.

Over the last weeks and more, I have started looking into Mauser66s as a possible addition to my gun safe this or next year. There are a lot for sale on the German gun sites at the moment as, sadly, older hunters pass on and young hunters gravitate towards Blaser and Sauer models.

JaegerFrank, who posts on here, educated me on Mauser66s, pointing out that they used to be the symbol and the epitome of the 'middle to upper class German hunter'. They come in various guises - classic with double set triggers, 'Diplomat' with its extensive engraving, match triggers and more. JaegerFrank may come in here and explain the various models and set ups, I hope he does as it will be an interesting read for sure!

Also a wide range of calibers to choose from - curretly one site has a .243, lots of 7x64s, a .300 WM going for a pretty hefty sum, various 9,3s and one in .375. Most carry Zeiss scopes on old fashioned claw mounts.

I am going to carry on researching and surfing and who know maybe the 'right one' will pop up!

Now I am guessing that few Mauser66s made their way outside of Germany esp not to the USA, but correct me if I am wrong. And to close off, I wonder if there is a US equivalent of the Mauser66, maybe the pre64 ?
Would be interestig to learn / know.

Cheers

Charlie

.

The M66 has never been popular in the US for 2 reasons IMO, both revolving around the action:

1. The bolt handle is too far forward and makes the rifle look butt ugly.
2. Requires weird scope mounts that again, make the overall rifle less than aesthetically pleasing.

Call it the Blaser's grandpa if you will.

Other than reminding me of a Mossberg shotgun in design????...I have owned two in 375 H&H and they are very well made and slicker n snot in function, short like a Ruger no. 1, so they are handy..You can own a varity of barrels for use in your one action..One that I had was custom stocked by a very well known stockmaker and that helped..I like the rifles to a degree, but Im just too nostalgic and sold them both and returned to my Mod. 70s and Mauser 98s...LIke I said they look like a Mossberg..

They’re very functional and smooth operators, but:

They are big butt ugly and they are heavy. But for a shooting house or tree stand gun they’re extremely accurate and reliable. The two I’ve had and sold were both in .375H&H.

I have two. One a plain Jane 7mm Remington Magnum and the other an 8X68S with extra barrel in 7X66SE vom Hofe, much more exotic. I haven't used either of them to hunt with yet.

I bought one a few years ago in a package deal in 9.3x64. Was very surprised at how well it shoots. And yes they are a bit different.

I can understand that not everybody likes the design. Especially in the US where Mauser and Winchester 70s dominate the market. This is fine and I consider myself lucky to have a nice Mauser and Win70 collection. However, this is also a bit boring for me and this brings me to the 66. The rifle must be seen in its context. Mauser wanted to bring out an innovative design. They achieved that. It was one of the first rifles which allowed interchangeable barrels. Even today after the 66 has long been discontinued you can get barrels from Lothar Walther e.g. of course with a long delivery time.the rifle was expensive in its time and was indeed one of the preferred rifles for the travelling hunter. It was not uncommon to choose a two barrel set. A friend of mine lived and hunted Africa heavily with a 458/300 combo. The 66 became famous (a little bit) because writers like Hans Otto Meissner (a German diplomat who wrote hunting books) used one in 7x66 vom Hofe. Or Dr. Lechner who was one of the first Germans to hunt Argali etc. Quality was very good with lot of attention to detail. Yes, the 66 is heavy and the stock design not optimal to heavy recoil. With the telescopic action Mauser managed to reduce the overall length by a few centimeters. One of the last key people of the Mauser factory and a setious gunsmith used his one with a 378 Weatherby heavily in Australia where he lived for a few years. I had several 66s and they never disappointed. I like to look at them as a high quality piece of German post war production.

The rifle may be short but, because of the railway, the bolt throw is long. So lift your head when your cycle it.

IMHO, the merits of having one rifle with two barrels are overestimated, esp. for taking on safari: if you are set up for plains game and something dangerous appears, changing barrels may not be an option.

I have 1 with 4 barrels. a guy on ebay sells a very good mount for them.

This is with a custom Weaver 2 piece. It's actually called a 660. American calibers

.

Richj ! Great picture ! What mounts are they and what calibers ?

Cheers

.

If I am not mistaken, the Mauser 66 was designed by Walter Gehmann, who won an Olympic gold medal in rifle marksmanship prior to World War II, and who founded his own eponymous firm dealing in target shooting equipment.

The mount is a Weaver Mauser 98 front and a flat bottom mount on the rib.

Calibers are 243, 308 (with iron sights), 270, 30-06.

Here's a picture of the mount I got from ebay, He used to make them in steel, the new ones are aluminum. WL Chapman mount seller is 283728 on ebay

quote:

Originally posted by Charlie64:
.

