FN Mauser

One thing I've learned rebluing guns are pits can be much worse then what's on the surface. Some times the will get worse the deeper down, those pits look about 30-40 thousands deep to me.

The past and present of these two rifles is especially germane to the subject of this ongoing discussion. Their past history is they were Mauser style military rifles, before being declared obsolete and dumped on the salvage market. Same as Nature Boy's action. The actions were salvaged and became the basis of two excellent .35 caliber hunting rifles. READ THIS AGAIN--.35 CALIBER! Just what Nature Boy says he wants. The top one having new life as a .36 Whelen Imp, the lower one being .358 Norma Magnum. (Yep, a high pressure belted magnum.) The .358 Norma Magnum is a "standard" length cartridge that fits and feeds smoothly from standard length Mauser magazines. Converting the action to feeding and extraction the magnum size case rim was simply a matter of opening the bolt face and trimming the extractor claw..(Basic gunsmithing 101) Note also that the receiver has been crested for a slicker custom profile...Purpose of these examples is that Mr. Nature Boy has a fine action that offers a tremendous range of possibilities.. .

DocRock said:

With the greatest respect to my learned colleagues, I call BS. There is nothing to suggest this action, on which I have pointed out thousands and thousands of 65k psi 270 Win rifles were built, is weak. You will of course do whatever you like with it, but don't be talked into thinking it's crap because of a little cosmetic pitting. The salt wood era is generally considered to be 1962/3 - 1973 btw.

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Are you willing to assume liability for a rifle that you have not seen? I'm not. As I hang around on Mauser forums, there are specific problems with some Mauser models which I mentioned of which FN's decision to use a cheaper way to broach the receiver for lug recesses is one. Part of it is that pitting is a concern and not all FN Mausers's pitting came from salt wood. Some of them were used in militaries of the era in places where they did not take that great of care of them. Being able to trace the serial number can give you some general idea of when and where it was made. Neither you nor I can tell how deep the pitting is from a picture and when a receiver shows marks of grinding the pits away in the specific places in the receiver where they are, I do not like it as it has removed metal in a sensitive area.

Read Kuhnhausen if you wish on Mauser actions, but his manual was written in part to help gunsmiths avoid risk and he has specific criteria on pitting and where it is ok and where it is not. Receiver locking recess area, not good depending on depth, back of the trigger area near the tang, not so much concern.

If the O/P wants a neutral opinion, there are some gunsmiths on the gunsmithing subforum that might be able to give you diagnostics to determine whether or not the pits might seriously cause issues at certain pressures.

Me, I have a low risk tolerance and try to extend that care to others unseen. From restoring old military rifles for over a decade, I have more or less had to make decision on what to buy, how to restore, and whether a particular rifle is now a part rifle or something restorable. I err on the side of safety. There are some receivers that I will not build for any high pressure cartridge because of pitting and I like my face, hands, and health.

The medical copay on an exciting event is quite a bit more than a fancy Cooper rifle so I keep my aims modest.

Your risk calculus may vary.

Offfhand said:

The past and present of these two rifles is especially germane to the subject of this ongoing discussion. Their past history is they were Mauser style military rifles, before being declared obsolete and dumped on the salvage market. Same as Nature Boy's action. The actions were salvaged and became the basis of two excellent .35 caliber hunting rifles. READ THIS AGAIN--.35 CALIBER! Just what Nature Boy says he wants. The top one having new life as a .36 Whelen Imp, the lower one being .358 Norma Magnum. (Yep, a high pressure belted magnum.) The .358 Norma Magnum is a "standard" length cartridge that fits and feeds smoothly from standard length Mauser magazines. Converting the action to feeding and extraction the magnum size case rim was simply a matter of opening the bolt face and trimming the extractor claw..(Basic gunsmithing 101) Note also that the receiver has been crested for a slicker custom profile...Purpose of these examples is that Mr. Nature Boy has a fine action that offers a tremendous range of possibilities..View attachment 898874 View attachment 898875 View attachment 898876 .

