I bought one of these years ago for $30 on consignment at a local gun store. I sporterized it. This afternoon, I shot a doe with it. One shot, and it was just as dead as any deer I ever killed. Seems like a decent rifle to me!
I was given a Spanish "Guardia Civil" 7.62 CETME on a small ring action by a friend who was moving out of the USA on some sort of contract job and couldn't take his firearms with him. My grandson wanted a period-correct looking Mauser rifle so I simply refinished the stock and fitted a Williams receiver sight. We loaded up a good quantity of 130 grain hard cast bullet ammo to .300 Savage specifications, and he commenced to make war on the local deer population. None of them refused to drop dead in their tracks when he shot them.
"But alas, the gunwriters/publishers never bugled their corrections loud enough for the public to hear...and the myth of the weakness of the Spanish 93's persists today in loading manual snide remarks."
Just a thought that occurred to me a while back. The large influx of milsurp rifles after the end of WW2 included a lot of M93 and M95 rifles which people bought due to their very low prices.The big gun makers were so very much more expensive and cheap but good rifle were taking a big bite out of profits. I've always had a sneaking hunch that the rumors that these guns were too weak to be safe with proper loads was started to keep people from buying them. I have almost ever copy of the America Rifleman from 1936 to the present date and I don't remember when it stared out in force but i'm thine around 946/47 and continued ever since. Even the AR took up the hue and cry. Prior to that there was an occasional comment on the strength but it didn't get to load until after the war. I'm thinking that possible Winchester and Remington just may have been behind this and like other myths it's has grown until considered fact. IIRC, the price of a Winchester M70 would pay for at least four or five M93s four M95s and a Remingtor 721 for about three and a half m93s/95s. It would depend on the general time frame but I saying just right after the war once they became available. PJ
Our forefathers did not politely protest the British.They did not vote them out of office, nor did they impeach the king,march on the capitol or ask permission for their rights. ----------------They just shot them. MOLON LABE
And their gas handling capabilities in the event of a case separation/split or pierced primer compared to later Mauser designs and commercial rifles is no myth either. The rifles are what they are, but in the end there's better choices.
"You can lead a man to logic, but you cannot make him think." Joe Harz "Always certain, often right." Keith McCafferty
Hmmmm- - - - -but a receiver whittled out of a piece of round steel tubing, cranked out by a CNC lathe, with a thread only 1/16" bigger radius (AKA Remington 700) is so much better than a small ring Mauser- - - - -right! That Remington and Winchester propaganda theory is starting to make a lot of sense!
Apples and oranges, considering the the metallurgy between the two plus the aforementioned safety advantages that weren't addressed in the 1893 Mauser.
"You can lead a man to logic, but you cannot make him think." Joe Harz "Always certain, often right." Keith McCafferty
Since I have lots of stuff to shoot, I wouldn’t even bother getting the dies, cases etc to cobble up ammo so I could shoot it. It’s not bad to look at, so hang it on the wall, and resolve to never get drunk before going to the gun-shop again…
I hunted with a Oveido 1916 in 7.62 for a long time. I shot Federal 150 gr. factory at first, then handloads with Win. 748. I never really hotrodded it but, i didn't load reduced loads either. I shot .308 level loads all the time. never had a problem.
Philosophical observation, regarding early Mausers versus early U.S. Martial bolt actions (and yes I know the M1903 was a derivative of the Mauser). All those early Mausers which proliferated in second- and third-world countries were made to be adapted to unsophisticated end users. The U.S. did the opposite, adapted the unsophisticated end users to their high quality weapons.
"You can lead a man to logic, but you cannot make him think." Joe Harz "Always certain, often right." Keith McCafferty
I think they make a no drill weaver mount for the rear sight.
I have one on a 1916 small ring Mauser. I have only bore sighted it. I did form some .270 brass into 7x57 and loaded it light. I just haven't made it to the range yet.
kwg
For liberals and anarchists, power and control is opium, selling envy is the fastest and easiest way to get it. TRR. American conservative. Never trust a white liberal. Malcom X Current NRA member.
I had a '16, poor shape. Sent it to Shaw, had it rebarreled, bolt bent, and D&T'd. Used it for years as a 243 - mid-level loads. Only problem I ever had was it was stolen.
I've always been a curmudgeon - now I'm an old curmudgeon. ~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
And since youse gentlemen are discussing Mauser strength...let me mention my pet peeve. The relative strength of the Swede 1896 family. I shall not make any unsupported claims here...but I would have you note that Sweden took the 1896/CG-63 target rifle and converted it to 7.62x51 Nato. I suspect the endlessly repeated claims of weakness in loading manual blurbs and magazine articles...come from the assumption that American riflemen are so stupid they cannot discern the difference between the Krag action and the 1896 Mauser. sigh.
Well this is a fine pickle we're in, should'a listened to Joe McCarthy and George Orwell I guess.
A retired Colonel brought me his Dad's eastern front bring back 98, wanted it restored. As a kid he had taken it outside and left it in the yard for weeks on end in the rain and snow. Not two numbers matched and the marking's depth was only matched by the depth of the rust pits. I was left with delivering the bad news. So came upon an easy let down option for him, let's make it into a sporting rifle for you to actually use VS a restoration, in 30-06. Could hide some of the action pits under a scope base, remove the trashed in and out barrel, replace the cutoff stock, put a nice walnut stock on it, etc.
That Spanish Mauser reminds me of that 98 Mauser project. You will not effect the value if you modify it.
By the way, first time he shot the "custon" 98 in 30-06 was in MI on his FIL's farm to shoot a 10 point at 165 paces. So it was a good ending for that story.
“To expect defeat is nine-tenths of defeat itself. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. It is best to plan for all eventualities then believe in success, and only cross the failure bridge if you come to it." Francis Marion - The Swamp Fox
I smiled when I first read that post by M.Petrov 14 years ago, and reference it occasionally myself when discussions about Krag design strength come up. A year or two before then I spied a nice Krag sporter for sale that I suspected was a Griffin&Howe job. I called Michael's attention to it for advice and he replied "Yes it is, and if you don't buy it I will!"
"You can lead a man to logic, but you cannot make him think." Joe Harz "Always certain, often right." Keith McCafferty
And since youse gentlemen are discussing Mauser strength...let me mention my pet peeve. The relative strength of the Swede 1896 family. I shall not make any unsupported claims here...but I would have you note that Sweden took the 1896/CG-63 target rifle and converted it to 7.62x51 Nato. I suspect the endlessly repeated claims of weakness in loading manual blurbs and magazine articles...come from the assumption that American riflemen are so stupid they cannot discern the difference between the Krag action and the 1896 Mauser. sigh.
I've rebarreled a pile of Swedish Mausers and believe that those made by Husqvarna are a suitable action for building on if you correct their single deficient safety factor, the small gas shield on the bolt. If you replace the military gas shield with a commercial design that has a larger gas shield, they are safe to rebarrel to higher pressure cartridges using factory loads and prudent reloads.
Spanish made "Mausers" should NOT be confused with German built rifles of the same era. much better quality here are the German markings on one of my 1895 Chilean 7mm.
