I got an 1891 in a trade and have no idea what caliber it's been rebarrelled to, a .243 won't chamber and a .223 drops deep, at the muzzle the .243 bullet won't enter and the .223 is loose. I took it thinking it would make a good loaner deer rifle but don't really trust the old steel with more than it was intended for. How hard (and expensive) would it be to get it rebarrelled back to the original 7.65x53?

A while back Sarco had NOS milsurp barrels in stock. A simple barrel change might be all that's required.

Even the original CHAMBERING is possibly too much . The 91 loading and later more common 98 loadings are different . A 35 Remington or 300 savage would be easier and safer .
You could check to see if yours is a 250-3000 . If I remember correctly , that was a useful and safe chambering available.

quote:

Originally posted by Gary MacDonald:
Even the original CHAMBERING is possibly too much .

Say what ?

I have barreled them to 35 Rem. Works well.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
I have barreled them to 35 Rem. Works well.

What's that cost, and what length is best?

quote:

Originally posted by craigster:

quote:

Originally posted by Gary MacDonald:
Even the original CHAMBERING is possibly too much .

Say what ?

modern surplus argentine ammo is made too hot for the 91 . Surplus ammo and Norma are made to higher pressures that the 91 Mauser could digest on a regular basis . If you reload then there's no problem, just be cautious of your reload data , most list it for the 98 .
Sorry for the confusion . Now that I've had some coffee what I wanted to say is that the 91 argentine military loading is not the same as the much hotter and more common 98 argentine load .

quote:

Originally posted by craigster:
A while back Sarco had NOS milsurp barrels in stock. A simple barrel change might be all that's required.

They were for the large ring 98

I would do a chamber cast with Cerrosafe and see exactly what it is. Might be something useable as is.
Phil

Length for a 35 Rem is 16 inches to 26 inches. Whatever you like.
PM me if you really want a barrel installed on a 91 Mauser. I do not publish costs in open forum. It's gauche.