Remington’s 798 is the latest incarnation of the Mark X Mauser, formerly made in Yugoslavia and imported by Interarms. Neither Yugoslavia nor Interarms exists anymore, as far as I know. The guns were most recently imported by Charles Daly. After Daly’s tenure as importer ended, their inventory was blown out to my favorite wholesaler, CDNN.
Remington’s now bringing in the guns, and prices look to be in the $575 range. While I’d take a Mauser 98-actioned rifle over a 700 any day, I get the impression that the kind folks in Ilion don’t really understand what they’re selling. To wit:
- The Mauser 98 will appeal primarily to traditionalists, yet Remington has decided to ditch the walnut stocks found on the Daly guns and instead use laminated stocks. Uh-huh. They’ve also installed the front sling swivel about an inch too far to the rear. I do give them a few bonus points for installing what looks like a decent recoil pad.
- The gun is being advertised as a square-bridge action. If it is, everyone else who’s ever made a square-bridge Mauser was doing it wrong. This is a square-bridge action. This is what Remington’s selling. “One of these things is not like the others, one of these things just doesn’t belong.” (Maybe the guys at Remington need to review their Sesame Street.)
- Remington has made “exceptionally fast lock time” a talking point. The 98 Mauser has many terrific features, but quick lock time is not among them. You have time to run out for a sandwich between the sear slipping and the firing pin hitting the primer, but when it finally gets there, that primer gets HIT.
Still, we will have commercial Mauser 98s available again, so even I can’t bitch too loudly.
I ordered one in .308 Win…Haven’t yet received the rifle.
If you like I can give my first impressions after Christmas.
Sure, that’d be great.
I bought the 798 mauser in the 308 second week of Dec 2008, sighted it in (Bushnell scope)that weekend. Took out for the first time the following week to a Wma here in Alabama and took a deer at 175 yards perfect shot right behind the shoulder. Deer dropped in its tracks, never even heard the shot.
i bought myself a 798 in 300 mmag and i really like it…the action may have been a little sticky at first but after mshooting 3 or 4 boxes of ammo at the range this summer it weas cyxling just like a mauser should…it is very accurate…easy 1 inch groups….the gun can shoot better than i can…i put a 3-9 leupold on it and i would reccomend this gun and scope combo to anyone hunting the open areas
I also have the 798 in .300 Win Mag. Love it already, and have only ran about three boxes through it. Going elk hunting in this upcoming season in New Mexico, and this is going to be my shot. I also have a 3/9 Leu on mine and have had great success at the range. Liek Lance, I also had a sticky action but it was quickly fixed after a few boxes and a good cleaning and oiling.
I bought a 798 in .308 last fall. The price was great ($425 NIB on sale from Academy). I hadn’t done much research, but I couldn’t pass up a Mauser action with a pretty nice stock and barrel for that price. It fit me really well and I loved the balance. I put the standard Leupold 3-9 on it and put three boxes of standard Remington soft points through it. Not to be a broken record, but it was sticky at first, but smoothed up nicely by the last few shots. Best group- less than 3/4 in. I took it out on a cull hunt on the King Ranch and bagged one deer and 5 pigs with the standard $16.50/box soft point ammo. It is now my absolute #1 rifle. I have 2 Weatherby (Weatherbies, Weatherbuzzes, Weatherbis?), 1 Ruger, and 2 other Remingtons, and this one shoots great, fits the best, and is the overall most fun.
I bought the Remington 798 in 300 Winchester Mag. And I really love the rifle! It shoot perfectly, and with a 200 gr. bullet, it will definitely put down any elk. I chose to put a Bushnell Elite 4×10 40 3200 series scope on the new rifle, and a lot of my hunting buddies laughed. But if you’ll actually take the time and give the new scope a chance it will definitely out perform the 600 dollar leupolds. I know it sounds crazy, but give them a try. I will admit though that the action is long, but show me 98 mauser action that isn’t long. If you are trying to speed shoot with a big bore you’re probably missing the point and the target anyway. The long action is designed for larger calibers and simplicity of use. My 7 year old son can easily take the bolt out of that rifle. Overall a great gun especially if you are looking for a large caliber rifle with reliability, simplicity, and results without spending 3,000.
Very interested in this rifle, I Wish Remington would Scrap the 700 and start building the 798 in America. Regardless Im gonna get one of these.
Preferably in 3006.
