What Spare Parts Do I Need?

[bert01]

hey guys, another question, im going to start using my 98 to shoot in some surplus military high power matches. my question is what spare parts do i need to keep on hand for a 98. i was thinking firing pin, fp spring, extractor collar, and maybe another trigger / sear. am i missing anything?

[gun nutty]

Dumb answer.

 

As inexpensive as these surplus rifles are, wouldn't it be easier (and cheaper) just to have a spare rifle?

 

Or is it a matter of "you start and end with the same toy"?

[bert01]

if i could get it by the wife id love to buy enough to take 3 or 4 with me but alas i only have the 1. 5 or 15 dollars here and there for spare parts is a lot easier to swallow. and i kinda like the 1 gun mentality

[Horsefly]

I can honestly say,that after all my years of messing with and shooting Mausers,I've never needed a spare part.That's why Mausers are the toughest rifles ever built.If the firing pin,spring and extractor are in good shape,I wouldn't worry about anything else.If there's something questionable,it needs to be fixed before you go to the range.It's nice to have a fishing tackle box with springs,firing pins,screws,and some basic tools in the trays,and have all the cleaning stuff in there to clean your rifle at the range,but I still can't come up with any specific parts you should have on hand.Jerry

[z1r]

Dumb answer.

 

As inexpensive as these surplus rifles are, wouldn't it be easier (and cheaper) just to have a spare rifle?

 

Or is it a matter of "you start and end with the same toy"?

 

The irony of this is that it is actually much cheaper to buy a second rifle than some spare parts.

 

Though I've never seen one break ( I have seen broken ones) a firing pin would be good to have, the spring and that's about it.

[AzRednek]

Always a good idea if you own Mausers to have a few spare extractor collors if you will be removing them for any reason. Some are nice and flexible and others seem as brittle as a dried up pretzel. I've never broke a firing pin on a 98 but have on a 91 Argie and another on a 93 or 95 Spanish mauser. Can't recall for certain which one. One broke at the range and the other at home dry firing.

 

If you shoot adjacent to scum bags like I did once, the guard screws, sling and cleaning rod took a walk but off the top of my head I can't recall needing to replace a part that broke at the shooting range on a 98.

[bilurey]

I once found myself hunting about seven miles from the nearest known sin when the magazine spring in my M98 broke! Suddenly I was hunting with a spear, which with a great deal of cussing would grudgingly accept a round in it's chamber. This was my first hunt with a single shot rifle.

 

If you own a 98 Mauser I would strongly advise that you never go out shooting without a spare magazine spring, floorplate, and follower. Remember, the 98 is a controlled feed which, without alteration, must feed from the magazine to get the cartridge rim beneath the extractor face and chambered. This requires that a follower plate, spring, and floorplate are in place.

 

Both German and American military records revealed that allowing soldiers to detatch the floorplates of their rifles during cleaning or to remove jams would occassionly result in one of these pieces being misplaced resulting in a disabled weapon. Ernest Hemingway's main character in For Whom The Bells Toll complains bitterly about trying to clean a Mauser in the dark due to the ease in misplacing one of these parts.

 

Another shooting hunt turned into a spear throwing hunt when I tripped and shoved about two inches of ice and wet dirt into the barrel in minus 10 degree weather. Sure I sat in the car with the heater going until it melted, but, that didn't push it out, neither did the military issue Pull Thru bore cleaner I always carried while hunting.

 

I guess Providence wanted me to learn my lessons the hard way so they would be well remembered. I now have a small pocket pouch I always carry with me, added a GI segmented cleaning rod and screwdriver to the lot. Have never had to use any of them, but, a couple of my friends who were sucking their thumb as they dabbed their tear stained eyes with the other hand were certainly glad I had these parts. Bill.