mausers

[Bezoar]

is there an advantage other then ammo to get a spanish mauser in 7.62x51 then say a 24/47 or persian mauser?

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[ltj9296]

imo not really. I have 2 1916 Spanish mausers, and they are fun and handy rifles to me, but I reload my own ammo for it. I am no expert, but I have read enough to where it would concern me to shoot full powered .308 in them. If you like 7.62x 51, and like to reload then they great surplus rifles. I think my next rifle will be a Yugo 24/47 in 8mm, stronger action and you can still find ammo at good prices for it.

[Bezoar]

im just curous im seeing some places have the odd turkish or persian mauser still or a similar one from egypt. and im debating if that or a 24/47 would be a better thing then the spanish 1916.

not tooo hard to reload 7.62x51 with a 150 grain soft point.
im thinking on the lines of the classic recoil versus cost of gun versus cost of ammo versus handling charecteristics of the guns.

[mtoms]

1916 Spanish is a small ring model 1893 action originally chambered in lower pressure 7x57. If you go Spanish pick up a large ring model 43 8mm). They are only slightly more expensive but built on legendary model 1898 action. A good one can be had in $200-$300 range on gunbroker.

[mike webb]

Or get a Czech made K98k rebarrelled by Israel to 7.62, they have all kinds of strength for full house .308 loads and are reasonably priced as well.

[tahoe2]

although the Spanish 93 (1916) is a handy little rifle (I have 2), I would agree with what others have said and go with the 24/47 (2 also) or a Spanish 43. They are more robust and will handle just about anything thrown at them. As for hand-loading, I keep the 93's fed with "starting loads" only (40,000-45,000 CUP) from all my manuals; the 98 type actions I usually run at modern pressure levels (45,000-55,000 CUP) which is well below magnum levels (60,000 CUP). I rarely feed any of them factory loads due to cost and have just started to shoot cast bullets, thus reducing the cost of shooting them even more. Another benefit to cast shooting is pressures are reduced even more, down to 30-30 levels (32,000-36,000 CUP) which is a whole lotta fun, and really gives longevity to those Spanish actions. Hope that helps !!

[Bruce McAskill]

One thing not to do with one of the converted 7x57 to 7.62x51 is to shoot any 308 in it. The pressure is higher then standard ball ammo and will start to set the lugs on the bolt back very quickly. Nothing more then standard military ball and as stated it's best to reload for it. I have found that mine is very accurate when loaded to the 40,000 psi range.

[vintage hunter]

I remember seeing these rifles for sale in gun shops and department stores into the early 90's
with warning tags to the effect that 7.62 NATO/.308 WIN. was NOT interchangeable with 7.62 Cetme and should not be used in this firearm.
As far as the 7.62 Nato/.308 Win. debate goes there is a difference between commercial and military cases in web thickness/capacity and chamber dimensions but I have yet to find any clear cut evidence that shows the .308 is loaded to substantially higher pressures than the 7.62 Nato.