1891 Argentine made in Germany won't fire

[AlaskanUser]

No marks anywhere indicating it was rechambered and I'mI haven't measured the firing pin protrusion at all.. I have an end micrometer and can do that. I did notice that at first the pin was out about 1/8th of an inch and the second time there was no protrusion... the third time I reassembled it trying to follow the directions from the YouTube video the firing pin protrusion was just barely poking out... maybe 1/32".
I'm still looking for a good six or eight picture outline I saw a couple of days ago on assembling the two screw in parts but haven't found it. Of all the damn stuff I copy and print and i didn't do that one... heavy sigh. pretty sure it wasn't re-barreled because the year, the Modelo, and the Berlin, Germany all look old and authentic. I haven't researched any of the proof marks yet.
Would it hurt anything if I put an empty primed .308 case in just to test fire it that way?
George

How did you measure how far the firing pin extends out from the face of the bolt?

If you are not sure about the caliber, you should refrain from attempting to fire the rifle until you know. Normally a gunsmith would stamp the barrel (sometimes the receiver) with the new caliber if the rifle was rechambered or re-barreled. The only way to know for sure is to profile the barrel chamber by using cerrosafe chamber casting alloy. You can get the cerrosafe on Brownells.

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[usabaker]

I have an end micrometer and can do that. I did notice that at first the pin was out about 1/8th of an inch and the second time there was no protrusion... the third time I reassembled it trying to follow the directions from the YouTube video the firing pin protrusion was just barely poking out...

The firing pin should be between .055" to .065" off the bolt face. You can use a Caliper depth blade to check this. .060" is about the same thickness as 15 sheets of printer paper stacked on top of each other. If this is an 1891 Mauser then the correct cartridge is the 7.65×53mm Mauser, putting a .308 case is not going to help you, the headspace will be different, .308 is much smaller. Pictures of the marking would help, but you should take the rifle to a Gunsmith.

[AlaskanUser]

I'll adjust the bolt protrusion and try it today. Thanks
The factory PPU 7.65x53mm Argentine Mauser cartridges go into the chamber very easily. I understand that many military rifles have generous chamber dimensions to account for dirty battle conditions but it did make me wonder if the gun had been rechambered. I have no idea what a popular rechambering in this rifle would be or why someone would ruin the intrinsic value of one marked in Germany, which may increase it's value.

[usabaker]

Here is a 1891 Argentine assembly/disassembly PDF

https://usabaker.files.wordpress.com...891-mauser.pdf

Page 2 Block 2 reads "In reassembly, take care to screw on cocking piece so that its rear surface is flush with the outer rear edge of the firing pin. "