M 1916 spanish Mauser.....

[Steyr Man 146]

Was trading off other Fire arms the gent I was dealing with included it......Chambered in .308 and/or Nato's 7.62 x 51....I stripped it all down to boil and clean the crude off stocks....reapplied old school boiled linseed oil.....Looks sweet get it all back together.....Floor plate wont go back on.....So I order another....Same problems with it.....Wont snap into place.....I have tried screwdrivers actually snapping a few of them.....Any suggestions

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[Patrick Chadwick]

This is a typical fossilized gunge problem. You need to dismantle and clean the floor plate and the groove it snaps into, including the floor plate catch.

[Steyr Man 146]

Ok how do I remove the catch??

[HOOKED ON HISTORY]

Be aware there is conciderable debate on the wisdom of firing commercial .308 in these rifles. Might want to read up on the topic before fireing.

[Steyr Man 146]

Yes I have been......Read several from different.....Most do agree that Winchesters .308 is a fine enough substitute.....But use no others.....pressures are greater......

[Anzac15]

Personally I wouldn't use any commercial .308 in these. Plenty of 7.62 NATO out there.

[vintage hunter]

.....Most do agree that Winchesters .308 is a fine enough substitute.....But use no others.....pressures are greater......

That's a crock. The SAAMI maximum chamber pressure limit for the 308 is 62,000 psi. Ammo makers, Winchester included, usually back off this a bit but most standard loads still average 58,000-59,000 psi.

Plenty of 7.62 NATO out there.

I wouldn't fire 7.62 NATO in it either. Contrary to popular belief chamber pressure is the same as commercial ammo.
The M1916 Spanish Mausers were chambered for the 7.62 CETME round. It's dimensionally identical externally to the 7.62 Nato/.308 but chamber pressures are only around 45,000psi. If you intend to shoot it use the appropriate surplus ammo or light handloads.

[Calif-Steve]

Strictly a handload route. They are all old rifles and were re-built in 7.62mm in order to help the Spanish gun industry. Download the .308 to 7mm range and you are fine. Otherwise, they will slowly stretch, no doubt about that. So, downloads are the way to go.

[Normanator]

Having the same issue with the release button needing to be removed... anyone know how to do this?