doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion Classic & Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com Mauser Kurz Sporting Rifle Bolt

Hello Guys

I'm following up on a 250-3000 (Mauser K action) that is missing the bolt - a crying shame.

Anyhow if I am to make a serious offer on the remainder of the rifle I need an idea of how much you think it might cost to have a stateside 'smith shorten up a "new" bolt.

Is anyone still doing this sort of work ??

Many Thanks

Foster

Seems a few guys have done it as an exercise and it's not all that uncommon. If you need hard estimates I suggest you get in touch with some of the better mauser guys and some numbers.

Are the Mexican Mausers the same length?

No, Mexicans are what's generally termed an intermediate length action, shorter than a standard but not as short as a Kurz.

No, unfortunately no other Mauser bolt will interchange. The Mexicans are the intermediate length, only very slightly shorter than the standard 1898.

It's not difficult to shorten a standard or intermediate bolt to the proper length; what's difficult is finding a smith who can do it undetectably, reasonably promptly and at a reasonable cost.

I haven't shortened an action since attending TSJC in the '60s but I still remember what's involved in doing the bolt. I worked up a SWAG of about 3 times the labor of welding a bolt handle, which translates in my mind to the range of $300-$500 for the bolt shortening itself. Then add for fitting it to the action and lapping and any special metal finish or other embellishment.

The price will also depend upon how much you the owner furnish toward the project. Things such as the bolt parts themselves as well as any special bolt knob, also information about the specific dimensions and angles of the Kurz bolt as compared to the replacement. It's necessary for the smith to have the Kurz receiver in hand but it's also desirable for him to have actual dimensions for a benchmark comparison. If he has to take the time to gather all this stuff then he'll charge for it.

IMO you should be able to get the work done (by a NON-NAME smith) for less than $1000, actually could/should be MUCH less depending upon who does it and how much you furnish. IMO $600 would be such a low price that I would be suspicious but anything over $1000 would rate a VERY close consideration of alternatives. If you want it done absolutely perfectly then I'd suggest someone like G&H for about twice the price.

But then again I'm an old fogey and my price ideas are out of date. This opinion is worth exactly what it cost (VBG).
Regards, Joe

Thanks Joe

Thats sort of about what I had in mind too, it could be done here in NZ but to my way of thinking someone with the jigs on hand and some experience would be pretty useful.

I'll let you guys know how the "quest" goes.

Foster

Joe,

I remembered that you were one of the guys that had done this type of thing as a project.

I have wondered if the following is possible.

Take two identical M98 actions, cut one close to the rear, the other close to the front, swap halves, and end up with two actions, one kurz and one magnum length?

RR I recall at least one magazine article, in recent years, showing making a long and short action out of two standards. Don't remember where or when.

Rob, there have been only 2 things stopping me from doing this very thing, for a long time now.

The first thing is that my interest in single shots has become greater than my interest in big-bore bolt rifles; not enough elephants around here and I'm too poor to ever go to Africa(G).

Second thing is that I don't have enough tuits, not NEARLY enough!

The folks over on the AR forum are forever crying the blues about the lack of suitable Magnum and Kurz Mauser actions but yet no one over there seems to have seriously considered making their own Magnum and Kurz Mausers from 2 ordinary actions. Curious & somewhat interesting why they wouldn't at least talk about doing it, but I didn't waste a lotta time worrying about it.

Doing 2 at once would save lots of time and the only real difficulty that I see is the fabbing of the Magnum straddle floorplate. The hinged TGs could easily be cut & welded at the same time as the actions and a standard straddle floorplate could be shortened in a few minutes but the long Magnum one would hafta be a 1-off deal.

However IMO it would be quite possible to end up with $6K-$8K worth of actions for about half that amount, with some judicious shopping around for a smith and a little luck that is.

IMO you'll get a lot of negative feedback on this type project from many smiths today although it appears that it was relatively common back in the day. Certainly I was not the only student doing action shortening back then but I see no talk about it today. It ain't rocket science, just simple welding fabrication on low-carbon steel, couldn't be much simpler really. However the Super Smiths on another forum tell me that I don't know how to weld, so......
Regards, Joe

Ron Lampert used to do that sort of thing for Jim Carmichel.Ron is a very good metalsmith,but I haven't been in touch with him for several years,I don't know if he is working.

I do not have his current contact information---he keeps moving around Minnesota.