My dad is looking at a 7X57 Mauser action.

He relies on me for firearms input but I know very little about mausers.

What should I look for as far as identifying rifle?

Will all mauser actions be able to stand up to reloads?

The Rifle (I haven't seen it yet)
It has peep sights and a deer head engraved on the magazine floor plate (if that is what it is?). It will need to be drilled and tapped for scope mounts.

Any advice would be appreciated

Could be anything. Does it have any markings on the front ring or on side? If so, what does it say?

Terry

Hello TC1
Haven't seen it yet and will only get a breif look in about a weeks time. It was bought a few years back at an auction and the seller is not asking very much for it. In order to keep the price down I am going to fein interest which means I am reluctant to ring him up and ask about all the markings incase he also gets interested in his dust collector.

Are there any mauser actions I should stay clear of?

How should I idenitify them?

Be very careful before you drill and tap it. It could be anything old re-worked military of no special interest to a rifle of considerable value if left original. Make sure you know which it is before you drill.

IF it cocks when you raise the bolt handle, it is a Model 98, and, if properly heat-treated, can be used for any cartridge that is short enough to work through the action. If it is one which cocks on the CLOSING stroke of the bolt, it is a pre-1898 model and therefor not up to SAFELY handling as hot a cartridge as the '98's can.

There are gunsmiths or companies that can do a hardness test on the critical parts of the action to determine if it is tough enough (was properly heat-treated). Of course, it is only a decent Modle 1898 type Mauser action that is worth bothering with!

quote:

Tiggertate: Be very careful before you drill and tap it. It could be anything old re-worked military of no special interest to a rifle of considerable value if left original. Make sure you know which it is before you drill.

Ditto!!

There are lots of mausers, the range runs from the very desirable and super quality, to junk. There are some very knowledgable Mauser collectors and almost scholars on this board but they really need more data on the rifle before they can be of much assistance.

In general I would pass on any model 94 mausers as they weren't real desirable for modern rifles. Model 96 mausers start having versions worth interest. The Swedish versions were very good albiet on a older design. But I would do some homework on any Spanish ( or allies even distant) version of a 96. Model 98 are a better bet for a modern rifle, the commercial versions are all worth a look. Original commercial mausers from prewar Germany are worth a pretty penny. The military versions are a big mixed bag, most if in good condition are safe, but there were a lot of manufactures of these and the quality ranges from excellent to not worth the effort to fiddle with. On Military rifles a good rule of thumb is if it was made in Germany it is worth a look, screening factor is avoid any made between 1942-1945. Older rifles before WWI and up to the late 1930's if made in Germany are all well made ( maybe ugly but well made)

Czech rifles are also well made. Rifles from the mid 1920's on had better heat treating. Any commercial mauser made post WWII will be safe, never seen or heard of any being manufactured after that point that weren't. FN, BRNO, and Husky are exanples of these and were all servicable rifles.

To give you an idea of the range covered here in dollars a Jefferies or a Rigby in good condition is in the range of $8000 or maybe more, and some of the old 94's aren't worth more than $35.00.

Edit: one last comment all of the above applys to original condition rifles only, any of these can be rendered unsafe by a gun monkey. Checking the headspacing on an older gun is always a prudent idea. Don't interpet this to pass on customised older rifles cause there are a lot of well made ones out there that are very good values to a discriminating buyer.

Thanks every one
Will be giving this rifle a good going over next weekend. I will take it out of the stock and record everything I can find and take some photos to post here.
The asking price is $200Aus roughly $140 US. I saw it about 10 years ago and remember it was quite a beautiful rifle, although dad reported a bit of rust on the barrel bluing so the condition may have slipped.

Schromf how would I go about measuring the headspacing?

Hope that its not a M93. We need to know what on that receiver ring to be able to identify which model is is.