Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Mausers and Military Rifles New to me military Mauser

All:

My in-laws recently visited and brought down a family heirloom that they possessed and gave to us. It’s a military Mauser that looks to be in fairly good shape considering it’s fairly old. Anyways, I know a lot about hunting rifles but not a whole lot about these Mausers. What specifically would I look for to identify and determine where it was made, and the year it was made? I can provide pictures if that helps. I just need to know specifically what to take pictures of. Any of you Mauser experts opinions would be appreciated.

Thank you, RAS

Need some good pics of : crest on top of receiver, L&R side of action, trigger guard (bottom metal) . Should be enough to get started , but, the more the merrier.

Nazi symbol, I think.

On sling

Damn! Where do folks get these friends, buddies, family members, etc., bestowing guns! Am I in some kind of 'stingy alternate reality'? Well... Life IS good!

Looks to me like a conventional so called "Standard Modell Mauser" in terms of commercial proofs. This subvariety to the DRP as Deutsches Reich Post. Mail serivce. Not uncommon for most of these Standard Modells to be found nowadays, matching excepting bolts. This bolt with it looks like a G33/40 characteristcally hollow ball bolt. The 33/40 rifle never with such issue bolt handle root eagle, 'to my recollection'. The original DRP rifle bolt would have been straight ^ later ones bent. These were commercial quality actions as sucked up for military/government contract repurposing. I have one such commercial proof as yours with "1934" included datie, in pretty terrible shape and one such omitting date marking as better shape. Neither of mine sustaining any DRP markings. My latter, original bolt but mismatched.
Surely an expert along to fill in and with any corrections of my observations! To me this 'net-net', a typical mismatch. The bolt may have some particular value in restoring a 33/40 in 'look alike' context. The SN of such bolts, aft side of bolt handle bend, curving around. Might look for any residual of such there.

Interesting rifle in any context!
Best!
John

RAS;
Good afternoon sir, I hope besides having a wonderful example of a prewar Mauser that all else is going well.

As iskra said, the bolt looks to be a G33/40 which in itself isn't something one bumps into every decade - well I haven't.

The Mauser roll mark and date stamp are super crisp too. Wow....

My walking around rifle is a between the wars commercial Mauser roll marked rifle, but it came to me in way, WAY worse shape where the date is gone and one can just so make out the roll mark.

The serial number on the rest of the parts match... again - Wow..

I don't see any Nazi proofs on it either, which makes sense because they were just getting into power then. The walking around rifle I mentioned has no Nazi proofs either.

The DRP to me and again I'm no expert, likely was Deutches Reich Post. The Germans were not supposed to be rearming, but the treaties allowed for things like the DRP, Border Patrol and various LEO to be armed, so there were "a lot" of rifles made for various branches for sure.

An interesting piece for sure, thanks for sharing.

All the best.

Dwayne

The DRP rifles came with a standard K98k bent bolt. That bolt is from a G33/40. Nice 'gift".

Thank you for the information so far. What is so special or different about the G33/40 bolt?

RAS;
The G33/40 was a special rifle.

I've owned the only one I've ever seen and by the way, it didn't have the correct bolt, it had a standard K98 Bolt.

Here's the short version.



Here's the longer version.



Hope that helps.

Dwayne

Mauser porn at its best. Congrats!

Below a singular pix of my "1934" nomenclature inclusive receiver but w/o bolt; a junker. After some considration, I believe you have a potentially collectible rifle. Swap out the G33/40 bolt for a correct genre one. It should sell for a good price! The correct bolt with commerical proofs, likely difficult to find, but possible. Moreover I'd think your net from the 33/40 (the holow bolt know is the clue) sale should more than pay for the bolt you need. I'd sell the complete bolt aassembly as it extracts from the rifle and replace on the same terms. Just my suggestion. A Reich DRP rifle, my belief on the more collectible end of the generally collectible Standard Modell spectrum. These were quality rifles!

Congrats on your acquisition and also kudos for the multiple quality photos. Just wish other folks coming with questions would bring such!
Hope this info helps!
Best!
John

Iskra


I think you are correct on the collective nature of this gun but I respectfully disagree on the bolt having to be straight like the one you pictured.

I have seen at least three or four ended auctions for this type of rifle and have noticed that all of them have the same figured bolt as the one that I have here. And they sold for more than I could believe. It might be, like other rifles from that era, that there are batches which have certain features in them. Maybe I am missing something.

I collect Savage 99 rifles and this is definitely the case with them.

Thank you for your help.

Is this a swastika under an eagle? I think it is but not 100%. It is on the top edge of my bolt handle.

This part of the bolt is nowhere near that silver. The flash made it look like that. It was the best picture I could get up close.

Also to add….

I can take more pics of the bolt if needed.

But this one here definitely has a hallowed out bolt. So the Krauts maybe switched out a 33/40 bolt after they took power, if ‘only’ 33/40s had hallowed out bolts.

RAS, My apologies. My poor eyesight I mistook your siderail markings as "STANDARD MODELL" - i know... Duh!... and went off half cocked from there. I've gone back through and corrected my posts just before finding this latest one of yours. It was actually Z1R to thank for providing a 'heads up', or possibly 'heads out' . from which I did a bit of reviewing. From there, back to correct both of my prior Posts.
The 'fallout', I stand by my assessment of your present bolt being exclusivey purposed for the G33/40 since such as I'd noted the only one with that hollow handle style. I believe there will be a swarm of guys after such bolt as replacing "sporterized such models! The Swastika I can't tell either per bad eyes anyway. It's not the current German Republik Federal Eagle for sure! Whatever markings it seems to me a moot point in respect of in the wrong rifle.

I also stand by my amended assessment of "collectible" as DRP!
Sorry for off on the wrong foot.

Best!
John

RAS;
Good evening once more, I've found a couple more sources of proof marks for you to perhaps find some answers.

The one proof on the receiver ring is a crown over N which is Zella-Mehlis proofed.

Link;
http://www.germanhuntingguns.com/about-the-guns/gun-indentification/

As mentioned, it appears the rest of the rifle is pre-Nazi so would have pre-Nazi proofs.

The bolt proof is a Nazi eagle sitting on the world and in at least some there's a swastika in the middle of that.

[Linked Image]

For my money, the best book on the subject of Mausers is Ludwig Olson's "Mauser Bolt Rifles"

https://www.abebooks.com/book-search/title/mauser-bolt-rifles/author/ludwig-olson/

Hopefully that's useful to you or someone out there.

Again congrats on a nice piece of history.

Dwayne