1891 Argentine Mauser R&R barrel

Hdonly · January 27, 2017, 10:24 PM

I have an 1891 Argentine Mauser that belonged to my father. It was the first gun that I ever fired back in 1963. It fired a lot of corrosive ammo over the years and we didn't know about the proper cleaning. When it came into my hands in the late 1970's I (like a fool) thought it would be a great idea to take a hacksaw to it. Anyway, the barrel is now in pretty bad shape. I have a good original barrel now (in the white). Anyone know how likely it would be to screw the old one out and screw the new one in and have the head space end up right? Not worried about the front sight indexing as the new barrel has no front sight on it and I will be putting my scope back on it. I have a lathe if needed, but was just curious before I started this part of this lifelong build.

Nacho Man · January 27, 2017, 10:52 PM

Curious what mount is that and scope.
I have a sporter I got a few yrs ago, in fact I just shot it last week.
With the shorter sight radius I have to get real low on the comb to get the sights lined up.
On the bench it really tenderizes my cheek, very uncomfortable and sore the next day.
Im hitting 3-4" low at 25yds lol. Idk what that will equate too at 100yds, never shot it that far. I thought about putting a scope on it, sights are very tough to see plus I wouldn't have to get so low on the buttstock slapping my cheek

.

Huffmanite · January 28, 2017, 07:23 AM

About 10 years ago, sent a sporterized 91 Argentine 7.65x53 that I'd bought around 1967 for deer hunting to be rebarreled by a gunsmith that kinda specialized in rebarreling mausers and other military rifles. So, my 91 Argy was not the first one he'd ever rebarreled. Somewhere in our discussion of work to be done, he had impression I wanted the cut down original military barrel back. So, he DID NOT make a relief cut on barrel before trying to remove it from receiver. Gunsmith had a heck of a time breaking the barrel free of the receiver.

So, you might want to make a relief cut to lessen tension of barrel threads in the receiver.

Hdonly · January 28, 2017, 08:33 AM

Seems like I have read somewhere about making a relief cut before unscrewing the barrel. Thanks, Huffmanite for that reminder. My barrel is pretty trashed so I don't care about saving it.

Nacho Man, That mount is made from two scope rings upside down. Put on with epoxy after removing the "around the barrel" sight mount. That part of the barrel just happens to be just right to fit standard 1"rings.Then used this

and cut two reliefs on the bottom for the upsidedown mount screws to mount it. The scope is just a cheap Simmons pistol scope. I have to get pretty far back for the eye relief on this scope, so I may try a different one to make it a little more "user friendly".

Oliver Sudden · January 28, 2017, 09:34 AM

As to turning on a barrel and having it head space right I believe the odds are closest to Zero. You best have a head space gage and a depth mike and action wrench. I generally put a barrel on with .002" crush on the shoulder for tightening.

James K · January 29, 2017, 04:06 PM

You say the new barrel is "in the white", which would usually mean new and never installed. If so, the chances are good that it is short chambered and will need only a reamer to install and headspace.

If the replacement barrel has been on a rifle, it is a tossup whether the headspace will be too long. (Too short can be corrected with a reamer, of course.) Even if the headspace is too long, it may not be so far out of spec that the rifle can still be fired safely and the cases reloaded without resizing.

There is no way to be certain without installing the new barrel, and that is what I suggest. Then take it from there.

Normally a relief cut is needed only in specific cases, and it is not done universally. I would just try an ordinary barrel wrench and vise and see what happens.)

Jim

Hdonly · January 29, 2017, 08:55 PM

Thanks for the tip, James K. Yes it is in the white, no front sight. I will try removing the old barrel without cutting first. If needed, I will try to rent a reamer and headspace gauges since this will probably be the only 7.65x53 I will ever do. You all have been a lot of help. Thanks

F. Guffey · January 30, 2017, 06:08 PM

Quote:

There is no way to be certain without installing the new barrel, and that is what I suggest. Then take it from there.

I am certain if I check the length of the chamber with the old barrel installed from the shoulder of the chamber to the bolt face I can duplicate the dimension in the new barrel.

All I would do was determine the length of the chamber from the shoulder to the bolt face and then remove the barrel. After removing the barrel I would check the length of the chamber in the replacement barrel. If the chamber is short chambered I will know how far I have to advance the chamber to complete.

F. Guffey

F. Guffey · January 30, 2017, 06:15 PM

Forgot, I have a pile of parts for the Argentine and an old friend ask me to clean out his shop so I did. He has several rifles one being an Argentine 1891 he built. He said it was a 308 W and I corrected him by saying it was a 7.65mm53. After I got home and checked everything out I discovered the rifle was chambered to 308 w with a M1917 barrel.

I contacted him to inform him of my mistake and then ask him what he used the rifle for. He said he used it for a loaner meaning when someone shows up to hunt without a rifle he loaned them the 1891 Argentine.

