Gunsmithing 458 win mag Mauser 98

[JoeAdams]

I have a Mauser 458 win mag. Problem is the whole safety broke off. I need to know where I can get another safety. And I need to know what I can do to make it worth more. I got it for $350 to fix it up. It is almost complete. I just need to know what makes all the other safari rifles so much.

 

[GasLight]

Re: 458 win mag Mauser 98

typically what makes an African/Safari rifle worth more money is the wood in the stock, the high-gloss finish, the craftsmanship that goes into putting it all together. You should look through some pictures of what is actually selling for big money and you can get the idea. Some engraving, checkering. Or they were made by a big name like Holland & Holland...

 

[gunnergirl81]

Re: 458 win mag Mauser 98

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: GasLight</div><div class="ubbcode-body">typically what makes an African/Safari rifle worth more money is the wood in the stock, the high-gloss finish, the craftsmanship that goes into putting it all together. You should look through some pictures of what is actually selling for big money and you can get the idea. Some engraving, checkering. Or they were made by a big name like Holland & Holland... </div></div>

NAILED IT! The big game safari guns fetch the big bucks for the superb fit, finish, details, and the makers name. But, you can get lucky if you can find the buyer you want. Just saw a 45/70 Siamese straight stock rifle sell for $850.

 

[671RTO9513]

Re: 458 win mag Mauser 98

Quote: And I need to know what I can do to make it worth more. I got it for $350 to fix it up. It is almost complete. I just need to know what makes all the other safari rifles so much.


Well, if you're hunting things that will stomp or eat you, I guess it all depends on what your life's worth to you.

A good gunmaker who can make you a custom heavy stopping rifle that works all the time, every time ain't cheap. They don't give away top shelf sniper rifles either. And there's a reason for that.

Of course, there's plenty of people who'll work for "the love of the job". But do you want to trust your life to them?

 

[Clark]

Re: 458 win mag Mauser 98

Would the safety that broke off be a military safety, a Buehler safety, an M70 safety 2 position, an M70 safety 3 position, or a trigger safety?

Got a pic of the broken safety?

 

[MikeeBooshay]

Re: 458 win mag Mauser 98

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: MynameisJoe</div><div class="ubbcode-body">. I just need to know what makes all the other safari rifles so much.
</div></div>

They say Heym, H&H and have one more barrel on them.....LOL.

Seriously, what makes a expensive rifle is quality, or the perception of quality. The least expensive "safari grade" rifles these days are the CZ's and the M70's. Both are time proven designs, and executed by manufactors whose products are known for reliability. Your Mauser is of unknown origin, , unknown history, with a broken part. Not exactly what a guy going to spend $20-50k on a hunt is looking for. The rifle and the shells are the cheapest part of his hunt. Not going to be any price shopping on his part, no idea at all of saving a buck on the one tool that can keep him from being a dust pizza under an elephant foot.

 

[former naval person]

Re: 458 win mag Mauser 98

Lots of Mauser stuff in Brownell's catalog. If you are going to scope it you'll nee a low safety. If iron sights you could go to the Gun Parts Inc (old Numrich Arms) and get a military cocking piece/safety/bolt shroud for less money (and they are STOUT).

 

[hohlspitz]

Re: 458 win mag Mauser 98


MynameisJoe,

<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="text-decoration: underline">God is in the Detail</span></span>

- attributed to Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Gustave Flaubert but is listed as anonymous in the quote books...

You will need to fill us in on what type of safety is broken but there are several sources for Mauser safeties or trigger safeties on the internet.

If you are thinking that you can make a killing by putting a little bit of money into a $350.00 Mauser in .458 Win. Mag. by calling it a safari rifle, please take some time to do some more research and study the rifle type in much greater depth.

First and foremost, safari rifles can be just about any flavor so long as they are dependable 100% of time and accurate in the hands of the shooter. I’ve seen ‘working rifles’ used by Professional Hunters on a daily basis that look like they are in moderate shape visually but they shoot accurately each and every time he pulls the trigger. This is a tribute to the robust nature of the rifle as produced by the builder. It is meant to defend lives and harvest game on a regular basis, not sit in some display cabinet looking pretty.

A rifle chambered for a cartridge which has been used in Africa does not make it a safari rifle either.

The high rollers might take expensive rifles on safari but overspending is not a requirement at all. Dependability is. That’s where the Mauser M98 rifles came in; they were inexpensive, readily available and dependable. Designed and built like a bank vault, the Mauser has been used by PHs and hunters alike for the last century plus. Even the poorer African land owners (farmers) bought surplus Mausers for defense and to keep the larder supplied with meat.

Your rifle is apparently in moderate shape due to the imperfect surface of the metal finish and the broken safety. You really need better pictures with more light and better detail (sharper) than the single one you supplied. There is nothing wrong with a laminated stock even though it’s still plywood but it does not enhance the value of the existing rifle at all.

Unless you have the skills, adding value to this rifle will cost you money that you probably won’t recover after it’s sold.

Regards.

 

[Beef_Supreme]

Re: 458 win mag Mauser 98

I cannot add a great deal to what people here have already said, but- let's keep in mind a couple of things. One being the people that can afford to go hunt Africa on a whim, can also afford to buy a rifle that costs more than my house.
They are paying for a rifle with a stock that the wood blank for which cost somewhere between 500-1000 dollars before a chisel ever touched it. The stock isn't just chiseled out and turned into a stock, it is slowly hand crafted to fit the client. We are talking about shops that make appointments with the client just to take measurements and discuss the details on more than one occasion. It is more like a Dr's office visit than dropping by the shop to 'check it out.'
Engraving is usually a must as well as elaborate wood checkering, and all of these things are done by different craftsman. I just saw a receiver that was extremely well done and intricate, it was a year and a half wait just for the engraving. It can take years to build these guns depending on the details.
Repairing a safety on a commercial Mauser, dropping it in a laminate stock and yelling BAM! As you pump your fist rapidly at it- does not make it a safari rifle, and express rifle- or anything than a Mauser witha .458 barrel in a laminate stock, and you will be lucky to get 800-1000 out of it.
I just brokered the deal on one similar to that in a nice walnut stock with an unbroken safety for 500, so...........