Vergueiro
- Thread starter polaris
- Start date
Closer to $400 if it's on the top end of Very Good, especially if it's all matching numbers as well.
Many of these rifles have had their original trigger guards/floor plates removed after being surplussed. North American and European gunsmiths loved the well made and easily dressed up swinging floor plate they came with. They weren't nearly as impressed with the rest of the rifle though. They would take the trigger guard assemblies from the 98 Mauser's they were rebuilding as custom sporters and replace the group on the Vergueiro. Nice and easy exchange. Then, they could sell the rifle for a bit less than they paid for it but have a semi custom hinged floor plate that would have cost them more than the Vergueiro.
The rifles without the original trigger guards but in excellent condition, will fetch around $300.
Many of these rifles have had their original trigger guards/floor plates removed after being surplussed. North American and European gunsmiths loved the well made and easily dressed up swinging floor plate they came with. They weren't nearly as impressed with the rest of the rifle though. They would take the trigger guard assemblies from the 98 Mauser's they were rebuilding as custom sporters and replace the group on the Vergueiro. Nice and easy exchange. Then, they could sell the rifle for a bit less than they paid for it but have a semi custom hinged floor plate that would have cost them more than the Vergueiro.
The rifles without the original trigger guards but in excellent condition, will fetch around $300.
You are right, they have the smoothest action I cycled in a long time.
BTW, the rifle I am talking about has the original trigger guard and matching numbers as far as I can tell.
Only thing is, there is some pitting underneath the barrel, which is hidden by the stock. Seems like this is quite common with those rifles.The barrel however is in fantastic shape, nice and shiny.
To make a long story short, I bought the rifle today at the Ancaster show for $150.
I will post some pictures once it's cleaned up; at the moment it is totally disassembled and not worth any picture taking.
I just sold one in VG+ condition with a 98 trigger guard for $325. Didn't even have to put it in the EE. Mentioned it to a half dozen people and it was gone in 2 days.
They are unique in design and if they've been put toghether right, as most of them have, they are fine accurate shooters. Extremely well made rifles as well.
Don't disassemble the bolt if you don't have instructions on how to reassemble it. I've seen at least two that their owners broke the bolt heads trying to put them back together. I was lucky enough to be able to pick up a couple of spare bolt heads from Sarco a few years back but that door is now closed as well.
Polaris, that is a very decent price on that rifle. If the bore is excellent you won't be disappointed. Considering where a lot of these rifles saw service, I'm surprised they aren't in worse shape than they are. Condition is everything though, so we will see how well you did when we see pics.
They are unique in design and if they've been put toghether right, as most of them have, they are fine accurate shooters. Extremely well made rifles as well.
Don't disassemble the bolt if you don't have instructions on how to reassemble it. I've seen at least two that their owners broke the bolt heads trying to put them back together. I was lucky enough to be able to pick up a couple of spare bolt heads from Sarco a few years back but that door is now closed as well.
Polaris, that is a very decent price on that rifle. If the bore is excellent you won't be disappointed. Considering where a lot of these rifles saw service, I'm surprised they aren't in worse shape than they are. Condition is everything though, so we will see how well you did when we see pics.
Deltasilver
Regular
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I bought my first from a member here last year - Nicely tiger striped stock, all original and numbers matching. It had been bumped a few times IIRC, I bought it without knowing what it was - it was cheap and I figgured I could use it as trade fodder later on if it wasn't a keeper. I've since tracked down two more, one needs a stock and the other has the aforementioned substitute parts. One of those warm & fuzzy moments of discovery for sure.
You can't call them Mannlihers because they aren't.
Most of the rifle is pure Mauser 98 and the parts interchange. The receiver and bolt are another matter entirely, being designed by a Portuguese officer who really had his smarts together. Bolt stripping is accomplished with a twist of the wrist, bolt assembly is the reverse: almost instantaneous.
As to the smoothness of the action, I think they are the only thing ever uilt which can honestly give a Mannlicher-Schoenauer an honest run for its money.
And they are accurate to boot.
Possibly the single most-undervalued rifle on the market today, all factors considered.
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Most of the rifle is pure Mauser 98 and the parts interchange. The receiver and bolt are another matter entirely, being designed by a Portuguese officer who really had his smarts together. Bolt stripping is accomplished with a twist of the wrist, bolt assembly is the reverse: almost instantaneous.
As to the smoothness of the action, I think they are the only thing ever uilt which can honestly give a Mannlicher-Schoenauer an honest run for its money.
And they are accurate to boot.
Possibly the single most-undervalued rifle on the market today, all factors considered.
.
Possibly inspired by the Mannlicher, but so many Mauser features that it's really hard to say. Mannlicher used Mauser features sometimes himself..... an then you have to ask "which Mauser?". Mausers changed a LOT in the 1871 - 1898 period, some models only staying in production for a single run or contract before a new-and-improved model went into production. Even complete BOLTS changed.
But once Vergueiro got hold of it, he made it very muc his own. That single-twist takedown and single-twist assembly worked very well and has been imitated by nobody.
Hope this helps.
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But once Vergueiro got hold of it, he made it very muc his own. That single-twist takedown and single-twist assembly worked very well and has been imitated by nobody.
Hope this helps.
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The safety is very often the ONLY only thing not matching and it's very common on these particular rifles. 
We haven't had the chance to create a Knowledge Library entry for one of these yet, but I have one in the collection. Here's some of the information that will be in the entry.
I love the comment about using a a large nail head ..........
Regards,
Doug
We haven't had the chance to create a Knowledge Library entry for one of these yet, but I have one in the collection. Here's some of the information that will be in the entry.
1904/39 Portuguese "Vergueiro" Model 937/M39 Mauser
(Mfg by Deutsche Waffen und Munitions Fabriken, Berlin)
Originally 6.5 x 58pmm in 1904 and converted to 7.92 x 57mm in 1937.
All matching except for bolt safety, c/w matching bayonet and original sling.
Why is the bolt safety the only part mismatched on this rifle ?
Here's a funny anecdotal story about possibly why..........
http://www.saaaca.org.za/links/m1904_bolt.htm
The complex nature of the M1904 Bolt and its difficult stripping and reassembly process conducive to the loss of parts, contributed significantly to the demise of this Rifle as a Service Arm with the Union of South Africa, Defence Force. UDF Troops are documented as arriving on Parade with disassembled Bolts and their parts tied in a handkerchief and many surviving Rifles today are found with replacement Bolts, or the Safety flag having been replaced, as was easily lost. Today, many M1904 owners rather do not strip the Bolt assembly, or, hand this job to a competent Gunsmith.
(Click PIC to Enlarge)
(Click PIC to Enlarge)
1904/39 Portuguese "Vergueiro" (88 pic photo montage ... click here)http://imageevent.com/badgerdog/germanservicerifles/190439portugueseg3853
I've got pages of instructions including some with pics, but I understand they can be misleading. Ludwig Olsen's book "Mauser Bolt Rifles" has instructions on Page 204, but another 1904/39 owner said he followed those and they turned out to be wrong. He sent me pics of the various pages and the corrections. It appears even Olsen had problems with these beasts.
(Click PIC to Enlarge)
(Click PIC to Enlarge)
I love the comment about using a a large nail head ..........
Regards,
Doug