Richj ! Great picture ! What mounts are they and what calibers ?

Cheers

.

quote:

Originally posted by ALF:
The Gehmann Rifle ( Mauser66) is a important part of history in as much as it addresses a number of flaws inherent to the Mauser 98 and preceding systems.

The most important design revolution lies in the bolting of the rifle directly to the barrel breech end and secondly the scope is mounted to the barrel and not the action.

This eliminates potential points of motion in the vibration sequence where accuracy is lost.

I have one in 7mm Vom Hofe

Very blaser like

Mike

.

Looking at gun sites in Germany at moment lots available at under EUR 1.000/-

.243 straight 66 scoped
7x64 dozens available w/without scopes - lots with original Zeiss scopes from 70s
.300 WM cracked stock that would need replacing
7 mm scoped
8x68S no mounts no scope
.375 again nothing on top

Maybe the 8x68S ..... Don't have anything in that caliber in the safe and it would make a good all around a European and Africa rifle.

.

Mauser 66 - telescoping turn bolt front mounted
Mauser 96 - tilting bolt front mounted
Blaser 83 - telescope/cantilever turn bolt front mounted
Blaser 93 - telescope/cantilever tilt bolt front mounted
Blaser R8 - same with removable trigger/mag group

https://youtu.be/si54UKxuOcw

.

quote:

Mauser 66 - telescoping turn bolt front mounted
Mauser 96 - tilting bolt front mounted
Blaser 83 - telescope/cantilever turn bolt front mounted
Blaser 93 - telescope/cantilever tilt bolt front mounted
Blaser R8 - same with removable trigger/mag group

Revolutionary in gunsmithing ? Whether you love 'em or hate 'em you have to admit that they are pushing boundaries!

.

Merkel kr1 a modern mauser 66.

https://www.sporting-rifle.com...s/merkel-kr1-review/

I always liked the Mauser 66, but now that I have a Blaser R93 with multiple barrels I think I will stick with it!
Peter.

http://www.germanhuntingguns.c...f-the-german-kaiser/

Spwndau rifle designed Louis Schlegelmilch is grandpa of M66

Forgotten Weapons made a episode on the millitary version recently .

I once short cycles an R93 in 223. The cartridge dropped between the mag and the barrel.

I had to take the bolt out, then take the barrel off (it had a scope) to get the mag out to get the cartridge out.

one in a million but it happened.

What mysterious void did the round fall in to?
And why didn’t you just used the Blaser Saddlemounts QD functionality to remove the scope and remove the round?

quote:

Originally posted by richj:
I once short cycles an R93 in 223. The cartridge dropped between the mag and the barrel.

I had to take the bolt out, then take the barrel off (it had a scope) to get the mag out to get the cartridge out.

one in a million but it happened.

Happens to me all the time.

But I never use the correct mag follower and load the like a single shot when target shooting.

I jiggle it out.

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by Beretta682E:

quote:

Originally posted by richj:
I once short cycles an R93 in 223. The cartridge dropped between the mag and the barrel.

I had to take the bolt out, then take the barrel off (it had a scope) to get the mag out to get the cartridge out.

one in a million but it happened.

Happens to me all the time.

But I never use the correct mag follower and load the like a single shot when target shooting.

I jiggle it out.

Mike

What rounds?

Anything over 57mm case length doesn’t have room to fall in the gap in front of the mag if the correct mag is used. The .223 and .22Hornet in the ‘93 had specific mag inserts that also stopped the bolt from having full length travel. No secret that just like a ‘98 they are designed to feed from a mag. Loading 4 rounds when shit is about to hit the fan on a DG follow up is possible, but it’s not the first time you want to be doing it. A bit like trying to close a ‘98 on a single hand fed round.

If you’re an attendee at a range run by single round only idiots such as many run by Australia’s alleged peak body either place the round in the mag lips or buy a single round tool - they are available in Europe from the same polymer carvers that make ones for Annie 54 repeaters- an answer to a question the designers thought no one would be stupid enough to ask

I probably could have removed the scope. When I ordered the 223 barrel/bolt and mag I didn't get any spacer.

quote:

Originally posted by GBE:
What mysterious void did the round fall in to?
And why didn’t you just used the Blaser Saddlemounts QD functionality to remove the scope and remove the round?

Never could get over that big chunky barrel mount. Why the 90 degree end? Otherwise a great design. Yet, the 66 would be more appealing with that area tapered to the diameter of the barrel. Looks too much like an afterthought.

