By 1994 most Model 70s had controlled-round feed. They were renamed Classics. Kimber's 84M (like the one pictured in the opening of this article) and 8400, along with Dakota's 76 and 97, retain that form, as does the Montana action.

In contrast, Weatherby, Savage, Remington, Browning, H-S Precision and, now, Mossberg, Thompson/Center and Smith & Wesson have chosen push-feed designs.

Howa rifles also fall in the latter group, as do Sakos and Tikkas. Husqvarna sporting rifles appeared in the U.S. around 1954, with the 98 extractor and a Model 70-style ejector that didn't require a split lug. Early Husqvarnas (sold too as the Sears M51) were later supplanted by the Model 8000, which had a Sako-style extractor and plunger ejector.

CZ-USA sticks to a Mauser mechanism for its standard chamberings. CZ Safari Classics in .404 Jeffery, .450 Rigby and .505 Gibbs get a square-bridge Magnum Mauser action.

There's also Mauser here in the USA (see sidebar) that imports M03 and M98 rifles from Germany. Receivers are machined from a single piece of steel, rifles fitted with high-grade wood. They're expensive but exquisite.

Ditto Mitchell's Mausers modern sporting rifles, which start at nearly $7,000 (Mitchell's offers historical 98K and other guns as well; visit mausers.org). And, of course, there are custom shops such as Empire Rifles (empirerifles.com) that build on the traditional Mauser actions.

Much more affordable is the practical Remington 798, with a Mark X-style action (short and long) in a laminated stock.

So where does that leave the modern hunter and shooter? The original 1898 action that Paul Mauser delivered to German troops still has no peer with regard to durability and function. Trigger and safety refinements, better steels and tighter tolerances possible with CNC machining render it the equal of any bolt mechanism designed since--at least for hunting.