1891 Argentine Mauser

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SRE

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Ok so I picked up this 1891 "Engineers Carbine" from a man in his mid 80's unloading some old military guns that he's had for decades at my local gunshop. He gave me the inside scoop on these types of rifles. Apparently after a certain period of time in service they were sent back to armory to have them tuned up/ refurbished. Part of the servicing was to reblue or whatever they used, they put on a new finish. (Please view pics)

As I was cleaning the finish they put on started to rub off. The finish on the barrel close to the muzzle is different than that closer to the breech. (Again see pics) Also, on the magazine the finish started to rub off. My question I guess is should I continue to remove this? It looks like it was hastily just painted on anyways, I would like to see what is under there.... will it take away from overall value? I am assuming what ever is underneath this ugly finish will probably look better than what is there now.

Anyone else have one of these that the finish looks awful on barrel and mag?

Curious to hear your responses... thanks in advance!
 

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Lucky you to have such a desirable carbine!

On the other hand, I don't have a clue what that stuff is on the barrel, but I would wager that it was a brushed on rust preventative and is not part of the actual finish. Many Argentine weapons had their action finished in the white with beautifully blued barrels and other parts. I think that the German firm of Loewe made many of these rifles.

By the way, you can easily make 7.65 Argentine cases from 8mm Mauser or 30/06 cases. RCBS sells a forming die that makes it a snap. Slug your barrel for its diameter, but you'll probably find that a .310 or .311 calibre bullet will be best for it.

If you cast bullets, Lyman's 311284 bullet mold makes a great cast bullet for the old Modelo Noventa Y Uno.

The 1891 series of Argentine firearms were originally sighted for the round nose projectile and the later 1909 (1898 derivitive) series of rifles and carbines normally are sighted for the lighter, but flatter shooting spitzer projectile.

I often shoot pulled 7.62 Russian bullets (.310 diameter) in my 1891.
 
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I reform 30-06 and .270 win cases and my fav is the Sierra .311 GameKing. I just use the standard 7.65 Argentine RCBS Dies (full length sizer and seater dies) and a Rigid Pipe cutter to help the process along. Making cases for my Mauser is such a fun project.

I never thought about a rust preventative... that's a great guess. I hope thats what it is. It's very ugly. I may take it off and see what happens. Thanks for the heads up!
 
Yes take that crap off! That isn't the original finish, and let that thing shine. It looks like your crest is still intact which is awesome! I have a 1891 rifle (made in 1894) and I love it. It's an awesome rifle just to have fun and shoot, and it makes a great woods gun.
 
Before you remove the finish I would contact a knowledgable person on this subject. No need to rush to judgement. I have seen quite a few of these and have never seen anything like this. As stated earlier, it looks like some ham handed bubba did this. However there have been times that guns were done this way on purpose by the country of origin. These are quite rare, but I have never heard of the 1891's ever having this done to them. But check first so you wont be destroying a historic arm.
 
30-30remchester: I agree. But who would I contact? Is there a 1891 Mauser forum or something?

This is an awesome rifle. I love it! They really don't make them like they used to. Something about cycling the bolt on this carbine that brings a smile to my face.
 
one of the most knowledgable men in print I know of is Garry James. If you watch much tv he is often seen on the history channel as the "talking head". I beleive he also write for Guns and Ammo magazine. You might also get some insite from the websites "gunboards and mauser central".
 
Looks like paint. The Brits painted their rifles. I had a beautiful No4 mkII that had been painted. Underneath the bluing was excellent. I wonder if it is indeed paint on the old Mauser.
 
I have No 5 Mk I (Jungle Carbine) that at one time was painted OD green. The paint can still be seen in a few places under the stock. I read somewhere that the British Tommies painted their Jungle Carbines OD in Malasia during the counterinsurgency war there following WW II. My carbine would seem to bear that out.

On the other hand, those photos of the 91 Carbine just don't look like finish. Failing any reply of an authentic nature about it, I guess I'd take it apart and check underneath the wood and see what it looks like. If it is present there, removing a smidgeon probably would not hurt anything. The way it's slopped on, including overrun onto the stock, I doubt if it was anything other than a preservative.

Over the years, I served in three different South American countries and I saw arsenals full of Mausers in stratigic reserve. They were all rusting into the floor and there was no attempt at preservation. It was a shame to see that, but it was a treat to see the palace guards still carrying and saluting with their old Mausers.
 
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