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Another .358 Norma owner ! Didn't look like you shot yours very much either
I agree .35 Whelan or 9.3x 62 if you got the 9.3 itch. The bolt face on a .35 Remington is smaller than the .473 Mauser standard BTW.

Maybe see how much it will cost to get the action tested.

This is a fine action, BUT to mount a scope as modern scopes ae mounted, you need the bolt handle either cut and welded, or forged AND you need a Winchester style safety. You also need to check the mounting holes -- do they line up? Do they match the bases you plan to use?

In general, plan to spend more on this rifle than you anticipated.

I think you could put together a decent deer rifle for $300 or so minus the action cost. Get one of those $130 barrels, $40 for a reamer numrich has stocks for $45 or a Richards micro fits stock can be $50-$100, don't know if you have use to a barrel vise and wrench. Maybe $40 for rings and bases.

boom boom said:

Are you willing to assume liability for a rifle that you have not seen?

Your risk calculus may vary.

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Yes. I have seen it. He posted photos. It has a little cosmetic pitting. There is NOTHING to suggest a Fifties-Sixties era FN action is anything other than sound.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1003589333?pid=546547

Green Mountain Barrel Mauser Series 3 35 Whelen F34 Contour 1 in 14" Twist 24" Chrome Moly in the White

It’s $93, which is such a bargain it’s almost like theft.

They also have a Shilen in 458 Win Mag for $201. You would need to open your bolt face but you could down load it considerably and still be comfortably prepared for a velociraptor invasion.

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1003651870?pid=329460

Elkins45 said:

https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1003589333?pid=546547

Green Mountain Barrel Mauser Series 3 35 Whelen F34 Contour 1 in 14" Twist 24" Chrome Moly in the White

It’s $93, which is such a bargain it’s almost like theft.

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I bought one of that series in 7x57 mm. It is a good one, even after I put the bore scope through it.

troy fairweather said:

I think you could put together a decent deer rifle for $300 or so minus the action cost. Get one of those $130 barrels, $40 for a reamer numrich has stocks for $45 or a Richards micro fits stock can be $50-$100, don't know if you have use to a barrel vise and wrench. Maybe $40 for rings and bases.

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That would be my thought as well. Numrich lists a .308Win. barrel for $130-140. Another option I would think of is to build it back with a military 7.62x51 barrel, military Mauser stock and other parts, and still scope it. In either case, it's "because I can". I don't think Nature Boy would be wanting to go that second route, but my point goes back to multiple methods for the proverbial cat skinning.

Oh, don't forget your go/no-go gauges.

Ya there are 35 Whelan barrels one nature boy likes for $130 ish at numrich. Browells has other barrels like 308-3006-25-06 and 6.5x55 for $98.

FN is noted for their good quality of work. It seems a copy of a '98 Mauser action - not perfect to inspect from a photograph - and the '98 Mauser action is the standard in bolt action rifles for strength and proper function.

Unless there are obvious weaknesses (metal removed to lighten the action or excessive rust damage) this action should handle most any cartridge that will operate normally from the magazine. Just a hint, the bolt - if not modified - is machined to fit a 7.92x57mm round (normally called 8mm Mauser). So it should fit many of the Mauser military rounds and oddly any cartridge based on .30-06 or .308 Winchester cases.

Gordon said:

Another .358 Norma owner ! Didn't look like you shot yours very much either

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Grinning here, because you got that right. I've only hunted with it one time: a noose (elg) hunt in Scandinavia. I killed a pretty nice bull, also a cow, while sitting for two days in an uncovered blind in freezing rain. I haven't shot it since.

Vern Humphrey said:

This is a fine action, BUT to mount a scope as modern scopes ae mounted, you need the bolt handle either cut and welded, or forged AND you need a Winchester style safety..

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A modern safety is nice but expensive and needs to be fitted by a gunsmith, but you can swap for a sniper's safety with the flag downward yourself.



This is my version, FN military action from 1939 in 9.3x57. Made by Husqvarna

@Nature Boy

awesome project

Looking good, I've been looking for a single shot fn. I'd do a 280ai.

Oh, I say, that’s going to be a jolly handsome rifle!