GREAT find on that article. That should settle the issue once and for all.
I am not a big fan of these very old rifles and I don't have a big inventory of them to sell.
Garry James was paid to write that infomercial and he was paid by the importer. People with a financial incentive are not going to be objective. Or have you never had a bad experience after bought something you saw in an advert?
Why would SAMCO spend so much time “proving” that these rifles are safe? Maybe it is because they have a deserved reputation for being defective.
SAMCO sent a number of M1916's to HP White. We don't know if the receivers tested were late model or early model. We don't know if the rifles were rebuilt from 1893's or were new M1916's.
Lot sampling makes the assumption that the samples tested are representative of the lot.
But is this case, is it true? Was Spanish quality control so good that decades of production, decades of rebuilds, that we can believe a small test sample represents the entire production?
The load test does not provide a comparison against anything. When Ruger tested its M77 bolt, made from modern 4140 steel, against M98 and 03 bolts, the Ruger bolt was at least ½ to 1/3 stronger. You can find the information in the 1969? Gun Digest. The 308 round is a 62,000 psia round, if these HP White tests are to believed, you don’t have a 2:1 safety margin. You have a 1.58 safety factory. Not so great in my opinion.
The purpose of the sited infomercial was to give just enough information so that the reader would buy a SAMCO M1916.
But lets say the metal of these Spanish Mausers is just fine. These old M93 actions have their own issues independent of metallurgy or quality control. They don’t handle gas very well. The M98 Mauser is one of the best in this regards, in that action Paul Mauser really incorporated a number of design features to protect the shooter from gas release. The M93 does not have the inner collar, the third safety lug, the bolt flange that deflects gas from the face, the firing pin block, big gas vents. etc. I have had over pressure 8mm surplus ammo pierce primers, seen the firing pin blow back, and yet never received any gas in my face or hand.
Many modern actions, the Ruger is an example, have good breeching features, compare this:
This Swedish Mauser is the exact same action as a Spanish Mauser. Don’t know what happened here but there is a cracked receiver ring and blood on the ground. Obviously an over pressure event of some sort, and the shooter was not protected by this old action.
Take a look at the blown case head of in this Ruger M77. The shooter walked away.
http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=445089&highlight=ruger+hawkeye
The Spanish Mausers rebarreled to 308 Winchester are particularly well known for having problems. The 308 is a high intensity round and many of these rifles have developed headspace issues as the bolt peened into the soft receiver.
I does not take much web searching to find examples of where Spanish Mausers developed excessive headspace due to soft receiver metal.
Excessive Headspace in M1916 Mauser
http://www.thehighroad.org/showpost.php?p=6707989&postcount=10
Originally Posted by Oceans
Thats funny Maj. Dad, I knew a correctional officer in the late '80s, who had one of them in what was supposed to be .308. This guy loved that rifle like it was a 1930s model 70. He talked about it constantly, shot it every time he went to the range and even bought an expensive case to haul it around in. I was always leery of a 1893 action chambered in .308. I was told that the Guardia Mauser was chambered for a very similar Spanish round, and not the NATO 7.62x51, and that this Spanish round was loaded to lower pressures. I do not know if this is true, maybe someone on the board does? I will say, that the rifle is handy, and nice looking.
Oceans - It is true, as I found out today, sadly.
I've had my 1916 Spanish Guardia Mauser from Samco for about 20 years now. Took it deer hunting every year until last year, when I heard about the same thing you did. I shot .308 rounds out of it.
Finally got the headspace checked by a gunsmith, and - well, the bolt locked EASILY on "no-go". And we're talking like butter. I snapped the firing pin and will have it hanging on the wall of my office soon.
