1939 Mauser k98F1 'restomod'

[Scarrow]

This isn't a vintage sniper rifle, but some of you might find it interesting:

I had a surplus 1939 Oberndorf Mauser that was just sitting in the safe, never really shot it much, so I decided to scope it and make it a bit more practical for hunting and target shooting without straying too far from the original look.

It's got the original 98 laminate stock, which was blonde and not well oiled.
I steamed the dings out of it, sanded, varnished and oiled it.
Put a lace-on cheek rest on it and installed a pachmayr pad on the butt.
The rifle had a .30-06 conversion done by 'Kongsberg Vaapenfabrik' in the 50's for use in the norwegian army (hence the F1 designation).
I drilled and tapped the receiver for a 20 MOA EGW rail and put a Zeiss Victory 2,5-10x50 on it in some cheap rings.
The trigger is an excellent match trigger from Kongsberg which I took from a Mauser M67 target rifle. That's where I got the bent bolt handle as well.

I have duracoated the metal flat black after I took these pictures, but here's what I ended up with:

 

[McCrazy]

Looks great. I like how the scope resembles the original K98 sniper scopes in profile at a glance. I would have to get a leather cheekrest instead of the tactical black nylon one though.

 

[Former0302]

How does she shoot?

 

[Scarrow]

Thank you for the comments!

About the cheek rest, I have been looking around for something a bit less 'tactical', any suggestion appreciated.
This was meant to be a dirt cheap project, meaning I used stuff I had laying around, so there's always room for improvement.
I bought a Tubb Speed Lock firing pin and spring for it today, which is supposed to help lock time considerably compared to the original setup.

I haven't really shot any groups yet with the 'new' trigger and butt pad, but with the metal butt and original trigger, shooting offhand at a triangular 12x14" gong at 280m wasn't much of a challenge for it. After I found a good load, I've mostly shot 168 gr Nosler CC through it.

 

[ScharfshutzeK98]

That is a beautiful stock, look into a leather cheekpad in an oxblood stain. I think it would complement things well.