Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Mausers and Military Rifles Saw some odd things in a Weatherford gunshop

First a Springfield sporter marked as a Mauser and the guy actually tried to argue it was a Mauser. Didn't even know what cartridge it was chambered for (30-06) Had the cocking piece sticking out the back plain as day. But then was the kicker. A model 70 push feed action with a Mauser bolt in it, complete with Bueler safety! It was marked as a Model 70.

Many years ago I walked into a gun shop and they two or three Springfield 1903s on the rack. I asked to see them and the employee quickly pointed out that the switch on the left hand side of the receiver converted it to semiautomatic.

That level of semi dangerous ignorance is more common everyday. There are possibly two generations out there who would define a rifle as some form of the Eugene Stoner family and their hundreds of derivatives. They know that family well...but due to youth, they don't know what they don't know. Junior inherits some money, he KNOWS the rifles in his spectrum... he opens a gun store, things are slow, he takes trade ins, but they are obviously obsolete and of no interest to him, he looks in the Blue Book of gun values with no history or pictures...and your experience in Weatherford is repeated all too often.
The grand old rifles of brilliant simplicity are poised on the brink of the firearms Dark Ages. Knowledge lost.

Not saying you saw wrong, but there is the Mexican model 1936 Mauser that resembles the 1903 cocking piece. Could have been a sporter rebarreled??

No it also had 1903A3 on the receiver.

That's a fairly good clue.....