How to Contour the Trigger Guard on a Mauser 98

Larry Potterfield • January 19, 2017

Model 98 Mauser trigger guards are heavy and rugged. They're designed for the battlefield but not very attractive—let's see if we can dress one up a little.

The military guard is quite a bit wider than a commercial guard. We'll start by applying some layout dye and scribing lines to guide our work.

Scribe the contour guidelines
Scribe the contour guidelines

A hand grinder with a coarse grinding wheel can be used to remove the bulk of the metal.

Begin contouring with a hand grinder
Begin contouring with a hand grinder

Followed by a series of files to contour and smooth up the guard.

Use a variety of files to shape
Use a variety of files to shape

With a hand grinder and a couple of files, we can quickly convert the trigger-guard from the battlefield to the hunting field.

-- Larry Potterfield