My first Mauser, 7.62 guarda

[Hotwheels81]

Ok folks, here we have a real cute lil Mauser! Although it has been neglected over time she is still sporting a very shiny bore with no pitting what so ever

Only real "issue" I'm having is it likes to lob bullets over the backstop... Yeah... About 2-3' above POA... Any tips on that one?

 

[smellie]

Two to three FEET??????

First off, what RANGE are you shooting at? These rifles were set for 200 metres MINIMUM which generally meant "anything up to 300". They usually shoot about 6 inches high at 100.

If your rifle is exceeding this by a serious margin, then I would think you have either a problem with the bedding, or else someone has filed down your front sight somewhat seriously.

What does it do if you bench-rest it very seriously?
.
.

 

[Hotwheels81]

"Very seriously" shooting prone from my back pack with a rear bag and lots of patience I am lobbing rounds over the target board several inches! I placed 2x 24" rifle targets one above the other on the 100M board after being warned these type of rifles shoot high and took aim at the center of the bottom target and fired 5rnds slow and deliberate.... I know I'm not great with iron sights but I routinely smack 4" clays at 100M with my SKS sights and the irons on my No1 mk3!

But I did inspect the impact zone in the dirt pile and all rounds were hitting within a honest 3-4" area....

Hella fun little rifle to shoot! Super easy on the shoulder!! Will make a fine bush rifle I'm thinking.

 

[mwjones]

copy from other thread at OP request:

Apparently when these were brought in years ago they were tested to destruction by the importer....the name escapes me, i want to say it started with a W....

Anyway, they apparently tested the guns up to 90000psi before they finally suffered "catastrophic failure." Which was not the gun blowing to pieces and takign the shooters face and hands with it, but rather the inside of the reciever where the lockign lugs on the bolt engage stretched or warped, makign it so that you could not open the rifle.

I'm searching for the appropriate article now...

EDIT: Found it

http://www.theothersideofkim.com/index.php/ggps/5637/

"Spanish “Guardia Civil” Mauser M1916 (.308 Win)
May 29, 2003
9:00 PM CST

This GGP is dedicated to Rick Lucas, with my apologies.

Shortly after WWII, the arms factory at Oviedo converted a number of the elderly 1916 Mausers from 7x57mm to .308 Win, for use by the Spanish Civil Guard, and fine-looking rifles they are too.

I read somewhere that these rifles were to be treated with circumspection, because the metal of the breech and receiver might not have been able to handle the added pressure of the more-powerful .308 Win cartridge, and I’ve mentioned that little snippet on a couple of occasions on this site.

Well, apparently I wasn’t the only one who thought this, because a bunch of Guardia Mausers were sent to H.P. White, a testing company, and tested to destruction. The SAAMI maximum of 55,000 psi (lbs/sq.in.) for the .308 Win was exceeded—and the rifles were finally destroyed at 98,000 psi!

In other words, I was talking total nonsense, and these rifles are perfectly capable of handling the .308 Win cartridge. My sincerest apologies to all, and to the Guardia Civil Mausers too.

The M1916 is based on the M1893, with a shorter barrel (21") than the older model. Possibly because of the rumors of their weakness, they are selling way below what they are really worth. The typical price is around $130 - $150, which is a steal. So if you see one and need a rifle in the wonderful .308 Win caliber, grab it.

(And everyone should have at least one .308 rifle—it’s possibly the greatest all-round cartridge ever made, and is certainly one of the most accurate cartridges ever made. And, as I’ve said before, everyone should own at least one Mauser, so with the Guardia Civil model, you get a twofer.)"

 

[Clotho]

I bought a model 1916 Spanish Cavalry Mauser Carbine in 7.62 Nato awhile back off the EE.

It was a bit messed up. It was covered in red paint (mostly overspray) and someone had cut about a half inch off the butt and drilled holes in the end of the stock. There was rust on the bolt but the bore was shiny and the rifling was like new.

