Shultz & Larsen Victory vs custom with an FN Mauser Action

BRACES of Bristol - Sauer 100 XTA Stainless Package
Ronin said:
I think the parts / component prices are about right though getting an action from Mayfair may prove problematic

I’m still waiting on enquiries I made several years ago when I was asked to quote for a build in 275 Rigby using one of their actions

There is a German company who also manufacture 98 receivers - begins with P but can’t recall their exact name

You would also need to factor in finishing and profit margin for the builder

You are unlikely to get a blacked and finished barrelled action / trigger complete without adding another 1 to 2 thousand

Judging the prices of what I see used rofles are being advertised at from some “named” builders who can commend their price due to popularity

Factor in 2-3 k for a decent piece of wood and the stockers fees too

If you have the money

Buy a genuine Mauser 98 either new or used and travel to view it

They come up in Europe more than here by the way (used)

I’ve realised as I type I’m spending your money - but that is what I would do if I were in the market for a classic stalking rifle with a decent budget

The 7x57 rifle I built using the Borden action was a one off using a Chromoly Timberline action - unique and never to be repeated.
Click to expand...

Prechtl M98 Standardsystem gefertigt nach den Originalzeichungen von Paul Mauser.

Mauser Systeme für Jagdwaffen Sportwaffen Gewehre kaufen Repetierbüchse Waffenausrüstung
www.prechtl-waffen.de www.prechtl-waffen.de

There are also a few American makers of Mauser type actions.

In the past many guns were built on Brno actions. You also have Zastavas - a bit cheap and nasty, but the old Whitworth rifles were built on these and they were not bad rifles.
 
There is a actually also a hybrid option to these two possibilities, ie Mauser vs S and L.
Those are the S and L M98s. These rifles are built post ww2 on seized german M98 actions but with original S and L Otterup barrels and they were made by S and L in their old factory in Otterup, Fyn.

Now Denmark was invaded in 1940, so i reckon chances are quite good that some of the seized rifles/actions were made pre war, or fairly early on during it, and thus were probably fairly well made and finished vs later in the war, where the quality standards might have been lowered a bit.
I also doubt that S and L themselves would have chosen to use actions that they didnt believe were of quite decent to good quality, before putting their name on it and using resources of their own to fit them with quality barrels and carrying out labor on building the rifles.

Now I have one of these rifles, in 6.5x57, but i have yet to shoot it, so i cant comment on it's accuracy and precision just it. It came with a 6x42 diatal scope, with a german claw scope mount and zeiss rail on it and it has a very narrow but nice wood stock and a 24 inch barrel of, i think, a bit heavier than sporting conture. But it's not a heavy rifle even then.
I found it on gunfinder.de and the seller was a gunsmith, so i felt quite safe that the rifle was in good working order. There might be more of those around tbh, and the one i bought doesnt look like it has seen a lot of use tbh.

So if a S and L barrel and gun smithing works combined with a M98 action is of interest, there is such a thing out there. 👍
 
First you’d have to find a good FN 98, ideally C ring not H ring, and find some argy 1909 bottom metal to replace the Alu. That’s possibly 1-2 years of searching, maybe more. You might even have to buy complete rifles and strip them for parts. Say £600 ish, argy bottom metal likely needs to come from US.

Needs a decent trigger, say £300, and a 2 or 3 side safety milling and fitting into the bolt shroud, not a ‘recknagel’ job £250 ish. FN stocks/browning/early Sako, are the worst, so definitely need a restock. £?? If you buy semi inlet from the US and have finished and fitted here, say £1,500 to £2,000 ish. Full custom, could be anywhere up to £6k.
There are many mausers on par with the FN, DWM and Oberndorf’s, etc. but the FN is a touch easier to build on as it already has a lovely turned down bolt handle.

Nothing beats a Mauser based rifle.

Please don’t waste £1500 on a Parker hale 😂 It’s checkered by rigby, that’s basically it. A Parker hale in 7x57 can be found with iron sights for £250 ish and re finished. Just my opinion. The Americans would pay that because they engraved their name on the floorplate. I’d pay £750 for it personally, and that’s tops.

Mauser rifles is a ‘thing’, trust me, I took the pill years ago!

I also shoot a Schultz Larsen. The trigger isn’t very good because due to the lock time, you can’t remove the creep safely. The single stack mag in 3 round is nice and flat, but the 5 round sticks out and can be noisy. The stock is a bit bendy at the forend, and the cheek riser a bit wobbly, but they shoot great and eject beautifully.

