Looking for a rifle to fit this bayonet. Yes, really.

J

JackL

New member
A friend of mine is looking for a rifle that goes with a bayonet he already owns. While this seems a rather unusual way of going about it things, I'm not inclined to argue with anyone moderately sane who's looking to buy a rifle. Besides, if I'm guessing right, the bayonet in question goes with a pretty nice Mauser.

I don't have photos handy, but can dig them up and post them if the following description proves inadequate.

The blade on the bayonet is in the neighborhood of a foot long, IIRC. The ricasso on one side bears the following inscription:

WEYERSBERG
KIRSCHBAUM & CIE (The "IE" part is superscripted and underlined)
SOLINGEN

Not very informative so far, but on the other side of the ricasso is a crest of some sort, with the following wrapped around ~180 degrees of it:

MODELO ARGENTINO 1909

There's also what appears to be a serial number on there, although I guess it might be a contract number: K6395. The same number appears on the scabbard.

My guess is that this bayonet is for a 1909 Argentine Mauser. Based on the presence of the "K", I'm guessing further that it's for the cavalry carbine variant. Can any of you tell me whether this is either wholly or partially correct?

And if I'm right, would anyone care to recommend a good source for one of these Mausers? Ideally it's going to be a shooter, not a wall-hanger, so any hot tips as to sources for ammo (7.65x54 Mauser?) would be welcome. My friend doesn't handload ... yet. I'm trying to get him into that, too.

Thanks, y'all!
 
You have a second model (1910-1912) 1909 bayonet. The serial numbers for these bayonets ran from A3001 to P999. K6395 falls somewhere in the middle of that range.

The second model differed from the first primarily in a 10mm-shorter grip and simplified mounting groove with no clearance for the rifle's cleaning rod.

Regards,

Walt
(with thanks to Colin Webster for his superb Argentine Mauser Rifles 1871-1959)
 
Walt,

Thank you!

Do the shorter grip and simplified mounting groove imply that it's intended for use with the carbine rather than the rifle? Or will it fit either variant?
 
The evolution is a little convoluted, but in the process of going from the Commisssion 1888 to the Mauser '91 to the Mauser '09, it was found that some small mods would make the '09 bayonet compatible with the '91. This made sense, so after that first batch of bayonets the design was changed accordingly.

Except for an oddball Carcano-like folding bayonet late in the day, I find no record of a special bayonet for the Carbines.

Regards,

Walt
 
So in addition to the '09s, it would actually fit a '91, too? Wow. Many thanks!

This really is for a friend, but I don't have any Mausers yet so it gives me something else to look at--although personally I'm still kinda leaning towards a Swede for myself once my budget recovers from post-election purchases.
 
That's my understanding :) . Try to get a copy of Webster's book; it's an important resource for anyone interested in these Argentine rifles.

Best regards,

Walt
 
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