Mexican Model 54 30-06

kjohn

kjohn

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Super GunNutz
Rating - 100%
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Location
SE Sask.
Captured a nice Mexican rifle a while ago. Not very common, so I thought I should post a few pics. Bolt and receiver match. The stock is stamped 6-9-3719. Not sure what that might mean. The receiver has two gas escape holes, the one on the left a bit back, and a bit larger than the one on the right.

Note the round cocking knob. The wood, as you can see, is coarse grained. The rifle seems heavy, but well balanced. It has a nice bore.

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Nice find, a Mexican Small Ring Mauser in 30-06 is not very common.
Wood looks like oak, but what do I know?
 
I've an almost identical unit. Marvelous rifles; very substantial, they could have gone with a Springfield style rear sight to go with the Springfield style bolt though.
https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1154439-Newest-mauser
I asked around and showed some pictures when we were in Mexico last. Monkey Ear wood IIRC. Protected now.
I wish mine had the sight hood as well.
Good score
 
Thanks for the link to the older thread. Not a whole lot to be found online about the M54. The laminating job is different, that's for sure.
 
Yup, the trees are now protected. Kjohn, if you look closely at your rifle you will see that stock is actually laminated. The Mexican SMALL ring Mausers are very nice and extremely well made. They incorporated both European and US features. I like mine a lot. The rifles are seldom seen in Canada. Many of them were turned into lovely sporters during the 60s and early 70s. I have seen a few threads on other sites dissing Mexican made firearms. Maybe some of the cheap commercial offerings deserve a bad wrap but their martial firearms don't take a back seat to any nation's offerings.

I have another in 7x57. No finish left on the metal but it shoots very well. I have owned several Remington Rolling Block rifles with Mexican markings Mostly 7x57 but there was an oddball with a 43 cal chamber. I sold off all of the RBs a long time ago. There was a time, right after Mexico passed their severe firearms laws, when almost every type of Mexican military rifles could be found in every pawn shop and gun shop in any state that shared the common border. For the most part they were heavily used and poorly maintained. This is likely where they got the bad reputation.

P.O Ackley really liked the Mexican Mausers. His shop did extensive tests on them and found them to be among the better milsurps available. Frank at Golden State Arms told me in the 70s that he would buy every Mexican made Mauser he could find as long as it wasn't pitted on the exterior. He was having them broken down and turned into hunting rifles.

Great score on that rifle. Seldom seen and underappreciated when they are encountered. One thing that I find encouraging lately is that many collectors are actually LOOKING at what they are purchasing and appreciating good quality when they see it. I can remember the days when anything milsurp was considered JUNK. In some segments of our less knowledgeable ranks that sentiment is still flourishing.
 
Thanks for posting! Not a common rifle at all.

bearhunter - your comment about surplus rifles being perceived as being junk...
Look at the attitude towards SKS rifles. Because they have been sold at low cost, many seem to assume that they are just cheap rifles, without inherent value.
 
bearhunter brings up a good point about milsurps being "junk". While some of the old rifles look like they have been around the block more than once, judging them simply by their appearance or current ease of availability is quite narrow. The SKS and 91/30 are good current examples.

Considering the originality of a rifle alone isn't even the best way to pigeon-hole its value or place in desirability to collectors. For example, I have one old M91 with a Russian receiver and an American barrel, done up in its final form by Finland. The old Finn M91's are glorious mixmasters of parts. They also carry some wonderful history of ownership.

Of course, I am preaching to the choir here, so I'll shut up and let someone who knows what they are talking about contribute. :p
 
kjohn said:
bearhunter brings up a good point about milsurps being "junk". While some of the old rifles look like they have been around the block more than once, judging them simply by their appearance or current ease of availability is quite narrow. The SKS and 91/30 are good current examples.

Considering the originality of a rifle alone isn't even the best way to pigeon-hole its value or place in desirability to collectors. For example, I have one old M91 with a Russian receiver and an American barrel, done up in its final form by Finland. The old Finn M91's are glorious mixmasters of parts. They also carry some wonderful history of ownership.

Of course, I am preaching to the choir here, so I'll shut up and let someone who knows what they are talking about contribute. :p
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You said it very well. One thing about many collectors today is that they want to shoot their rifles. Many could care less about the history behind them and are riding a wave of present enthusiasm. Some are very surprised at how capable those old rifles are in almost every way. Take the K31 rifles as an example. Their earlier predecessors with weaker actions were offered at bargain prices. Many of the lovely little carbines with excellent bores were fitted with chamber inserts and had their furniture cut down. Back then people were afraid of them for the horror stories following the tribulations of the Ross. Most know or knew nothing of the M95 and earlier Austrian rifles.

One other thing is that people do not want to reload for some of these old warriors and they languish because of it in the dark recesses of the safes, never to see a range or good lighting again. These firearms show up at estate sales regularly and the people selling them have zero knowledge about them. Decent Kropatschek rifles come to mind as an example. The VG to excellent rifles should easily be commanding as much as a similar Long Lee. Arguably the Krops are better made rifles but they are the Rodney Dangerfields of their class. Loaded with all sorts of martial history and incredibly well made by Steyr Werke they languish. Likely from lack of ammo and of course availability. Not many made in comparison to the Long Lee so fewer people recognize them for what they represent.

