A friend of mine posted this on a board that doesn't have the expertise that AR has so I thought that I'd post it here

"I am purchasing a Mauser 98 Kurz (not a 98K) and will be able to do a chamber cast in a few weeks. The barrel is not marked for caliber/cartridge and the bore is 7mm and it is not a rimmed cartridge.

My original thought was that it was the same as the 7x57 or .275 H&H. The Kurz action throws that idea out the door. The cartridge will be about .308 length and a smaller body diameter since a 7mm-08 would only go in about 1/3 of its length before it stopped.

Hopefully, someone out there that has familiarity with obscure european cartridges can shed some light on this. I have refenced my copy of The Handloaders Guide to Cartridge Conversions and also every variation of searches on the Internet."

Can anyone offer some suggestions of what it could be?

Thanks

are you sure it is not a 7x57? Some one could have opened it up for longer cartridges in the past. I have seen a .25-06 and .30-06 on 1910 Mexicans that were opend up. Would hate to see an original Oberndorf Kurz actions cut on like that, but you never know.

Well, A kurtz is worth big bucks, if not screwed up.

ME? 300 savage would be the biggest I would go

Don't phuque with it, if it a Kurz it is quite valuable.

Any chance it is really a 6.5 bore?
Mauser made a 6.5X54 that is pretty obscure that was (according to Cartridges of the World) chambered in the Kurz.
BTW this is NOT the Mannlicher-Schoenauer cartridge of the same nomenclature.

Thanks guys, I'll pass along the information.

I got to talk to the guy who bought the gun and he got it in hand and cleaned it up.

This is a commercial Kurz action and the barrel is stamped 7mm Rigby but it is not built for a rimmed cartridge. I've found alot of information on the rimmed 7mm Rigby but nothing on a case without a rim.

Anyone have any information on this?

Rigby adopted the 7x57 Mauser(rimless) and called it the .275 Rigby. I would guess that someone stamped it, thinking they were marking it like Rigby would and got it wrong. I would do a chamber cast to be sure, but I'll bet that is the case.

I'm with lee, wrong nomenclauture for the 275 rigby which is the same as the 7x57, just with a cool name. I plan on building a 275 rigby some day, just because it's cool.

Red