It is, of course, strongly advised that any surplus rifle be thoroughly checked by a qualified gunsmith before firing any load. It is important with any surplus rifle to be sure it is properly chambered, headspaced and throated for the ammo you plan to use.

A notable advantage to using a military Mauser action for building a Scout rifle is the ability to use stripper clips for quick loading.

If you do come into possession of a 98 Mauser with soft steel, the likely problem will be eventual setback of the locking lugs into the receiver. This will increase headspace. When the rifle is fired, the bolt handle will be difficult to lift because the fired case is pressing the lugs into this recess and some force is required to break it free. I had no such problem with the original FR-8, and since the customization the headspace has remained constant through several thousand rounds. Results with other Spanish Mausers may vary.

Regardless of the shortcomings of Spanish Mausers, my completed pseudo-Scout rifle is very smooth, reliable and accurate. With scope and sling attached, the rifle weighs seven pounds, 12 ounces. Like I said, it’s a little heavy for a Scout. There is nothing heavy about the Power Custom trigger. It breaks cleanly at a shade over three pounds. All the metalwork done on the rifle is flawless in execution. Matthew Brant may not be as well known as some other gunsmiths, but his work is top notch.

Other than paint, the only modifications I’ve made to the rifle since it was built was to replace the ghost-ring aperture on the rear sight with a threaded aperture from XS Sight Systems and add an adjustable disk from Merit. The aperture is instantly adjustable from .022 to .125 inch in diameter. Ghost-ring sights work great for fast shooting, but I like using the iron sights and wanted to be able to dial down to a smaller aperture for more precise work.

We have to relearn lessons occasionally, and the lesson brought home to me by this project was that it is best not to have any modifications made to potentially collectable Mausers. The only thing left of the original FR-8 is the action, and at the time I could have bought a solid surplus Mauser action for about 60 bucks and had the same work done. I would have protected a piece of history; if I had kept the FR-8 in original condition it would now be worth roughly twice what I paid for it.

SOURCES
Brant Gunsmith Shop 6062 East Lancaster Ave Fort Worth, Texas 76112	Brownells 200 South Front St. Montezuma, Iowa 50171 1-800-741-0015 www.brownells.com	Burris Sports Optics 331 East 8th Street Greely, CO 80631 970-356-1670 www.burrisoptics.com
MPI Stocks PO Box 83266 Portland, OR 97283-0266 503-226-1215 www.mpistocks.com	Power Custom 29739 Hwy. J Gravois Mill, MO 65037 573-372-5684 www.powercustom.com	XS Sight Systems 2401 Ludelle Fort Worth, Texas 76105 1-888-744-4880 www.xssights.com

It is not about money, though. Serious collectors of military surplus rifles cringe at the thought of customizing these pieces of history, and I am sure some will resent me for it. I hereby apologize for my short-sightedness and am writing this in repentance with the hope that I can guide others from making the same mistake.

We who enjoy tinkering with firearms almost as much as we enjoy shooting them have long had a ready source of economical surplus rifles available for our projects. The supply is not inexhaustible, however, and it behooves us to give some thought to using the remaining quantity wisely. Do it for the children.