Mausers 98's made before WWII, and I believe perhaps even some made into the 50's and 60's were basically made of a soft Tool steel that had the surface carburizes and gardened a few thousandths of an inch deep. Even so, the better hardened pre war mausers, such as VZ-24's usually stand up to even magnum pressures pretty well. With our modern steels that are used to make barrels and actions, small ring mausers tolerate the highest pressure rounds with relative ease. Some might argue that when such steels do give way, they are brittle, and don't protect the shooter in the same way that Paul Mauser intended. This may be true, but it takes one incredible hell of an overload to reck a modern steel action anyway, large or small ring.

The allure of a small ring, for most folks, is the little bit of weight savings afforded by slightly slimmer stocks and barrels. Some folks don't care one way or the other, and some do. I say do what tickles you. I like the slightly thinner lines a small ring can net. Classic commercial sporters such as the post WWI Kar 98az action sporters, the Huskvarna model 46 (m96 swede action), BRNO 21, etc, all make for sexy, skinny, and often lightweight sporting rifles.