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Old April 28, 2013, 08:56 PM   #1
K9Justus
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Help identifying old Rifle

Hello,

I was hoping that someone may be able to help me identify this rifle.

I dug this out of my Dad's closet when he passed away a few years ago. It's in pretty rough shape so I'm not real concerned with what it's worth, I would just like to know exactly what it is.

I have photographed some of the numbers stamped on the gun and tried to take a picture from every angle.

I would greatly appreciate any assistance. A link to the photos is below.

Thanks very much in advance,

Joe

http://s187.photobucket.com/user/K9Justus/library/Rifle
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Old April 28, 2013, 09:53 PM   #2
James K
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It looks like a Spanish Model 1916 Short Rifle. There should be (or have been) markings on the receiver ring (the round metal part behind the rear sight). If it is Spanish, the caliber would have originally been 7x57 Mauser, or 7mm Mauser, as it is called in the U.S.

That gun looks like it has been badly treated, so I strongly suggest having it checked out by a gunsmith before firing it.

Jim
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Old April 28, 2013, 11:01 PM   #3
K9Justus
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Jim,

Thanks very much. I googled the Spanish Model 1916 Short Rifle and in fact all of the photos that I have found on the internet look identical to this gun. I don't see any markings on the receiver ring though. Would that mean that it may be a copy of the Spanish gun?

This gun is in much to bad of shape to fire. I was just trying to figure out what it was to see if it would be worth trying to do a restoration on it. It looks like probably not.

I really appreciate your help.

Thanks again,
Joe
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Old April 29, 2013, 12:04 AM   #4
James K
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Probably someone wanted to turn that rifle into a sporter and so they removed the manufacturer's marking which they thought "marred" the appearance of the gun. That sounds silly, but it was common thinking at one time. Some of those rifles were made in Germany and had the manufacturer's name on the left side of the receiver, but it looks like that one has only the serial number in that location.

Jim
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Old April 29, 2013, 05:41 PM   #5
mapsjanhere
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With that scrubbed appearance and the non-stamped serial number I wonder if it's a 7.62 conversion.
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Old April 29, 2013, 07:18 PM   #6
James K
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Possibly, but in any event the OP says he does not intend to fire it.

Jim
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Old May 2, 2013, 10:39 AM   #7
Scorch
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I have owned several M1916 short rifles over the years. I had two of them that had no roll marks. Spain (like several other countries who produced Mauser pattern rifles) was an international arms supplier, they used to produce M1916 rifles to sell to other countries, and they were sold either blank or roll-marked when the sale was made.
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