It's just like they chopped the front ring off of a M98. You can use a weaver front base on that ring.

quote:

Originally posted by custombolt:
Never could get over that big chunky barrel mount. Why the 90 degree end? Otherwise a great design. Yet, the 66 would be more appealing with that area tapered to the diameter of the barrel. Looks too much like an afterthought.

Few on Guntrader.co.uk for not a lot of cash.

Butt ugly though but like most German things will last decades

.

Seem to still be going strong 50 years down the road. I think it's just one of those classic "got to have one" historic German rifles.

Three days out on the auction end date. Fingers crossed ....

.

quote:

Originally posted by GBE:

quote:

Originally posted by Beretta682E:

quote:

Originally posted by richj:
I once short cycles an R93 in 223. The cartridge dropped between the mag and the barrel.

I had to take the bolt out, then take the barrel off (it had a scope) to get the mag out to get the cartridge out.

one in a million but it happened.

Happens to me all the time.

But I never use the correct mag follower and load the like a single shot when target shooting.

I jiggle it out.

Mike

What rounds?

Anything over 57mm case length doesn’t have room to fall in the gap in front of the mag if the correct mag is used. The .223 and .22Hornet in the ‘93 had specific mag inserts that also stopped the bolt from having full length travel. No secret that just like a ‘98 they are designed to feed from a mag. Loading 4 rounds when shit is about to hit the fan on a DG follow up is possible, but it’s not the first time you want to be doing it. A bit like trying to close a ‘98 on a single hand fed round.

If you’re an attendee at a range run by single round only idiots such as many run by Australia’s alleged peak body either place the round in the mag lips or buy a single round tool - they are available in Europe from the same polymer carvers that make ones for Annie 54 repeaters- an answer to a question the designers thought no one would be stupid enough to ask

223 Remington with a 30/06 or 8x57 or 375h&h mag.

It’s not a big deal but if you use a 223 and a wrong mag insert and very slowly open the bolt after firing the gun it is possible to drop the spent round case inbetween the mag follower and the magazine/trigger insert.

Again it’s not a big deal.

Mike

I hate to admit it but the 66 is a well designed rifle in many respects, not pretty but has a lot going for it..You just have to use it awhile and get used to it, the respect comes later..The action is slicker n snot, its makes for a short gun with a long barrel just like a Ruger no. 1, they are accurate, they are switch barreled and have as many barrels scoped and ready to go as one could ask for..Great gun, but I never want another one, just too ugly and I like beautiful wimmen, horses, dogs, some cats and a pet coon!

.

Update .... I got it and want to share ! 8x68S. Gunsmith in Germany is putting a modern scope mount on it and then I'll top it with a modern scope but one that's simple and fits the style. They may be 'butt ugly' to some but I do like it! Kind of like the 'warthog' of German rifles, ugly in a way but you gotta have one!





















Now tell me that she ain't sweet in an ugly kind of way !



.
.

Very nice

PLEASE just put a rail mount 2,5-10x56 on those claws and go hunting rather than a modern mount

Nice rifle and Ina great caliber, the equivalent to a .300 H&H. Enjoy.

I have an old Handloader Digest or Gun Digest somewhere with an article about a group of hunters on safari in Africa with various rifles shooting a variety of game from small to big. They had two Mauser 66 rifles, one in 7mmRM and the other I think 308W. They were accurate and performed well except there was some sort of thin metal component involved on the bolt or to do with the bolts action that deformed on both rifles when the bolts were cycled hard and fast. Some field metal work had to be done to get the rifles functioning again.
The writer was going to contact Mauser with the details so that they could (hopefully) undertake a modification. Presumable this was done if nobody has had any issues since with the Mauser Mod 66.

Can dig out the article if anyone is interested in more detail.

.

Eagle27 - if that happens to me I'll feed back to you ! No pun intended !

Cheers

.

Charlie, that almost looks like a Diplomat....a very stylized model of the 66 with French Gray metal, engraving, and usually some gold figurines on it. I've always wanted a full-stock Diplomat.

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
I hate to admit it but the 66 is a well designed rifle in many respects, not pretty but has a lot going for it..You just have to use it awhile and get used to it, the respect comes later..

(Posted elsewhere on this site, but relevant to this discussion, too:}

This stock is available in various grades of wood on line at eGun. Enter "Jagdschaft Mauser 66"

I ordered one and received it in remarkably quick time. Now I'm waiting to see how it looks on my Model 66. I could never bring myself to shoot it with the Weatherby style stock.

Nice stock, will make a nicer gun for sure, Maybe even room for trimming less wood IMO..I like the action its slick..some will like it some will not but either way, in this stock it will be a nice rifle.

Nice, but I've never cared much for "white line" spacers and angled fore end tips.

That claw mount is the best Q.D. system IMO!