K98 action question

[hairbear1]

I may be able to obtain a K98 action rifle that at the moment is a 30/06 but the barrel is stuffed.Is there any way of telling if it's worth rebarrelling as I'm thinking of rebarreling it to a .338/06 and I'm not going to throw good money at it if the action is "soft" as in not being able to handle the pressures from a bigger cartridge.
Is there a certain age or year that I should be looking for that some of the K98's were not as good as others?
regards

Information

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[Johnny Peppers]

Since you will be reloading the .338/06 the pressure would depend on how hot you intend to load them. With standard loads the pressure would be no more than .30-06.

[browningautorifle]

I think your problems will be the bolt face. Possibly the shape of the feed lips too.

[Johnny Peppers]

Why would either be a problem? The cartridge is just a .30-06 necked up to .338.

[Emri]

Is there a certain age or year that I should be looking for that some of the K98's were not as good as others?
regards

Yes there is. I don't know a specific cut-off year, but generally, WWI and earlier rifles are considered "soft". They aren't necessarily un-safe, but can suffer locking lug set back causing problems in the future if none exist now. A reciever from after the war are generally stronger. One from the 30's or later would be just fine.

Johnny Peppers is correct. No problems with the bolt face or feeding issues. Pressures will be on par with 30/06 if safe and proper handloading procedures are followed.

HTH,

Emri

[browningautorifle]

You guys are right, I wasn't looking at the cartridge right. It's the same.

[Chuckindenver]

im a long time builder and shooter of the 338-06.
all this round is , is a standard 30-06 necked up to 338, alowing you to shoot heavier bullets, actually lower pressure then the standard 06, however, you can improve it, and lower the pressure even more, and it will be 100 feet per second slower then the 338 mag,
recoil is a little tough with a light barrel, but this is a great round, and awesome for deer and elk, your K98 will have no problem handling the pressures, and should feed easy..
some other neet cal,s .35 Whelen imp, .30 Gibbs, 6.5-06 imp, and 25.06 imp. i have finish reamers for all these cals.
last K98 i built was in .458X2 american....loved it...but kicked the dog poop out of the shooter. basicly a .458 win mag cut down a 1/2 inch, a hot 45-70 belted so to speak.
i built a Remington XP 100 pistol in .458X2...what a flame thrower that was.

[hairbear1]

O.k thanks for the reply's.I'll try and find out exactly what sort of proof marks etc are on the action and go from there.
I did look at the .35 Whelan but I think the larger selection of pills for the .338/06 has swayed me in that direction.Once again thanks for your reply's,regards

[JGaynor]

Just a thought. A simple headspace check might give you an idea if the receiver locking lug recesses have set back, which in turn, might be an indicator of a "soft" receiver.
Good luck on your project.

Regards,
Jim