Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles The rythme of old school, sporterized Mausers

I decided to see what I could find in the safe, that needed to go deer hunting this fall. When I was a boy this old timer was always the rifle that fascinated me, in Dad's old fashioned glass windowed gun cabinet. I learned at an early age it was a .25-06. It has the longest & heaviest barrel of any of his rifles, I'm guessing the equivalent of a Shilen #4, 26" long. Dad had bought it in the 60's from a coworker who needed money. Possibly it even preceded Remington's standardization of the round in 1969. I am told it was short on the headspace, when Dad got it, and had to be re-reamed to allow factory ammo to chamber.



The barrel is not stamped with the chambering, which always makes me suspect the smith was an amateur. The stock is a Fajen with a faux-Weatherby Monte Carlo comb. No clue what flavor of Mauser it was; all the markings have been removed from the action, except the serial number...which does not match the bolt. A steel Weaver K4 is mounted, and seems to work fine. The barrel is floated, and the action glass bedded. The trigger remains as it left a German factory. I have since learned it is a 1 in 11" twist, so I'm going to try 110 Accubonds first, then 100 Partitions if the AB's don't shoot. Factory 115gr Win loads with Ballistic Silvertips did so-so on accuracy, when I was fireforming loads.

This old sporter will never be anything but a sentimental favorite. And also a reminder of a time when millions of WWII vets splurged a little and built themselves a deer rifle, starting with surplus guns, generic wood stocks, and barrels of unknown origin.

Very cool!

Mike

A possible source of the rifle is one of the many gunsmithing schools, I don't remember any of the students marking the caliber on the rifles they built. Though they generally had pretty plain uncheckered stocks that the students built as part of their training.

Been there done that on Mausers a coupla times I won't go there anymore on Mausers. Now a nice FN I'm a sucker for or a clean 03 or 03A3 that still has a good barrel and enuf wood left on a old Fajen or Bishop stock to clean up and make it look decent. tex have some fun and make some more good memories as well as venison with that outfit.good luck this fall. Magnum Man

nice rifle... refugee from back when there were saner times in this country...if it was 'short on head space and had to be re reamed to chamber'.. ya sure it wasn't originally a 257 Roberts?

I was told, just needed a slight reaming, so I don't think it was a Bob originally.

I have plenty of Reloader 22 on hand, wand will try that first in it.

Not a Mauser but still old school.
Friend bought it at a yard sale this summer.

I'm contemplating a 1909 argentine i found. It's been rebored to 30-06. Has the original barrel, and a weaver reciever sight. In a ramline stock


Price is 200 bucks. I'm thinking it would make a really cool 9.3x62, and then parkerized and put into a proper wood stick

Sounds like a plan at only $200 for the rifle. Is it drilled and tapped for scope bases? Bolt handle altered?

Cool old rifle and great to have the history and memories associated with it! The only memories I have from my father's limited gun collection was a Marlin model 60 .22 with the little squirrels on the stock!

A fair number of the 7.65x53 1909 Argentines were rechambered to 30-06 with the military barrel that has a .311 or so bore. So, kinda hard to rebore the military barrel to the smaller .308 caliber.

Anyway, a decent condition 1909 Argentine action should be worth $200 by itself.

I would steer clear of Mausers that have no markings there's just no way to tell which of the many manufacturers produced it or if it was a "last ditch" rifle whose workmanship would be shoddy at best, heat treat would be a concern on these much like low numbered Springfields. The Argentine Mauser has always been considered the one to build a custom rifle, with FN Mausers at the top of the heap especially the commercial built examples.

Any easy way to tell what it is, as far as action dimensions, configuration, etc. ?

Original bore diameter doesn't mean squat to me. If I buy it, it won't stay ought six anyway

Quite a bit of Mauser in that action's bloodlines.

Not old, but an old school 7x57.

I handled an FN Mauser in 7MM Magnum on Sunday, if had been a 7X57MM it would have come home with me. Price was good $499

Today I tried a new batch of handloads, and had pretty decent results. The target shown is three groups in a row at 100 yards. I fired a couple of 3 shot groups, and could tell my technique with the old mauser trigger (and the old Weaver 4x) was lacking. The last group is the one on the right, and is 5 shots; I apparently did a little better



The load is 110gr Accubonds over 52gr Reloader 22. Velocity averaged a hair over 3000 fps. A .25-06 should be able to run a little faster, but I don't see much reason to push it; it should be plenty for Texas whitetails.

does it have the thumb cutout on the left side?
it looks to have surplus floor metal,but it looks like a commercial bolt handle.more pics would help with ID.
why do you think the trigger is the same as when it left a GERMAN factory?

