Any Mauser experts?

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Phaetos

Phaetos

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I am completely unfamiliar with the Mauser family, but I had my interest piqued today. Ran into a guy with a Chilean Mauser, stamped as made in Berlin, with "Modelo 1895" on it. It had a little stamping before the serial that appeared to look like some kind of shield, like a police/army shield. All numbers that I could find matched, the bore was in great shape. The wood and blueing of the barrel were excellant. Everything was nice and shiny. He had it marked for $250, but wanted to let me have it for $175. Then he showed me the gun price book that everyone has except me, and it appears to be worth around 300-450 in it's current condition. Is this price worth it? He wanted cash for it, but I didn't have that on me. I got his number to go get it from him in a few days if it's a good buy.

Awaiting your esteemed thoughts oh masters of Mausers ;)
 
To me an excellent 1895 Chilean would be worth it, the gun book price seems a little high. Remember that these are older designs and don't try to run hot loads through them.
 
 
Is this what you are seeing? (see pic)

This Chilean I bought a few years ago for $50! All matching parts (the only part I had to replace was the bolt release lever), mirror bore and restored to a degree. What's it worth I have no idea and I don't care I would never sell, it has sentimental value to me. Very fun gun to shoot, amazingly accurate, action like butter.:D

Oh yeah I forgot, Chilean Bayonet as well:cool:

I would say depending on condition I would pay up to $200 for another one but only if it was in really decent condition that is if the bore still has some life in it and there isn't severe pitting under the wood. If you like Mausers and want to start collecting then by all means buy it. I've got lots of Mausers and I continue to buy them all the time when I want a good project gun, so I certainly won't advise you not to get one. I just wouldn't pay much more than $175 unless you want to start collecting, you can find much cheaper surplus guns out there that will perform just as well.

Also that little shield mark is on all Chilean models that I've seen, don't let him convice you it is anything special, its just a simplified Chilean crest, the same symbol is on my bayonet only it hasa star in the center. Also matching numbers on these is also very common. Now find a German K98 with all matching numbers for $175 or even $250 and now youre talking!
 

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I think you could find a better price, the 98 is the most sought after, but the 95 is nice for a custom rifle that is a mild load like the 257 Roberts, or 250 and 300 Savage
 
Every picture I'm seeing of the Chilean's has that crest on the receiver. This one does NOT have it at all. It is in much better shape than the ones in the pictures. I think I will go get it tomorrow anyway. I like it.
 
nwilliams .. he couldn't convince me of anything. He doesn't really know much about it. Said he was selling it for his brother. Wonder what else the brother has? Gotta ask.
 
I would go for it also, seeing those prices on gunbroker that grimjaw provided makes me think I should keep an eye out for another one myself.:uhoh:

If its in the great condition you described then why not! Maybe you can even haggle him down to $150:D

Also make sure its still chambered for the original 7x57 round and not 7.62 Nato I've heard you should avoid these. Here's a link that says it better than I can:

http://www.rebooty.com/~dutchman/1895Chile.html
 
A few years back the rechambered 7.62 versions were available from Sportsman's Guide for somewhere over $100 shipped. There was nothing really wrong with them, as such, but obviously this was not an ideal conversion, and one that's not rechambered would be preferable. $175 seems like a decent price to me. Is it marked? Ludwig Lowe/Berlin, for example?
 
Well, the price is decent, so I would say go for it. As an aside, if you want to purchase a really super good mauser, I wholeheartedly recommend the Swedish variant in 6.5. The bolt on mine glides like it is on ball bearings, and the rifles have a reputation of being sub-moa. I don't know if mine is or not, but I can assure you that it is capable of better accuracy than I am. I am a fan of most Mausers, but the Swedish one is 23 skiddoo in my book.
 
Logan, yes it is stamped Lowe on the left side of the receiver under the action. And how do I tell if it's been converted. The feed ramp looks longer and thinner than my 7.62x39 and 7.62.x54R models. Kinda looks like one of those old round nose 8mm cartridges would fit in it. Should I just take a x39 cartridge with me and see if it fits?
 
Well, I bought it. After I went to get it, I realized why I never saw the crest stamping. It is covered by a scope mount :banghead: Why?!?!?! Oh well. for the condition it's in other than that, I got it anyway. Stopped by a local shop to see what they had on the way home. They had 4 Argentine Mauser's that were in BAD shape and wanted almost as much that I paid for mine. I think I made a good deal.
 
Phateos: A shooting bud of mine was handed an all military 1895 to shoot. He checked the chamber, checked the load (I forget what it was, but it was not a hot load or he would not have shot it.) First round took the top of the receiver off.

These things have better machine work than the steel in them. Metallurgy was still developing into a defined science. Was mature by the 30’s, but not back then. Hard to describe how little they knew, and how little they were able to measure. The stuff back then was substandard compared to even the steels made in the 1920's, and today the same material would be used as rebar.

I do not recommend shooting those things, and getting to be of the opinion that all those pre WWI rifles are suspect as I hear about more accidents with them.
 
Nice.... all the more reason to take it to a smith and let them check it out first. If it goes boom, it's their face, not mine. Dunno how they cover that. But I like the piece as it is. I probably won't ever fire it anyway. I may just mount it over the tv.
 
Phateos...I would start a new thread regarding this rifle and whether or not you should shoot it. I personally feel that its perfectly safe shoot and will continue to function for years to come. But...to give Slamfire the benifit of the doubt see how others on here feel about it.

I've owned many pre-1920's surplus rifles and never had an issue with them. I do howeve check them very carefully and only buy them if they are not re-chambered. Most of the accidents I've heard of result from poorly re-chambered rifles and people firing ammo that is pressured too high. As long as the hedspace is good and there isn't so much rust and pitting to weaken the state of the metal the gun should be fine to shoot. Having it checked out by a qualified gunsmith is never a bad idea whenever you buy a surplus rifle, especially if you buy it privately.

Also if the rifle has been mounted with a scope its probably a safe bet that someone has been shooting the rifle long since it was made and it hasn't been sitting in a crate for 110 years. That tells me that someone was probably using it as a hunting rifle and its probably been well tested before you got your hands on it.
 
Nice.... all the more reason to take it to a smith and let them check it out first. If it goes boom, it's their face, not mine. Dunno how they cover that. But I like the piece as it is. I probably won't ever fire it anyway. I may just mount it over the tv.
 
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