98izing a pre 98 bolt
HowTo by Odies dad
idea by Oldfart

There has been a quite a bit of discussion about the safety of some of the small ring Mausers when converted to higher pressure cartridges. The Mauser design is strong and can handle a quite a bit, but, the pre 98 actions were not designed to vent escaping gasses very well in the event of a primer rupture. This issue was addressed on the 98 models by introducing larger gas escape vents in the bolt and the addition of a flange on the bolt shroud to deflect the gasses away from the shooter's face.

I recently read a post from a gentleman ''Oldfart'' who welded a flange onto a pre98 shroud to do just this. I decided to replicate this and show pictures as to how it is done. The cost was minimal. Materials included a washer, a pre 98 shroud, a drill press (because I don't have a mill yet) with a ¼" mill bit, a round file, a tig welder, a dremmel with a small grinding stone, a hacksaw and a buffer. I started with a washer approximately 1 ¼" or so in diameter and drilled the center to ¾". I then scribed a line around the outside of the bolt shroud with the washer in position. Next I milled out the rough shape of the hole needed and finished it with a file.

This is the result.

This is how it fits on the shroud. The washer is back about 1/16" from the front of the shroud due to a notch in the bolt handle. Do lots of test fitting before you weld. Don't worry about small gaps as the welding will fill these in.

Tig weld around the top part of the shroud. The bottom will be cut off.

After grinding down the weld and cutting off the bottom of the washer.

After polishing and buffing.

Installed on the bolt.

Installed on the rifle.
I may file some off the outside to reduce the diameter a bit, but it doesn't look too bad as is. The bolt cycles fine.

I would like to give a Huge Thanks to
''Odies dad'' for this HowTo and to
''Oldfart'' for giving him the idea !

If you have any questions about this HowTo you can catch these gent's over on the MC Forum ! Thanks Guy's !

If you write any HowTo's send em to us and we will get them on the air !