I am a fan of the 98, but I'd like to play a little devil's advocate here...

You have the Zastava made mausers - which leave a bit to be desired, and basically go for less than $600us. Then you go straight to the 3K custom action with nothing in between.

You read in the gun rags and on-line how the mauser is "it". But yet no one makes a quality commercial mauser to the standard of the old Model A or B.

The 1911 is a pistol design that has been with us almost as long and it is still in commercial production. Yes is is made in varying degrees of quality, but it is avaliable in a dizzying array of quality/prices to fit your budget. Why not the same for the 98 when it is so lauded??

I don't count the CZ/Winchester/Rugers, because while they are mauser like, they never seem to have all the same features. It's not that I don't think the 98 action couldn't be refined a little, it just that everyone seems to be eliminating features to meet a price.

So if the 98 really is all that, then how come no one makes a quality sporter the same way Mauser did before the war??

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