Granite Mountain Arms also make good new Mauser actions, as do Mayfair, but there’s NO need, a good ex mil German action will do just as well.

In my view, nothing beats a nicely composed Mauser 98 7x57, but you’ll have to wait a while whilst it’s built, and pay a fair whack for it, unless you are lucky at Holts.

Or, find a nice Mauser based rifle, with a good action, and have 7x57 pre fit a lothar barrel fitted and blacked, should be doable for £500 plus the donor rifle.
 
Ronin said:
I think the parts / component prices are about right though getting an action from Mayfair may prove problematic

I’m still waiting on enquiries I made several years ago when I was asked to quote for a build in 275 Rigby using one of their actions

There is a German company who also manufacture 98 receivers - begins with P but can’t recall their exact name

You would also need to factor in finishing and profit margin for the builder

You are unlikely to get a blacked and finished barrelled action / trigger complete without adding another 1 to 2 thousand

Judging the prices of what I see used rofles are being advertised at from some “named” builders who can commend their price due to popularity

Factor in 2-3 k for a decent piece of wood and the stockers fees too

If you have the money

Buy a genuine Mauser 98 either new or used and travel to view it

They come up in Europe more than here by the way (used)

I’ve realised as I type I’m spending your money - but that is what I would do if I were in the market for a classic stalking rifle with a decent budget

The 7x57 rifle I built using the Borden action was a one off using a Chromoly Timberline action - unique and never to be repeated.
Click to expand...

I have the rifle above and it is wonderful.

It is heavy but the accuracy makes up for it.

As it has a jewel trigger, the trigger pull is very crisp and light.

I have 3 S & L rifles in 6.5x55, 300 Win Mag and lastly 375 Ruger. Great rifles but the trigger does not even begin to compare to a Jewel trigger!

The 300 Win Mag now wears a S & L synthetic thumbhole stock. The most important thing to mention about the stock is the recoil management compared to the wooden stock which is now a fraction of what it was even without a kickstop.

Currently, all 3 S & L rifles are with Steve Kershaw to see if he can improve the trigger.
 
Hanechdene said:
I have the rifle above and it is wonderful.

It is heavy but the accuracy makes up for it.

As it has a jewel trigger, the trigger pull is very crisp and light.

I have 3 S & L rifles in 6.5x55, 300 Win Mag and lastly 375 Ruger. Great rifles but the trigger does not even begin to compare to a Jewel trigger!

The 300 Win Mag now wears a S & L synthetic thumbhole stock. The most important thing to mention about the stock is the recoil management compared to the wooden stock which is now a fraction of what it was even without a kickstop.

Currently, all 3 S & L rifles are with Steve Kershaw to see if he can improve the trigger.
Click to expand...
He can’t improve the trigger. No matter how much you polish the sears and adjust the springs, it will always have that last creep factor. You can remove it by loosening the bottom front screw, but if you work the bolt fast, it will slam Fire 🔥. I have spoken with Morten Krogh from SL about this, and my disappointment with the trigger, but it is a. Issue which cannot be resolved due the the fast lock time of the SL action.
 
Hanechdene said:
It is the trigger pressure I want down to match the two rifles I have with Jewel triggers…….
Click to expand...
Therein lies the issue, you can set the rear screw (sear adjustment) to break quite clean, but you can’t set it on the cliff edge as it will slam fire if cycled fast, so you have to back it off a quarter turn. The front lower screw has to be fully turned in, or you’ll get slam fires. So once the sear is set finely and safely, you’re down to the top front screw, which is trigger pull weight - you can unscrew it all the way, but you’ll still have a heavy pull weight because of the lower front screw and spring needing a minimum bearing force to avoid small fires. Adjust the follower screw, and you’ll have a bad experience at some point, even if most of the time it cycles and locks fine at normal cycling speeds. That screw should remain fully turned in.

So, we are down to ‘where is the sear engagement that causes the slight creep, and makes a light pull impossible’ - this, I have ascertained, is the trigger to cocking piece sear. So careful stoning, or even a small reduction in sear bearing surfaces (not recommended!), can make this sears break cleaner and faster, possibly fit a light spring in the top screw housing, and between them??

Reducing sear bearing surfaces is a dangerous game though, they are set at specific levels for a reason.

I’d love to hear you come back and tell me Steve has worked his magic and your triggers are now spectacular!! And I hope you will.
 
