Anybody out there know where to get a repalacement stock for one of these? Mine is just the standard small ring 95 mauser converted to 308 and it needs a new stock badly. The previous owner sawed this one off rather roughly... I don't mind if it is a sporter or military, just better than what I have.
I've heard lots of stuff back and forth about how dangerous these are to shoot. Seems like Samco and Century would have been sued out of existence years ago if this were true......
Posts: 21 | Location: PA | Registered: 22 January 2003
Well for starters, the m95 action isn't very strong and the 7mm x 57mm Mauser develops considerably lower chamber pressure than the .308 Winchester does. The .308 Winchester develops more pressure than the 95 mauser is designed to handle and I won't shoot one!
Posts: 498 | Location: Georgia | Registered: 13 January 2002
Granted, the 95 Mauser is a weaker design than the 98, but many have been rebarreled to 308 Winchester and have done just fine. Is it the wisest idea to chamber the 95 in .308? No, but the rifle is not likely to blow up. The relatively soft steels used in Mausers allow the action to stretch under high pressure. So, instead of a catastrophic explosion of the action, it just stretches and the bolt lugs get set back into the locking lug recesses. Headspace begins to open, accuracy goes away and the case heads begin to bulge. By the time this happens, most shooters will become discouraged with the poor performance and ditch the rifle.
The Spanish 7.62 round was not loaded to NATO or civilian specifications. It was loaded to lower pressures to allow it to safely work in the 95 and not damage the action. If you handload .308 and keep the pressures low, a Mauser 95 should do just fine. Firing full power .308 ammo is going to wear out the action much faster. Just my two cents.
If you have a Spanish 95 that has been converted to .308 and you just have to shoot it, get the headspace checked first and then load for it using .300 Savage data and .308 cases.
Posts: 1570 | Location: Base of the Blue Ridge | Registered: 04 November 2002
I've examined 16 of these rifles that either failed and destroyed the rifle AND/OR failed and hurt the shooter. That's my job.
The Spanish arsenal is no smarter than some backyard hacks......less so than some.
The problem is that the rifle is NOT strong enough for NATO or commercial ammo, OR designed to handle the gases when the case fails. The most common injury is cuts and broken foot bones from the floorplate, but they have been responsible for at least three blinded right eyes.
An analogy would be installing a high-output V-8 in a Nash Rambler with 6 inch drum brakes. GOING ain't the problem, stopping is.
quote:Originally posted by JBelk: Orion1 and others---
I've examined 16 of these rifles that either failed and destroyed the rifle AND/OR failed and hurt the shooter. That's my job.
The Spanish arsenal is no smarter than some backyard hacks......less so than some.
The problem is that the rifle is NOT strong enough for NATO or commercial ammo, OR designed to handle the gases when the case fails. The most common injury is cuts and broken foot bones from the floorplate, but they have been responsible for at least three blinded right eyes.
An analogy would be installing a high-output V-8 in a Nash Rambler with 6 inch drum brakes. GOING ain't the problem, stopping is.
Thanks for the heads up.
What's your opinion of the VZ24? I can get one at a reasonable price. I would first just shoot it as is, then maybe turn it into a custom hunting or HP match rifle.
Posts: 2206 | Location: USA | Registered: 31 August 2002
quote:Originally posted by JBelk: Orion1 and others---
The problem is that the rifle is NOT strong enough for NATO or commercial ammo, OR designed to handle the gases when the case fails. The most common injury is cuts and broken foot bones from the floorplate, but they have been responsible for at least three blinded right eyes.
So, are we talking FR-7 or FR-8 rifles that have the problems???
Posts: 1499 | Location: NE Okla | Registered: 22 May 2002
Can you post some results somewhere on the failures you have seen with the M1916 Mausers with 308? There are LOTS of threads on these on just about any forum dealing with military surplus arms, but this would be the only actual data I have heard of.
Posts: 21 | Location: PA | Registered: 22 January 2003
The FR-8's are built on 98 (Mod 1943) actions and should be OK with full load 7.62 Nato rounds if in good condition. The FR-7's and a number of other spanish 7.62 conversions are built on small ring 93 type actions that simply are not designed for the pressures generated by .308W or 7.62 Nato. The Spanish 7.62x51 round shoots a 112 gn bullet (plastic filler in tip) at around 2490 FPS, Pressure is around 42,000 CUP. This is within the original design specs for the action. Nato and .308W pressures run around 50-60,000 CUP and will begin to set the lugs in a small ring action back within a few shots in most instances. Spanish small ring actions are often particularly soft. The action is likely to catastrophically fail if used with full loads, the only question you need to ask yourself is when you're going to pull the trigger and get a face full of high pressure gas and metal fragments. Maybe it will take years, more likely it will be much sooner - perhaps the next shot. It's a pity that the nomenclature and design of the older spanish round is so similar to the Nato design.
Posts: 1 | Location: Australia | Registered: 19 June 2003
There is someone on the web that had pictures of a sectioned Chilean M95 that was converted from 7X57 to 308 by reboring the barrel to .30 cal and using an insert silver soldered to make up for the difference between 7X57 and 308 case lengths. Here is the link: http://www.mausercollector.com/dutchman/. click on this link "Visit Project Crufflerwapen~" then the link to Mod 95 conversion. What I saw scared me and I quickly checked out my M1912 Styer that was converted to 308, It appears to be a rebarrel job. Me, I wouldn't fire a pre 98 308 on a bet with any ammo.
[ 06-20-2003, 00:57: Message edited by: MR ]
Posts: 58 | Location: ALASKA | Registered: 02 March 2001
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