Old Mauser 7mm rifle? Is that possible?

[Ignition Override]

Saw it in a pawn shop today.
As an older guy but a rifle beginner, all Mausers reportedly shoot only 8 mm ammo. If true, then a different chamber/barrel was installed years ago? The action seems good and the pin gives a normal click, I suppose.

This must have been a contract factory in Italy, Spain, Port. or Latin America.
"Fabrica Armas" (Arms Factory), by that are "DE" (now the abbreviation for Deutschland) and Oviedo, 1904 or such. The paper tag says Mauser 7 mm, and the barrel's bore might be smaller than on my 7.62 Mosins. The small safety 'tab' appears to be the small rectangle to the left of the rear bolt section. Pardon my ignorance of the proper terminology. Many of these pawn shop staff have no exposure to exotic weapons (and no homework).

The store's tag says "30 inch barrel". The numbers on receiver or underneath etc are: 8018, and 5000, 9906 elsewhere. The newer wooden stock has no shine but very few scratches etc.

Will call the gun's former owner tomorrow. If the gun uses 7mm, was this just a "Bubba-fication", and could a gunsmith probably find a safe round too use in it?
If so, this must have chopped the actual collector's value a huge amount.

[Darren007]

Spanish Mausers were originally chambered in 7mm Mauser. Have it double checked though as many were converted to 8mm or sometimes .308 win. Oviedo was a government arsenal in Spain that was licensed to produce Mausers for the Spanish Army.

If it was "sporterized" than the value has been dramaticly reduced to the $100 to "whatever its worth to you" range.

"Fabrica Armas" (Arms Factory), by that are "DE" (now the abbreviation for Deutschland) and Oviedo

BTW...What that says is "Arms Factory of Oviedo"...the DE means "of".

[Mike Irwin]

Mauserwerk made rifles for many nations in calibers of their choosing, ranging from the 7.65 for Belgium and Argentina to 7mm for Spain to a few 6.5x55s for Sweden and Norway.

[Ignition Override]

Darren007: Roger that, 'de' always means 'of' or 'from' in Romance languages. Anything which appears German leads me to other conclusions when licensed.

Yesterday found a (reportedly) "Mannlicher" in another pawn shop not too far from here.
"Rememusem.ork.uk/arms/rifles/armgm88" claims that this other gun is neither a Mauser nor a Mannlicher. It says ..."rifle was made in Spandau in 1890". The one I looked at said "Gew (Gewehr/rifle)" and believe that the year was also 1890.

What might this Spanish Mauser from today's road trip be worth, and will any modern ammo shoot safely if the bolt has good headspace etc?
Have no idea what a gunsmith charges to check headspace and so on, being a fairly new shooter and zero experience with gun components (just Lots of shooting at grapefruits, largeTropicana jugs; 500 M-1 Carbine rounds, 200+ with Mosin 91 and 44, 400+ Mini 14 ... and cleaning: most of these since middle January '08, not including .22...would like to graduate to feral pig-hunting one day with a seasoned pig shooter..seeking a used Mini-30 {yes} in trade for new Carbine to pursue dangerous pigs and squads of waterborne grapefruits assigned to deep interdiction missions).

PS: What is Internet lingo "bump" and "FTF" for dealing in guns?

[DPris]

Who told you Mausers only shoot 8mm?
There's no way to give a value on the Mauser you're talking about without a photo to determine what it is, what shape it's in, and if it's been sporterized. Does it have full military wood? Matching numbers on receiver & bolt? Commercial stock with military wood all replaced? Drilled for scope mounts? What shape is the bore in? Pitted? Light? Dark?
Bump means move the thread back to the top, FTF usually means failure to feed.
Denis

[Scorch]

Unless it has been tampered with, the Oviedo (Spanish) Mauser you were looking at is most likely a Modelo 1916 (1893 Mauser action) in 7X57mm (7mm Mauser). If it is in safe working condition, it will fire factory 7X57 ammo. Federal, Remington, and Winchester all load ammo for 7X57. These rifles typically sell for between $150 to $200. I would not pay more than $170 for one, even if it is really clean. From your description, it sounds like the rifle you saw has been refinished, at least the wood.

Mauser Werke (later Deutsche Waffen und Munizion Fabrik) was the largest producer and seller of military weapons in the world for about 75 years. They made numerous models of rifles (depending on the client nation's budget), in many chamberings. They also set up weapons factories in many other nations around the world (including the Oviedo armory in Spain) to make that nation's military arms, for which they received a royalty payment for each weapon produced. They dominated the world's military arms market without affecting their own factories' capacity to produce more rifles (pretty smart, huh?). In fact, they would supply opposing sides in a conflict with progressively better weapons and keep them fighting.