To the OP - buy this, then start putting funds and research together for a Mauser build - Schultz & Larsen 7x57 Victory | GunTrader

But, keep in mind the slight shortcomings already noted in the SL design. That said, handle more mausers before you decide it’s for you. You fall in love with mausers from using them. To many than think mausers (98’s) are what you ‘should have’, they’re disappointed when they handle one, bolt throw is long, sloppy bolts, not smooth compared to tikkas, etc, high angle bolt lift. And so on. But those who love them, understand all aspects were designed meticulously for each of their own good reasons.

What do you currently shoot/use/have experience with?
 
triggertrix said:
To the OP - buy this, then start putting funds and research together for a Mauser build - Schultz & Larsen 7x57 Victory | GunTrader

But, keep in mind the slight shortcomings already noted in the SL design. That said, handle more mausers before you decide it’s for you. You fall in love with mausers from using them. To many than think mausers (98’s) are what you ‘should have’, they’re disappointed when they handle one, bolt throw is long, sloppy bolts, not smooth compared to tikkas, etc, high angle bolt lift. And so on. But those who love them, understand all aspects were designed meticulously for each of their own good reasons.

What do you currently shoot/use/have experience with?
Click to expand...
Yep, it could seem so. .-i didnt even know all of these things about the current S and L rifle design before this thread. 👍

Ps. Another thing to maybe note is, that i think S and L puts a 1 in 10 twist rate on their 7x57 and 7x64s. I am Not sure this matters much really, but just thought i'd mention it, as one never knows. I think the standard for the european 7mms is normally 1 in 9, right? @triggertrix ?

Here is a link to their barrel page: Piber | Schultz & Larsen
 
Yes, indeed. Too slow twist for copper in the 7x57 to get the best out of it, it will shoot, but not to its full potential.

They also need to start treating their metal work with a weather resistant coating on the synthetic models, blues is pretty for wood, but who buys a synthetic all weather rifle and wants blued metal work. ?
 
I dont think you can go far wrong with the S & L for the money tbh.Having owned a 30-06 for the last 5 years or so it's as acurate as anything you can get built imo,and I've had a custom rifle.My only gripe is the magazine beying metal can show tiny specks of rust in an instant.I like the trigger,mine is crisp and doesn,t suffer creep,as too for the mounting system,I haven't re zeroing since putting the scope on.The additional of having a quick change barell is why I bought it,but alas I'm yet to add anything else as the 06 does everything I want.There are various grades of wood as you know, but a good stocker like Michael reinbeck could cary out your requests I imagine.But maybe as is from the factory would soon grown on you,as opose to basterdizing a nice stock? Steve has one on gunutrader now which seems really good value.I'd love to get a nice wooden stock on mine but they rarely come up second hand,and for the price of a barrell I'd probably buy another barrel.
NEW VICTORY GRADE 2 SEMI-WEIGHT, £3260, CERAKOTING AND SIGHT WORK, £950, NEW ZIEGLERS, £590. THE TOTAL AT £4800.
£2200 SOUNDS GOOD TO ME. AND COMPLETE THIS RIFLE WITH AN OPTIONAL AS-NEW VICTORY SYNTHETIC STOCK FOR AN EXTRA £400 [ SHOWN IN THE IMAGES AND ON SALE ALONE FOR £450... ]
 
triggertrix said:
Yes, indeed. Too slow twist for copper in the 7x57 to get the best out of it, it will shoot, but not to its full potential.

They also need to start treating their metal work with a weather resistant coating on the synthetic models, blues is pretty for wood, but who buys a synthetic all weather rifle and wants blued metal work. ?
Click to expand...
And start making a non silly overpriced Kiplauff with a jaeger lock and their own barrels!! 🙏 i might write them about that as now that the hanael9 is no longer being made, there really is a hole in the market there imo. Also the 1 in 10 twist rate on their 7 x57 and 64 barrels is odd. I wonder why they do that:-|
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Mauser 98 early 20th century - Hunting/Sporting
2 3 4
Replies
71
Views
2K
Fosbery Holster
Fosbery Holster
Sold: Shultz & Larsen, Dakota arms or classic custom
Replies
16
Views
813
PostmanPat
P
Custom or off the shelf?
2 3
Replies
53
Views
3K
Mike1979
M
Wanted: Leupold 2 piece standard bases for Mauser FN
Replies
1
Views
63
Toots
Toots
My First London Oil Finish
2 3
Replies
55
Views
4K
pommers
P
Bleak Ridge is a family-run business, selling country clothing and workwear
Back
Top