Need help on Mauser custom 25-06

C

Cowboyco

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I'm trying to find out if there is any way to track down info on a gun I just bought for my son. It is a custom made 25-06 mauser-action with a walnut stock and maple fore-piece. It has an antler worked in the bottom of the butt and appears to be glass-bedded. This workmanship on this gun is first-class. Absolutely beautiful and shoots like a dream. The only marking is from the serial number on the action, and the 25-06 stamped into barrel. The serial number is B-78XXX.

Any way to track down the age or history of this action by the serial number?
 
I'm no help but would love to see pictures! Sounds like you found a great rifle. IMO the 25-06 is the perfect deer cartridge. Love it. Congrats on your find
 
I'll post some as soon as I can. I paid only $450 for it. Interesting, though is that it has a 4X Mauser brand scope. I didn't know there was ever a Mauser-branded scope. Anybody know anything about it?
 
Here they are. It has a jeweled bolt, too very pretty. Stock grain is also spectacular.

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Commercial Mauser action, somewhere on it it should say where it was made, most likely Belgium, Spain, or Yugoslavia.

The stock looks like a hobbyist did it, but could have been a smith.

Somebody added several very nice touches, but why an adjustable buttplate?

Mauser scopes were made in Japan, and sold by Interarms for a while. Just so-so optical quality, but rugged.

$450 sounds like a fair deal.
 
Is the lack of a smith's mark what makes you think it may have been built by a hobbyist? If so, the hobbyist should be proud. I thought the adjustable recoil pad was also odd. I'm thnking of taking it to a smith and have it replaced with a more traditional recoil pad. However, it shoots very nice with the pad it has now, so it's unlikely I'll do anything soo. I can tell you it is a heavy sucker, though.- about 11 pounds with the scope.
 
You got a beauty!!

Cowboyco--In the late '40's to early '60's there was quite a cottage industry, sporterizing and modifying military surplus rifles from WWII. It was cheaper at the time than buying a new Rem or Win, plus you got a one-of-a-kind rifle made just for you.

Both smiths and handymen did this, and the workmanship varied from just absolutely awful to really nice and beautiful.

When I was in college, many moons ago, seriously hacked-up Mausers, Springfields, and Enfields were to be had, used, in every gun shop. If you picked them over carefully you might find one that wasn't quite so bad. And they were almost within financial reach of even a starving college student.

You seem to have gotten hold of one of the well-done upper-end ones, and at a bargain price, too, for today. Even if it is a commercial rather than a military Mauser, my suggestion would be to leave it "as is," especially since it is a good shooter.

Unless the boy is hiking all day with the rifle on a sling, 11# shouldn't be too much of a burden. And the weight will help hold down the recoil, making it easier for him to concentrate on the shot, rather than on the coming smack in his shoulder.

If you--or your boy--insist on a lighter rifle, I'm certain that a collector would be happy to trade you for a similar but lighter Mauser, in a similar caliber, but nowhere near the quality workmanship that you have in this rifle. Or keep this for when your son appreciates it, and for now buy an M1 Carbine for him to use. It'll kill deer at close range, and no one could complain about its weight.

Anyhow, good luck with it, and thanks for sharing!
 
What do you guys think about getting that stock custom checkered? The wood is gorgeous and I can only imagine it would add to the uniqueness of the gun to get some nice checkering... What say you?
 
I wouldn't bother with checkering, you'll have almost as much in it as you do the rifle for a good checkering job. I sure wouldn't do anything to it until I shot it. If it shoots well, the first thing I'd do is replace the scope with good quality scope with a higher magnification range. Second is remove the adjustable recoil pad and put a grind to fit on it. Then I'd just shoot and hunt with it as is.
 
What do you guys think about getting that stock custom checkered?
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It's just my feeble little thought, but since it's to be your son's rifle, why not let him decide what he wants to do? Or better yet, scout around for a un-finished Mauser inletted stock and let him go willy-nilly and learn on it the things he likes and wants. Aside from the hunting and shooting- a little wood working learning sounds like a pretty good father/son project for those days that are too awful to get outside.
 
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