While most people know the 8X57mmJS chambering due to the fact that Germany successfully used it to lose 2 World Wars, there were many other chamberings. The 7X57 chambering is the second most common, being used by many South American nations, Mexico, Spain (remember San Juan Hill?), and the Boers in South Africa among others. 7.65 Belgian Mauser was common in many of the opposing armies' arsenals (don't want your enemies to get and use your ammo against you). Some nations had more than one official service round (one chambering for police and national guard, the other for the military).

End of the history lesson, thank you for your attention. Please leave a small donation on your way out.

[Darren007]

Yesterday found a (reportedly) "Mannlicher" in another pawn shop not too far from here.
"Rememusem.ork.uk/arms/rifles/armgm88" claims that this other gun is neither a Mauser nor a Mannlicher. It says ..."rifle was made in Spandau in 1890". The one I looked at said "Gew (Gewehr/rifle)" and believe that the year was also 1890.

Without seeing it, it sounds like you came across an 1888 German Comission rifle. Theyre so named because the German government wanted to replace their ol '71 and '71/84 Mauser black powder cartridge rifles with a rifle that would fire the then new smokeless powder. A commision was put together to come up with a new design. They simply copied features of the Mauser and Mannlicher rifles in creating the 1888 Gehwehr.

What might this Spanish Mauser from today's road trip be worth, and will any modern ammo shoot safely if the bolt has good headspace etc?

Well, like I said before if its sporterized its not worth much. If its original your looking at between...$250-$500, depending on condition. Oviedo Mausers just dont have the same appeal as Mausers made in Germany.

If the headspace is good, and the rifle has not been abused, it should be safe to fire. But its always a wise choice to get a good gunsmith to examine it first regardless.

PS: What is Internet lingo "bump" and "FTF" for dealing in guns?

"bump" is word used in a post to show that your "bumping" your thread back to the top of the list by posting, in hopes of getting more replys.

"FTF" means the seller or buyer wants to do the deal.."Face to Face"

[DPris]

My apologies on FTF.
Denis

[Hawg Haggen]

My apologies on FTF

It can go either way depending on the conversation. Generally speaking 7mm is a small ring Mauser. Most large ring were 8mm. I personally have a Spanish 7mm and it shoots ok, not great but ok. I had a 1916 that was arsenal rechambered to .308 and it wouldn't hit a sideways sheet of plywood at 50 yds.

[Martyn4802]

I also have one of the Spanish 7x57's that I use for Deer hunting.

Martyn

[cimarronvalley]

I picked up an unissued German Military 1893 Mauser back in 72 from Gibsons in Biloxi, Ms. Several of my high school classmates done the same. They were $19 each. I spent a couple of weeks sanding and refinishing the stock and it was gorgeous. A few years later, I found G Mauser made for Spain in 7x57. It was the carbine model and in excellent condition with the manlicher style stock. To this day, I regret having to sell them, but I needed money after the divorce.

[Tamara]

Originally Posted by cimarronvalley

I picked up an unissued German Military 1893 Mauser

Not to quibble, but there is no German military M1893 Mauser; in 1893 the German army was using the Gew.88 "Commission Rifle".

[garryc]

Not to quibble, but there is no German military M1893 Mauser; in 1893 the German army was using the Gew.88 "Commission Rifle".

The 1893 Mauser was made in germany for the Turks. It was 8x57 mauser. The spanish M1893 was 7x57.

[Tamara]

Originally Posted by garryc

The 1893 Mauser was made in germany for the Turks.

Right. Which is why we call them "Turkish Mausers", to distinguish them from German 98's and Spanish 93's and Argie 91's and...

[Hawg Haggen]

I had an 1891 Mauser made in Germany for Argentina. It was a carbine with a Mannlicher style stock. Beautiful finish on it with a very slick action to be cock on closing. Chambered in 7.65

[Ignition Override]

You guys really know your rifle history. Thanks very much.

The gun in the local pawn shop is not a Commission and the barrel is very thick, as it looks when typing in Mannlicher on Google.

That British website claimed that the gun in their photo was made in Spandau, although the one here says "Danzig" on the receiver..

[Tamara]

Danzig '90 Gew.88.