1st Mauser, need help?

[OLDER THEN DIRT]

OK, Turkish M03/38 8mm. What is round thing behind the wrist that is metal & goes through the stock & how do you remove it? Thanks in advance

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[vintage hunter]

Why would you want to remove it? It ain't there for looks. If the firing pin or spring break thats the tool you'd need to replace them. With the bolt closed and cocked, turn the safety up to it's middle position so you can still open the bolt, now remove the bolt from the rifle and unscrew the rear section, insert the firing pin in the hole, now grasp the bolt shroud with your thumb hooked over the safety lever and press down on the shroud far enough to turn the cocking piece 90 degrees in either direction and seperate it from the firing pin without releasing downward pressure on the shroud. Once the cocking piece is off slowly let the pressure off the spring. Now you can seperate the pin and spring from the shroud for replacement or cleaning. To reassemble, repeat the process in reverse. WARNING, a spring in good shape requires about 30lbs. of pressure to compress it so don't let the shroud slip. That 30 lbs. is plenty enough force to send the shroud flying with the potential for injury to you or bystanders.

[Patrick Chadwick]

What is round thing behind the wrist that is metal & goes through the stock & how do you remove it?

To the perfectly correct answer of vintage hunter I would like to add the following comment: Dismantling rifles without knowing what the bits are for is rather like when I was a boy and dismantled a watch to see how it worked. Did I ever get it working again. Of course not.

I do not mean to be pointlessly sarcastic, but I think it would be a very good idea if you showed your rifle to someone who knows about Mausers and he goes through dismantling and reassembly with you. That way, you will really learn how it functions and will have a much better idea about what you can do - and what you should leave alone.

Patrick

[OLDER THEN DIRT]

You know Patrick. the sarcastic reply you said was not needed. I`m 71 years old & have been taking guns old & modern apart & puting them back together since I was 12 years old & they always worked as before. I didn`t ask how to take it apart, I asked what the round metal thing on the butt stock was for & "vintage hunter" told me. All the research I did on Mausers , none of the articals mention that object.

[Patrick Chadwick]

Sorry about that, I did not wish to offend you. The way you put it with "the round metal thing" gave me the impression that your knowledge was far more limited than is obviously the case. And you did ask "how you remove it". Nevertheless, I should have been more cautious in my formulation. I apologize!

"All the research I did on Mausers , none of the articals mention that object."
That really surprises me. Perhaps it is one of those "everybody knows that!" bits of knowledge which, in fact, not everybody knows. I shall do a bit of searching myself...

...er, if you, for instance, were to take a look at "A Collector's Guide to Military Rifle Disassembly and Reassembly" by Stuart Mowbray & Joe Puleo, you will find the firing-mechanism
disassembly bushing and its use illustrated and described on P.170. This book is worth getting if you frequently dismantle old service rifle types that you have not previously handled.

... and it is described on P. 106 of Olson "Mauser Bolt Rifles" 3rd Edition. Photo and use on P. 117. Mentioned again PP.173, 187, 292. "Olson" is one of the fundamental works on "Mauserology", the other being Ball, "Mauser Military Rifles of the World". I recommend that you purchase both books.

BTW, at the top of this forum you will find a film:
German K98k Bolt "Stripping & Assembling" Tutorial
showing how to do it if your rifle does not have the firing-mechanism disassembly bushing . Also shown on P.176 of the above-mentioned book by Mowbray and Puleo.


Patrick

[m4a3sherman]

Honestly, I had wondered what those disks were for quite a while after owning several mausers before I had a hunch and then confirmed it online. In fact, you would be surprised at how many older gentlemen who have seen it all come in sometimes and ask about one of mine (which I am always hauling about in and out of the gunshop to get something done here or there) and how many are surprised to learn what it is for. OLDER THAN DIRT, you are not alone sir! But it is for sure a super nifty thing though sometimes requires a partner to apply counter pressure on the other end of the stock when trying to depress the firing pin spring. As noted earlier, it can quickly become a ballistic missile if you're not careful or it slips. (I know this because there is a dent in my apartment's ceiling from that very thing!)