Hello All. Have posted the 'headspace mauser' discussion and also 'mauser 7X57' in the medium bore forum.

I have dads potential rifle in my hands and we have acertained that it cocks when closing the bolt. It has

Mod Mauser 1896
LUDW. LOEWE & Co BERLIN

It has A5551 stamped on the receiver and A2409 stamped on the barrel.

Will post some pics in a few days time however the rifle has had a pistol grip attached and has a jumping deer engraved on a floor plate and metal butt plate. There are also trees like conifers engraved on the trigger gard. These engravings are not qreat quality or very artisctic but they do give it character.

Would be interested in what you can tell me about the rifle and what its potential will be. And what I should expect before reloading the 7X57 to its full potential.

The barrel has some light rust that I should be able to get rid of and the rifling seems very crisp. The bolt is very smooth but this is my first experience with mausers other than an old Brno fox 22 hornet.

Appreciate any comments
Thanks
robe

A 96 should not be loaded to the 7x57s potential. You should keep pressures down in the 51000 range.

I'll second that. Stick to factory level loads and avoid the Hornady Light Magnum and Federal High Energy ammo. The 7x57 works very well as is. The rifle doesn't have the strength of the more modern rifles made today.
Paul B.

Are M96 actions really that weak? I thought Kimber made a bunch of rifles out of them some time ago. I thought the gripe with pre-M98 Mausers was the poor gas handling ability should you have a case failure.

I own nothing but M98's and I've never tinkered with any of the others so I don't know. What's the deal with the M96's?

The 96 Mauser doesn't have the third "safety" lug at the back of the bolt like the 98 Mauser. So if you crack one of the front bolt lugs, you'll probably have the bolt coming back into your face on the next shot.

quote:

Originally posted by Tex21:
Are M96 actions really that weak? I thought Kimber made a bunch of rifles out of them some time ago. I thought the gripe with pre-M98 Mausers was the poor gas handling ability should you have a case failure.

I own nothing but M98's and I've never tinkered with any of the others so I don't know. What's the deal with the M96's?

It may be entirely possible to load a Loewe M96 to the 7X57mm's full potential, BUT DOING SO IS DEFINITELY NOT RECOMMENDED!! These rifles have 19th Century metallurgy, and are also of the small-ring type. They also lack several of the M98's other safety features, like the internal receiver ring that the barrel tightens up against and the bolt safety lug as well.

The Loewe Mausers are certainly among the best M96's made, but a load which drives a 175-grain bullet at 2300-2400 FPS is plenty for any game in the lower 48, and will not destroy the old rifle either, as long as it is in good condition to begin with.

THis is a common confusing point of Mauser 96's. These were produced by several manufacturers over a long span of years. The German Lowe is a turn of the last century action, most probably pre WWI. The heat treating methods were as yet to refined to current standards and didn't happen to the 1920's, with some variances depending on the manufacturing countries technological advances.

The Swedish made the 96 way after the war and almost into the 1960's. I wouldn't be concerned with a 1950's Swedish Mauser and using higher pressure loads, I would with a pre WWI German Mauser. The workmanship in this was good and if you were willing to pull it all apart and heat treat the action I would change my opinion. In leau of that I would use moderate loads.

The reference to the Kimbers is probably true, but the Kimber I saw in the past was a Swedish Mauser ( later years ) rebarreled and restocked.

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Alf,

Very nice and historic guns! What does the "OVS" signify?

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Ditto what schromf said. If the metallurgy is good or redone, then the '96 is as strong as a '98 in one specific regard. If you look at the left lug on a 96 it is much longer than a '98. The total shear area for the 96 lugs is roughly equal to the shear area of the '98 lugs plus its third lug. The Swedes made many great post war rifles in high intensity calibers like 270, 220 Swift on these actions.

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while the 96 action is not weak, it does lack the 3rd lug, and the 98's gas handling characteristics.

ALF, I collect Krag sporters and for several years have owned what is surely a Boer War 6.5mm Norwegian Krag, a Steyr 1896 ser. no. 354, the name H.J.R. Erasmus is carved into the butt. It has been sporterized by shortening the forend, checkering butt and forend, fitting a 3 leaf express sight and a Lyman dovetailed into the cocking piece. There are a few small rust pits on the outside of the barrel but the bore is perfect and it shoots very well. I would very much like to find out who H.J.R. Erasmus was. Are there any sources of information I could go to?

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ALF, thanks, I await your further information. I also own Steyr 1896 ser. no. 107, 6.5mm, but this is a cased Holland & Holland sporter retaining the military length barrel and military sights. Apparently all H&H did was restock and case it. One wonders if this was originally one of the Boer rifles, perhaps taken to England after the war and sporterized.

Thanks all and esspecially Alf
Really appreciated all the information everyone shared. The owner told my dad it was a mauser 98 model. I would not at all be suprised if he is using fairly strong reloads in it.

Despite the obvious quality in the firearm and thanks to Alf a lot of intrigue into what it has been up to over this last century, we have past up owning this rifle. Dad needs would have required the rifle to be modified and I am saving up for a different rifle.

I have taken some pictures of the rifle, engraving and the receiver with possible inscription on stock (appears to have been removed by sanding back).

I will post them as soon as I get time to work out how.
Cheers
robe

quote:

Originally posted by ALF:
...These ranks were democratically elected and rank came with your relative social stature within your farming community....Alf

Those seem to be at odds with each other, unless I misunderstand something.

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