first Pre-War

[Cossack]

first Pre-War Commercial Mauser (With Photos)

I've always loved the look and handling of classic European sporting rifles. My dad had a few Oberndorf Mausers and Mannlichers that I have admired for years. Finally, after shopping and researching quite a bit (obviously not quite enough) I jumped on a J P Sauer and Sohn 8x57 Mauser that had so many of the elegant features i loved: A lovely walnut stock with side panels, short forend and schnabel tip, a half-octagon barrel with a full-length rib, double set triggers, lever-release floor plate. I new it had been drilled and tapped for scope rings, but it otherwise looked original. I paid $750.

I just picked it up today and am thrilled with it, except that the bolt is a replacement. I didn't see or notice this in the photos (none showed the safety, which is a more modern one than would be appropriate for this rifle). The number doesn't match, and the bolt handle is more concave than the original, and a small bit of wood has been removed from the stock to allow the bolt to close. How much does this hurt the value of the rifle? It's otherwise in excellent condition for its age, with very good bluing and excellent wood with no cracks and very few small dings.

I'm also concerned that the headspace might not be correct with the new bolt - how is headpace corrected on a Mauser and how costly is this procedure?

thanks!

 

[James K]

The headspace is the easy part. Find a gunsmith with an 8x57 headspace gauge or rent one (google headspace gauge rental). I doubt the headspace is bad, but if it is excessive, the only recourse is to set the barrel back and rechamber. If that has to be done, it is an expensive proposition and you might be better to try returning the gun and getting your money back.

You can run a quick and dirty headspace test by punching discs out of printer labels and sticking them onto the base of a factory cartridge. If the bolt closes on one, good. If it closes on two, not so good, on three, get the field gauge and check it right.

The headspace could be too tight, but that is less likely and if a factory round enters the chamber and the bolt closes it is OK,.

IMHO, you got a pretty good deal on the gun, maybe in part because of the bolt. I don't know enough about those rifles and their value to say how the mismatched bolt affects value, but if there are no other problems, I doubt it would be very much, especially since it would appear that only an expert would notice it. Your only choice would be to try to return it, and you don't sound like you want to do that.

Jim

 

[Cossack]

Thanks, James K. You're right, I do want to keep it, but I'm still chewing on the idea of sending it back both because of the bolt and because it's in 8x57J and therefore hard(and/or expensive) to feed. If I tire of trying to find ammo and never shoot it, then I might want to sell it later, at which point the loss of value thanks to the wrong bolt could hurt its resaleability.

I'm sure photos will help (plus it's a pretty gun!)

 

[Scorch]

Oh, man! What a beauty! I would have paid $750 for that no problem (considering I just finished building essentially the same rifle and am into it $2K+)! Very nice!

 

[tahoe2]

.318" bullets

That rifle is a looker!! Congrats ! Although bullets in .318 are hard to come by and spendy, the Cool Factor is very intriguing.
Hawk Bullets makes a .318" bullet in 180 grn and 220 grn RNSP, and Woodleigh Bullets of Australia makes a .318" 200 grn RNSP.
Not sure of the European market, but I like your rifle and I would hang on to it for it's uniqueness !( is that a real word ?) Any way Cool gun.