a lb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest_Nelsdou_* Posted February 15, 2006 Report Share Posted February 15, 2006 I'll echo what the others have said about the Choate stock. I once put a 98 barreled action into one and it was a pleasure to carry in the field. But to pound more than a box of heavy bullet 8mm's in one sitting at the range got old pretty quick. Can't imagine wanting to go much lighter than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Horsefly Posted February 15, 2006 Report Share Posted February 15, 2006 I've got 2 rifles in Choate stocks,and put another around my brothers action,and the inletting was very tight on all 3 requiring quite a bit of fitting,and to me that's a very good thing.They're real fine stocks for what they're made for,and oh so light.I don't like the recoil pad,and all 3 had a pucker in it when the screws were tightened down,and someday I'm going to make an aluminum triggerguard for them.I love a good piece of wood the most,and to me guns with fancy wood are pieces of art work.A rifle in a syn. stock is a tool made to be durable,and there is room for both in my gun closet.I went rolling down a mountain in New Mexico once with my nearly new Husky .308,and every flip I was trying to save my gun,and I did.After the dust cleared,I couldn't believe I didn't have a mark on it.If I had a syn. stocked gun that day,I might have tried to save myself some cuts and bruises.I've stayed in camp before when it was drizzling rain just because I wouldn't take my pretty gun out in it.A lightweight,short barrel,maybe a Parkerized finish,easy to carry gun is nice to have around.Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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