Utah,
Well done!
Love that Mauser, is that a maple stock? and if so did you stain it?
Must be tough finding left hand Mauser's?

Excellent!!

Yes, it has a thumb cutout on the left side. The trigger is two stage, and fairly gritty when it releases. The bolt has two digits stamped on it, and they don't match the action. I will add, in one's lower peripheral vision, you can see the bolt sleeve dip down as you take up the slack in the trigger.

As I think I mentioned earlier, the barrel is 1 in 11: twist, so I was pleased it shot well with the 110 NAB's

1914 FN Mauser. When I bought it, the rifle was in the original stock, but hacked up. Step barrel. 7X57 Mauser.
I had a Bell and Carlson put on. Shilen 26 inch barrel, chambered in 7x57 Ackley Improved. Canjar trigger.
The load I use is with IMR 3031 powder, and a 140 grain Sierra Game King bullet. Chrony shows 3100 fps, with very good accuracy.

Here is my old 8x57 that my dad brought home from the war. It is late war production and probably not worth putting much money into but it shoots good.

That's a great rifle! Great story as well.

At Co School of Trades we were required to stamp the barrel. I've stamped every one since, except my latest M98 with a 27 inch heavy bbl. My stamps are 600 miles away at the moment. I'll get to it....

Tex - slap a Timney in that thing, adjusted to 2.5 lbs. You'll be glad you did. I can pretty much tell you why that chamber was "short". That's the way they come from all manufacturers of barrels, and whoever screwed it on didn't have a reamer to finish-chamber it. I'm guessing it's never been fired until you did.

Which may be why your 3rd group tightened up a bit, also, even with the crappy trigger. I've had new barrels go up to 100 rounds, before getting real good.

And an after market safety if that's still military, either on the Timney or replacing the military.

I was wondering if the safety cleared the scope.I bet there is a crest under your front base that could id it.I had a old FN Belgian in factory 30-06 years ago it had a big B ,and the letters ABL under the base.It had a sporter stock,and Buler low swing safty,but still had the hard long creep trigger.Dad brazed a little nut with a set screw on the trigger,and put a lighter spring in it,and it really felt good.It shot good too.They were made in the late 40s,and early 50s,so I dont think it ever saw combat..

I'll play...bought this one when I was 19...Century Arms Sporter...I've replaced the trigger with a Timney Featherweight and bedded it in an NOS Fajen stock I picked up on Fleabay...thinking about sending it off to JES sooner or later and making it into a 9.3x62...

This is a DWM built in Berlin in 1897. Its in need of a spruce up but it still puts 3 shots into one ragged hole regularly at 100 metres.

Its a 308 Win that gets a diet of light loads; 150 grainers around 2550fps. This barrel's probably had more than 10000 rounds through it.

It does have an aftermarket safety which clears the scope. It's still on the left side, however, which I dislike. Maybe at some point I'll add a M70 safety to it. Hunting from a blind, though, it's not that big of a deal.

Good thought on the crest. I'm not going to move the scope mounts a week before the season, but it's worth a look.

Here's my 8x57 built on an Erfurt Mauser. Eldest son used it a bit when we were in Africa.

I don't know if this one is sporterized or not.. It was a .270 Jefferson when I got it along with a remote cabin purchase in 1975. It was showing stock damage from cabin flood, so I refinished it in 1976 - my first stock refinish. It's about due for another... Took these pics a few days ago. Swapped 24" 270 bbl no longer shooting for a heavier, 27 in. one in '06.



Stock figure is nice.

Well, success with the .25-06. Not a huge buck, but a good sized doe, that should eat fine, fell to the Mauser.

It was afternoon, and I chose the blind to have the southerly wind in my favor. The afternoon sun was not, however. The glare from the late afternoon sun made viewing tough in the old Weaver scope. I guess the lens coatings of the day weren't so hot.

