Mauser acquisition

[StationOps]

Hi,

I found this Mauser at the local Cabela's and decided to get it. And of course, I need help with the markings. The receiver has svwMB on it, and the latewar.com says that's a postwar french model. Most of the hardware seems to have matching serial numbers.

No bayonet lug or cleaning rod up front, and the sling attaches to the bottom. The safety won't go all the way to the right and lock the bolt, but will stand up straight and disconnect the trigger. The front barrel band can slide off. It was cheaper than the mausers on gunbrokers and I didn't have to pay $40 in postage or a transfer fee.

 

[AMraider]

Nice rifle! I think if it has a star stamped near the serial number then it was assembled under French control at the Mauser Oberndorf factory in early 45. Others with more knowledge will surely chime in.

 

[indy1919a4]

Hi,

I found this Mauser at the local Cabela's and decided to get it. And of course, I need help with the markings. The receiver has svwMB on it, and the latewar.com says that's a postwar french model. Most of the hardware seems to have matching serial numbers.

No bayonet lug or cleaning rod up front, and the sling attaches to the bottom. The safety won't go all the way to the right and lock the bolt, but will stand up straight and disconnect the trigger. The front barrel band can slide off. It was cheaper than the mausers on gunbrokers and I didn't have to pay $40 in postage or a transfer fee.

View attachment 856077

Oh I love those Post war guns like that... Do you mind sharing some of the serial number with the letter block a, b or c???

And waffenamts visible???

 

[Alaskan Ironworker]

Its french

 

[Alaskan Ironworker]

Heres some data

 

[StationOps]

Wow, thanks guys! The serial number is the same format, with the star xxxxx c pattern.

I thought stamping above the serial number was the waffenacht - the icon and the 44 N.

Latewar.com had more information that the french stamped the bolt throw with only the last 3 digits of the bolt throw, and it has the last 3 digits on the bolt throw.

 

[indy1919a4]

It is a shame Interarms did not import those with their SVW p38s.. Perhaps interarms could have made up some crazy story about them being found in some other secret German bases.

 

[mustanger98]

No bayonet lug or cleaning rod up front, and the sling attaches to the bottom. The safety won't go all the way to the right and lock the bolt, but will stand up straight and disconnect the trigger. The front barrel band can slide off. It was cheaper than the mausers on gunbrokers and I didn't have to pay $40 in postage or a transfer fee.

I can't see where a cleaning rod would go, but I spotted the bayonet lug on the front band rather than on the nose of the K98k's stock.

I've never dealt with that model to know whether that safety's correct or got a problem. I'd advise hunting more info there.

What's this one chambered for?

 

[kBob]

Is it just me or does that bayonet lug just scream Turkey at you?
I would guess that at sometime someone somewhere thought the tobacco tin weighted chain cleaning kit was good enough for this mauser.

might it simply be that the original stock on this rifle was either very narley or Bubba tried to sporterize it and someone dropped the action into a Turkish stock to have a presentable rifle?

-kBob

 

[indy1919a4]

Is it just me or does that bayonet lug just scream Turkey at you?
I would guess that at sometime someone somewhere thought the tobacco tin weighted chain cleaning kit was good enough for this mauser.

might it simply be that the original stock on this rifle was either very narley or Bubba tried to sporterize it and someone dropped the action into a Turkish stock to have a presentable rifle?

-kBob

Only one way to get around this question...

MORE PICTURES PLEASE and lets get that stock off... A photo of the other side of the stock would help.. The French do like their side sling bars...

Those sling rings on the bottom are problematic..

 

[StationOps]

Here are some more pictures. At the front, the top handguard does seem to be a different finish than the rest of the stock. A small square of wood also seems to be a different color at the front end of the guard.

 

[StationOps]

One more pic.

 

[mustanger98]

I'm no expert on Turkish Mauser stocks, but that doesn't quite look like any I've seen.

 

[Mowgli Terry]

Could that stock be from a long Mauser rifle like the ones from WWI?

 

[mustanger98]

Could that stock be from a long Mauser rifle like the ones from WWI?

Considering the distance between the bayonet lug and the muzzle, I don't think it's from an earlier/longer model. Unless it was shortened and a filling put in... some sort of repair... in that case, the forward band and sling band may fit reasonably well but not be correct to the barreled action. But my observation of longer earlier model stocks doesn't include these sling swivels, forward or rear.

 

[Mowgli Terry]

The front band will come off OP rifle. The sling swivels on the GEW98 were on the bottom. The Turks did have a GEW98 that were CZ marked. That rifle was made up of new unnumbered German WWI era parts. There is no telling where that rifle was finally assembled or by whom. There may be some clues on the wood. I stand by what I say. That stock has all the appearances of a GEW98 style stock.

 

[indy1919a4]

Tell you what if not for that French star, I would be leaning towards this may have been and end of the line German SVW rifle.. They stopped putting bayonet lugs and cleaning rods on their guns when those were made... But with the French markings that does not make sense.. Perhaps OP can be a little more clear about the serial number to help here..

http://www.latewar.com/html/svwmb.htm

 

[StationOps]

Alaskan Ironworker posted an excellent picture (66EE etc) of the style of serial number.

