https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6q6Nah7fuQ
The Mauser 98 action was ubiquitous and, for many years, considered the most elegant and finest in the world. Countless (expensive) custom rifles had them and those manufactured in some countries were considered of higher quality. Germany, as you would expect, was first and such actions command top dollar. Surprisingly, Argentina made good ones, too. I've handled some custom rifles with those actions. The guns themselves are superb and the actions incredibly smooth and reliable.
I think the next most desirable action was from the pre 1964 Winchester Model 70. It emulates the Mauser's extractor but has a faster lock time, is a little more beefy for strength, and has larger flat area for bedding (making it potentially more accurate). Even so, at least through the 1970s, for custom hunting rifles the Mauser 98 remained king and maybe still does.
I am a little disappointed Ed didn't create a Mauser 98 in SketchUp and print out a working 1:1 scale replica for us to admire....
Russ
Russ,
I once owned an Argentinian Mauser .. bought it out of a barrel of rifles at a Gibsons (like a WalMart) store .. back in the day. Remember once a barrel of Enfields. Those were the days! :)
I'd take a Mauser over an Enfield any day. -- Russ
Beautiful work on that. Fired an Enfield once. I guess a solid brass butt pad is the least of your worries in a battle.
Holy cow, it even shoots miniature bullets! Marvelous work!