I got what I thought was a very nice 1893 Spanish Mauser in a trade.

After I got it home and examined it, the condition was so good I became suspicious - the wood was so perfect, the bluing on the metal was so dark it couldn't be more than 100 years old. Finally, the crest on the top of the receiver was partially smoothed over, as if someone had polished it before applying a reblue job - although I can sort of make our "Oviedo" and "Fabrica Armas".

Take a look at the pictures - am I right? Is this just a good restoration? Serial numbers on various parts do not match.

Now my important question - if this is a nicely done restoration, what is it worth? Did I end up with something good for my trade?

Most emphatically a restoration. Heavy handed metal polishing. Worth? I'll let someone else address that.

Nice rifle. Spanish 93s are not highly sought after. What did you trade ?

I bought one in 1969 for 34.95 you got focked just like I did .mb

It's a cool rifle, and in decent shape. As mentioned above, 93 Mausers are not sought after at all. I would enjoy it for what it is, but I wouldn't sink a penny into "restoring" it.

It is as original now as it can ever be.

As far as what it's worth, I'd say maybe $200-$250 for the right buyer, and nothing you do will increase that

If it were mine, I would build the perfect "knockabout" rifle. For us that use tools every day, many of us have top quality tools Like Snap-On or Colt prewar 1911's as examples. However, there is a need for a tougher than steel, ugly gun of marginal value. One you can throw in the bottom of a canoe, tie to a snow machine, use as a paddle etc. This would be a prime candidate. If it were mine, I would cut the barrel to 18" cut down the stock and reset the sight. Now if it has to be left behind or lost overboard it is no great loss. Mine is a poorly sporterized 1903. No gun case necessary. Have an over the shoulder bag with 40 rounds of various ammo. When I travel on long trips over state borders, I carry an 18" barreled H&R 20-gauge single shot gun I paid &50 for and a SCCY 9mm. If either one I had to abandon, it is not going to financially hurt me and neither have sentimental value.

How’s the bore?


Okie John

Perhaps clarification of an overly broad statement. Such amended, that the Spanish MANUFACTURED mausers are generally not highly regarded. Of contrast, the Spanish 1893 Mausers of German Manufacture are well regarded within their genre. Appreciated for quality of contemporary materials & workmanship. Condition permitting, entirely adequate for the purpose of its era intended and pressure levels particularly respected.

My take!
Best!
John

Bore is excellent.

The OP's rifle IS Spanish MANUFACTURED! I think we all had that figured out.

i spent $70 for a sporter '16 Spanish Mauser in 7x57. i had my gunsmith bent the bolt handle, D&T for scope mounts, Beuhler safety and a Timney trigger. i took the stock off ad i bought a Richards Wolverine stock (Apache Gold laminate). after sanding and four coats of Minwax Antique Oil and then two coats of polyurethane oil mixed with mineral spirits (3:1) it was done. since the barrel was trashed, a 24" Numrich sporter barrel in 6.5x55 was put on. then a Vortex 3-9x was next.







i reloaded some 120gr Nosler BT and IMR4350 that i guesstimate 2600-2700fps, a middle of the road load. it will go 1 1/4 - 1 1/2" group at 100 yards (5 shots/bench). my youngest son now has 6.5 Swede and it kills deer.

i know that if i sell the Swede, it won't be enough to cover the cost that i spent. i say so what. my youngest son loves it, so i did good.

From what I've been able to discover from historical firearm sites, this is an arsenal refurbished (probably in the 1930s) second model 1893 Mauser, originally made in Oviedo, Spain.

Mine apparently got a new barrel along with new wood. The crown in the arsenal stamping on top of the receiver was scrubbed before getting reblued, apparently on the orders of the political party of the time that had taken power from the monarchy. The receiver also got a new serial number.

It's very likely that the guy who started Interarms bought a couple thousand and sold them in the US back in the 50's-60's.

I have seen 1893's for sale online for $250-600, depending on condition, but I haven't seen anything offered that's exactly like mine.

It's reblued, which hurts the value. But it hasn't been altered much beyond that and someone took the time to find the right wood.

It's worth what someone would give you for it, but with an excellent bore, I'd shoot it. US ammo makers load the 7x57 pretty light in deference to rifles like this one, but those loads still push a 140-grain bullet at 2,660 fps which is about all that the 6.5 Creedmoor will do in a short barrel.


Okie John

I'm relying on memory here, take it for what it's worth.
I read an old lengthy piece on Gunboards some years back, it started with questions about the strength of Oviedo and La Coruna '93's for sporterizing. The big player in importations of these rifles was Interarmco, and some gun writers of the 60's and 70's were trash talking these rifles in print. Importers got mad, hired an independent American laboratory to test the Spanish 93's to destruction...carefully recording the increasing proof loads, and publishing the results. I can't recall all the other firearms used for comparison testing...but it was clearly discovered there was absolutely and positively no problems with Spanish steel and the hardening process. It was very embarrassing that a couple of high number Springfield 03's gave up the ghost and set back to the safety lug, when the 93's were still going even though the bolts had to be hammered open. I think the 93's went above 100,000 psi before they burst. Great shades of PO Ackley and the Arisaka tale. LOL.
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.

Enjoy it for what it is… a very nice restoration. I would not sporterized it. Mausers are NOT getting cheaper. You have a nice looking milsurp with a good bore. Keep it as is and shoot it and enjoy it. SR Mausers can be nice dependable shooters and even collectible.

super cool 93 mauser!!!!!! i'd keep just like it is and shoot the h#ll out of i, id be proud of it and keep it

I have a 1916 Spanish carbine s/n OT-505xx, that was re-arsenaled and converted to 7.62 NATO. No crest left on the barrel, but nicely reblued. Floor plate is mismatched, and has a transverse release that I have not seen elsewhere. Stock has 1 repair, not otherwise worked on. Minor scratches and a couple dents, I would say medium used.
I adapted a picatinny base rail on the existing sight base, put on a 2-5x long eye relief scope. Considering that Spanish loading of 7.62 is said to be lower than NATO standard (and age) I will load some lighter rounds for range time. Don't need it for hunting, I have a couple early 30 cal 1899 Savages for that.
Project in work is 1909 Arg carbine that got bubbaed. Numbers match, but front sight is cut off and stock chopped. A shame, it was nice condition.
Merry Christmas to all out there.

If the barrel condition supports it, make it into a cast projie "Scout" rifle and shoot it a LOT for practice.
Heck work up an upper level cast load and take a animal or three.

I think they make a no drill weaver mount for the rear sight.

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

The fact that Mauser 93/95s have no third safety lug like the Mauser 98 is no myth.

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.

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.

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.

I’d shoot it and enjoy it…
If you decide to sell it, part it out. You’ll recover / make more….

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

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.

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.

here is one on the Krag by Michael Petrov

https://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=211011#Post211011

read #1 and esp. #2

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.

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!"

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.

1895 Chilean with 3rd safety lug.

(The bolt handle fits in a notch in the receiver.)