Educate me, 1915 8mm Mauser

[24Carat]

In our family for over 80 years or so. The numbers of Mauser rifles listed in the Blue Book has given me crossed eyes and headaches.

Were all Sportified Mausers originally military actions or was there inventory specifically built for the hunting marketplace?
The bolt and magazine floorplate are jeweled. The bluing is 90% and the bore is flawless.

Do I have a diamond in the rough here or just another ho-hum clone?

As always, I bow to the collective brain trust that is INGO !

 

[Leadeye]

Looks like an old war horse that sometime in the distant past was refurbished into a useful hunting rifle. The Weaver K 2.5 is a vintage scope as well.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Paging Mauser Mike... @mkgr22

 

[Michigan Slim]

The stripper guide says original military to me. Nice job on it though. It's a shooter.

 

[DeadeyeChrista'sdad]

You can still buy a nice new Mauser rifle. Amazing lifespans on the old ones. Lots of variants and several different calibers. I'm no expert, but I've become a fan. This year's Bambi plugger is a 1916 Spanish mauser in 7mm mauser.

 

[Mongo59]

What you have would have come in full battle dress but was sporterized at some time in it's life.

Sporterized versions are never worth the listed price as listed in the 'books'. The value is based on the quality of the conversions. Since this is a family gun the heritage is the value to the owner.

Use it and enjoy, that is where the value is found...

 

[24Carat]

It took several Mule Deer out west.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

I love those old sporters. It wasn't just some bubba cutting down a military stock and barrel, slapping on some sights and calling it good. It was real craftsmanship that went into them.

 

[edporch]

Yes, some beautiful sporterized military rifles like this one were made in LONG ago times when there were tons of military surplus rifles coming out of our ears in good original condition to build them on.
But those days of plenty are long gone.

Today though, taking an old military rifle in good original condition and PERMANENTLY altering it in a way that it can't be put back original to make a "sporter", makes as much sense as taking an original '34 Ford 3 Window Coupe in good condition and making it into a hot rod.

YES, people who own these today are free to do this, BOTH would still make me cringe though.

 

[24Carat]

Sorry about the necro posting.
Research has me convinced that there were "commercial" Sporters produced by Mauser for the hunting marketplace. Not all Sporters were conversions of battle dress units. Another question mark is to the lack of a front sight?

 

[55fairlane]

Sorry about the necro posting.
Research has me convinced that there were "commercial" Sporters produced by Mauser for the hunting marketplace. Not all Sporters were conversions of battle dress units. Another question mark is to the lack of a front sight?

Yes you are correct, but mostly know for there battle rifles

 

[Mongo59]

Rebarreling was common among the conversions but yours has the original barrel used to sit in the full battle dress furniture. This point would tend to have one believe it was a conversion.

A lack of a front site is also not uncommon, both military and commercial. The '03 A4 is a good example of this.

If your desire is to believe this is is a commercial offering, go for it. But to have someone else be compelled to believe it would require provenance, serial number blocks etc.

Even then it was illegal for a German company to produce a commercial rifle in a military caliber and it will take some explaining why a mid century stock got on a commercial rifle made in the early teens...

 

[Mongo59]

Also, it is a bit mind bending to think a German facility would take time and resources to produce a commercial weapon right in the middle of a war which was requiring all manufacturers to turn to because of the war effort.

These are just my thoughts, you are more than able to make up your own mind. My advice is to look for provenance of some kind. Normally when I do this, I find reasons to change my preconceived notions.