F. Guffey

Hdonly · January 30, 2017, 07:51 PM

I just may hold off on my barrel replacement. I spent a about half a day cleaning and scrubbing on the old nasty looking barrel in my 1891. I got a lot of dark crud out of the barrel. It still looked pretty bad, but I decided to take it out to the range one last time before tearing it apart. I must admit that after all the cleaning and scrubbing, the rifle actually shot pretty good. I fired 40 rounds of PPU 180 grain softpoint ammo through it. I was able to keep most of the shots in a half dollar size circle. Before the deep cleaning, it was all over the target.I think before pulling the still ugly but clean barrel out, I am going to try handloading some of the long .303 cast bullets through it. I have read that these longer bullets can sometimes improve accuracy quite a bit in this rifle. The barrel still has rust pits but the rifling looks much sharper than it did before.

F. Guffey · January 31, 2017, 08:56 AM

Quote:

I was able to keep most of the shots in a half dollar size circle.

I was going to say that is good but then I went back to post#1 and noticed the long eye relief scope; but in my opinion that is still good.

F. Guffey

January 27, 2017, 10:52 PM	#2
Nacho Man Member Join Date: August 5, 2013 Posts: 81	Curious what mount is that and scope. I have a sporter I got a few yrs ago, in fact I just shot it last week. With the shorter sight radius I have to get real low on the comb to get the sights lined up. On the bench it really tenderizes my cheek, very uncomfortable and sore the next day. Im hitting 3-4" low at 25yds lol. Idk what that will equate too at 100yds, never shot it that far. I thought about putting a scope on it, sights are very tough to see plus I wouldn't have to get so low on the buttstock slapping my cheek.

January 28, 2017, 07:23 AM	#3
Huffmanite Senior Member Join Date: February 17, 2006 Location: Northeast of Houston, Tx Posts: 393	About 10 years ago, sent a sporterized 91 Argentine 7.65x53 that I'd bought around 1967 for deer hunting to be rebarreled by a gunsmith that kinda specialized in rebarreling mausers and other military rifles. So, my 91 Argy was not the first one he'd ever rebarreled. Somewhere in our discussion of work to be done, he had impression I wanted the cut down original military barrel back. So, he DID NOT make a relief cut on barrel before trying to remove it from receiver. Gunsmith had a heck of a time breaking the barrel free of the receiver. So, you might want to make a relief cut to lessen tension of barrel threads in the receiver.

January 28, 2017, 09:34 AM	#5
Oliver Sudden Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2017 Location: Colorado Posts: 272	As to turning on a barrel and having it head space right I believe the odds are closest to Zero. You best have a head space gage and a depth mike and action wrench. I generally put a barrel on with .002" crush on the shoulder for tightening.

January 29, 2017, 04:06 PM	#6
James K Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 24,383	You say the new barrel is "in the white", which would usually mean new and never installed. If so, the chances are good that it is short chambered and will need only a reamer to install and headspace. If the replacement barrel has been on a rifle, it is a tossup whether the headspace will be too long. (Too short can be corrected with a reamer, of course.) Even if the headspace is too long, it may not be so far out of spec that the rifle can still be fired safely and the cases reloaded without resizing. There is no way to be certain without installing the new barrel, and that is what I suggest. Then take it from there. Normally a relief cut is needed only in specific cases, and it is not done universally. I would just try an ordinary barrel wrench and vise and see what happens.) Jim

January 29, 2017, 08:55 PM	#7
Hdonly Senior Member Join Date: January 5, 2013 Posts: 340	Thanks for the tip, James K. Yes it is in the white, no front sight. I will try removing the old barrel without cutting first. If needed, I will try to rent a reamer and headspace gauges since this will probably be the only 7.65x53 I will ever do. You all have been a lot of help. Thanks

January 30, 2017, 06:15 PM	#9
F. Guffey Senior Member Join Date: July 18, 2008 Posts: 7,249	Forgot, I have a pile of parts for the Argentine and an old friend ask me to clean out his shop so I did. He has several rifles one being an Argentine 1891 he built. He said it was a 308 W and I corrected him by saying it was a 7.65mm53. After I got home and checked everything out I discovered the rifle was chambered to 308 w with a M1917 barrel. I contacted him to inform him of my mistake and then ask him what he used the rifle for. He said he used it for a loaner meaning when someone shows up to hunt without a rifle he loaned them the 1891 Argentine. F. Guffey

January 30, 2017, 07:51 PM	#10
Hdonly Senior Member Join Date: January 5, 2013 Posts: 340	I just may hold off on my barrel replacement. I spent a about half a day cleaning and scrubbing on the old nasty looking barrel in my 1891. I got a lot of dark crud out of the barrel. It still looked pretty bad, but I decided to take it out to the range one last time before tearing it apart. I must admit that after all the cleaning and scrubbing, the rifle actually shot pretty good. I fired 40 rounds of PPU 180 grain softpoint ammo through it. I was able to keep most of the shots in a half dollar size circle. Before the deep cleaning, it was all over the target.I think before pulling the still ugly but clean barrel out, I am going to try handloading some of the long .303 cast bullets through it. I have read that these longer bullets can sometimes improve accuracy quite a bit in this rifle. The barrel still has rust pits but the rifling looks much sharper than it did before.