Mauser matchup! Which do you think is the winner?

[highlander]

Of all the ones I own and have owned some of the Brazil M1908 are the nicest.
I suspect Brazil actually shipped some dark red tropical hardwood to DWM in Germany to make those.

They are also in 7mm Mauser and shoot well.

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Yep, out of all the Mausers I've seen and handled in my time, especially in regards to fit and finish, this one would get my vote also.

Second up would be the Swedish Mausers.

 

[Coyote Ugly]

The 1909 Argentine Mausers are in the same league as the Brazillian 1908 and 1935 Mausers. Unissued, target, sling, bayonet, muzzle protector.

 

[K223]

I would have to say my favourite Mauser out of the couple I own would be my Czech vz-24 Mauser in 8mm. It has the best fitting chamber of any of my milsurp rifles and has an excellent barrel. In my opinion the Czech rifles are some of the highest quality you can find

 

[Volhv]

I would have to say my favourite Mauser out of the couple I own would be my Czech vz-24 Mauser in 8mm. It has the best fitting chamber of any of my milsurp rifles and has an excellent barrel. In my opinion the Czech rifles are some of the highest quality you can find

I'm also fond of my VZ24. Nicely built. Great fit and finish, and a very smooth and tight action. My only complaint would be the all the sling swivels. A bit too busy. k98 is much more streamlined and also has a better rear sight that can be adjusted with only one finger, and will lock halfway between increments.

 

[Eaglelord17]

For build quality I would list the following as contenders all in mint condition

-Early Gewehr 98
-Argentine M1909
-Brazilian M1908
-Steyr made Chilean 1912

There were plenty of Mausers made to exceptionally high standards, personally I think the pre-war ones were the highest build quality as after WWI people started realizing that just because a firearm isn’t as pretty doesn’t mean it’s ineffective.

 

[Andy]

I find the following to be breathtaking:

- Brazilian M1908 and M1935;
- Argentine M1909; and
- Persian 98/29.​

 

[Arrow105]

My second choice would actually be a FN made-for-Israel 1951 in 7.61NATO. That thing looks like new, probably kind of is because by the time the IDF got them they were well on the way converting to full auto weapons and it was probably never used. Mine looks like it anyways..

If the production year is 1951, then it was received by Israel in 1953 in the worst case delay, I assume. It was only in 1955 that Israel adopted full auto weaponry; the Uzi and FAL. Thus, the only conflict it could have seen full service in would have been the Suez Crisis of 1956, as by the Six Day War in 1967 the FAL had become the true mainstay of the IDF.

It was the adoption of the FAL that directly led to the number of Israeli converted Mausers we see. As Israeli's economy wasn't so great, they could not afford to give everyone a FAL, and thus the decision was made to give a number of secondary units 7.62 NATO Mausers, which were switched to that calibre if needed for logistical simplicity.

 

[altaberg]

Yup,

I believe Israel eventually re-barrelled all Mausers to 7.62NATO and kept some in reserves and stores into the eighties.

If the production year is 1951, then it was received by Israel in 1953 in the worst case delay, I assume. It was only in 1955 that Israel adopted full auto weaponry; the Uzi and FAL. Thus, the only conflict it could have seen full service in would have been the Suez Crisis of 1956, as by the Six Day War in 1967 the FAL had become the true mainstay of the IDF.

It was the adoption of the FAL that directly led to the number of Israeli converted Mausers we see. As Israeli's economy wasn't so great, they could not afford to give everyone a FAL, and thus the decision was made to give a number of secondary units 7.62 NATO Mausers, which were switched to that calibre if needed for logistical simplicity.

 

[Arrow105]

All the ones they kept around were indeed re-barrelled. It's why there are even some Gew 98 that got converted over; back in the time of the Mandate, Haganah bought all the Kar98k they could get, which included a number of Gew 98 conversions.