Rem 798

[Oldtrader3]

Thanks DrMike and "pretty is as pretty does" in this case. This rifle and that 160 grain Partition is a death ray to any deer within reasonable shooting range (400 yards or so). I have not used this custom rifle as much as the other .270 Winchester but this one absolutely DRT's deer up to 300 pounds dressed weight.

 

[DrMike]

My Winchester chambered in 7 RM has never let me down. Pity I don't carry it more.

 

[Guest]

Charlie, that's a very fine looking rifle, sir! What a great looking piece of furniture on it, and it certainly appears to shoot well, too. If you ever decide you just cannot keep that rifle anymore, don't hesitate to ask me - I'd love to own one like that! What a beauty!

 

[Oldtrader3]

Thanks Dubyam, but this one (and the .270) are already promised to my sons.

 

[Hegland]

Beautiful rifle!

 

[Coyote Hunter]

Every 798 I looked at felt like it had sand in the action. I ended up scratching my itch for a Mauser action by buying a naked Interarms Mark X action and having a custom 6.5-06AI built on it. The Interarms Mark X was hands down better than the 798 in terms of fit and finish.

 

[FOTIS]

Nice Doc

 

[CatskillCrawler]

Every 798 I looked at felt like it had sand in the action. I ended up scratching my itch for a Mauser action by buying a naked Interarms Mark X action and having a custom 6.5-06AI built on it. The Interarms Mark X was hands down better than the 798 in terms of fit and finish.

I seen the same sentiment elsewhere. Strange as they are both made by Zastava.

Thanks for the comments gents. Both of the auctions for these rifles I was looking at went way beyond what I was willing to pay. :?

Beautiful Mauser Charlie. Shoots pretty straight too!

 

[efw]

To me a Mauser needs to be a 9.3x62... if I were looking at a Whelen I'd have to head for the '03-A3 aisle as the good Col would .

Seriously though, I have a Parker Hale version of this action and it is fine. As has been pointed out the 2 changes I made to mine were the addition of an M70-style shroud safety and a Timney FW trigger.

Mine is waiting on a light taper Douglas tube chambered to 6mm Rem, and then to be dropped into a beautifully-figured & custom-refined Boyds JRS classic in XX french walnut... I'll post pics before the summer is over...

 

[Oldtrader3]

According to Wikipedia, Zavastra Arms had sanctions placed against them and was actually bombed by the UN Forces in 1999 as part of the war effort against the Yugoslavian Republic. The entire enterprise was rebuilt, upgraded and reorganized to partner with Remington in 2003 and build the 798 and other products. Prior to that, Zavastra had been building mostly heavy squad automatic weapons and AK47's for the Russian Armed Forces.

The older FN copy Mauser actions built for Interarms were direct Mauser 98 design derivatives and were built by an entirely different cultural tradition (Austrian Empire) than Zavastra has presently.

 

[CatskillCrawler]

According to Wikipedia, Zavastra Arms had sanctions placed against them and was actually bombed by the UN Forces in 1999 as part of the war effort against the Yugoslavian Republic. The entire enterprise was rebuilt, upgraded and reorganized to partner with Remington in 2003 and build the 798 and other products. Prior to that, Zavastra had been building mostly heavy squad automatic weapons and AK47's for the Russian Armed Forces.

The older FN copy Mauser actions built for Interarms were direct Mauser 98 design derivatives and were built by an entirely different cultural tradition (Austrian Empire) than Zavastra has presently.

Interesting. It's opposite from what I had read. I just handled an Interarms that wasn't for sale and its action was very slick. This guy says they were made by Zastava and then slicked up by an English outfit.

 

[Oldtrader3]

Interarms had a relationship with BSA and some of the "Mark X" rifles were made by BSA in England. I am not aware, given the retail price of the standard action when I bought mine (1973) that the Zavrasta guns were sent to BSA in England for anything? Mine is Yugoslavian Proofed. As an action it is as smooth as any other factory Mauser that I have owned, including a couple of Browning FN's. I certainly am not an expert of this action beyond owning one for 39 years and reading about them in "Bolt Action Rifles", the book.

Mine has a custom stock and some other features that were not standard. I was told by the dealer that I bought it from that these were "made up" by Interarms and sold as an upgraded product, but I have never seen another one like it.

 

[Guest]

There were a number of the Mark X mausers labeled as "Manchester, England" guns. Not sure if they were built there or if that was just the city of record for the exporter? I do know that many of these were from the Whitworth line. Lusted heavily for a Whitworth in 7x57 about 15yrs ago but didn't have the $325 the shop was asking at the time. I've always regretted not being able to buy that rifle.

 

[cloverleaf]

The interarms and Mark X were not referencing the 798 action correct? The 798's Ive seen were on small rifle cartriges (22hornet for ex.) and they were a Remington branded product. Claw extractor and a winchester style safety if I recall correctly. Am I thinking of the correct rifle?

 

[Oldtrader3]

Mine says Manchester England on it but is not English proofed? Interarms was devolving during that period and eventually went bankrupt. No telling what they did during that interim?

The Model 798 is a standard Mauser type action of .243 to .30-06 length. The 799 is the Mini Mauser action in .22 centerfire calibers. Forty years ago in that part of the world is 16 regimes ago. I would not compare Zavastra and the Mark X actions beyond a footnote now.

 

[CatskillCrawler]

Yeah, his rifle has Manchester, England stamped on it too. Thanks for the info.

There are some nice deals on the Interarms Mark-X models online but their metal finish, stocks and markings all seem to differ slightly. As long as the action is sound I won't be afraid to try one out for donor purposes if you all feel that they're worthy in dumping $6-800 additional into one. I haven't seen any M700 or M70's that compete price wise with them. I could probably find a VZ-24 or Kar98K too.

 

[Oldtrader3]

My Mark X has been fired XXXX times (1500++++) with magnum loads. The tang is softer than I would like and I had to retap the rear mounts but I had used it hard. I think that it is better than a Santa Fe or Santa Barbera action. I will probably rebarrel it when the throat goes south. The stock and other custom stuff have too much value to throw away. Mine is well finished.