Hello,

This question may seem a little obvious but I'm not well versed in this area.

I have some old Mauser's, (Turkish 1903?) and have been daydreaming about having a gunsmith turn one into a hunting rifle. My knowledge of these guns is somewhat limited but I believe they were manufactured pre WW1, and then rebored to 7.92x57 just prior to WW2. Mine are stamped around 1937/38 and have the stamp "TC/ASFA/Ankara".

Do these guns have any potential? Just looking for a unique rifle that could potentially be used for hunting and I'm trying to find out what the possibilities are.

If it's worth building on, what calibers are possible?

Thanks!

Hi DC, you might find this info useful,

"Type VI, Oberndorf intermediate action
Action OAL: 8.750
Recvr screws, center to center: 7.835
Bolt body length: 6.165
Magazine length: 3.115
Receiver ring dia: 1.410, large ring
Barrel shank dia: .980, small shank

I call this the Oberndorf intermediate action, as they are the only ones who produced it. Commonly encountered models include:
1903 Turk
1909 Peruvian
1935 Argentine
Oberndorf Commercial

The 1903 Turk and the 1909 Peruvian also share some other qualities. They both have a very high clip bridge, and a long curved arm on the ejector box that puts pressure on a stripper clip loaded into the receiver, holding it in place. The 1935 Argentine and the Oberndorf commercial action do not have this.
This type has a longer than normal receiver ring, and a longer than normal cocking piece, with a shorter than normal bolt body, hard to figure where the weight savings come in!
The Oberndorf commercial action was also available in a small ring version, all other dimensions identical.

I pulled it from the third post by jeffeosso in this thread. Reference Material Links

By the look of this you should find your action suitable for rebarreling to most calibres with a coal of 3" approx. I'm assuming that these are in 8x57 cal & this makes a very useful hunting round in its own right, somewhere between 308 Win & 30-06 in power. If your barrels are OK this is worth looking at. Otherwise do some research on cartridges in this size or ask over on the small calibre & medium bores forums for advice.
Steve.

Hi Dan,

I have a little FN Mauser in 257 Roberts that I have fallen in love with. Your Mauser, I think, would make a very fine hunting rifle in this caliber. If you are down in my neighborhood you can shoot it, if you like.

Cheers,

Larry

Thanks Steve, That is some great info.

Larry,

A .257 Roberts could be very interesting! I'd love to see and/or shoot yours. Got some pics?

Don

Positively identifying which model you have is important in determining which cartridges it may be suitable for.

The Turk reworked G98's often bear the same markings. Does the rear edge of the receiver ring have a notch cut in it? If so, it's a 1903 and of intermediate length capacity.

If no notch, then its a G98 and I wouldn't bother building anything out of it. They are usually ok as shooters.

Here are a couple of pics of one of the rifles. I have several and they all have the notch.

One idea I had was having a .375 H&H built. is this action suitable?

quote:

Originally posted by DC Roxby:
Here is a pic of the receiver. I have several and they all have the notch.

One idea I had was having a .375 H&H built. is this action suitable?

Yup a 1903. No, it is not suitable for .375 H&H. The .376 steyr would be a much better fit in that short magazine.

quote:

Originally posted by DC Roxby:
Thanks Steve, That is some great info.

Larry,

A .257 Roberts could be very interesting! I'd love to see and/or shoot yours. Got some pics?

Don

Don, if you go the 257 Roberts route, you might think of getting it long throated into what I have seen called a 3" 257 Roberts. I have my 257 Roberts built on a medium BSA action which is 3" approx in the Magazine & have had it throated so. I can sit 117-120 grain projectiles out so they are flush with the base of the neck & am able to load them up with the likes of MRP & H4831SC to give 2900+ fps with no pressure signs. Of all my firearms, its the one I pull out the most often cause it does its thing so nicely.
Steve.

Hmm, I thought those 1903s were all small ring, ive never seen a large ring, just small ring in mil configuration. Are the large ring 1903s scares?

All the 1903's like their cousin, the 1909 peruvian, are large ring BUT they have the small ring threads.

Ok , I was thinking of a turk m93

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=94463021

This guy says this is a m98, incorrectly

Been doing some reading on the .376 Steyr and it sounds like an interesting round.

There are two directions that interest me in buldinga custom rifle. One is building a smaller caliber rifle for hunting whitetail and pronghorn, and the other is having a rifle built that would be suitable for cape buffalo, which I hope to hunt in the next few years. I have always had a desire to hunt buff with an open sighted rifle.

Next steps are figuring out what this is likely to cost me and finding a good gunsmith to do the work.

Don,

I'll try and take a e-photo this weekend and post it here for you.

Larry

So are these oberndorf turks slicker operating and nicer than a K. Kale turk?

Do I understand correctly that the 1903 obendorf turk is a intermediate length and small shank thread?

I know the K.kale is a standard length, small barrel shank thread

Thanks Rick