Jeremy

Thank you for the response. I couldn't help myself to question the relevance to what has been published or the accepted norm.It just seemed to good to be true. Especially in this case there is just to much information missing from what I did read in a book. Like you have pointed out "I read it in a book" The past. " I read it on the internet, it must be true." I'll add one to the list. "I saw it on the news it must be true." Those expressions just ring too true today. Especially the later which I haven't heard in years and just shows my age. LOL Have a good night. Jeremy

I went to the gun show and found a gentleman who let me do a swing test with his 1903 Springfield and my 1893 Mauser extractor. We came to the conclusion that the 1903 Springfield extractor is actually a little too long for the 1893 Mauser and the bolt face on the Springfield is round and doesn't have the flat bottom bolt face like 1893 Mauser. It may work on the 1895 Mauser bolts that have a round face as well. I can't swing test one of those because I don't have either one. That still doesn't rule out the 1903 Turk. I did find one at the gun show but that guy wasn't having anything to do with the idea of swing testing parts. He just wanted to sell stuff and went on to try and give me a mis-informed history lesson and that I was crazy for even messing with the 1893 actions in the first place. The story of how weak they are came up and I quickly walked away without letting him finish. I also did notice that the race way boss where that the extractor claw is closest to the bolt face is thicker and complete encompasses the bolt face on the 1903 Springfield. Which makes for much more difficult removal of the extractor where the 1893 Mauser it is very easy to remove the extractor without any difficulty at all and the race way lug on the 1893 bolts that I have stop at approximately 270* just before contact is made with the bolt lug. It's a feature that I like because of the ease of which I can change them if they are broken. The rest of this post is to show off the things I did find parts, bullets and tools oh my. Here are the pictures of what I got. The bullets are a dozen Hornady 175 grain .284 pull downs for $.50 and a box of 100 .284 175 grain Barns spire point for $30. A semi in-letted Small ring Mauser walnut stock the Fagen butt plate with the white spacer and the block of cherry that I will use for the Fore end tip $38.50. The icing on the cake is the Wheeler scope mount receiver drilling jig and it is complete with the instructions for $30. The complete action and barrel is what I plan to use for this stock. I need to get my hands on a finish reamer in 7x57mm.

I'm in the same boat and have come to the same conclusion. The small ring Mauser's aren't far behind the 03 Springfield in price. I'll see what shakes loose at the local gun show this weekend.

Thanks for responding so quickly. You are the first one to do so and I have posted the same questions on 2 other forums. That was my guess too. But I can be a bit pragmatic at times and just want to be doubly sure. I even dug into my library and opened up my copy of bolt action rifles by Frank de Haas to no avail. So I have some homework to do. Like you have pointed out the 1893 and 1895 Mauser extractors are getting hard to find. Original parts are becoming harder to find period. Not only are they harder to find they are getting more expensive. I am trying to compile a list of interchangeable parts between the models for my own reference library because times are getting tuff to find original parts.

Moderators if this topic is in the wrong thread please place it in the appropriate one. In my quest to educate myself about pretty much all things Mauser. I came across a bit of information and am wondering the validity and am seeking some clarification from somebody who's a bit more knowledgable than I am. I have been reading my copy of Gunsmith Kinks II and have run a across a couple of lines from a gunsmith that states the extractor from an M1903 can be used to replace one on an 1893 Mauser. It is on page 343. So here is the questions. Is he referring to the 1903 Turkish? I thought that model is a large ring. Or is he referring to the 1903 Springfield? Can someone please elaborate for me?

Nice job!!! Have you fired the old girl yet?

I meant to say made in Belgium not Germany.

Like others have said I wouldn't worry about it. The hardening is in effect just on the surface nothing more it isn't going to change the strength of the steel. The strength of the steel is in its blend of alloys and the heat treatment after the original casting. For a receiver that is 92 years young and made in Germany before WWII. I don't think that you have anything worry about. But there is always a chance that I could be wrong. More-over if you feel more comfortable getting heat treated it's entirely up to you but I would recommend that you have it tested with a Rockwell hardness tester first. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by the receivers strength. A good machine shop should be able to provide this service to you. If it were a late war model then you would have something to worry about. Take for instance the last ditch model Arisaka's and some of the Mauser actions. But this is a topic that has been debated for more than a century now.

I 'm happy to share any information and discoveries that I have made. Pass it on.

Yes sir.

I know that I'm late to this party but here is how I solved that exact problem when I was faced with it. As we all know anything to do with small ring Mauser sporterizing is becoming scarcer and scarcer. I had to do some thinking outside the box. I also bought a B square one piece mount and then bought a weaver mount for a Remington 700 SA. Part # 99503 and then milled out the slot for the stripper clip boss. I used the B square mount as my template. I'm sure that the long action base will work too. The short action mount was the only thing available to me at the time. Here are some pictures of the mount on top of the receiver of my latest build.

That is my plan. I too have a set of head space gauges for 7x57 just no reamers. Four out of my five Spanish ladies are 7x57 and one is 7.62.

Here is a picture of my candidate.

I'm replying to this topic because I didn't want to start a new one covering the same subject. I too have been considering painting one of my barreled 1893 actions. It is seriously pitted above the wood line and below the wood line. The ring hasn't been compromised with a crack so I think that is a great candidate for such a restoration project. The barrel is in better shape with good sharp rifling and is chambered for 7x57. I have 5 other sporters that I have built on the same platform. It would be a shame to de-mill it. So I'll give this method of restoration and sporterizing a try. I like all of the ideas that have been posted. Thank you all for sharing. These are my 5 Spanish ladies that I built.