Sporting Mauser info?

Attachment 26250Attachment 26251Attachment 26252Attachment 26253Attachment 26254Attachment 26255Hi, I know this isn't a military Mauser, but hoping you guys can point me toward a good forum on Sporting Mausers.

Hoping to find out info on how to tell years of manufacture? How do I tell the differance between Mauser factory sporters and gunsmith conversions? Are there any good referance books I should get?

Pictures attached of my first sporter purchase in 7x57

I think the scope is an addition that occured after it left the factory, seems in keeping with the age of the rifle though.

It looks to ME like a factory sporter and yes, the optic does seem to fit. Not the engraving on the mount, wow! I have seen about two of these come through my shop in 5 years and let me tell you, they are pretty uncommon and most seem to exhibit similar quality in workmanship. They are certainly not the bubba sporters that are the bane of any collector's existence. I am by no means an export on these factory sporters but what I can tell you is that you have a nice piece and likely, an expensive piece. IF it was rebuilt from a military mauser, it was done a long time ago and by a highly competent gunsmith, and if I had to guess, in Germany. Post war, in an effort to raise money, German gunsmiths converted many of the then banned Gewehr 98 rifles (well, all but 100,000 allowed to remain in service) and turned them into all sorts of things, sporting rifles and even shotguns. They are a very interesting piece of history. However, I do not know when yours was made and could very well be pre or during war production. Good luck with her, this is certainly the rifle place to find someone knowledgeable about them, so keep at it.

A very nice rifle. Well worth additional research. Here's a link to another good source of info for you. Regards.


Classic Custom Single Barreled Sporting Rifles @ doublegunshop.com - The DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com

It is a prewar, professionally made hunting rifle.

Note the proof load stamped on the barrel ring. St.mG = Stahlmantelgeschoß = steel-jacketed bullet (the type used for the proof load).
The markings appear to be somewhat scrubbed.
The number above St.m G is the bullet weight (in grams).
Below the St.mG there should be a horizontal line, like a fractional quantity, but only a portion remains.
To the left, at the level of the fraction line, is the crown of the proof stamp, but there should be an N below that, to indicate nitro-proof.
This too appears to have been worn away.
Below the fraction line there is a number (16???) which indicates the proof load in grams.
This should be followed by an abbreviation indicating the type of powder used. Once again, this has largely disappeared.

On the plate by the locking lever for the scope mounting: note DRGM = Deutsche Reichsgebrauchsmuster = registered design (similar to patent)
The date is, of course, clearly marked on the front of the scope. The maker is probably marked below the vertical adjustment (illegible in the photo). But 175A at the back end is the type designation, and from that a scope expert can probably identify it.

Patrick
:wave:

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Originally Posted by Luger

Are there any good referance books I should get?

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Yes. Get "Mauser Original Oberndorf Sporting Rifles" by John Speed.
Not cheap, but the definitive work on civil Mausers.

Patrick
:wave:

thanks guys for the replies ! Any leads on where I can buy the "Mauser Original Oberndorf Sporting Rilfes"???

Is it in english ?

The scope maker is marked C. Reichert Vienna (Wien)

The metal work is beatiful, but you can see in the photo's where the scope mount has been installed the timber looks to have been cut down hurridly? any thoughts into why that would not have received the same "love" as the rest of the rifle?

I found "The Mauser Archive" by Jon Speed seems to be the only eddition still in print.

Andy

Barrel marked with. "Boehler Spezial"

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Luger

The metal work is beatiful, but you can see in the photo's where the scope mount has been installed the timber looks to have been cut down hurridly? any thoughts into why that would not have received the same "love" as the rest of the rifle?

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My guess: the scope is a later addition by someone who was a bit sloppy. You can see a thumb cut-out in the wood for clip loading. This is now superfluous, but shows that the rifle was originally made without a scope. So athough the rifle and scope+mounting are all prewar items, it is quite possible that, as m4a3sherman suggested, that they were put together postwar. Boehler was, I believe, a barrel maker and supplier of barrel steel. Somewhere on this forum I once saw a reference to marks on the bottom of some K98k barrels indicating that they (or the semi-finished blanks) were supplied by Boehler.

As for Speed - there is no substitute, you will have to search for it. Same publisher as the "Mauser Archives".

Patrick
:wave:

Hi Patrick, thanks again. Managed to find a copy of the book on German Gun Collectors Association !

Where in Germany are you?

Right in the middle!

Is it likely that the scope and rifle have always been together, but the stock is a later replacement??

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Luger

Is it likely that the scope and rifle have always been together, but the stock is a later replacement??

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That is quite possible. The checkering on the shaft is excellent, but the thumb cut-out shows that the shaft was originally for an action (This action or another? - That is impossible to tell from here!) that did not have the scope mounting. Whoever fitted the scope mounting to the existing action (or a different action + scope -again, it is impossible to tell which) was not the craftsman who made that shaft.

If the inletting on the shaft is good - and the craftsman who made that shaft would have fitted the inletting so that you cannot get a piece of paper in between action and shaft anywhere - except for leaving a clearance between the tang and the recess in the wood (to prevent recoil splitting) then the action is probably original to that shaft, and the mounting came later.

If (and you will probably have to dismantle the rifle to see this) the barrel channel and action recesses show signs of being reworked, then the action + mounting may have been fitted to a new shaft.

In the end, does it matter which came first - chicken or egg? If it shoots well, I would leave it alone, and not disturb the trigger-guard screws!.

Patrick
:wave:

Hello Luger,

I was researching a recent acquisition on line when I stumbled across this thread. I know have this rifle!!! What more did you find out about it? Did you fire it? If so did it have a preferred load.

Look forward to hearing from you.

In the early 1980s I bought a sporterized military mauser in Canada, professionally done and marked with the name of the company that did the conversion or the exporter ( German or Austrian ?). I forget the name, but it was well known. To my memory the stock was exactly the same as the one in this thread, less the cut out for the scope mount. I am suggesting the stock is a more modern replacement.