Very short barrelled mystery Mauser

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Looking to see if anyone can identify this very short barrelled Mauser.

I have my suspicions, with one of them being an extremely wild possibility, but want to see what others think.

It would make a very good flamethrower as well!!

Low three digit serial number marked on the barrel and the right side of the receiver.

Looking to see if any one can identify it. Not sure if it is pre or post war. Hopefully someone can decipher the proofs.









close up of the receiver/barrel markings:









receiver markings:



barrel markings: It say 7.9 followed by and M and not sure what the last mark is. I would think its M as well, but it doesnt look like it though. I assume it means its an 8 mm Mauser. We originally suspected it to be 30.06 and tried to chamber a dummy round. It went in but we could not turn the bolt. the 30.06 dummy round was quite beat up so we thought it was the round causing the problem not the actual calibre.

 
If it is stamped 7.9 it is chambered for the 8x57 Mauser round. The Belgians built a lot of those sweet little carbines in 7x57, 7.65x53, 8x57. They made a lot of them up on other receivers as well. I have one that is a 1904 dated Erfurt and is chambered in 7.65x53. It has been refinished and is very short as well as light. 17.5in bbl.

It also has a sling fitting on the side of the butt that is normally found on mounted police carbines. There are no markings on it to indicate when it was reconfigured. Maybe even post war. I say post war because it has a stamped ripple type butt plate.

The muzzle blast and felt recoil on this rifle are insane. Worse than the Mosin 38s and 44s. The only other milsurp I have that recoils worse is a Steyr built Carcano in 8x57.
 
Hi guys

Forgot to add: No crest on the receiver at all,, hence no pictures of it. It does not look scrubbed though, unless someone went to a whole lot of trouble to do it. Butt plate is flat, not rippled or corrugated. Serial number is stamped on the right side of the receiver as well as the barrel.

I do realize the proofs are Belgian, just dont know what they mean.

Still has quite a bit of cosmoline in it. Action is extremely smooth. Probably the nicest Mauser action I have cycled along with my Persian/Czech.

I need to have a closer look at the 7.9M?. I cant tell what the last character is. I am assuming it is/should be another "M", but it dosnt look like that.

Its really a very handy feeling rifle and shoulders quite nicely.

Trying to determine a value? Any ideas?
 
If a Russian Capture goes for $600+ that rifle is at least worth the same and maybe more. 98s in carbine configuration are uncommon at best and command premium dollars if they are in Good or better condition with decent bores.
 
I got one of those... Columbian M1950 in .30-06

image1_zpsgkxklluk.jpg
 
FN made those carbines in various calibres, including .30-'06! Wanna get beat up? Find one of those. I've got an FN Mauser made in .30-'06 for the Belgian Army. It's recoil is manageable.
Knew someone with a carbine in 7.65. He downloaded it and that was fine.
 
Brazil had them as well in both 30-06, 7x57 and later 7,62x51. The Spanish had earlier Mauser designs in carbine length in 7x57 and 7.62CETME.
 
Could it be an Iranian "camel carbine" that was imported in the 50's??

As far as I've read, those were made by CZ, but there may have been some ordered from FN.
 
Could be a Greek FN Model 1930 Carbine , --- just looking through " Mauser Military Rifles of the World " by Robert W. D. Ball . Looks like it just may be ?? --- The Greek armed forces used them in the Second World War , --- don,t know ?? I sure like these short barrelled Mausers !!
 
I had one years ago that was exactly like the OP's pictured one but with a Colombian crest on the receiver and in 30-06 with a 17.5" barrel and weighing in at only about 6 pounds. It was a monster to shoot and could be quite painful with it's ribbed sheetmetal butt plate if shot during the summer with only a t-shirt on and shooting from a range bench with Winchester 180gr sporting ammo.

The muzzle blast was super loud and worse than any gun I have ever owned, way more than a Mosin M38 or M44 and at least one range asked me not to shoot it there anymore as others complained. I used to wear ear plugs under ear muffs when shooting it and still my ears would ring after firing off a box of Winchester ammo at the range.

It looks nice and handy but believe me you would not want it as a hunting rifle unless you are already deaf and like lots of recoil. My short barreled 45-70 with stout 405gr hand loads was a lot nicer to shoot, I don't know how they used it in wartime but it could not have been popular with the troops using it.
 
Between WWI and WWII the Belgians and Czechs built up a lot of rifles from left over parts and salvaged rifles. I found that out on Google where a page came up listing several different short rifles made up and used by different nations all over the world. There were quite a few actually. I copied and pasted several and in the write ups on them it was mentioned that the demand for firearms based on the 98 action was higher than the factories could produce for a while. Many of the donor parts, including receivers were sanitized completely depending on what was rolled into the receiver ring and on the side plate. If a nation didn't specify a marking it was not added because that would increase the costs.

The rifle I have has a crown with ERFURT 1904 on the receiver ring. The bolt parts all match with those on the receiver and trigger guard. The receiver has patina but is in the white. Everything else is blued other than the typically Belgian rippled sheet metal butt plate.

This was not a cheap contract rifle at first sight. The rear sight is a proper short little sight that is a miniature version of what is found on full size k98s The short upper handguard has a very nice metal ring to guard the end from damage at the receiver. The front stock ferrule has dual sling swivels and is machined as is the over ring and bayonet lug attachment. Incredibly the cleaning rod is still present. The rear swivel rotates for comfort depending on where the sling is mounted. The stock has a pistol grip with a cavalry/mounted police sling attachment. It has a very nice bore and shoots very well when I can muster up the will to shoot it. I use a PAST recoil pad when I do.

I have sent pics of this rifle all over the world. Other than the makers marks which are appropriate for Erfurt in 1904 and the Weimar acceptance stamps there is no indication of who this rifle was built for. This isn't that unusual as far as history goes. Remember the Yugo Mausers intended for the middle east that had no identifying marks either?? I have been told by some quite knowledgeable people that it may be a salesman's sample because of all the unique fittings. Who knows.

These rifles are lovely things. Smooth, handy, light and accurate. To bad they can't talk to us because the rest is just speculation.
 
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