Another example were just about anything Japanese. That has done a complete 180 degree turnaround over the last decade but 50 years ago, you couldn't give them away because of the complete lack of knowledge and of course WWII hype that was prevailing as to their impotence in the field and poor craftsmanship. The Italian Carcano suffers a similar fate today and those are also dripping with history as well as being extremely versatile and serviceable martial firearms

Some just look at the dates on the receivers and tag on ridiculously high prices. I ran across a nice 1858 Enfield that was about 50% throughout at a recent gun show. The fellow selling it was trying to come across as an expert and was telling anyone that would listen about this jewel he had. It was from an estate that he was contracted to sell. He had a big yellow poster proclaiming the rifle as a one of a kind antique that no license was needed to purchase and it could be had for only $5000. He couldn't understand why no one was interested.
 
Nice Mexican 1954. I had one of these at one time and it is an interesting action. The gas venting holes are very neat, especially the one through the extractor. The 3 layer laminate stock is also an interesting feature.

Thanks for posting it up. You don't see these often.
 
Nice find, and good read. I'd never heard of one of these, and am kind of relieved to not have seen one [and let it slip by] in person. Looking now though. Usually referring to Europe when I say the best Mausers weren't built in Germany, but wow on sunny Mexico.

I've seen, and personally experienced an "attitude change" in the 'surpy world in the few years I've been a part of it... There was a time for 'surps dumped on the market for anyone to do what they wanted with. My copy of "Stock Making" by Alvin Linden has 6 full sized patterns including the heresy of 'surp-to-sporter (Springfield). I don't like "junk", but certainly "affordable" makes some gems more likely to be tinkered with than others.

I've always respected 'surps for what they truly were... On the market "affordable" (laugh at my lack of "affordable" .303's now though....) shooters. All of them designed to keep shooting no matter what may come, in almost any hands. Slap a few decades in between bulk mail-order sales, and now. The focus has changed for the majority of purchasers... I most certainly wouldn't go looking for a good example .303 (No1, or No4) just for a loaner deer gun today. I've no doubt my experience is varied, but the number of knowledgeable collectors of such gems seemed minuscule compared to the deer chasin' crowd when they were available as surplus.

I' wouldn't put a red-dot on a Des Lisle and tell anyone though.
 
7.62mm can refer to both calibers, it all depends on the guns in question. Another example of a country using 7.62 as the marking for .30-06 is the Norwegians who mark there converted K98ks 'KAL 7.62 m/m'
 
Eaglelord17 said:
7.62mm can refer to both calibers, it all depends on the guns in question. Another example of a country using 7.62 as the marking for .30-06 is the Norwegians who mark there converted K98ks 'KAL 7.62 m/m'
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Now, this is definitely one example where it really gets confusing. I recently sold a pair of Norwegian k98 conversions. One was chambered for the 30-06 and the other for the 7.62x51. Both had identical markings on the chamber. They denoted caliber, not the cartridge they were chambered for.
 
bearhunter said:
Now, this is definitely one example where it really gets confusing. I recently sold a pair of Norwegian k98 conversions. One was chambered for the 30-06 and the other for the 7.62x51. Both had identical markings on the chamber. They denoted caliber, not the cartridge they were chambered for.
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Yep. One needs to be careful with both milsurp and sporting rifles. Another example is the 1904/39 Portuguese Veguiero that is marked 6.5 but is 7.92x57. Came across a dealer's table at a show that had a homely old Mosin Nagant bubba special that he had marked as an Australian. After I pointed out that the poor old thing may have been in Austria at some point, he was grateful to me. He often comes to me for some history on a milsurp he runs across.
 
bearhunter said:
Now, this is definitely one example where it really gets confusing. I recently sold a pair of Norwegian k98 conversions. One was chambered for the 30-06 and the other for the 7.62x51. Both had identical markings on the chamber. They denoted caliber, not the cartridge they were chambered for.
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Very true, I had forgotten they did conversions to both.

kjohn said:
Yep. One needs to be careful with both milsurp and sporting rifles. Another example is the 1904/39 Portuguese Veguiero that is marked 6.5 but is 7.92x57. Came across a dealer's table at a show that had a homely old Mosin Nagant bubba special that he had marked as an Australian. After I pointed out that the poor old thing may have been in Austria at some point, he was grateful to me. He often comes to me for some history on a milsurp he runs across.
Click to expand...

First 1904/39 I ever got was still in the grease (and this was 4 years ago) because the owner thought it was in 6.5x58 and never bothered cleaning it as he thought he couldn't shoot it. I traded him a RC K98k for it as 8mm he could find ammo for. Value wise I might have lost a bit but quality wise I am far ahead.
 
I agree, some of those 1904/39 rifles are in excellent condition. I am lucky enough to have one with all matching numbers and still retains its original hinged floor plate.

When these things first became available you could specify which floor plate you wanted. Most of the rifles had their original floor plates removed to be used on sporterized 98 actions. I suspect this was done on a commercial basis because when International brought them in most had exchanged units. Some of the rifles even had the late stamped trigger guard/floor plate assemblies, only a few though.

All of the 1904/39 rifles I've seen have had excellent bores. All seem to have been converted by experts and are very accurate. Even the rifles with a worn outer finish shoot well. It's pretty hard to beat those sights as well. The rear square sight notch is just right for the square front sight blade.

We fooled around with some low light shooting and fast run by shooting at ten inch targets at various ranges to see how easily the sights were acquired. Those two big protection ears made getting onto target very quickly a snap.
 
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