HOW TO IDENTIFY A MAUSER RIFLE?
By The mastermind behind many of today’s sporting bolt-action rifles and semi-automatic pistols is the 1870s manufactured Mauser rifle. The design is structured by Paul Mauser and his brother Wilhelm Mauser; a German who worked as an arms manufacturer for the German armed forces.
HOW TO IDENTIFY A MAUSER RIFLE CORRECTLY?
Mauser designs have created a benchmark for all the series of bolt action rifles used for sports such as hunting and military purposes. Its massive claw extractor and a double square bridge have led to it become every hunter’s dream. So, in the late 19th century and early 20th-century, Mauser designs were exported worldwide and licensed to many countries. Especially the Mauser 98 was widely adopted, and one such example of duplication is the Model 70.
Today, countries like Mexico, Turkey, Argentina, and Brazil manufacture their own variants of Mauser rifles, so the identification of a Mauser rifle’s nationality is important for rifle hoarders. If you cannot distinguish an ordinary rifle from the Mausers rifle and need some guidance, don’t hesitate to keep on reading to get some identification hacks.
Manufacturing Country
As mentioned above the Mauser designs were exported and licensed to many different countries; thus, the first step to identifying a Mauser rifle is finding out the country of origin. It is usually stated on the import stamp located along the barrel together with the weapon’s caliber, weapon’s model number and the year it was manufactured in. The imported rifles are stamped according to each country’s federal regulations, making the process of identification easier. [sc name=”in-content” ]
Next up on the identification process is examining the rifle’s stock and the receiver for any markings guiding about the factory of manufacture and the year of manufacturing. A Nazi-style eagle or Weimar style eagle represents that it is German manufactured. The round the rifle fires can help you identify the rifle’s origins and model, just like the 1891 Argentine, 1909 Argentine, Spanish 1893, Chilean 1895, and also the Swedish 1896.
Mauser Action
The main feature of a Mauser rifle is the Mauser action. It is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by directly manipulating the bolt via a bolt handle placed on the weapon’s right-hand side. The action has a claw extractor used for positive loading and unloading of rounds. The use of an oversize claw is that it prevents stuck rounds from slipping out or breaking the extractor. Its well-thought design makes it look appealing to the eyes with the plus point of shooting out many barrels.
Another plus point of the claw extractor is that it rotates and is very strong. This extractor helps tear off the rim if a case gets stuck in the chamber either because of mud or dirt. When you pull back the bolt, the blade hits the cartridge case on the side and flips it out of the action allowing you to ram to the next. This feature is one of the main features to help distinguish Mauser rifles from other ones. Pull back pull.
Another very common feature of the Mauser action is that the charger clip guide for the Mauser rifle is flushed and has large strengthened rings. It has long barrels previously of 29 inches but later cut short to 23.6 inches.
Manufacturing Codes
[sc name=”in-content” ]Another important way of identification is through the manufacturing codes. While examining the receiver if you come across a two or three alphanumeric code on the top, this is an indication that your rifle is most likely a Gewehr 98k or Karabiner 98k. As Mausers were known for a standard design during the First World War and the Second World War these numbers are the German manufacturers’ ordinance codes.
However, suppose your rifle is not manufactured in Germany but uses a Mauser action. In that case, you need to collaboratively use the rifle caliber and the markings located on the receiver to determine the country of origin. For this, you may need to use a Mauser rifle identification guide that lists all the number variants.
Caliber
Mauser is designed as a five-round box style magazine located within the forearm with a huge variety of calibers. The German Mausers which are believed to be original ones have a caliber of 7.92 mm and fire 7.92×57 mm, others like Argentine and Belgian Mausers fire 7.65×53 mm, Spanish and Chilean Mausers fire 7×57 mm and the Swedish Mausers fire 6.5×55 mm.
Hoping by now you have a clear understanding of differentiating a Mauser Rifle. Here is the link to a YouTube video below for you to check out that explains the difference between Mauser Bolt action and other bolt action rifles so that you have a clear visual understanding of the identification process of a Mauser Rifle.
We hope that this article is helpful to understand about Mauser rifle. [sc name=”faq3questions” q1=”How to identify a mauser rifle correctly?” a1=”Mauser designs were exported and licensed to many different countries; thus, the first step to identifying is..” q2=”Mauser action” a2=”The action has a claw extractor used for positive loading and unloading of rounds. The use of an oversize claw is..” q3=”Manufacturing codes” a3=”As Mausers were known for a standard design during the First World War and the Second World War these numbers are..” ]
