98 Mauser | Which scope mount???

[68lemans462]

I recently acquired a .243 sporter with a GEW 98 large ring mauser action. The unit came with a cheapy scope and basic weaver mounts. I want to add the dove-tailed adjustable rear mount as I can get the scope far enough adjusted to the left and as such it wont even hit paper!

This action is different than the other 98 Mausers I own. I use a 1 piece mount on my other 98's, as pictured on my 1909 Modelo Argentino which has a single screw in the rear. The pictures show the differences in the rear mount. The GEW is smooth, where the 1909 has a "lip" where the rear mount sits and uses 2 screws in the rear.

I ordered a 2 piece Weaver mount which seemed to have the same screw pattern but it doesnt... The front mount fits fine, but the screw holes are different on the rear mount. It also interferes with the bolt. It says its for a "98 Mauser" http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000KOUBA0/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I really dont care whether it has a 1 or 2 piece mount, I just need to know which one to get. Can anyone point me in the right direction?? Thanks...

 

[Elkins45]

Is it possible your gun was drilled for the wide spaced mount that the JC Higgins model Mausers were drilled for? Can you measure the hole spacing?

 

[68lemans462]

Here are the hole spacing measurements... Assuming that these are different styles of action, anyone know which each is referred to as?

 

[Elkins45]

The "lip" you mention is a stripper clip guide, and your new rifle had one when it was made. It was ground off, a common modification when sporterizing military Mausers.

Those aren't the long screw holes on the rear, and I'm surprised the 2 piece mount has a different hole spacing than your gun. Are the screw holes wider or narrower than the ones in the mount? I can understand that you might need to grind off a corner of the mount to clear the bolt but the hole spacing has me stumped.

Maybe rcmodel will find this thread and tell us about a rare third option for scope bases.

 

[68lemans462]

The "lip" you mention is a stripper clip guide, and your new rifle had one when it was made. It was ground off, a common modification when sporterizing military Mausers.

OK, this is finally making some sense.... THANKS for responding. So, for those that did grind this stripper clip guide off, what was the "go-to" scope mount? I did set a one piece mount from another of my 98's on there and the rear hole didnt line up. I see several that "look" the right size in a picture, such as the one I bought, but of course none of them actually have measurements that I can verify before purchasing... :banghead:

 

[LAGS]

It looks like your rifle has the stripper guide ears or ridge milled off.
This rifle may have been drilled for the commercial Mauser 98 spacing.
I use the Leupold One Peice for my Mausers that I remove the stripper guides, but I do my own drilling and tapping and would have to check what the screw spacing differance is.
I cant read the measurements from the pictures, so if the spacing between the two screws on the front mount, and the spacing of the screws on the rear maunt can be provided, Plus the spacing from your Front Base Front hole to the Front hole on your rear base, I can see if one of the the Leupold bases with the rear side to side adjustment will work.
But if your receiver was drilled Off Center. on one of the two mounts, and you can not get the scope to center properly, you can correct the condition by shimming your base with a Tapered shim and cant one of the bases over, if you are using two peice bases.

I set up all my rifles so they are Bore Sighted with the Scope set at True Zero / Zero Adjustment on " V " blocks, not counting rotation of the dials.

I set the scope to Zero/Zero and then mount it to the rifle.
Then I bore sight it, and see how far off the crosshairs are.
I do not change the scope adjuster dials to correct the sighting.
I remove the scope mount, and add shims as needed to get the crosshairs to be bore sighted, even if it means making tapered shims to cant one of the bases.
I use Brass shim stock of different thicknesses to make the shims like .005 to .035 " thickness.
The tapered shims are brass also.
To make a tapered shim.
I make a shim say .005 thick, and then solder a peice of .005" to the bottom of one half of it, making it .005 on one side, and .010 on the other side.
I use a 1/8 hole punch to make the holes for the screws to pass thru.
It is a lot of Trial and Error, and takes some practice to get things shimmed correctly.
But then you have full adjustment of your scope in all directions, and the same method comes in really handy when setting up a scope for long range shooting.
You can build in a 100 yard bore sighting with almost all of the down adjustment used.
Then you have More UP adjustment for going out to longer ranges like 500 yards or more.
But Remember, If you are going to Shim your Bases, Start off with a scope set to Zero.

 

[LAGS]

I was able to enlarge the pictures , and it looks like the standard Weaver #46 front, and #45 rear should fit.
But the rear base was drilled further forward of standard mounting, so I need the hole spacing from the front base screws to the rear base screws , to determine if a One peice base will work on your rifle.
But with the two peice bases, you have the option of shimming the base on one side or with a tapered shim to correct a severe left to right condition.

Using the Weaver #46 & #45 bases, you sometimes do have to trim off the corner of the rear base to clear the bolt handle, especially if the Stripper Clip Bridge is still on the rifle and the base is to the rear more.

 

[morcey2]

I'm going to to make a guess that it's drilled for Weaver 45 (rear) and 46 (front) bases:

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/1477111424/weaver-top-mount-scope-base-46?cm_vc=ProductFinding

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/1477182321/weaver-top-mount-scope-base-45?cm_vc=ProductFinding

I think that the spacing on the 45 is 1/2", but I could be wrong.

I have a loose set sitting upstairs somewhere and if I find them tomorrow, I'll measure.

Matt

 

[Elkins45]

OK, this is finally making some sense.... THANKS for responding. So, for those that did grind this stripper clip guide off, what was the "go-to" scope mount? I did set a one piece mount from another of my 98's on there and the rear hole didnt line up. I see several that "look" the right size in a picture, such as the one I bought, but of course none of them actually have measurements that I can verify before purchasing... :banghead:

The reason the one piece base doesn't fit is likely because whoever drilled and tapped your gun intended to use two piece bases from the beginning and just slapped the rear base down and drilled the two holes without any regard to the spacing between front and rear. I should know because I once did the same thing with a rifle I drilled and tapped myself. It works fine with the two piece bases but a one piece wouldn't fit without redrilling either the gun or mount. BTW if you decide to go this route I highly recommend doing the drilling on the part that can be replaced for $20 if you goof it up.

I'm honestly surprised your two piece mount set has the wrong hole spacing. As others have said, see if a Weaver 45 will fit. The hole spacing looks right.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/1477182321/weaver-top-mount-scope-base-45

Giant image here: http://media.midwayusa.com/productimages/880x660/Primary/182/182321.jpg

 

[CaptHank]

I ran into the same problem, with a M1903. The previous 2 piece base, was shimmed. I wanted a 1 piece. Off to the gunsmith I went.







It's a keeper.....