Mark II low safety for Mauser

[Danth]

Have a low Mark II safety installed on a Mauser 98. When the lever is pushed all the way up the safety functions fine. When the lever is partially lifted up and the trigger is pulled, the gun will fire when the lever is returned to the fire position. Is this normal?

[waksupi]

It may be normal for those safeties, but are not safe. I consider them a poor safety, and will no longer put them on a rifle. The nylon bushing wears quickly, making them unsafe in my opinion. Although they aren't cheap, I put Winchester style three position safeties on Mausers. You are better off with a military safety than the Mark II.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

I have to agree with Waksupi (not that it is usually difficult, mind you!) that the Mk. II safety is not a very good choice. I have them installed on several of my rifles, jobs done lots of years ago, and my experience has sometimes been similar to yours. Frankly, I don't trust them, and if carrying one of these rifles afield I'll either keep the chamber empty until I'm ready to shoot, or treat the firearm as if it has no safety--which is to be extremely cautious of where the muzzle is pointed at all times. As to whether or not they are supposed to work as per your description, my take on it is that if installed properly, when the safety lever is all the way up, yes you should be able to pull the trigger and have the firing pin remain immobile and not fire when the safety is pushed off. But since this safety works by interposing a curved/tapered piece of steel between the cocking piece and bolt sleeve by the nature of the design it can't be completely and safely held in one location because as the lever is dropped the thickness becomes less allowing the cocking piece to move forward slightly and changing its relationship to the trigger and sear. The curve/taper is necessary for mechanical advantage to force the cocking piece back as the lever is raised, so the situation really can't be remedied. Another problem and weakness of this design of safety is that when installed originally a slot must be cut into the bolt sleeve to keep the safety from backing out of the rear of the sleeve when the gun is fired. Some gunsmiths not familiar with the installation will cut away the rear of the sleeve to accommodate the safety and not make a slot, and in some instances the very small piece of steel remaining between the rear of the slot and the rear of the sleeve will break off in use, perhaps due to the metal's characteristics having been changed by the heat of cutting the slot. So, all in all, I can not recommend them, although like I said, I have several of them. The Winchester Mod. 70-type of 3 position safety is a good one, but requires some special tooling to install (available from Brownell's) and is best done by a practicing gunsmith unless you intend to do at least several of them. As for the use of the original military safety, they can be used quite satisfactorily if the scope is mounted a little higher than normal, or in some instances the safety's wing can be cut down to about half of its original height and still work.

[Texas by God]

The old Numrich one that put the wing on the left side was my favorite. But I have a Mk 2 on my Mauser. It works for now just fine but I'll keep an eye on it.

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[LAGS]

If you put the safety in the Safe position, then pull the trigger, the cam on the safety should hold the cocking piece far enough to the rear to allow the sear to come back up and re- engage.
No different than the original safety
One way to check proper fit, is to see that when the safety is placed in the safe position, that it moves the cocking piece to the rear about 1/32" minimum.
Some persons , in order to get a Smooth engaging safety, Over polish the bevel on the safety.
And some of the aftermarket safeties, are not made out of really hard steel.
They wear Quickly.
The second issue is where the installer Bevels the edge of the cocking piece too much to try yo get the safety to operate smoother.
That can prevent the cocking piece from being camed far enough to the rear, to actually clear the sear engagement for the trigger to reset.
I have used the MK2 Style Safety on my rifles for years and have never had the issues you discribed.
And I have installed probably 50 on rifles, and have probably fixed at least that many on Bubba'ed Sporters I purchased cheap to rebuild into a better rifle.
If installed correctly, the Mk2 style is good, and most people can't afford the Better , three position swing safety when they are trying to build a Budget Minded Sporter.
I too am a fan of the Low Scope Safety that has the leaver on the Left Side of the Bolt Sleeve.
Those dont come with the Nylon friction Bushing, so I install my own by drilling a hole part way thru the pivot shaft and using a short piece of Weed Eater Line for the friction piece. (the,Orange colored stuff .096 dia. )
That Friction Bushing is in there ONLY to keep the safety from Flopping in the Firing Position.
It has Nothing to do with the safeties engagement or function when in the Safe position.
I also convert the Original Mauser Safety to work on the right side and be only Two Position, plus sometimes extend them where they are easier to work

[David2011]

For a right handed shooter I like to use the left hand version of the safety that LAGS shows. That allows operation of the safety without taking the hand away from the wrist of the stock.

[map55b]

What LAGS says. Its not fitted correctly.

[Texas by God]

I wonder if anyone still makes the type I'm referring to. It was a left side wing with grooves on the bottom of the thumb piece. It has a little arm to hold it in place in the fire position rather than slotting the shroud. I'm 90% sure Numrich sold it. I'll see if I can dig up a pic.

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[Texas by God]

Like mentioned before, if your cocking piece is over beveled it will do what you are saying. Map55b helped me through the same thing recently when I installed a Timney on my 1916 Spanish. The cure was a new 100 yr old cocking piece- less than $10.

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[map55b]

Like this one TX by God? Can't recall where I got it. This 98 has basically been done for 20 years waiting for a barrel and stock.

214143

214144

[Texas by God]

There it is. I like those. Thanks!

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[Texas by God]

There it is. I like those. Thanks!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using TapatalkEbey has them and suspiciously they ship from West Hurley, New York.

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[LAGS]

One thing the O P posted.
He said he put the safety in the halfway position , between Safe and fire , then pulled the trigger.
These are TWO position Safeties.
There is No Cheating.
In the middle position, the cocking piece is sitting on the Cam, Not the Flat spot in the safety position.
That for sure means that the cocking piece is not retracted far enough to allow the sear to re-engage.
Use the safety as it was designed, and you wont have problems if it is FIT correctly.
Two positions, One ON ,and the other Off.

The safety that are on the left were either advertised as a Siamese Mauser design or an 1909 Argentine design.
Both calls are a Liberal interpretation, But that is the Cheapest and most desirable one on the market.
And like I said, it can be improved at home with simple tools.

I only have two of the left mounted ones left that are not on a rifle.
But I have 5 of the Dayton Mk2 ,and two commercial ones that I dont know who made them and 4 of the ones that I converted the original safety to Two Position right side configuration.
Plus one Sniper style Aftermarket one from Numrich.

[KCSO]

I use them but I replace the plastic with a heavy spring. I fit the spring with a brass end and have to really compress them to slide them in but that way they last and work much better.

[LAGS]

@ KCSO
I did the spring thing on the friction Piece before.
And I did the same modification on the bolt sleeve to make the installation of the spring and plunger or the straight Nylon Piece easier to install.
I filed a small notch in the hole or slot of the bolt sleeve to allow the nylon piece to slide into when installing the safety into the bolt sleeve.
The inside diameter of the bolt sleeve is larger than the outside lip where you have to feed everything, so the slot keeps you from fighting with everything to get the safety into the bolt sleeve.
I did the same thing when I used the spring and nylon plunger.

[Texas by God]

I had the left hand one on my 30-40 Siamese Mauser and my BRNO K98 8mm. My first and second custom rifles that I did all work but the barreling on. Good times.