A nice, clean Small Ring Spanish Mauser action came into my possession today. No crests or markings but the serial number. Military style bent bolt. It is cock-on-closing. Besides 7x57, what other off-the-shelf calibers would be worth considering. Probably usage as deer rifle, also considering a varmint cartridge.

Since it sounds like a model 93 or so and assuming it can handle the 7x57, a 257 Roberts, 6.5x55, or a 6mm Remington would be a nice fit.

I've been wanting to do a .35 Rem on a small ring Mauser.

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Originally posted by SmallCal:
Since it sounds like a model 93 or so and assuming it can handle the 7x57, a 257 Roberts, 6.5x55, or a 6mm Remington would be a nice fit.

Great suggestions except, most consider the 6mm Rem to be unsuited due to its higher operating pressures. A great cartridge to be sure, just not for the '93 action.

The .300 Savage as well as the .250 are also worthy of consideration.

Another nice cartridge is the 9,3x57.

The idea of .35 Remington sounds most interesting to me. Good enough for anything in Michigan, sort of uncommon, yet still available off the shelf. Investigation and research begins today. I just happen to have a few loose rounds in the odd ammo bin to get started with. IIRC, I have a nice blank of cherry I picked up over 10 years ago that none of my customers were interested in. .35 Rem, cherry stock, what else out of the ordinary can I add to the stew?? May be a vintage scope gathering dust on top of the cabinets that I forgot about.

In De haas on Bolt Actions, Mr. D' does not recommend any Mauser before about 1920 for modern "hi intensity" cartridges, i.e. 55K CUP pressures, .308 etc.. The problem arises with "modern loadings" for pre "hi intensity" cartridges. Eg. .257 Roberts +P. Possibility of bolt set back making re working the action an expensive job.

As suggested, the gun sounds like a 93 of some sort although the 95's and '96's and even the Swede '94's are "could be's." Likely, pre 98 based on the cock on closing. If you remove the wood and study hard under the receiver ring, some times you can find proof marks by a national arsenal that reveal much. Sometimes reproof, a 2nd, revealing more.

I would not pay anyone to work on this action, but if you are going to do it yourself...

I have grown to respect the 6.5x55 Swede. Too close to the .270 Winchester to argue with iron sights and with a scope only gives up a few yards. The two were about equal with powders available before WWII. I would disagree with 6mm Remington, little hot. And, beware the Norma loadings of oldies like 7x57... they do not seem bothered by pressure considerations at all.

I believe the .35 Remington has a rim smaller than Mauser standard. Making that work is beyond my knowledge. The Mauser claw is quite adaptable but the magazine --???. Great short range, woods rifle. .358 WCF might work a trifle easier. Mauser diameter rim.Best of luck. Happy trails.

The 9x57 is by far the easiest 35 cal conversion but the .35 Rem can be made to work. Either would be fun assuming proper feeding of course.

A while ago l wanted something ultra reliable in .358 cal and ended up with a small ring kar98 mauser. This action appealed to me because it was a little lighter in weight. Since l didn't want any feeding issues, l ended up creating a modern version of the 9x57. The original uses a .356 cal barrel but l used a.358 cal tube. Anyway, l only just got around to playing with and on its first outing l started fairly low with the reloads. Using 250gr hornady interlock I ended up with 50.5gr of varget as the maximum load l had with me. It turns out this was still very mild and out of a 20.5 inch barrel the velocity was 2250 f/s. I think l've still got a couple of grains to go so l should come close to getting anothr 100 f/s out of it. Even though your action would need to be loaded a bit Iower, l would seriously consider this option. Think of the 9x57 as a lower pressure version of the .358win that can handle the heavy bullets better.

One of my favorite plains game rifles is an 1895 Chilean Mauser receiver with an intermediate-length 1898 bolt adapted into it, with a Krieger barrel chambered in 280 Remington. No signs of any problems yet after 10 years' off-&-on use.

Also have an 1895-dated Swede barreled to 270 WCF(!) but haven't fired it enough to evaluate it yet.

A PRIMARY consideration with these small-ring actions is to make sure that the headspace is minimum AT MOST, and tight is MUCH better. If the bolt can get any sort of a running start at all from even slightly loose headspace then it's FAR more likely to result in lug setback.
Regards, Joe

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I believe the .35 Remington has a rim smaller than Mauser standard. Making that work is beyond my knowledge. The Mauser claw is quite adaptable but the magazine --???. Great short range, woods rifle. .358 WCF might work a trifle easier. Mauser diameter rim.Best of luck. Happy trails.

.35 Rem does have a bit smaller rim. From what I've been able to dig up, it will still work as long as the extractor will hold a cartridge without it falling out. There's about a 0.020" difference between the rim diameter of the .35 Rem and the standard Mauser cartridges. There's a pretty good discussion on the conversion at castboolits: http://castboolits.gunloads.co...owthread.php?t=71763

It is a 93, with the flat bottom bolt face. The .35 Rem head is .010" smaller base OD than the 7x57...measured from unfired brass. A .35 Rem cartridge wiggles a bit under the extractor when placed on the bolt face. Removing .010" from the extractor/bolt area should not create any problems. I'm looking at a light, short barreled rifle that can be carried easily. Got to have a scope (old eyes). Now, all I need is some "free" time to work on something other than customer guns.

I see a lot of input from "assorted experts" about the lack of gas ports in the receiver of the M93. Has anyone added gas ports to an M93 bolt and receiver to bring it up to M98 level?

No I have not, but it's not a bad idea if done attractively.

Later 1903 Springfield (and earlier 1903s that were arsenal-refurbished) receivers had the 'Hatcher hole' added for better gas handling.
Regards, Joe

look at the 1916.

Don't use a Spanish 93 for any custom rifle above a cut down truck rifle. The receivers are soft and not well made. If you really want a small ring, at least use a German made 95, and Swedish 94/96 is better. (even bigger bolt face though, than others due to the Swedish cartridge head size) And the K98s are best of course. Adding gas ports won't hurt it but won't make it tougher either. I have built 35 Remingtons on 98 Mausers; some extractors will give a better fit than others; if they are too loose, the brass won't extract; it will fall out of the bolt head. 6mm is too hot for them and so is nicely loaded 7mm. And the 35 rem can be loaded up as well in a bolt action; look at Ken Waters' Pet Loads.

All things considered, I am going to set back the original 7mm military barrel to correct headspace and put it together as a truck gun. I already have a chamber reamer, a sportered stock, some used bases and rings, a used scope and an old sling. Those will feel right at home in the back window of my old F250. Now, all I need is for a decent 94/96, 95, or 98 action to fall from heaven and I will continue the custom rifle quest. Darn, remember when you could buy a dozen Turks missing small parts for $150?