German Mauser rifles

ginger49023

I am interested in buying a German Mauser Rifle. While not produced by several countries [or as many in different shapes etc.] as the Mosin Nagant, is there a web site breaking down markings etc.?

I ask as

Tailgunner1954

At the top of the list are those that are marked FN (Belgum) CZ or VZ (Chech.) and any made in Germany. At the Bottom of the list are those made IN China, Pakistan and Turkey
Note: I am refering to where they were made, Not who they were made for.

---

Some guys like a mag full of lead, I still prefer one round to the head.

jonk

Whoo, I'd have to disagree; Mausers were made in or for MANY more countries than the Mosin Nagant. Just look at the page on Mausers in the Blue book.

"...hit your enemy in the belly, and kick him when he is down, and boil his prisoners in oil- if you take any- and torture his women and children. Then people will keep clear of you..." -Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher, speaking at the Hague Peace Conf

ginger49023

Thanks for the replys so far. The comment that Mausers were made in more countries than the Mosin Nagant proves why I am asking questions.
Any web sites denoting origins and markings?

allen griggs

I hope I don't get busted here for touting another forum, but you can go over to gunboards.com , to message boards, and thence to mauser forum, also swedish mauser forum. Yes they were made in many countries, and it gets confusing. Turkish Mausers are great, and really cheap, mostly they were made in Germany. Czechoslovakia made some great Mausers, there are some unissued M48s to be had, 8mm, for $180, what a hunk of rifle. One that I am particularly enamored of is the Swedish. Most were made in Sweden under German patent, some made in Germany. 6.5 mm. Regarded as one of the most accurate military rifles ever made, maybe the most accurate Mauser. You can get one on the internet for $180 no problem. There is match grade Swedish military surplus ammo available from Samco, 200 rd battle sleeve for 37cents a shot. Not bad for such high grade non corrosive ammo. Plus the Swede is one of the most beautiful rifles ever made. I have two of them. Good luck, there were over 100 million Mausers made so there must be one with your name on it. I have a book, "Mauser Military Rifles of the World", by Ball. It costs about $40 but it has descriptions and color photos of every Mauser ever built. With this book in hand when you find a Mauser at a pawn shop or in the newspaper you can id it. Many people who sell them don't know what they have, you often see them misidentified in ads.

"Not as deep as a well, or as wide as a church door, but it is enough."

offeror

Many shooters think Mausers have the finest bolt action ever designed, and that the 98 was the finest battle rifle of its day. I haven't heard that kind of praise for Mosin Nagants, frankly. When Jeff Cooper came up with his Scout concept, he wanted the gun fitted with a Mauser bolt action, in fact, to the horror of many "modernists."

Personally, I prefer shorter utility carbines to long rifles and semi-autos to bolt actions for most jobs. I would take an M1A Scout over the full length model and a Tanker over the standard Garand, and a CAR over an AR. But that doesn't take away one iota of my respect for the reputation of a good Mauser. I believe they are a real value and unless somebody issues a poorly made copy my guess is that the engineering design of most Mausers from most sources will assure they are pretty good shooters. But that's just a guess.

-- Life NRA Member
"If dishonorable men shoot unarmed men with army guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and not by general deprivation of constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878

allen griggs

Mosins are weird. They are ungainly and sloppy to work. Some are pretty inaccurate. But I have a Finnish M39 that I get 1-1/2 inch groups at 100 yds. It is a good looking and well balanced rifle, and they say they are reliable in combat, seldom jam. But the Mauser action is a beautiful thing, 5 shots in that nice box mag in the stock, what a smooth working action. I love 'em, and especially the Swede. While not a 98 action, it works well, is very accurate, and looks so beautiful.

"Not as deep as a well, or as wide as a church door, but it is enough."

allen griggs

Hey I was wrong earlier, the M48 is Yugoslavian. But I know a couple months ago they were available new unissued from Wholesale Guns and Ammo and others for $180. They are well made and accurate. This included bayonet, sling, and cleaning kit. Still in the cosmoline. Now that is an unbelievable deal, that is like going to a military museum and buying one off the shelf. I don't see the ad for unissued in the current Shotgun News, but very good ones are still out there, cheap.

"Not as deep as a well, or as wide as a church door, but it is enough."

allen griggs

ginger49023, are you still there? I got a better deal for you. NRA publications has a great pamphlet named Mauser Rifles.This has the history and photos of all the markings of all Mauser rifles,it is a great little book. It has articles on the various cartridges like the 7mm, the 6.5 Swedish, the obscure 7.65 Argentine, and of course the classic 8mm. I bet you could contact NRA publications and get one. Mine cost $4 about ten years ago. You will see it at good gun stores, it has a photo of two mausers and a WWI German helmet and 2 stripper clips on the cover.

"Not as deep as a well, or as wide as a church door, but it is enough."

offeror

Run down to your local dealer and ask if he has the latest SAMCO catalog/flyer. There's a nice Spanish Civil Guard Mauser M1916 Short Rifle (21" barrel) with matching serial numbers converted to .308 that looks sweet. "Beautiful wood stock, recessed 5-round fixed mag... a gem for the discriminating buyer." Special Select condition (80%) is wholesaling at $129, so you should be able to work a good value on this. While they last.