(star) 17134 C

The serial number on mine is different of course, above 16000.
The bolt throw has the last three digits stamped on it, which makes me think the hardware at least is postwar French.

 

[indy1919a4]

Alaskan Ironworker posted an excellent picture (66EE etc) of the style of serial number.

(star) 17134 C

The serial number on mine is different of course, above 16000.
The bolt throw has the last three digits stamped on it, which makes me think the hardware at least is postwar French.

Makes sense, according to what I have seen under 15000 C or around is German after was made in French control...

And lets not forget that in that transition period it would not be uncommon for mismatched numbers like the Cigarette AC p38s of WW II fame

 

[mustanger98]

The front band will come off OP rifle. The sling swivels on the GEW98 were on the bottom. The Turks did have a GEW98 that were CZ marked. That rifle was made up of new unnumbered German WWI era parts. There is no telling where that rifle was finally assembled or by whom. There may be some clues on the wood. I stand by what I say. That stock has all the appearances of a GEW98 style stock.

I agree with you that there's no telling where or by whom it was assembled, but Google images for "gew98". I did. In the pics I saw, the position of the rear swivel doesn't match OP's rifle. The trigger guard doesn't appear to match either... the gew98's I saw had a place in front for a swivel there, too, which I recall noticing on some K98k's. The front band and sling band... sure, they'll both come off. They appear to fit, but I haven't placed what they're correct to... haven't seen a gew98 variant with them yet.

 

[Mowgli Terry]

An interesting rifle: If you are talking about the hole in the trigger guard it's for a detachable swivel. There was a wire swivel/loop the fit over the hook on the front band. What I suspect happened is that the front part of the long stock had been cut off and that a band from another model Mauser placed on the tip of the forend. The arrangement on the trigger guard and front band allowed the sling to moved up for parade purposes-or the story goes. The consensus here is that the stock has been replaced.

 

[StationOps]

Finally got to the range and got light strikes. I've taken it apart and cleaned it. The internet says to replace the bolt spring. Should I also replace the firing pin or just wait? I don't have a tool to measure how much it protrudes. The stock had a little rectangle of wood blocking the place for the cleaning rod.

 

[boom boom]

Finally got to the range and got light strikes. I've taken it apart and cleaned it. The internet says to replace the bolt spring. Should I also replace the firing pin or just wait? I don't have a tool to measure how much it protrudes. The stock had a little rectangle of wood blocking the place for the cleaning rod.

Your firing pin looks ok at first glance so the bolt spring is probably the culprit. Generally you know when your firing pin needs to be replaced because it chips or breaks at the tip. One would have to fire many rounds to wear down the tip as it is much harder than the primer cups it is hitting.

Did you fix the safety yet--that is a pretty important issue and you can find an easy pictorial guide exactly where to stone (preferably) or file accordingly. Usually it is the safety cam surface or the cocking piece. Cheap set of stones from Amazon will do a one off job or you can get the better artificial spyderco which are useful for all sorts of fine work on fitting triggers, metal firing parts, etc. It is also wise to try to remove any burrs/gouges on the firing pin and thoroughly clean the bolt body's firing pin channel. Hardened cosmolene near the end of the firing pin channel can soften the blow of the firing pin and make contact a bit short. One trick to polish the firing pin is to chuck the end into a cordless drill and rotate it while polishing it with fine grit emery cloth or 3m abrasive finish removal pads. Just make sure to thoroughly clean the firing pin afterwards.

Scroll down on this reference website , http://www.hoosiergunworks.com/catalog/mauser_reference.html It has the firing pin lengths and pix toward the bottom of the page along with a lot of other reference pictures and measurements of other mauser parts.

 

[indy1919a4]

Finally got to the range and got light strikes. I've taken it apart and cleaned it. The internet says to replace the bolt spring. Should I also replace the firing pin or just wait? I don't have a tool to measure how much it protrudes. The stock had a little rectangle of wood blocking the place for the cleaning rod.

There is nothing wrong with replacing the bolt spring.. I ordered wolf mauser springs in bulk so I have a new one always around to replace Old Mauser springs.. They are pretty cheap and for the most part fixed all my light primer strikes.. I keep a couple in the range bag for such things..

You did not mention what ammo you were using??.. Yugo surplus can have some tough primers Or some machine gun surplus ammo will have tough primors..(Which may I add the new wolf bolt spring can fix)

The firing pin is the last thing I would worry about.. replace the spring see what happens...

Oh yeah order 2 or three while your at it, you will save on shipping and you will get more Mausers

 

[StationOps]

Hi,
@boom boom
I was hoping the safety would magically work, but no, it still won't go over towards the side that locks the bolt in place. I'll look into those grinding stones. Would another safety fix the issue, or just have its own problems? Thanks for the reference.

@indy1919a4
The ammo says PrviPartizan AM2969C on one label, but the original label is in cyrllic. It seems to be from 1951? Picture below. I got some turkish ammo from gunbroker. After watching the Forgotten Weapons video about how old turkish ammo runs hot (it cracked the stock on Ian's Gewehr 98), I will store it for now and chalk it up as a learning experience.

I know what you mean about getting another Mauser. LGS had a Yugo M24 for a low price and had to restrain myself.