1916 Spanish Mauser

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1916 Spanish Mauser

Post by Niner » Thu Feb 10, 2011 3:52 pm

I was bored so I thought I'd make a photo post. Besides....the Mauser forum could use some business.

The 1916 Spanish Mauser flooded the US market about a dozen years ago and still lingers in a few merchants inventory I'd imagine....although they must be getting close to all gone. The interesting things about them were that they were in really good shape, were carbine length, were Mauser design actions and were converted to fire the 7.62x51 Nato round, which is the same size round and more or less the same power as the 308 Winchester. And above all, they were relatively cheap. A gun that also just called out to Bubba in a way that a lot of other surplus couldn't.


The down side was that it was a small ring Mauser that had been converted from a 7mm configuration. The Nato round and the Winchester round were more powerful than the 7mm and could have used a larger ring configuration. And on top of this it was Spanish all the way and Spain was suspect, particularly with guns that came from the time of the revolution. And the action was the old two lug cock on closing design that had been relocated to the past by the time these guns were first made. And to add one more downer, the company that imported them, Samco, would offer a mysterious proof of safety. They would send a copy of a story that proported to be a story reprinted in an obscure magazine of a Guns & Ammo story saying that Samco had paid White Laboratories to test the strength of the actions. What was so strange was how convoluted that was if Samco had actually done such a thing as pay White Labs for any kind of report. Anyway after the safety issue came up there came to the front a story or two of some serious mishaps upon firing on various gun sites over several months time. This caused a minor tempest in a teapot among gun collectors. However, none of the stories ever seemed to prove out as actually happening. And all the self styled experts came to the conclusion that it was probably ok to fire as long as you didn't fire 308 Winchester in it since some of the sport loads were too powerful for the small ring action. That seemed to be the internet expert opinion coming from the usual assortment of people who answered to the profile of "I believe I'm an expert and I wouldn't lie to you, so you should believe me". You know the sort.

Whatever ammo the rifle is or isn't safe to shoot, it does look like a fine rifle. The parts seem well fitted and of good quality. The little things, like locking screws and a well fitted hardware look better than average for a milsurp of any discription. It has a neat trick where you press in a catch on the front barrel band to release the cleaning rod.... better idea than most of the Mausers made in Germany. It has a fitted bolt through the stock for strength....not just the old wood screw of the Ishy Enfields.

I've fired mine a number of times with no ill affects noted. I have only shot surplus Nato ammo. And...it will hit a target with decent results at a 100 yards.

The "matching" numbers in the advertisement are a little misleading. When these rifles were reconfigured for the Nato Round some renumbering was done and I doubt if all parts are "Really" matching. They don't all match on mine.
Attachments
Samco.jpg
side bolt.jpg
sightside.jpg
sight top.jpg
set screws.jpg
rightside.jpg
Leftside.jpg
open  chamber.jpg
top bolt cocked.jpg
front sight side.jpg
front swivel.jpg
Crest.jpg
Catch for barrel spring and cleaning rod.jpg
bolt open top.jpg
7.62 and Vent and stock bolt.jpg
butt.jpg
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Re: 1916 Spanish Mauser

Post by joseyclosey » Fri Feb 11, 2011 9:09 am

I've never seen one of those over here before Robert, they look like a handy little rifle. Is the $120 price for a specially selected example a current price or is that a old advertisement?

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Re: 1916 Spanish Mauser

Post by Niner » Fri Feb 11, 2011 11:01 am

That's an old advertisement but the price never got much higher. I'll look around and see if I can find any still out there and report back.
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Re: 1916 Spanish Mauser

Post by Niner » Fri Feb 11, 2011 11:44 am

Looks like the same company I got one from in 1999 still has some. The price has gone up some.

https://www.samcoglobal.com/1-1916.html
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Re: 1916 Spanish Mauser

Post by joseyclosey » Mon Feb 14, 2011 1:51 pm

They still look like a reasonable price to me.

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Re: 1916 Spanish Mauser

Post by Niner » Tue Jun 05, 2012 11:58 am

I found a copy of what Samco sent me. The copy of a reprint from some other publication than Guns & Ammo of what was a story in Guns & Ammo. Still seems strange if Samco had paid White Laboratories for a study. But... doesn't mean the article isn't an honest one and it's conclusions true.

I wonder if Samco still sends out the same information to this day if there is a question?
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Re: 1916 Spanish Mauser

Post by dhtaxi » Tue Jun 05, 2012 5:19 pm

If they were available over here at that price I would have one. I need some thing new and interesting hmmm.
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Re: 1916 Spanish Mauser

Post by Brass Rat » Tue Jun 05, 2012 10:00 pm

They are nice rifles I have several in the original 7x57. I am not entirely convinced that a '93 action chambered for .308 is a really good idea but I seriously doubt that Samco would have survived the packs of hungry lawyers if they were not safe to shoot.
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Re: 1916 Spanish Mauser

Post by Niner » Tue Jun 05, 2012 10:55 pm

I still have no idea what the real truth is, but it still strikes me as strange that a company that hired a laboratory to do some tests didn't have the official report to offer but instead quotes a reprint from a magazine that copies Guns & Ammo about what the arms merchant should know first hand.

And...just today...I got this in the mail. The answer for the guy that is afraid an actual full power round is too much. Happens to be from SOG. I'm sure there are other sources.
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Re: 1916 Spanish Mauser

Post by dhtaxi » Wed Jun 06, 2012 9:44 am

I have got some of that ammo it is not very good I tried it in my SSG it will not eject.
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