Model 71/84 mauser that was gifted to me

Hey everyone. I received this mauser along with several arisakas and a Steyr M95 carbine from a very good collecting friend of mine who was thinning his collection down and wanted me to have them. From what I have been able to figure out it is a bolt mismatch piece and it definitely was used and "loved" as evidenced by the unit marking on the butt plate, which I think belongs to a medical corps unit attached to a train battalion. I love all the dents and dings in it as for me anyway it shows that this rifle saw use instead of the pristine examples of these that pop up from time to time plus the action functions perfectly like it was brand new.

I love these old rifles. Just studying the actions and such is facinating. Never thought I would get into the older stuff but once I picked up one, the rest just seemed natural. I'm sure I'll probably start up a huge debate but the lifter and magazine system seem remarkably similar to the Lebel which came out two years later. Copy? I've admittedly never put them side by side to look but the similarities are there. I got real lucky, had a really nice one show up at my local gun shop and the owner knew nothing about them. I knew enough to check it out and while I was explaining it to him, parts kept falling out of it and I found missing parts, etc. He commented something to the effect that he was losing money by the minute. He asked what I'd pay and I gave him a price based on the missing and broken pieces and he accepted, got an almost full box of ammo to go with it. Parts ran me about $35 and I was able to fix the magazine tube so it didn't need replaced.

Can't beat a gift though. Congrats.

that is a real nice gift
must be a real good friend