Need help identifying a rifle

B

Bbaccama89

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HI all im new to this site and i have a rifle i dont know much about and am trying to get parts for its a mauser style rifle and thats all i really know about it any help on identifying it would be greatly appreciated im yaving a hard time posting pictures so ill post a link to my imgur album of the rifle

http://imgur.com/a/U8FDu23
 
All I can tell is that it is a Mauser receiver with a Remington 1903A3 barrel.
If you lack the bolt and bolt stop it is going to be a challenge to get going again.
 
Military Mauser action, looks like a 98 action, though it may be a 95, I'm no expert. Military action, for sure, the thumb slot identifies it as that.

The barrel is "odd", meaning not typical. Generally military Mausers have a stepped barrel, and the front sight on that barrel, ALONG with the barrel date and what could be the Ordnance mark (flaming bomb?) put me in mind of a 1903 Springfield barrel.

So, as a wild guess, I think what you've got is a Mauser 98 action, "scrubbed" meaning most markings removed, rebarreled with a WWII Springfield barrel (8-44 date), as a project for someone, and later abandoned.

The entire bolt assembly is missing as are the bolt stop pieces, action screws, and stock. if it is a Springfield barrel, then the bore will be .30, but the chamber could be anything from what's left of the original .30-06 chamber to a custom cut chamber depending on where the builder stopped in the process.

All the needed parts are available, though fitting a new (replacement) bolt and finish chambering /rechambering the barrel and headspacing are jobs for a qualified professional gunsmith.

Returning the rifle to a usable condition will not be cheap, nor will it be cost effective. It will cost more in parts & labor than the rifle will ever be worth.

As a project, go for it, if you have the funds. You could spend thousands of dollars to make it a high grade custom Mauser that looks great, that will only bring $450 (if that) on a gun show table...

Good Luck!
 
I do have the bolt stop and action screws i also have a stock i bought for a mauser athough i doesnt quite fit right because of the barrel as far as i can tell the only majot part missing is the bolt but without knowing what receiver i have im having trouble getting a bolt assembly
 
As it says on the action, it's a Kar 98 a action. This is a small ring 98 action for use in cavalry carbines from WWI. This explains why your stock doesn't fit, it's not a standard 98 action.
If you spend a lot of time on gun shows it might be a fun project to restore, if not, don't bother. Buying the parts to order will not be cost effective, and the scrubbed receiver destroys the collector interest.
 
Well i guess my next question is what bolt should i use and what round would be the correct round. If i understand correctly the barrel would be 30-06 but isnt the chamber an 8 mm?
 
The big thing is, chamber and bolt have to match. Any standard 98 bolt will fit the receiver, but even if you know the chambering of the barrel it would be pure luck if the headspace is correct. If you don't want to take it to a gun smith, these are the steps I would do:
1. Determine the chambering. The right way is to take a chamber cast, but taking a first guess at 30-06 is probably a good start.
2. Get the correct gauge set for the chamber and learn how to use it.
3. Take the gun and the set to a gun show, and start trying out bolts from the 98 bin to get one that fits.
4. Test fire from a remote trigger gun holder, just in case there was a reason the previous owner didn't finish the build.
 
Well i guess my next question is what bolt should i use and what round would be the correct round. If i understand correctly the barrel would be 30-06 but isnt the chamber an 8 mm?
Click to expand...

The ORIGINAL barrel would have been 8mm Mauser (8x57mm). I do not believe that is the original barrel on the action. I believe it is a replacement, and it appears to be a WWII Springfield barrel, which would have been a .30-06.

However, the Mauser and the Springfield barrel threads are not the same. It COULD be that the .30-06 barrel has had the original thread shank cut off, and the barrel turned and rethreaded for the Mauser action. This would cut off part of the .30-06 chamber. The next step after installing the barrel would have been to recut the chamber for the desired round. We don't know if this has been done.

We don't know (at this point) how far along in the conversion process the original builder went. You might have a chamber that isn't "right" for any round, at this point. We don't know if the rifle was properly rebarreled and rechambered, and headspaced to a fitted bolt, or not. Might have been, and the bolt has since been lost. Might never have gotten any further than the condition you have it in. We don't know.
 
Back in the 50's - 60's the small ring Mauser action was usually fitted to a 1903A3 barrel ,with thread shank cut off , barrel turned and rethreaded to fit the mauser action with the usual goal to be chambered in 308 Winchester. The shorter 30 cal round would usually feed thru the Mauser action and there would be enough steel in the barrel for the shorter 308 chamber. As this gun sits the chambering needs verified.
With no bolt I'm not sure how economically feasible this project would be.
Back in the day war surplus bolts and barrels were plentiful and cheap...no more ...all that stuff has dried up.
Back then I wanted a gunsmith to rebarrel and chamber a small ring Mauser to 308 Winchester for me but he advised against it and told me the original 8X57 round could be handloaded to do anything the 308 would do and there would be no feeding issues.... I took his advice.
Gary
 
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