I recently acquired a nice little Mauser. It looks smaller than a Mex, and I'm thinking it may be a Kurtz.

The action, measured on the left side is 5 15/16 in length and the opening at the load port is 2 1/2. Center to center on the bottom metal screws is 7 1/4. It has been barreled to a 250-3000.

It has been stocked as a light weight sporter, schnabel tip, double set triggers, butter knife bolt handle, the sling retracts into the buttstock, front swivel stud is soldered to the barrel, has an un-named receiver sight bracket, and a side mount (a bubba job) no rings,and quite a bit of engraving on the receiver, trigger guard and swing lever floorplate.

I know there's some Mauser experts in here, but, obviously I don't happen to be one of them.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[URL=http://s579.photobucket.com/user/SingleShotGuy_photo/media/Two%

It's an old European, cottage industry gun that was brought over to America and severely bastardized. It's hard to say what it was before it was sporterized in Europe, without seeing the proof marks.

Judging from your measurements, I would say it's a commercial Kurz action, often referred to as an M98/True Short. OAL action, 8.125", 5.760" bolt body, mag length, 2.725", ring dia, 1.300.

Neat little rifle.

speerchucker.....I appreciate your comment..I think No doubt, it is not in pristine condition, to say the least. All the numbers or symbols are gone. Someone put a lot of work into it prior to being "modified"...as a saving grace, maybe it will really shoot!

craigster...I like your comment quite a bit better! LOL
Thanks for all the measurements.

Looks like a bubba'd Original Oberndorf Kurz sporter to me.

quote:

Originally posted by speerchucker30x378:
It's an old European, cottage industry gun that was brought over to America and severely bastardized. It's hard to say what it was before it was sporterized in Europe, without seeing the proof marks.

Apart from the mounts, what aspects of it do you see as severely bastardized?

Definitely started life as a commercial Mauser Kurz rifle. It has been fitted with a Lyman 35 receiver sight and a Griffin & Howe side mount at some point. Finding a set of rings and slide should be no problem, although the slide will probably have to be fitted. Finding the slide for the Model 35 is more difficult, if not impossible.

It has been drilled and tapped for either a Redfield or Buehler one piece top mount, presumably before the side mount was attached, and has a Buehler low scope safety.

I expect the proof marks are covered up by the side mount base, but there should be a serial number on the bottom of the action and on the rear of the magazine.

The worst part of the modification is the horrible bolt handle, but that, too, can be repaired. I don't understand the modification to the bottom metal at the front, next to the front action screw. Should you decide to part with it, let me know. I have a weakness for orphans like this one.

Neat gun, quite restorable. How cost effective that would be is another story but a cool little Kurz in a great cartridge.

You guys say Bubbad, we say bastardized. Like color and colour or check and cheque. The kurz actions and are kind of cute. The side mount on that one looks to be drilled and tapped to 10xsomething or 1/4xwhatnot and tends detract from the appearance and the value quite a bit.

Back in the day, when we was young and had nothing better to do. Myself and a large number of other gun plumbers were furiously chopping 98 Mausers in half and welding them back together to feed the demand for people wanting short action 89 Mausers in 22-250, 243, and 308s.

When done properly in a solid jig, with the gas weld in the thumb slot on the receiver and the silver joint under the extractor collar on the bolt, it is almost impossible to pick out some of these forgeries. We were very very BAD KIDS ! I see one or two short actions every year in my travels that are actually chopped long actions. I actually see the odd P17 and P14 chopped and lengthened to handle the H&H cartridges more efficiently too. I imagine you guys down south see the same thing.

ADD NOTE: the peep sight, safety and scope mount were probably added in America. I have seen that style of butter knife bolt handle on European cottage industry guns before so its probably original although the checkering and fluting near the top could have been added after. You say Bubba, Europeans say cottage industry.

The giveaway is the set trigger. Original Oberndorf sporters have a set trigger which, to my knowledge, has never been duplicated in an after market, drop in version. The slight curl on the front trigger says it all.

SingleShotGuy, you have a PM.

If you want a clone of that tigger. Recknagel currently makes them and Midway also sells a clone but they don't say who makes it. There have been several other clones over the years too. Even the crappy clones actually work very well because there is actually very little pressure on the sear surfaces because of the long fulcrum on the kicker and the tolerances only have to be within 1/64th or so to work flawlessly. It was and still is one hell of a good design. No engineers working on that one!


http://www.mattiarms.com/index...1ce4f06dbe187de93794

http://www.midwayusa.com/produ...user-98-mauser-style

I learn something new every day!

quote:

Originally posted by xausa:
I learn something new every day!

They are actually horribly simple to instal too. You can whittle the trigger guard out with a square file if you happen to be a basement gunsmith and if you have a mill its a simple matter of locking the guard into the mill and making the cuts. Because of the way they work they don't have to be lined up EGG-ZACKERY like normal triggers do because you have no sear engagement between trigger and the main sear.

