Spanish Mauser bolt spring

G

Garandman3

New member
I recently bought a 1916 Spanish Mauser in 308Win all the serial numbers match and it has a very nice trigger. This is the first Spanish Mauser that I have fired but have fired other Mauser actions recently. I estimate the effort to close the bolt on this Spanish Mauser is at least 3 times greater. The effort is the same whether chambering a round or not. I have disassembled the bolt with the spring compressed and there is space between each coil so it may be a matter of the spring being too strong and not too long. The bolt moves freely and easily until the spring begins to compress.

Also the sights begin at 300 meters so any suggestions on after market rear sights or taller front sights.
 
Okay first thing you need to know is you don't have a M98 Mauser you have M93 Mauser. The reason your rifle is harder to close the bolt is because your are cocking the rifle. A M98 cocks on open and uses the camming action of the bolt to cock the rifle. Your rifle uses your brute force to cock the firing pin before camming the bolt to the closed position.

Dayton Traister makes a "Speed Lock Kit" for your rifle. This will convert the rifle to cock on open like a M98 and make the bolt easier to operate. It really isn't a big deal though once you get used to the cock on close operation though. Enfield rifles were also cock on close and they are probably the fastest bolt action to operate out of all the old battle rifles.

On a side note, be very careful shooting .308 Win loads in your rifle. They weren't designed to handle the pressures a .308 Win operates at. The rifle was actually re-barreled to use 7.62 CETME ammunition which operates at a much lower pressure than .308 Win. Shooting factory .308 Win you might be looking at a catastrophic failure in your future.

I recommend you learn to hand load and shoot reduced loads in that rifle to prevent any mishaps. Hogdon H4895 using their reduced load data will keep that rifle firing for years to come. They can be a fun rifle, but you have to understand their limitations.
 
the above post gives you the correct information.

I use starting loads of IMR 4895 and 150 grain bullets. These are in the 45K range, therefore, safe for the 1916 action while still producing ballistics similar to the venerable 300 Savage.
As far as the sights, there are higher front posts or you might have a smith solder a piece of brass brazing rod to the top of the original post.
 
Thanks for the input

Thanks for the input. I guess I'l get used to the required effort to close the bolt. I do notice that the firing pin imprint in the primers is deeper compared to other Mausers and other bolt action rifles.

As for the sights I'll probably lower the top face of the rear sights and recut the vee in stages to get closer to 100 yards. I bought this to plink at steel targets, didn't pay much for it, won't use it to put meat on the table and not looking to put much money into it except for ammo.
 
Do you handload? If it was me, (and it kind of is, I just bought the same rifle in 7X57) I would just roll my own, and load light (google: H4895 60% rule) and see where the sights are relative to reality. You may find using a 6:00 hold they are not that far off.
 
The 1916 Spanish Mausers were manufactured as both cock-on-open and cock-on-close actions.
So, it's possible that you have either type.

But, given the described 'feel' on closing the bolt, you probably have a "C-O-C" action.

It takes more effort to close the bolt, but less to open it.
...Just something to get used to, unless you want to convert.
 
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