Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Mausers and Military Rifles Mauser 95 regrets

Not too long ago I put in a lowball offer for a Ludwig Loewe 1895 Mauser rebarreled to 7mm-08 on GunBroker. I had a Gunsmith look at it, and they told me it appears safe to fire. However the action is very rough and I don’t see any amount of cleaning making it smooth. The stock it came with is useless as well...Literally the worst stock I have ever seen.

I didn’t pay a ton for it (~$300) but also figure resale value is pretty minimal. I expect I would have to dump at least $300 into it to maybe turn it into a decent rifle. Given that the resale probably wouldn’t increase much, and it most likely would underwhelm for $600 it seems like the best decision would be to cut my losses.

Curious to hear about any similar experiences, thoughts, advice, etc. Any success stories out there?

TIA

It happens brother, you will buy money pits every now and then. It happens to all of us, cut your losses and move on. It stings, but thats how you learn.

Pics would help us to make a better assessment. Rough> How exactly? Finish? Operation?

If you have any question about safety, I'd put it on a shelf or bury it in the back yard.

It is really easy to dump more money into a military Mauser build a little bit at a time such that you don't really notice it until you realize that it will never be worth what you have into it, the opposite of synergy. I call them "stone soup builds" and have a half dozen or so of them.

Operation, it requires a LOT of force to cycle. I will put pics up when I pick it back up. I’m not sure pictures can capture how embarrassing the stock on this thing is, it’s almost like a stock on a toy rifle. I thought from the GB pics that it might be similar to the Ruger American Predator stock.

As far as safety, there are now 2 separate gunsmiths that have stayed it is safe. I’m still not 100% convinced based on reading (I believe on here) about a rebarreled m95 that ended up with the shooter being evacuated by ambulance. Not really much detail on how significant his injuries were, but still makes you wonder. Also sounds like he was using handloads which I wouldn’t do.

I agree. If you don't trust it, drill holes in the barrel and sell it as a project.

Life is too short...

If the smiths say it is safe then strap it to a tire and fire a few.
If it shoots reasonably well, put another stock on it and paint it.
Sounds like it would be a good loaner, truck gun, cabin, barn gun.
Go here for a stock navigate down to the bargain list they have a stock for $79
http://rifle-stocks.com/bargain_list.htm

charlee

I wonder what is making it rough/hard to cycle? I have seen a few 1895s, and owned one at one time in original trim (which I've regretted selling), and they were beautifully finished.

The design is very similar to the Swede, and about as well-made, though the Swedes have a better reputation, probably due at least in part to the quality of the iron ore they used. As long as it is in good nick and loaded conservatively it should be strong enough, but it would not be at at all hard to run up far more than it is worth to turn it into a sporter.

Ive been looking at one locally. Theres nothing rough on this 95 Mauser. The thing is clean and all original in full original condition. Beautiful rifle and super slick.

If it's rough to cycle, I'd be worried about lug set-back, especially with a higher pressure round compared to its original.

I'm sure your gunsmith is better qualified than I am, but it's the first thing I thought of.

Cycle could mean anything. OP, ought to give a little more detailed explanation if he wants anything resembling useful advice.

Hard to open after firing? Hard to feed a cartridge out of the magazine into the chamber?

I'm guessing the later and if so, would suspect that the 7mm-08 is causing feeding issues. Why someone would covert from 7x57 to 7mm-08 is beyond me but it happens. Could have been a shot out barrel.

Put it back on GB as a penny auction, you'll get what you get. Eat the the rest. Lesson learned, just don't let it happen again.

Wish I could say that the biggest firearm related mistake I ever made was less than $300.00.

The 1895 Mausers cock on close, bet that’s why the gun seems to require a LOT of force to cycle.

I have never seen or handled a Loewe rifle that wasn't beautifully made, Loewe was the main player in German Armaments industry, but when Jews began to fall into disfavor, the son of Ludwig Loewe masterminded a number of mergers that eventually ended up with the name DWM. There are gunsmiths...and there are Mauser knowledgeable gunsmiths, I suggest the latter for an informed opinion before you trash it.

+1, I have a sporterized 1895 Chilean 7X57 that came out of Paul Jaeger’s shop, one of my favorite guns.

SAAMI for the 7x57 is 51,000 psi while SAAMI for the 7mm-08 is 61,000 psi. The 1895 Mauser is a low pressure action that is not designed for loads generating over 55,000 psi. Modern commercial 7X57 ammunition is loaded for use in the ‘weakest’ Mauser actions as the manufacturers know it is very likely to be used in these guns. Not so with the .7mm-08. Personally, wouldn’t be comfortable shooting the op’s gun.
Metallurgy in the late 19th Century was a far cry from what it is today.

This is just pure opinion, But Loewe, as a prime contractor...he bought out the Mauser Bros in 1887, and took over production, with Paul Mauser staying on as technical expert...I cannot imagine any loss of quality with Paul Mauser in that company. Historically, when a country used a Mauser patent, but insisted on building the rifles in the customer's country...machinery and a technical team set up the operation and production. Some of the finest examples of Mausers were built outside of Germany, but under German supervision.

Winnah!

Agreed, that it could be either set back locking lugs or the cock on closing feature. Shooters that have never shot a cock on closing Mauser are usually surprised at the additional force required to close the bolt.

Also agreed on the 95 Lowe Mausers quality and currently have a couple. One is a beater I've shot a lot for at least 30 years with low pressure handloads and it's still working fine. The other's an all matching #s one that doesn't look to have ever been used in the field it looks, functions and shoots as good as any milsurp I've seen. I know the Swedes are supposed to be the best of the small ring Mausers both for quality and accuracy. I like them too, have owned a couple of 96s & #38s and will get another but I haven't seen much if any overall difference in either aspect with rifles in equal condition.