mauser 98 scope mount

[daven]

Hey folks.... Been awhile... Hope all are fine... Any of you have or have worked on a mauser 98? I have one with the Suhler claw mount on the scope. I want to put on a different scope, but can't find any uppers to use the same mount. I see 2 piece weaver rail mounts for a few bucks, but am wondering if it as simple as taking off the claw mount lowers and putting the weaver in their place... Maybe the better question would be... Are the mount holes predrilled and universal? Or an afterthought that were drilled as needed and may or may not match?

Thanks, Dave

 

[Edinburgh Rifles]

suhler tend to be custom made and fit to an application
claws can be purchased in the white and cut to fit your bases

not a fan of one piece rails myself
there are however a number of one and two peice bolt on bases available from all the usual suspects
I have a set of Leupold bolt on windage adjustable
A set of bolt on Leupold QR bases
A pair fo bolt on weaver dovetail bases (by far the most flexible solution)

they all work

hole spacing and thread pitch is a "suck it and see " affair I am afraid

some gunsmiths used metric, some imperial
some tapped bases to fit the hole
some holes are huge!

is your receiver a commericial or military action? (there is a thumb notch just in front of the bolt release on the latter)
Does it have the stripper clip hump on the front of the rear bridge? (raised hum with groove running down the front)
four holes or three?

if three and a hump then get a "unmodified" rail with three holes lots out there for very little money
If four holes measure them up and post the distances,

 

[Heym SR20]

Difficult to advise without pictures, but have a good look at the Recknagel catalogue no10. You will find lots of rings in that. They will need fitting the bases on your rifle. But this depends on a how far forward the front based and how long a scope you want to mount. The front claw mount needs to be at the front of the scope for it to lift out.

If the bases are screwed to the action action you may be lucky and they can simply be unscrewed. Suspect new bases will need to be drilled specifically to your rifle. Chances are it was made in the days before rifles were factory drilled and tapped. It may we'll be soldered on as well.

An alternative is to machine the tops of your claws flat and then drill and tap a rail to these. Options are various and depend how keen you are to keep originality. What scope is on there at the moment? May be simpler to have it serviced / cleaned and just use it.

 

[daven]

Thanks!!! I'll get it out and look... Want to stay as cheap as possible because I only paid a few bucks for the rifle... Just don't like the scope.... If I can't do it myself, I'll just sell the rifle...

 

[Muir]

I have a 98 in the same condition. A company in the US called New England Custom Gunsmiths (NECG) offers the rings and fitting service. They charge between $750 and $900 to fit a set of their rings to a rifle.~Muir

 

[8x57]

Germany is the home of Mauser. What a good German gunsmith doesn't know about the revered K98 action isn't worth knowing. Parts and accessories for the K98 action are plentiful and readily available over there. So stop fiddling around and take it to a decent German gunsmith if you want it sorted properly and not bodged around with.

Replacing the claw mounts with Weaver mounts would be like taking the engine out of a Silver Spur and replacing it with a Ford Ka engine so please just don't do it. If you don't appreciate the rifle and the mounting system please pass it on to someone who does as I am sure there will be many in Germany who do.

Added later.
If its an old clunker and only worth a few Pounds/Euros/Bucks then either just enjoy it as it is or get shot of it and buy something more suitable for what you want.

 

[ejg]

Mounting scopes on Mausers can be a disaster. I got a rifle given to almost for free because the owner failed to drill holes properly for the mounts. I use it as an open sight rifle now. Some 98 actions are so hard you can't cut a thread. etc.
Recknagel make one piece pica rails for Mausers, I have one fitted to my Argentino which works well. Some Mausers are worth keeping original most are just lousy old battle rifles. I have two but don't want another.
edi

 

[daven]

Germany is the home of Mauser. What a good German gunsmith doesn't know about the revered K98 action isn't worth knowing. Parts and accessories for the K98 action are plentiful and readily available over there. So stop fiddling around and take it to a decent German gunsmith if you want it sorted properly and not bodged around with.

Replacing the claw mounts with Weaver mounts would be like taking the engine out of a Silver Spur and replacing it with a Ford Ka engine so please just don't do it. If you don't appreciate the rifle and the mounting system please pass it on to someone who does as I am sure there will be many in Germany who do.

Added later.
If its an old clunker and only worth a few Pounds/Euros/Bucks then either just enjoy it as it is or get shot of it and buy something more suitable for what you want.

You're right.... But the gunsmith's that I have talked to are REAL proud of themselves and their work.... I'll keep watching out for someone...

 

[John Gryphon]

They charge between $750 and $900 to fit a set of their rings to a rifle.~Muir

GULP!

That seems a way over the top price as I have had same done on a `98 here I.E fitting/ re drilling correctly for basically beer money.

 

[Klenchblaize]

Conetrol yourselves!

K

 

[Muir]

GULP!

That seems a way over the top price as I have had same done on a `98 here I.E fitting/ re drilling correctly for basically beer money.

These are fitting claw mounts to existing bases. That's a scrape and try affair.~Muir

 

[daven]

These are fitting claw mounts to existing bases. That's a scrape and try affair.~Muir

Exactly!!!! One guy I went to was honest enough to tell me that it would be cheaper to buy another gun and put a scope on it than adapt a scope to this one... That's how I ended up with the BLR.... Think I'll give up the idea of changing this one and just use it as is... Nothing wrong with it other than not having the scope I think I want... I did find a picatinny rail that locks into the SEM base.... Expensive, but much cheaper than a gunsmith...

 

[Southern]

The claw mounts came in several different "standard" sizes, for large and small Mauser actions, drillings and combination guns.
From Recknagel, you will see these. Some already have the feet cut, but oversized. Basically, the scope has to be mounted to get an initial line up, then a bar or tube mounted in there for working, then that will be removed, for finer fitting, then a scope for final fitting. The work will be cutting the outside and insides of the feet to match the slots in your two bases, and the toes on the front rings, then honing them to fit snugly with no play whatsoever. So there may be a little outside work on a vertical mill, then the rest with files and hones.

 

[Muir]

They are usually inked and scraped (much like lathe beds used to be) and the process repeated, and repeated. Not an easy job. Like scrape inletting a rifle stock but infinitely more difficult. When I was in trade school we scraped small bits of metal to size, then to close fit, for grade. More than one proud student presented his work to old Angus MacGillivary for inspection only to have Angus skip it down the concrete aisle between the benches like a flat stone on a lake.~Muir