Bought the 798 in 30-06 about 10 months ago. I added a Nikon ProStaff 3-9X40 BDC in matte black (I was also looking at the VX2 and VX3 but decided to give Nikon a shot with their newer gear. Good decision). It’s a good scope, especially for the price. Great glass. Anyway, I mounted a Harris 9-13”S-Series Bipod for stability on uneven terrain when a shot has to reach on out there. I had a Smitty friend of mine give her a look over and a bit of fine tuning and such. It’s a fine piece of work. The action does seem to drag a little at first but, I personally like a good, tight action that lets you work it into place. It might not lock as quick as some might prefer but that sucker is staying shut until you want it open again, and just like “Cole” alluded to in his comment, we that care for our sport know that one well placed shot will do the trick. But, if one shot just isn’t your cup of tea, this thing will have you another one in there pretty quick, if one is willing to oil it and keep working with it a while. A Smitty can help get your gear tuned in too if you wish to make any adjustments. They’ll let you know what they can do for you within the integrity of the gun. All in all, good piece of tight group shooting equipment. I look forward to putting her to good use for years to come.
CAN ANY ONE TELL ME I AM LOOKING AT THE 798 IN 375 H&H TO TAKE TO AFRICA BUT I DO NOT WANT A 26INCH BARRELL CAN I HAVE THIS CUT DOWN TO 24 WITH OUT EFFECTING ACCURCY
When scope sights are involved, barrel length does not appreciably affect accuracy (group size). Removing some barrel will increase muzzle blast a bit, though.
Back when iron sights were popular, barrel length affected the distance between front and rear sights, and THAT affected the amount of change of the point of impact on the target per ‘click’ of rear sight change.
I don’t shoot the larger bores, but I note that a 35 caliber tends to be easier to get smaller groups with than 30 calibers and smaller – using cast bullets. Probably the same with jacketed bullets. You will most likely get lovely small groups with a .375. Enjoy.
bought one from serbia seven years ago, still perfect. got a 30/06 branded zastava
I bought a 798 in .308 in february 2009. Started rifleshooting again after 10 Years on handguns. I went for an inexpensive rifle shooting abundant and easy reloading ammo. In Belgium I can only do targetshooting on a 100m range. Even with Nato-surplus (I know I shouldn’t compare 7.62×51 with .308Win) it makes for tight groups. That’s until the lenses in my Bushnell 1.5-6×40 started rattling after 350 shots. A new scope and reloaded ammo with 168gr Scierra should bring out the real potential before having work done on trigger and bedding/stock (standard Zastava) Other suggestions?
I just bought a 798 LH in 375 H&H for $600. For a lefty this is a great price to start a custom project on a CRF action. Til now a lefty had to grit his teeth and buy a Montana 1999 at $850, or Dakota 97 at $2400+, or CZ550 at $1800, or pray a model 70 magnum action fell out of the sky. Quality bottom metal, stocks, barrels, triggers, and even a LH 3 position safety are available. Nice.
Bought my 798 chambered in 30-06 in september of 2009. I put a Nikon Buckmaster 4.5-14 on it. Sighted it in the week I bought it. Took it out for the PA bear season and deer season, and had no luck… never got to fire a shot at either species that year. The PA deer rifle season for 2010 has just come to a close, and Im happy to report that this rifle has now bagged a 10 point and 2 doe with INCREDIBLE accuracy!!! I actually got one of the doe with the same bullet as I got the 10 point with.. YES.. one bullet, two dead deer… Damn doe ran behind the buck as I touched off the shot. Yes.. the action is a bit stiff..yes the stock could be a bit nicer..but DAMN CAN THIS GUN SHOOT!!! It sacrifices NOTHING when it comes to accuracy.
I purchased My 798 7mm Rem Mag 2nd hand , Unfired in the box. The man I got it from purchased it new and before he could even sight it in he had major health issues . I broke it in properly ( took me a full day ) shoot 2 rounds clean and cool before i shot the next 2 rounds . Repeat this for 40 rounds. This Is an awesome rifle . Drives railroad spikes in at 500 yards . The Action is superb. Yes you can cycle this one even up side down without any problems . Letem bad mouth this masterpeice all they want ( drives prices down for me ). Im now a collecter of the model .
The action can be smoothed up with some auto polishing compound. Dab the rails with compound and work the bolt 10,000 times and you have a pretty smooth action. Also, take the stock find the wood butcher who designed and made it and give it to him for a helmet. Probably the CEO of Remington. Probably the same guy who who took over Winchester in 65! Also replace that damned useless trigger with a Timney.