Greetings all:
The Mauser 98 custom you see in the pictures is a project I have been planning for years. I built up the money, found the perfect action, finalized what I wanted, picked a caliber, etc. Last spring I dropped off the military barreled action to a gunsmith I had used several times. He did good work on the small jobs I gave him. He has a record of custom builds on both Mauser and Rem 700 actions. His bluing work is amazing and everything pointed to the perfect situation.
However, after more money than an off the rack rifle, and trusting my irreplaceable 1940 date Mauser action to the gunsmith, I am left with a nice wall piece but nothing close to a trustworthy or even usable rifle.
In terms of looks and set up the rifle is generally above the charts, Douglas barrel in .25-06, open express sights, customized Boyd's Double X Claro Walnut stock and Timney trigger.
Upon inspection at home, breaking it down and looking at the parts and attempting to work the trigger and dry fire, what I was left with is a true dud.
The issues are as follows:
1.) The Weaver low mounts were clearly not the right ones for the job (his selection not mine). He simply cut the rear mount to fit so the bolt could be worked when the scope is off but putting a scope on reveals that the base of the rings spills over the cut and stops the bolt from being worked. So the only solution is to use the rifle without scope or replace the mounts (more drilling and tapping already drilled steel)
2.) For some reason he placed two small washers between the trigger structures and the action base
3.) The thumb safety does not fully click on or off when seated in the wood. I suspect due to the two washers. It fully works when out of the wood. I prefer the original safety's or low rear safety's on Mauser due to their strength and the ability to open the bolt safely and remove rounds without any cocking piece slippage.
4.) Rather than replace the bolt shroud he simply cut of the safety smoothed it out and then blued over it. Luckily I have a backup bolt shroud, firing pin, safety, spring assembly
5.) If the rifle is fired the bolt jams so tightly that it cannot be opened without removing the stock. Again I suspect the small washers but I am guessing it might also be a variety of shortcuts that were taken.
My question is whether or not this project is worth salvaging? I have a lot of hard earned money invested in the project (10 years of scratching and saving). The rifle was built to replicate a classic sporter for a future pronghorn hunt out West. I picked .25-06 for use not only on pronghorn but woodchucks, deer, coyotes, etc. as well. Essentially a one-stop rifle. I do not trust it and will not fire it in its current condition. The oil is still in the barrel. I haven't even bothered to clear that out. Essentially it has been placed away in a spare room for the last few months until I had time to take pictures and post on here.
I am located in West Virginia but travel back and forth to Pennsylvania regularly (I'm a Pittsburgh area native). I am looking for someone in either place who know's what they are doing to salvage this if they can. If not I guess I will sell it whole or for parts, take the hit in terms of money, and re-invest in an off the shelf.
Please contact me for images. For some reason they will not upload either as embedded images or attachments
Thanks in advance everyone,
Eric
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