I could just see the doe's outline in the scope's glare. She was about 75 yards away. I'd been wanting to take a mature doe, with no young fawns, or a cull. I lined up, took the shot, and see her drop, then get up and run. I wait a while and start looking, to find her down about 40 yards away. I'd hit a little high, just in front of the diaphragm on the near side. The 110 gr Accubond had left about a 1.5" exit, just behind the opposite shoulder. Field dressing, I found the bullet had gone just under the spine. Altogether, a satisfactory load, though I could run them a bit faster.

It is satisfying, scoring with old rifles.

1913 Erfurt Kar 98 in 257 Roberts with a Bold trigger. I traded a 270 Tikka T3 SS for it. May not be the best decision based on value but this rifle has soul and theTikka was just a tool. I've worked up a load with Varget and IMR4350 that will put three 100 gr TTSXs into 0.6". It's a light trim package that's a joy to carry and shoot.

Beauties all.
Like a dummy, I traded a P.O. Ackley Mauser in 22/250 for a shotgun.
Nice shotgun, but-----.

Old pics of the old '06. She wears a Leupy VXII 3-9x40 now.....

In my opinion there is no classier rifle than well done custom model 98 Mauser. If I could all my hunting rifles would be on a 98 Mauser.

Good deal.

Excellent work great to hear the ole workhorse is still bringing home meat!

6.5x55..not really old school tho..

More like Art School!

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. How does it shoot?

I love sporterized mausers; the pimped-out classics as well as the more "working class" rifles.

My son's is a Turk with 21" slim-contour barrel chambered to .257 Roberts, lightweight "in the bow" PH bottom unit, military trigger modified to single-stage, lovely Boyd's Prairie Hunter stock in walnut, and Burris FFII 2-7x 35mm w/ BP in Weaver rings:



My hope is he bloodies it soon but its a very enjoyable rifle to carry & to shoot.

Other such rifles I have in my arsenal include a Steyr 98 in 6.5x55, and one of my personal all-time favorites a Czech 98 in 257 AI. That last one has gotten around and been tweaked a fair bit over the years...







As it sits now and will remain until the throat is toasted: Parkerized, PH side-safety trigger, Rem 798 take-off laminate monte carlo stock, Leupold M8 6x 42mm w/ Euro #4.

Fair, a good friend did most of the work on it,I had it at the range this fall while he was there and he asked to see what the old '96 could do. I rang the 1000 yard with it with it 4 times in a row, then dropped the 5th shot low right somehow. 140 amax, the old turd will hold its own.

I have a few more '96 and '98's in the larder, someday i'll get around to them..Looks like brownells has stopped making that remington-esc bolt shroud i have on that one. Wish i had bought a few for future builds now as its my favorite for the Mauser. Also that one has a Bold trigger on it, and it tunes up really nice along with whatever he did with the pin/spring to get the lock time down(he replaced it, but cant remember what with now)

That is the original military step barrel on it, he brazed a piece of conduit on it and it looks like a heavy barrel, but its just a Carl Gustav swede out of the bargain barrel with a few mods.

Here is a pic of what i'm talking about. the piece you see seperate from the rifle screws onto the threaded barrel, its also ported inside the tube which you cant see,kind of like an integral suppressor ..This was an experiment, and thats it. I honestly didnt think it would shoot at all after dinking with the barrel like that, but it shoots surprisingly decent..Is what it is,just a guy with a few tools doing an experiment on a more/less throw away rifle.


Same guy has a '93 in a 257 Roberts of mine that he's carving a piece of exhibition grade wood for. I bought that particular rifle years ago, and its a shooter.barrel is stamped "A.D Forkey, Texas". Dont know anything about Mr.Forkey, but he built a nice rifle, complete with hand engraving of big horn sheep,I picked it up "right"at an obscure mom and pop joint a long time ago..a few years later i busted the stock clean in half on it while hunting mule deer..hence the new handle getting installed.

Here is one I did 15 years ago or so. All numbers matched.
New barrel, trigger, bolt handle, stock. Now it is a 30-06.

Here is a rather crudely done Swede with an 1899 date of manufacture. They did a fair job on the bolt handle, however the stock mods look like they were done with a hatchet. It sat on the used rack for a long time before I decided it was just too ugly to sit there any longer. I'll be damned if it doesn't shoot 1/2-3/4 MOA with a handful of different loads and is by far the least expensive firearm I've ever bought...

Just curious. What is "rythme" ?

That is my dream build!