MAUSER 98 (WILDCAT?) / DAIMLER

JAYME

I RECENTLY INHERITED MY GRANDFATHER'S COLLECTION... 2 PCS I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO ID. FIRST IS A SPORTERIZED 98, BUT ETCHED ON THE BARREL IS "7MM CLIPPER". NOTHING ELSE TO POINT TO CALIBER. HIS AMMUNITION STASH CONSISTED OF QUITE A FEW 7MM MAUSER ROUNDS, BUT HE DID HAVE AN INTERARMS 7X57 ... NOT SURE IF THE ROUNDS ARE FOR BOTH PCS. ALSO, A PIECE THAT APPEARS TO BE DESIRABLE (FROM WHAT I'M TOLD) ... SAYS DAIMLER STEYER PUCH / MANLICHER. NO CALIBER MARKINGS ... HAS A FLAT STAINLESS BOLT.

stankemp

Never hoid ov it.
You need to get a gunsmith to make a cast of the chamber and mike out the dimensions before even thinking of chambering a round.
Might cost you $50 but it will be cheap insurance.
Stan

nononsense

Jayme,

Welcome to the GB forums!

Please consider turning off your caps as it is considered to be yelling and makes your post harder to read. Thanks.

The Steyr rifle with the "stainless bolt" really needs a photograph to aid in identifying which rifle you might have. The stainless is probably just the standard bolt polished and left bright or "in-the-white", a common occurence with some manufacturers. The name is an amalgamation of two major companies from the mid-1800's and adding Ferdinand Ritter von Mannlicher as a designer. Later one of the directors, Otto Sch?nauer, contributed his design ideas with Mannlicher, creating the context of Mannlicher-Sch?nauer.

"On April 16th, 1864, Josef Werndl founded the "Josef und Franz Werndl & Comp. Waffenfabrik und S?gem?hle in Oberletten" (Josef and Franz Werndl & Partners Weapons Factory and Sawmill in Oberletten), from which later emerged the "?sterreichische Waffenfabriksgesellschaft" (OEWG, Austrian Arms-Manufacturing Company), and subsequently the Steyr Werke AG and Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG, from which Steyr Mannlicher was a part."
http://www.steyr-mannlicher.com/fcb/index.php?id=203&L=1&PHPSESSID=dc4489db678d2c39333d8362e8ad4b13

There are a large number of models and variations in the lines of these firearms companies so without photos we're out of luck with an identification.

The wildcat doesn't ring a bell with me either but I'm never surprised since individual gunsmiths often did this and left no information other than what the original owner got for reloading. I suggest that you cast or have your gunsmith cast the chamber and measure the cast to aid in identifying the cartridge. Other than that it will be a needle in the hatstack trying to locate information.

Best.

Geri

Good advice on getting a chamber cast. A few years ago a customer had a jap rife that was 6.5 cal (sporterized) but not 6.5x50. Turned out to be a 6.5x57 AI. I had never heard of that, but thats what the chamber cast miked out to be.

JAYME

Sorry about the caps fella's ... anyhow, Thanks for the feedback - I have never heard of making castings. I'm relatively new to the world of firearms. I've been hunting since I was kid, but not very verse.
Thanks again.

nononsense

JAYME,

Casting a chamber isn't hard the second time, but the first time is loaded with trepidations from lack of experience. I assure you that it is both easy and accurate.

Cerro Safe casting material (an alloy) with complete directions is available from Brownells:

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/productdetail.aspx?p=384&s=

This link contains a photo of the alloy and a pretty good description of the process. If after reading the directions, you feel that you don't want to try this, contact a gunsmith and find out what he charges for this service.

Best.