Mauser Model 98 “Model 70” safety

[Cree]

I’ve posted a few times about a Model 98 Rick Steinhour at Xtreme Rifle Works twisted a 358 barrel on for me, and while I’ve had the gun for over a year and rust blued it, set it in an older CZ sporter stock, recut the checkering and all; my wife, for Christmas, “gave” me the money to have a Model 70-style safety installed on the shroud. This was a two-position Wisner version, and Mike Martens, of Hermann, Missouri, fitted the shroud.

I just wanted to share that Mr. Martens did a very nice job, very quickly, and for what I considered to be a very nominal fee ($125). If you’re thinking about safety options with a scoped ‘98, and the Timney/Buehler style isn’t giving you heart palpitations (and it doesn’t, not for the prices they’re selling them for!), I’d recommend you inquire with him.

I don’t have any financial reason to recommend him, and I don’t think I can include a link, but searching Gunbroker for “Wisner safety” ought to let you find him. At any rate, like I said, the man did a nice job, the safety works, and I did have to do some tweaking to the cocking piece, but certainly not a lot - took the bolt down two times, chamfered the edge of the cocking piece, and the safety works well and is, well, safe. Bump test, sear test, trigger pulled and resets, all that.

I think many of us can agree the three position is preferable, but those are, to me, getting into some serious coin, and while I surely use the safeties on all my guns, safe gun handling is the “real” safety. This two position seems well built and Mr. Martens was a pleasure to deal with. That, to me, was a nice change from some of the “customer service” we often deal with these days.

Hope this helps someone-

Cree

[eastbank]

i have a three position winchester style safety on a swedish FN 98 comerical action in 8mm, it was on the rifle when i bought it and it works as well as those on my pre-64 md 70,s. would i pay the extra money for one, no.

[Uncle Grinch]

My gunsmith has added the two position side swing safety on 6 of my Sporter Mausers including my Interarms MkX that he has right now. It is much less expensive and functions well.

[Nobade]

Glad to hear you like the Wisener safety. I have only ever used the Gentry ones which I am very fond of.

[deltaenterprizes]

I have BOLD triggers with Remington style safeties on my Mausers!
That is what I am comfortable with because they are like my 700s!

[Cree]

Deltaenterprizes - I thought long and hard about going that direction, either the Bold or the Timney trigger and safety setup, then notch the stock for the side safety, but - sort of like you - I’ve got a few Model 70s, so I figured the swing-style safety would be a good “gamble.” There are a lot of good options out there, and the truth is, I’d love to find an “old school” Mauser safety some enterprising gunsmith had custom-built back in the good old days. I’m, sure there are plenty in junk drawers all over the world, but it’s been a long time since I’ve seen one for sale, and if I had to rely on my metal working skills? Oh dear…. This gun would never be done.

I lucked into a very old modified Mauser trigger, where the front had been welded up and extended, then a set screw installed to limit sear engagement. I’ve got that on my 98 in 22-250 and love it. An honest 2.75 pounds and a little bit of cool history no one will see, but, like all these old guns, you’re always shooting with the ghosts of the men who owned and carried them before, so it’s pretty cool.

[405grain]

The heyday of sporterizing Mauser's has sadly faded into the past. There are still parts and accessories available, but nothing like there was a dozen or so years ago. I never liked the aftermarket triggers with the built in safety. These only block the shooter from pulling the trigger, and don't actually hold the firing pin back. I usually used the Buelher style safeties on Mauser's. A couple of years after they'd been discontinued I found a new/old stock Bold trigger for sale. I put this one on a 98 Mauser in 7.65x53 and it works so well that I wish that I could find more of them. I like the Bold trigger better than the Timney Marksman (which is also discontinued). That's saying much because the Timney trigger is excellent.

On two small ring sporters that I've built I installed a single stage ball trigger. This was inspired by a post from LAGS. If you do a search on this site for "ball trigger" you might be able to find his original thread on how to do this modification. It makes a trigger that's much smoother and more crisp than the standard Mauser trigger.

[Rapier]

The M-70 Win style safety on a 98 Mauser is indeed a good modification, especially if you have M-70 Win guns already.