Spanish Civil Guard short rifle?

[Aguila Blanca]

I stopped into a nearby antique shop this afternoon and spied a rifle that looked a lot like a K98 Mauser short rifle, except that there were no finger grooves in the forestock and no recess under the bolt knob -- but it does have a bent bolt handle. And it's chambered in .308 (according to the tag -- I assume it's actually 7.62x51 NATO).

The proprietor says it's a Spanish Civil Guard Mauser short rifle. I've never seen one so I don't know what to look for. If it's chambered in 7.62x51 NATO, I assume it must have been rebarreled? What year might the base rifle be, and is it safe in 7.62x51? If so, is it also safe firing commercial .308 ammo?

The price on the tag is $249. Wood and metal appear to be in good to very good condition (to my inexpert eyes). If it's safe in that chambering, is that a fair price?

Thanks

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[Aguila Blanca]

Hmmm ...

Using the search function didn't turn up anything, but using brute force and just scrolling through this area of the site did. In fact, the rifle I saw today looked exactly like the one in the photos in this recent thread: My 1916 Spanish Short Rifle

And some of what I've read suggests that these were made out of older, small ring rifles and aren't safe to shoot .308 ir 7.62x51 ammunition. That has me concerned -- I rather liked the little guy, but I don't want to buy it if it isn't going to be safe to shoot.

[fishn861]

I posted "My 1916 Spanish Short Rifle" here is a website that has a lot do data on these rifleshttp://masterton.us/spanmauhomeLook under" Unmarked 1916 Rifles" Part of that article deals with the pressures of the respective cartridges in the .308 familiy. Bottom line is that my rifle was originally built for 7x 57 mauser. I will load for it using only loads that fall into that catagory. Below 45000 pounds according to the Data provided by Hogdon. I will also check headspace periodically to be safe. I fired a few low pressure rounds out of mine yesterday it shot pretty good recoil mderate. If i had a choice to buy this rifle again I would'nt. I paid around $250 for mine lesson learned.

[Aguila Blanca]

I posted "My 1916 Spanish Short Rifle" here is a website that has a lot do data on these rifleshttp://masterton.us/spanmauhomeLook under" Unmarked 1916 Rifles"

Thank you for responding. Unfortunately, the link doesn't work for me.

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Based on your post alone, then, it would not make sense for me (who does not reload for any rifle cartridges) to move from am M24/47 in 8mm Mauser to one of these Spanish short rifles in the hope of being able to shoot commercial .308 or mil-surp 7.62x51 ammo. Disappointing -- I really like the looks of it. It was in a rack with several other Mausers and it drew my eye instantly.

[m4a3sherman]

If you have a trust worthy friend who is a good reloader you might have them roll some cartridges for you; super light light loads are ok, I shoot some in my Civil Guard carbine. It was, in fact, my first rifle and I can at least attest that before I knew anything about the pressure ratings, I shot a LOT of CHINASPORT .308 without dieing but WOULD NOT recommend it, now knowing better.

[fishn861]

Sorry the link did not work for me either. I found the original link by searching through some of the spanish mauser posts on this forum.

[popgun2]

I put a 7.62X39 chamber insert in mine.

[Kirk]

Your M1916 SpanisH Mauser is chambered for the 7.62 CETME, not the NATO round. The two are dimensionally identical but the Spanish round is loaded to lower pressure in deference to the M1916's receiver. The M1916 is derived from, IIRC, the 1893 Spanish Mauser and is not as strong as a M1898.

[m4a3sherman]

Very well pointed out, and if I am not mistaken, the 7.62 CETME had an aluminum core bullet? I know I shoot really light loads through my FR-8 because of that. I guess I had always thought that the little 1916s were import converted or just never made that connection before. (the light bulb just fizzled on :P )

[Aguila Blanca]

Thanks to all who responded. I don't think I'm in a position to take on loading .308, so I guess the prudent plan will be to pass this little gem up.

Anybody know where I can buy a bent bolt for a Mauser 24/47? (And I don't mean those screw-on "bent" bolt conversions, I mean a bolt with a bent handlke like the M48 and 98K)