M1891 Argentine Mauser

[stonewall56]

Does anybody shoot the M1981 Argentine Mauser? I've had two. The first one was sporterized and scope mounted by my friend & his dad. When he was raising some money for another rifle about 25 years ago I bought it from him for $125, scope included. Great deer rifle, flat shooting & accurate. A few years ago I gave the rifle to my son. Well, about two years ago I wanted another one and bought my current un-sporterized M1891 for $185 which I thought was a little high. But, I see on gun broker the prices they're asking and a guy at the local gun show has had one for sale for $285 (maybe that's why he still has it). I have at least two hundred casings for it & I like the fact that you can form new casings from 30 '06 shells. Ten years ago or so I could find loaded Norma rounds for $10 or $12 but not anymore. Midway has it listed for $39.49!!! My current rifle shoots fine but the "V" notch sight is a bear for my eyes to use (need younger eyes!).

I've posted some photos of my rifle, all the numbers match except for the bayonet (the picture of the bolt number didn't turn out well). And yes the crest has been scrubbed on the receiver and bayonet. The number on the cleaning rod is very difficult to see.

Let's hear from Argentine Mauser collectors & shooters. Doesn't matter if you have an M1891, M1909 or whatever. Let's see what you've got.

P.S. I've got the hand guard but I haven't wanted to dismantle the rifle to install it.

[JimF in CT]

I have a "stone-mint" M91 that I never use.

I once had a sporterized M91 that dropped a whitetail for me. (I also made the ammo from 30-06 cases.)

Also, have two, consecutive numbered M98-09's, new/stone-mint, bright receivers, with test targets taped to the butt-stocks. These are covered in protective grease (cosmo??) and are slated to go to my son.
As to the targets, I've always wondered if these rifles were fired at these targets in Germany or after they were shipped to Argentina. The targets have Spanish language at the top.
Anyone out there know?

My "shooter" is a M98-09 with blued receiver. --Jim

[Patrick Chadwick]

Well, mine is what you might call a baby Mauser - the 1891 Engineer's Carbine. Just about the shortest Mauser ever built (there was a cut-down version of the Belgian 1889, but that what not how it was built).

There are several pics of this type in the Olson and Ball books. The sight really is a pain for grandpa's eyeballs. And the sight length is also about the shortest ever - even a Thomson Contender could be better in that respect.

The 1891 has an enormously long freebore (see Olson P. 55). An HPBT type bullet is useless. Dropping a Sierra HBPT into the chamber, the bullet is 17 mm clear of the case neck before it touches the lands!

For good shooting results you need a flat-base (like the classic British 174 gn for 303) or, even better, a long flat-base round nose, like the Hornady. This has produced the best results to date. This is simply because you need the maximum length of best-fitting cylindrical section to guide the bullet down that long freebore.

BTW, the action is not as strong as a 98, which was several development stages later. In general, actions of this vintage should be fed with very mild loads. Even if the system will take it, bending the action body is not conducive to good accuracy!

Patrick

[krinko]

I have this late DWM M91, an unpictured early "C" prefix by Lowe and a nice 1909---as you can see here.
I shoot them all (and without weeping about cheek owies).


Ammunition---Graf and Sons out of Mexico Missouri, sells brass and loaded ammunition. Lots of choices besides Norma and cheap enough to make forming your own out of .30-'06 a big waste of time.
-----krinko

[Carl R]

One of my Argentine Mausers is a cherished possession acquired about forty years ago for $25. It's one of 200 made for the University Battalion and has a B.U. prefix to the serial number. The wood shows some finish wear but it's in very good condition with a mint bore. I need to shoot it again after letting it lie idle for a number of years. In addition to that I have another 1891 that's post '98 and in fair condition, an 1891 engineer carbine, an '09 long rifle that was arsenal reblued, a DWM cavalry carbine, an '09 engineer carbine with the special bayonet adapter for the older model bayonet, and a couple of Argentine manufactured '09 carbines. I've been negligent in giving these excercise, too. I've got brass so I can reload for them. I do have surplus ammo for them but it's not of the greatest quality. Carl

[stonewall56]

Carl, can you post photos? I'm sure others would like to see all that you have including myself. The first one sounds interesting. Was that for a program similar to our ROTC?

[cafdfw]

(I posted this on another thread and just found this thread. I apologize if it's redundant but I'd like to know if these are safe.)

"I inherited this old Mauser from my father about ten years ago. I don't know much at all about this type rifle but my dad sporterized it in the early sixties. He was a traveling salesman back then and worked on it in motel rooms. (Try that today!)

He killed a lot of deer with it when I was young. I know it's not worth anything, and he ruined any collector value it might have had but I wouldn't take anything for it.

I just thought someone might find it interesting or know something about these. I know it is the original caliber. My dad was having a hard time finding ammo for it at times even way back then.

I’ve never shot it. I had one 'knowledgeable' acquaintance tell me these models are not safe to shoot modern ammo, and I don't reload. Does anyone know if this is true? If it is safe, I'll take it to a gunsmith and have it checked out. I know it hasn't be fired in about 40 years. It appears in good condition and bore looks great. My dad always kept his guns oiled and in a gun safe. It would be really nice to shoot my dad's first deer rifle. He had a huge collection of hunting rifles by the time he passed away and my mom sold all of them to a dealer for pennies on the dollar without telling anyone. (It still makes me sick to think about it)
She later regretted it, but she was doing weird things at that time to try to stop the pain of losing my dad.
She saved the Mauser, his .243 Mannlicher, and an old Trapdoor because she knew my dad said I could have them when he passed away".

[stonewall56]

CAFDFW, It looks like your Dad did a bang up job of sporterising his rifle. It appears that you have an M1891 Argentine Mauser in 7.65 x 53 (first developed in Belgium in 1889). The M1891 is considered an antique and not subject to the GCA of 1968, if it's in its original configuration. Factory loaded ammo is hard to find now-a-days. If you go to the Midway website they have Norma 174gr for $39.49 (Norma is considered to be premium ammo). They also have Prvi Partizan for $14.99 a box. I thought the Prvi would be corrosive and non-reloadable but the description said it is non-corrosive and they are reloadable. My non-scientific opininion is that your rifle is safe to shoot but of course my opinion is worth what you paid for it. The Prvi ammo should be okay for plinking. If you are into reloading your options are greatly expanded. You could cruise the gunshows for Norma brass or create your own from 30 '06 brass. The M1891's are a tough good shooting rifle. By all means, have it checked out and shoot your Dad's rifle. I think you'll be glad you did.

[cafdfw]

Thank you so much Stonewall56!

Old firearms have always held a special interest for me as they seem to have a living link with the past. I've bowhunted only for the past fifteen years but had to have spine surgery last year. I figured I'd take up hunting with a rifle next season because it's too painful to pull back a bow and I'm getting too old to be climbing in trees anyway. I think it would be a special link to use my dad's old hunting rifle to hunt with or to let my son hunt with it.

~ Harlan

[stonewall56]

I finally found a photo of my old Argentine Mauser that I gave to my son. I had to covert the photo from a Publisher file and it's not by itself as it's laying next to one of its brothers.