BARREL: Next up was the issue of barrel length. 291/2 inches is way too long to be portable in the deer woods, and with such a mild round loss of velocity was of no major concern. I figure I'll lose about 75 fps with the barrel cut to 22 inches, and that length eliminates about 1/2 pound of extra weight.

The barrel was cut down to 22.5 inches with a hacksaw, and finished in a lathe with a recessed crown. The recessed end helps protect the muzzle from damage, should one decide to act the Bonehead and bump the muzzle against a hard object, like a rock. If the crown is not correctly finished, square to the bore and burr free, it won't shoot. Take the time and have your smith do it right!

REAR SIGHT: As this rifle will employ a scope, and the front sight has already been cut off, the rear sight is a least unnecessary, and possibly will interfere with the scope. This rifle's rear sight is mounted on a band that is soldered to the barrel. One must remove the set screw and heat the band enough to melt the solder, but not enough to affect the critical heat treat of the receiver. As can be seen here, not a difficult process.

If ya wanna make an omelet...... Here, some of the assorted parts, needed or not, are displayed in a kind of "half way there" picture. All metal work except the bolt assembly will be bead blasted and black oxide finished. This includes the sling swivels, bottom metal and butt plate. This rifle has numerous wear marks and handling dings, and I don't want to spend the money on this rifle to have it polished and reblued. Besides, it's going to be a working rifle. I have used black oxide on other rifles and find it uniformly black and amazingly weather resistant. I'll go for the pretty blue highly polished version when I build the M98 in 7x57 someday.

SCOPE MOUNT: I chose Redfield one-piece base and rings for this rifle. A one-piece base helps ensure proper scope alignment to the bore. If the mounts aren't indexed to the centerline of the receiver, you'll never get acceptable accuracy. These rifles were built by various manufacturers over several decades, and you have to account for variance in the dimensions between the receiver ring and rear bridge. The best way to do this is to index the base from the bottom of the receiver, drill and tap the front holes, then drill, tap and shim the rear accordingly. This base required .030" in shims to accomplish correct alignment. Your gunsmith is best suited to accomplish this task, the receiver is usually too hard for standard drill bits and taps, and he probably has accomplished this on more rifles than a non-smith will ever shoot. This rifle will use a nice, low profile set of Burris Safari finish rings. Current scope plans call for the Redfield Tracker now employed by the 7 Mag.

TRIGGER: NEVER ALTER ANY TRIGGER YOURSELF. SEE THE WARNING AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE! The military two stage trigger, while good as they get, was not what I consider acceptable. Too, I had the scope to worry about - the original safety won't function with a scope installed. I ordered a Timney Featherweight Deluxe from Brownell's. It comes with a Remington type safety, so I could have my scope and safety too. The installation of any trigger is too complicated to explain here, follow the instructions that come with the trigger. I had to call Timney, in fact, to help with a problem particular to this rifle. Once installed however, it works beautifully, set at two pounds, it's crisp enough for precision work, yet heavy enough for the field. Here one can see the scope clearance for the bolt, as well as the Butler Creek scope caps, a required piece for any scope.

STOCK: This rifle is a classic Mauser. I might never put a synthetic stock on it if only because they aren't pretty enough. Until I can scrape up enough for a nice piece of Fajen walnut, the military stock will have to do. After the rifle was completely disassembled, the stock was thoroughly degreased and sanded to bare wood. The ejection port area and thumb notch were beveled, and the forearm cut to acceptable length. I decided to bed the front recoil lug area and rear tang - stock stability is a paramount concern for accuracy. I used JB weld for the bedding, It's rock hard and very stable, but care must be taken to ensure you apply all your bedding skills, release agents, and prayers to the bedding gods to prevent gluing your pretty Mauser to your rifle stock. A great wailing and gnashing of teeth will occur in such an event, and that's just in the first minute after you discover your error. The stock was stained a dark honey color, and finished with a polyurethane floor finish, tough, waterproof and sanded to a light satin finish. (Besides, it's what I had on the shelf) The original rear sling swivel will be used, a single swivel post works nicely in the front. The brass disc, indicating the bore condition, will be reinstalled, in keeping with the military heritage of this rifle. The original steel butt plate will also be used.