Dad's old Mauser

Could someone tell me what this once was? I know it's not worth anything now and has been butchered as far a collectible, but my dad did it himself in the early sixties. He passed away a few years ago and my mom gave it to me. I remember when he bought it, and I swear I think he got it from an auto parts store. I remember it was long, or seemed that way when I was a kid. I played army with the empty stock for years. He whittled on the sport stock for weeks.

Just wanted to ask what it was called when it was new, and what caliber it might have been. I don't have any plans of shooting it even if it was safe. My dad moved onto modern hunting rifles later but took a lot of deer with this one when I was young. It sat in the back of his safe all the rest of his life and he always just called it the 'Old Mauser'. Thanks for any info ~ Harlan

Harlan, it looks like it was a model 1891. The Ball book(Mausers of the world) states that Argentina placed an order for 180,000 and that Mauser was busy with a Turkish order and had Ludwig Loewe & Co of Berlin manufacture the majority of them. The stock IMO doesn't look modified but is foreign to the original . I saw no crest in your pics but the hands shaking is in the Argentine crest in the book. My T.ST.V Mauser looks alot like yours with the broken piece forward of the forward sling ring and top hand guard removed leaving a modern hunting rifle look. and I assume mine is totally shootable in that condition. I can't tell by pics , yours or the books whether any mechanical changes were made but with the new pistolgripstock it shoul shoot better then the straight stock it came with. 1891 should be the born on date?

180,000 rifles 30,000 carbines.
It says 7.65X53 in the Ball book.
Replaced by the 1909 in duh 1909.
Some were made by DWM.

Hi Harlan,

thats an fine piece! And it has an very high value, not in $ but it was your Dad´s one! Take care of that rifle.

Yes what gunner said.

It has been mechanically altered. The bolt handle has been cut and rewelded to clear the scope. And I suspect that a bit has been taken off the muzzle end (where the bayonet ring would have fitted on the original).

But, judging from the very crisp markings, the system is in excellent condition. It must have been a conversion of an as-new rifle.*

:wave:

*Just checked the barrel/butt length ratio. It might be a conversion of the carbine model.

Very nice keepsake, every so often send a few downrange with it > Dad would like that !

Hi,

I think that is the Infantry version that has been converted; the Cavalry ones had a much shorter barrel without the taper.

First time I went to a gun store with my Father he bought one out of barrel full of them for the robust sum of $19 and it was packed in cosmoline.

Jim K.