Spanish Mauser

[littlecanoe]

I know that the Spanish Mauser is a controversial subject. However, I have had one tempting me for about a year. Everytime I go by a certain pawn shop it's still there. It's been "customized" in a poor manner. Mannlicher with a rough butterknife type handle with a poor job on the military stock. However, I keep asking myself if it's worth bargaining for.

 

I'm thinking that the action and bolt could be slicked up and re-heat-treated if the price was right for the rifle. Would this cure the ills of a Spanish mauser or would it still be a big ?? ?

 

What do you guys say?

[fritz]

Which model of the Spanish mauser is it?

 

I got my start on making hunting rifles out of 1893 and 1895 mausers. I ain't had one blow up on me yet, and I am going on 63 years of age.

 

But I keep them in the original caliber.

 

fritz

[z1r]

 

Fritz asks a good question, what model are they? The 93-95 are less desirable than the 98's but at least some of them were German made. Like he says, if they are kept in the original chambering & fed factory ammo they are ok. However, the Spanish have a deserved reputation for poor metalurgy & perhaps even machining skills when it comes to mausers.

 

The receivers are prone to setback. I have three spanish 98's and the only reason I have them is that they were part of a 7 fer 1 deal which included 1 spanish M43 action, one M44 airforce action, one complete M43 rifle, one Mosin Nagant 91-30, one complete mosin action, one Argentine 1891 barrel action and finally one all matching 1914 Carl Gustoff (sp) M96 mauser which cost me the princely sum of $75. The complete M43 while a decent copy of sorts of the K98 has so much slop in the bolt from an overly large bolt bore, that the bolt nose hits the left rail just ahead of the thumbcut on its way in. The other two actions are crude even compared to the Turk made actions but relatively tight. It is their heat treat that is worrisome. With heat treatment I might consider building a beater out of them. But then again, for all intents and purposes, they were free.

 

If it was a decent sporting job, I'd say possibly depending on price. But when you say poor, I say walk away and find a better donor to start with.

[Racepres]

1916's are rightfully cheap!! Mine [308] was gonna be a project but, now it simply wears a "scout mount" pistol scope, and we shoot lots of cast bullets thru it. At 115 yds it never misses a 3" metal swinging target! Think I will keep it.. MV

[fritz]

Chile had many (if not all) of their 1895 rifles made by Ludwig Loewe in Berlin. When Chile became a Nato member, I believe they converted some of these 7x57 rifles to the Nato round (.308). But I may be thinking about the Spanish 1916 refurbs.

Anyway, here is a 1895 Chilean in .308 (I fancied it up a bit)----

 

 

 

 

fritz

[littlecanoe]

Gentlemen,

Thanks for the replies. I'll have to look it over a little more carefully after labor day. I do believe that it is a 1916. I'll have to check lugs and the date on the crest. It does look to still have the original military barrel which was cut down.

 

The only reason that this one crossed my mind is that it is still there and the price might be very negotiable.

 

LC

 

BTW. Very handy carbine Fritz!! Looking good!

[Horsefly]

The Swedes are still my favorite Mauser,and I'd not turn down a good deal on any small-ring action,but I would'nt put much money into a 93 or 95.Just keep them in original calibers or of lower pressure.6.5x55 and 7X57 are great cals. even in factory loads.Anybody stupid enough to hotrod a pre-98 after all the warnings there are about them is destined to get killed early,maybe not by a gun failer,but by using a hairdryer in the bathtub or drinking draino because it fizzes in their mouth.Good deals are getting so far between,we all will have to start looking at 93 and 95's a little closer.A complete 95 Chilian in good shape is already out of reach of sporterizing.Jerry

[littlecanoe]

I drove by the shop today and the guy was open. I was wrong about the rifle? It says "La Caruna??" and 1946. The bolt has 3 lugs and the guy says that it is 8mm. I don't know what it is.

[z1r]

It's an M43 Spanish Mauser. Like the K98k in many ways except, well, craftsmanship. Caliber is indeed 8x57.

[AzRednek]

I drove by the shop today and the guy was open. I was wrong about the rifle? It says "La Caruna??" and 1946. The bolt has 3 lugs and the guy says that it is 8mm. I don't know what it is.

 

They are junk!! In original condition they have some value as a collection item. As a shooter you will most likely be wasting your money. It is like shooting dice whether you get a brittle, soft or a properly heat treated receiver. I'm saying this based on my own experience and being hard-headed about it.

[littlecanoe]

Well gentlemen, I am hard headed, but not enough so that I won't take the advice of people who have been there and done that!!

 

The guy countered my 50$ with 60$ but I could buy a bit of powder and bullets for that and work on my marksmanship.

 

A big thanks for the information!!!

LC

[Guest uncle fritz]

".A complete 95 Chilian in good shape is already out of reach of sporterizing.Jerry"

 

You got that right! Man, I remember back in 1965 when I ordered a '95 Chilean from Century (I believe) and it set me back about $30. That was a lot of money back then, but the rifle I received was unissued.

 

Yeah, I sporterized it. Because you could buy another for the same price and keep it original (if you were into collecting). Not many of us were in those days. A hunting rifle was what we were after, and it just needed a bit of touching up (with cheap Bishop stock and cheap scope). OK, it was cheap. But I did not have the money to go out and buy a new Winchester or Remington.

 

I still have that sporterized '95 somewhere, and I did kill a lot of S. Texas deer with it, it stayed in the original 7x57. I didn't have the money to buy a different caliber barrel. And why should I have?

 

Jerry, you got an old man reminiscing about the good old days when you mentioned the cost and availability of those old rifles now.

 

I'm going to go over to Bill's board and offer my confession. Or maybe not. I'm not Catholic, and I would want such a confession held in the utmost confidence.

 

 

 

 

fritz

[Guest Guest]

About 2 years ago my brother and I car pooled to the Puallup gunshow.

I say a sporterized 1895 Chilean 7mm with no price.

The stock was so cut down it looked like a BB gun.

The scope mounts were not the right ones.

But the bolt welding was elegantly done.

The owner was not there, and his buddies would not name a price.

I went back again and again ready to pay $100.

Later I ran into my brother, who was carrying the rifle.

He Jewed the guy down from $35 to $25.

 

I put a full length stock on it for my brother, like Fritz's, but in Spanish 1892 wood.

 

I still love that gun.

I should have sat down and waited.

[fritz]

I guess that I should mention that I used the original stock in that unissued Chilean 1895, I fabricated an end cap like the Argentine 1891 had and made a mannlicher out of it. The wood was just too nice to scrap for a Bishop or Fajen (I did that on some others). The one pictured was a refurb.

 

The unissued ones were very nice. They don't make 'em like that anymore.

 

fritz