Mauser M98 Magnum

As a rifleman, I have massive respect for the M98 Mauser, in production since 1898 and still going strong today. It’s estimated that over 100 million guns have been manufactured for military and sporting use; I assume that includes licence-made copies? Regular readers will know that I’m a big fan of the Mauser M03, which is no relation to the M98, apart from the name! None the less it’s a great gun that to me embodies the original Mauser ethos of quality of manufacture and reliability, with more than a nod to build style!

The wellspring

M03 aside; the M98 is perhaps the wellspring of the majority of traditional sporting rifles and still a living legend after 119-years! On test here is the new Standard M98 Magnum, which is how I like it! I say new, as the whole rifle is now built in-house at the Isny factory including the receiver, Mauser also supply actions to Rigby, as they did in the old days. The stock shows good quality but plain walnut with light but effective chequering in a classic sporting style, highlighted by a dark wood forend cap and a metal grip cap engraved with the Mauser logo. Double recoil lugs and pillar bedding ensure that the action is stable and the whole rifle solid. There are many grades of wood and finish available.

A tough yet attractive Plasma Nitride finish is applied to the metalwork to give a traditional blued look, with the bolt left in the white. The magazine offers a generous capacity; iron sights are standard with swing-off scope bases on the receiver bridges. A 3-position safety, near identical to the one seen on Mauser’s latest rifle the M12, sits to the right of the bolt, replacing the original flag-type, which was never conducive to easy operation under a scope. Finishing off is a thick rubber recoil pad, which was most appreciated and fixed sling swivels, with the front being the classic barrel band type.

Calibre-wise, Mauser has kept it simple with just 375 H&H Magnum (5+1), which is probably entry level for big, dangerous African game and the 416 Rigby (4+1) both classic and effective cartridges, even today. I had the former on test, which I feel makes the rifle far more versatile; as it’s not too much gun for larger plains game, buffalo capable, or even big pigs and bears!

Feel the quality

The M98 is no lightweight; in 375, the 24” standard barrel is 0.69” at the muzzle and weighs 9.7 lbs. The 416 offers a heavier, 24” tube with a 0.8” diameter and weighs 10.1 lbs. Put simply; this is a big rifle, however it just feels right! The low combed butt has a slight cheekpiece and the grip is nicely angled, along with a generous but comfortable forend.

The action is instantly familiar with its big twin lugs up front and single safety lug at the rear, along with the massive, external extractor claw and fixed ejector blade at the rear of the action. Bolt lift is a slightly angled 90° and the big handle is 2.8” long, so bags of leverage. It’s plain to see where the new Mauser got the idea for the M03’s bolt shape from! The 3-position safety gives forward – FIRE, middle – SAFE with bolt operation and rear SAFE with locked action. Trigger pull on the single-stage curved blade is a crisp and pleasing 3 lbs and the guard of generous size.

Sighting

Iron sights are essential on a true big game rifle and the M98 follows the old recipe. Up front is a ramped/banded, silver-tipped elevation-only adjustable blade, at the rear an Express block with a fixed, 50m, low/wide V and two fold down, U-notch leaves for 100 and 150m, which are windage-adjustable. The idea is from your 50m zero you can flip up the appropriate leaf; however, the chances are that if you’re taking game with the irons then you won’t be wanting to push it much past 50!

The receiver bridges are cut for turn-off scope mounts. The front shows a transverse T-slot that the mount engages at 90°, then pulls in to the left, where rears claw engage with a dovetail and are locked down tightly by a wheel. My tester did not come with mounts; pity, as I would have liked to have scoped it up to see how it shot at 100m! They are extra to the price and also need fitting to the rifle, which is a bit annoying! Call me non-traditional but I’d sooner have the option of a pair of Weaver bases on the receiver bridges that would allow far more flexible and easier optical mounting!

Testing was rudimentary; as with iron sights, these are short-range guns for a specific purpose of throwing big bullets into large and dangerous animals. Ammo consisted of Hornady Dangerous Game series, 270-grain SP-RP Superformance®. They also offer 250 and 300-grain loads, the latter including a solid. Of the three, the 270 gives the best energy figures! The 375 is not a new calibre and was introduced by Holland & Holland in 1912 as the .375 Belted Rimless Nitro-Express. It initially used cordite propellant, which was made in long strands – hence the tapered shape of the case, which also ensured smooth chambering and extraction as my testing proved. The old 375 H&H is also rated as a most versatile calibre, with the lighter weight and flatter shooting bullets ideal for most African plains game, but best advice seems the 300-grain option is the kiddie for the dangerous species!

Big bang theory

There’s no denying recoil is considerable but far from intolerable and could be compared to a more powerful 30-06 that gives more of a big push than a sharp kick and gun weight, the recoil pad and stock geometry makes it useable and flinch-free! Mauser must have got the furniture just right as good and bad stock geometry was illustrated to me in these big bores with a Musgrave/Land Rover Mauser in 375 H&H many years ago. The rifle was in effect near identical to the M98 Magnum on test and came fitted with a 1-4x24 Kahles dangerous game scope in QD mounts. This put the total weight up to 12.5 lbs and I thought that recoil would be a doddle, but this particular gun kicked like a mule. So much so I developed a decided twitch! So that extra 2.8 lbs did nothing for comfort at all. I would image that the M98 would also be tolerable in its 416 Rigby chambering too! As it’s another well behaved design, and despite its age, still rated as a serious performer with its 5500 ft/lbs + energy output with a 400-grain bullet!

In truth, the 375 H&H is more a stand-up calibre, as zeroing at the bench gets lively as you are sitting so can’t be pushed back and go with the recoil! I shot at 40m off a tripod to see what it could do and it will print into an inch. Freehand is easy but you need to get used to the weight. The ammo was producing an average of 2842 fps/4727 ft/ lbs, which is impressive. Typically, Mauser bolt operation is smooth and ejection positive even at low speeds, so no problems with follow up shots in a real time hunting scenario as can happen! Plus, the massive ejection port means easy topping up or dropping in a round quickly, another design aspect the M03 shares with it along with the bolt handle design.

Overall, this is one highly impressive and dare I say it, beautiful rifle for many reasons and it was a pleasure using it. I doubt if I’ll go back to Africa for buffalo but if I did; Mauser’s new M98 Magnum would be my choice! I think however that Mauser are missing a trick, as a slightly scaled down M98 in more conventional calibres might be well received too; 7x57 or 8x57 Mauser, 30-06, 300 Win Mag and 308 would go down a treat I reckon! Also, be a lot more useful across the board, but it’s still good to see that this true firearms classic has a place alongside the more modern designs inspired by it.