-- Life NRA Member
"If dishonorable men shoot unarmed men with army guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and not by general deprivation of constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878

ginger49023

Thanks to all of you. I am taking many of the suggections and learning quite a bit.

offeror

By the way, the SAMCO flyer is also currently offering several other Mauser configs including Swedish Mausers and an epxensive target model -- including those in 8mm caliber. But they highlight the Spanish Guard model with the matching serial numbers as a "WOW!" buy, so judge accordingly.

-- Life NRA Member
If dishonorable men shoot unarmed men with army guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and not by general deprivation of constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878

allen griggs

Offeror, I have read some postings about a rifle that was converted to .308 Nato that is supposed to be unsafe to shoot with modern ammo. I'm sorry I'm not sure which one it is? I'm not saying it is this Spanish, I don't know. Have you heard of this supposed problem? Anyway, the Nato would be a good caliber because there is lots of good and non corrosive ammo for it. Samco are good people, I got some ammo from them, very knowledgable and nice to do business with.

"Not as deep as a well, or as wide as a church door, but it is enough."

Patrick Odle

Careful Allen
Some people on this forum don"t like Sweedes

allen griggs

Don't like the Swedes, huh? Well, that's ok, it is probably just a misunderstanding. WHAT WE HAVE HEAH, IS FAILURE TO COMMUNICATE. I am the master communicator. Any man who doesn't like the Swede, let him post his real name and address. Be sure to include lot number. When that is posted, whether 12 noon or 12 midnight, I will get a 12 pack of Busch Light, for the road, and get in my pickup truck. Whether he be in south Alabam, or south Alaska, soon I will arrive at his trailer park. I will drag him from his 14-wide by his greasy collar, and proceed to pound common sense into him with my massive knuckles. Once he has seen the light, we will sit down and drink a Miller Light to celebrate his enlightenment. Then I will get a 12 pack of Bud Light and drive back down to Dixie.

"Not as deep as a well, or as wide as a church door, but it is enough."

offeror

allen --
I'm aware of that, but I don't believe these are "curio" guns. Nevertheless, I would ask SAMCO to be sure, or have my dealer do so. I should think an 80% gun would be safe, but you never know unless you ask an expert.

-- Life NRA Member
If dishonorable men shoot unarmed men with army guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and not by general deprivation of constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878

allen griggs

Offeror most of the old Mausers are safe to shoot, I rarely hear of safety problems. Hell my Swedes are 105 years old. But when they get rechambered it makes me a little nervous. The Nato is higher pressure than the old 7mm. I don't know, if it was done by the Spanish armory it ought to be safe. I was looking at one of those 1916 short rifles for sale in the newspaper the other day, it was a nice handy length, would be good for hunting. This one had really nice wood, but the metal was screwed up, really pitted. God knows what could have happened in the Spanish Civil War. This one was still in 7mm I think, it was hard to tell,looked like all marking were scrubbed from the receiver.

"Not as deep as a well, or as wide as a church door, but it is enough."

offeror

allen --
The Spanish Guard guns SAMCO is selling have a clear crest marking. I really like the length too.

-- Life NRA Member
If dishonorable men shoot unarmed men with army guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and not by general deprivation of constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878

allen griggs

Hey offeror, I checked with an expert. This is the rifle I had heard about. The scoop is, cautious experts say it is unsafe with .308, that .308 must be hand loaded to less than 43,000. Others shoot it all day with .308. I must say, with such a wide array of Mausers to pick from, for me I would have to pass on a questionable gun. If you can get an old Spanish or Brazilian or Chilean in the original 7mm they are great rifles, very accurate if in good shape, plenty of ammo available, made in Germany. The 7mm is a great deer cartridge.

"Not as deep as a well, or as wide as a church door, but it is enough."

offeror

That's too bad. If true, I wish SAMCO hadn't used the "discriminating buyer" language for this gun. Sounds like they don't know what they're talking about. Any gun advertised as a shooter should be safe with currently manufactured ammo. Most people don't handload.

-- Life NRA Member
If dishonorable men shoot unarmed men with army guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and not by general deprivation of constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878

allen griggs

Yeah, I have run into more than one of these internet gun problem controversies, and you don't know what to believe. Like I said, there are guys who have burned up hundreds of rounds of .308 in these Spanish short rifles with no problems. The thing is, you have for example readily available the Yugo M48. Built after WW2, packed away in cosmoline. Hardly ever and maybe never used. By the time the Yugoslav wars had broken out, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, bolt actions were out of style. These guns come to us from a time warp, chambered for the classic 8mm and never altered. So, absent a definite report on the Spanish and for a guy just getting his first Mauser, I would just get the Yugo. But, I know Samco to be a good company. I wouldn't bet $100 that Samco is wrong, but I wouldn't want to bet my eyesight that they're not right.

"Not as deep as a well, or as wide as a church door, but it is enough."