After the hole is cut I gut the array and silver solder it into the guard, file it to shape, polish, blue them and then reinstall all the parts. Some guys pin them in or lock them in with screws which works well too. I prefer the solder as it looks more professional if it's done right. The kicker sear can be made from scratch or just buy the commercial one. The commercial ones are basically drop ins.

xausa.....Thank you for your information.

Almost a month since the last post, and a lot has changed. The rifle now belongs to me and I have been striving mightily to bring it up to full potential.

The first item was to mount a scope. No problem with a slide that fits the base, I have a drawer full of them which I have accumulated over the years. The problem was that using regular height rings the scope was too low to allow the bolt to cycle. I cobbled up a solution using a Lyman Alaskan 22mm scope and shimming the rings up .122", but a more elegant solution was not available until Griffin & Howe came through with a set of 1" rings which raise the scope .375" above the normal ring height.

The rings arrived on Thursday and I was able to mount a Leupold 1.75-6X Vari-X III and take the rifle to the range. The photo shows the results: the shots in the 7, 8, 9, and at 4 O'clock in the 10 ring were sighters. The group in and above the X ring represent the last five shots fired with the load (36 grains of Varget behind a Sierra HPBT 90 grain bullet).

[/QUOTE]

quote:

Originally posted by xausa:
Definitely started life as a commercial Mauser Kurz rifle. It has been fitted with a Lyman 35 receiver sight and a Griffin & Howe side mount at some point. Finding a set of rings and slide should be no problem, although the slide will probably have to be fitted. Finding the slide for the Model 35 is more difficult, if not impossible.

It has been drilled and tapped for either a Redfield or Buehler one piece top mount, presumably before the side mount was attached, and has a Buehler low scope safety.

I expect the proof marks are covered up by the side mount base, but there should be a serial number on the bottom of the action and on the rear of the magazine.

The worst part of the modification is the horrible bolt handle, but that, too, can be repaired. I don't understand the modification to the bottom metal at the front, next to the front action screw. Should you decide to part with it, let me know. I have a weakness for orphans like this one.

A "commercial Kurz"? With a thumb cut and clip charger guide? I've seen quite a few "commercial" offerings, both old and new. The ones I've seen had a solid left side (no thumb cut) and no provisions for stripper clips.

The majority of K mausers had thumbcuts and charger humps. Some were square bridges, and at least one was a large ring.

I suspect the cut out at the front tang is for a sling swivel.

That looks like the original equivalent of the Picatiny rail.

I think some one well be able to kill a lot of deer with it.

quote:

Originally posted by slivers:
A "commercial Kurz"? With a thumb cut and clip charger guide? I've seen quite a few "commercial" offerings, both old and new. The ones I've seen had a solid left side (no thumb cut) and no provisions for stripper clips.

[image][URL=http://s797.photobucket.com/user/m4220/media/Kurz%20Mauser/43mauser001.jpg.html] [image]http://i797.photobucket.com/albums/yy252/m4220/Kurz%20Mauser/43mauser001.jpg[/image]

Couple pic's of my original 1932 Mauser SSB type K Kurz Mauser 250-3000 that resides in WA state USA

m4220

Posted on Nitro Express

The thumb cut on the one in the OP looks much larger than normal. Is this an illusion caused by the shorter action?

quote:

Originally posted by slivers:
A "commercial Kurz"? With a thumb cut and clip charger guide? I've seen quite a few "commercial" offerings, both old and new.
The ones I've seen had a solid left side (no thumb cut) and no provisions for stripper clips.

In all my yrs, Ive never seen a solid left wall version of an orig.commercial Oberndorf SR-Kurz,
To my understanding they all had the patented gas escape feature and rear bridge stripper clip slot.
Some factory versions had a single square bridge.

Well, I may have learned something, then. If I can verify it some place other than an internet forum.

See picture from my original single square bridge model K Mauser made in 1932. May also want to do some time studying Jon Speed's books on commercial sporter Mausers.

m4220

Yup, Speed's book would be a good start.

So, where are all these solid left sidewall no hump actions I've heard so much about but never seen?

Id give my ass and half of Idaho for that ol bastardized, bubbed Kurtz rifle!! in that caliber, so if you want to part with it I'll make ya a good trade...Id love to spend the next year restoring that old gun..I can't see that is terribly messed up, quality side mount that runs about $1800 installed and receiver sight base that can be put back together...

If its not a Kurtz then you can see the weld in the sunlight..but its a Kurtz in every respect as far as I can tell.

Thanks for the offer, Ray. I'll keep you in mind when I get too decrepit to enjoy it. In the meantime I have managed to coax a 1" group out of it at 100 yards, using Sierra 100 grain BTHP bullets, with four of the five in about .750". I have two other .250 Savages, but this one is already my favorite.

Incidentally, I know where there is a Type M Kurz in 6.5X54 Mauser for sale, but the owner wants $7500 for it, which is out of my price range.