doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Mauser GEHA 12 Ga

Purchased this last night, Curious about converting to a rifled 20 ga slug gun. I've read alot about the action being weak because so much metal was removed to make it a shotgun. I assume the strength of a 98 Mauser would still hold true with this gun but need some advice.

Thanks

Not true. There are no front locking lugs left at all on those '98 Mauser shotgun conversions and the only lockup of the action is by what was originally the third 'safety' lug near the back of the bolt. Evidently safe enough at the time for standard shotshells, but I wouldn't push pressures in one.

If the single lug shears, the bolt may be fatal to anyone standing directly behind the shooter, but it will be slowed a bit by the friction of passing through the shooter's skull. Just kidding, of course, but I sure don't like the looks of those guns.

I have owned and used one of these guns for over 50 years and have never encountered any problems. I have never used any "magnum" loads and have never heard of one "coming apart" and injuring anyone - should someone out there know of an incident could you kindly post it. In fact I have seen these GEHAs advertised in 8 gau. just a few months ago - hard to believe actually! The only function I don't like is the fact that when one ejects a spent shell the next one pops up and just sits loose on the follower and if you should tip the gun clockwise you can easily lose the next round. --- John Can.

What kind of locking system is used on the Remo Mauser shotguns? The 28 gauge is probably small enough to use the original Mauser locking lugs, but what about the 12 gauge?

98's made into 20ga shotguns retain some of the front lug and locking area to make them usefull. The 12's use only the rear safety lug. 16's are the everpresent in between, with some having no front lugs left at all, and some have just a hint of the old bolt lugs still in place. I've had a few of these and seen alot of them and have never seen one 'come apart' from normal use. The rear locking lug (safety lug) only lockup is just as strong as most any other B/A shotgun made that uses the root of the bolt handle against the receiver wall for locking surface. One thing they do suffer from is the separate bolt head part of the conversion is only held on by the extractor. It can come off rather easily on some guns and get lost. Further, the shotgun can still fire with the bolt head missing which wouldn't be pleasent at all. Most are made with sportered military stocks, though there are some (made by Remo IIRC) that have stocks that are shaped as nicely as any prewar German sporter rifle. Personally I would keep my loads in the same range as smokeless loads for use in damascus. Then there are the M98 B/A shotguns with the single shot rifle barrel underneath. Last one I saw was at a gun show about 15+ years ago. Can't remember how the rifle part of the conversion worked. Caliber was large (44 or something close to it). It was 'Remo' marked and 20ga for the B/A shotgun portion of the conversion. Should have paid more attention then..