So is this a Boer War m1895 Mauser

[indy1919a4]

Picked up a rifle over the weekend, looks to be a Boer War Mauser but there is a lot of little details with those..

1st the stock is not right, it has been sanded or replaced.. The Bolt is Mismatched.. But all the rest of the rifle is matching..

Serial number is B9283 and that is stamped on the Barrel and Receiver. So looking for input.

 

[Slamfire]

I don't see an OVS above the serial number


{icture from this article:
https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2016/6/1/the-guns-of-the-boer-commandos/

Another good article.

https://www.shootingtimes.com/editorial/longgun_reviews_st_boermodel_201007/99362

Boer Mausers are very rare, which is why articles are written about them. Surplus M1893's, M1894's, M1895's, M1896's are not

I did not scan the surplus M1895 ads, but as you can see, you could have bought actions



Look for an importer mark on the barrel. If there is not one, then that rifle is a pre 1990's import. What caliber is your rifle? It looks like a M1896 Swede.

 

[indy1919a4]

I don't see an OVS above the serial number


Look for an importer mark on the barrel. If there is not one, then that rifle is a pre 1990's import. What caliber is your rifle? It looks like a M1896 Swede.

Good point on the OVS markings.. But it is my understanding the OVS markings will not come in until the guns are made from DWM (post Loewe markings)
"C" series of serial numbers. Lots of the OVS marked rifle will also be marked with the Chilean crest because they were blockaded.

the rifle is 7.mm & no import stamp.. (ha the caliber would have been a nice thing for me to have put in the original posting.. My oversight)

 

[indy1919a4]

By the way not that I am prejudice about Mausers .. But you Must love the Boers Motto,, "Trust in God & Mauser"

 

[Mowgli Terry]

Lots of the OVS marked rifle will also be marked with the Chilean crest because they were blockaded.

I recall some years back there were enough OVS marked Mauser's to make an ad in the old Shotgun News. IIRC the ad did speak of the blockade, marks, and of coming from Chile.

Addendum: To whom did OP's Mauser belong?

 

[indy1919a4]

I recall some years back there were enough OVS marked Mauser's to make an ad in the old Shotgun News. IIRC the ad did speak of the blockade, marks, and of coming from Chile.

Addendum: To whom did OP's Mauser belong?

Not quite certain what you are asking... It belongs to me?

 

[boom boom]

Good point on the OVS markings.. But it is my understanding the OVS markings will not come in until the guns are made from DWM (post Loewe markings)
"C" series of serial numbers. Lots of the OVS marked rifle will also be marked with the Chilean crest because they were blockaded.

the rifle is 7.mm & no import stamp.. (ha the caliber would have been a nice thing for me to have put in the original posting.. My oversight)

Nice looking Mauser. OVS status is difficult to authenticate if you are trying to establish this as a collector's piece so I would advise consulting the experts.

There is a fair amount of information out there on OVS mausers, in particular, check the gunboards forum as a lot of the Mauser expert collectors probably because one of the Dean of them hangs around there--John Wall among others. I would use the search function first before asking questions as this topic has come up on the boards before. Robert Ball's works on Mausers, especially his priceless pictures in his book are also well worth consulting as is the older Olson book.

Part of the mystique of this is that many of the rifles never made it to South Africa due to British diplomacy threatening those countries supporting the Boers. So then these particular rifles were resold on the international market as you note when the Boer cause failed. These are rare enough though that some unscrupulous folks have done some shady things that indicate to unsuspecting buyers that they are getting the real thing via South Africa.

Personally, I do not care about the collectibility of firearms as I get what I can shoot so I pay less attention to those threads but there are quite a few threads on discussion boards indicating how to determine a fake. milsurps.com is particularly vigilant on this as is gunboards to some extent.

 

[Mowgli Terry]

This information was in one of Slamfires enclosures.

Rifles ordered by the Orange Free State were marked "O.V.S" above the serial number and directly below it on the stock, while those delivered by the Transvaal had an A, B, or C letter prefix preceding their serial number. Because of manufacturing dates stamped on their receivers, South African sources often refer to them as "Model 1896" or "Model 1897" Mausers.

Looks like OP's rifle may have gone elsewhere than the Orange Free State.

 

[Mowgli Terry]

Not quite certain what you are asking... It belongs to me?

Slamfire's answers to whom the rifle was originally sold. That was you question as I understood. Looks like you did well on your purchase.

 

[boom boom]

I recall some years back there were enough OVS marked Mauser's to make an ad in the old Shotgun News. IIRC the ad did speak of the blockade, marks, and of coming from Chile.

Addendum: To whom did OP's Mauser belong?

Hopefully it was not in one of the "Hunters Lodge" Shotgun News ads. They tend to be a tad overstated.

 

[Mowgli Terry]

Hunter's Lodge: Don't recall who was selling those rifles. Hunter's Lodge was noted for selling Remington Rolling Block rifles by the pound. It was kind of a hint.