I tried stripping the paint off with mineral spirits but it wasn't working very well so I gave up and lightly sanded the stock with steel wool. Yes I know that is heresy but I figure the only chance it has of ever being properly restored is to replace the entire stock as the damage to the butt will never be properly corrected.

I was surprised and a bit disappointed that the gun had virtually no markings on it of any kind. There was nothing on the stock and the only marks on the rifle are Cal 7.62 and the serial numbers. The bolt matches the reciever but the floorplate is wrong. I guessing they scrubbed everything when they converted it to 7.62.

After refinishing the stock and cleaning as much of the paint from the blued parts as I could (I got most of it but not all) I polished the bolt to get the rust off and bought a limbsaver recoil pad to cover the messed up butt.

It is fun to shoot and I have worked up a .308 plinking load that is well under 7.62 specs but works well. The gun isn't terribly accurate but it seems reasonable for its carbine status.

Maybe someday I will find a proper replacement stock and butt plate and will be able to restore it to its former glory. For now I have a 100 year old gun that looks like new and is fun to shoot!

Yes I know the strap isn't correct but I like it and it keeps the ring from smacking my thumb under recoil.

I wasn't able to read the article that MWJones linked to as you have to be a member of that site. I suspect he was directing us to this:

Some good information can be found here: http://milpas.cc/rifles/ZFiles/Spanish%20Rifles/SPANISH%20MAUSERS/Identifying%20Spanish%20Mausers.htm

 

[Andy]

It's nice to see someone making the effort to restore the reputation of Spanish Mausers.

Granted there's so much negative folklore that it will probably never be completely refuted, but people can be converted, one-by-one. I can't count the number of myths that have as their root source a single opinion presented years ago, that soon has multiple" "a friend of a guy I know, knows someone whose Spanish Mauser "blew up" stories popping up. It's a reliable source", but names never get shared. When challenged about that, these guys typically retreat behind "it's your face" type of comments........

As for it shooting high, are you sure that the rear sight is all the way down? If so, a taller front sight is indicated. Trying to adjust POI by varying loads is folly.

 

[9.3mauser]

Only real "issue" I'm having is it likes to lob bullets over the backstop... Yeah... About 2-3' above POA... Any tips on that one?

What bullet weight are you using? Not 100% sure, but I suspect these were regulated for the old round-nose 173gr. load. If you're using 140's that might explain the higher poi.

 

[sail32]

Spain adopted a CETME rifle, an early version of the H&K G-3. It used a reduced power cartridge version of the 7.62x51mm NATO round.
This lowerer powdered round and the quality of Oviedo Arsenal weapons may be the basis of confusion on using full power NATO rounds in an altered 1893 Mauser.
It may also be the reason for the change in the point of impact.

 

[paratrooper777]

I believe most Mausers in the old days were factory sighted for 300 yds battle setting ,most models designed before 1898 shot high at 100 yds setting
IMHO

 

[Hotwheels81]

As for it shooting high, are you sure that the rear sight is all the way down? If so, a taller front sight is indicated. Trying to adjust POI by varying loads is folly.

Yes I'm quite sure it's all the way down...

I have a hunch the issue is rust scale between the barrel and stock bedding but even still that's a hell of a lot for sights to be out!?!?

 

[Hotwheels81]

I believe most Mausers in the old days were factory sighted for 300 yds battle setting ,most models designed before 1898 shot high at 100 yds setting
IMHO

I have heard everything from 200-300M as a zero and that's fine when you consider a .308 round hitting center at 300M is only really only 6-7"high at 100...

 

[Hotwheels81]

What bullet weight are you using? Not 100% sure, but I suspect these were regulated for the old round-nose 173gr. load. If you're using 140's that might explain the higher poi.

150gr federal blue box, heavier bullets tend to make rifles shoot higher in my experiance...

 

[mwjones]

147gr fmj bullets with 40 grains of 4895 will closely approximate a nato round if using mil brass. maybe try that If using commercial brass, 41.5-42 grains will be similarly...uhm...similar