In a pawn shop today, I ran across a sporterized mauser. The tag read, "K-98 (30 Mauser)". The gun was bolted in the display case as it was near closing time. I plan on going back tomorrow for a better look with a bore light. The wood and bluing looked good from what i could see and the bolt was spoon shaped. Does anyone have any info on this caliber? I am wondering if it could be a mistake on the pawn broker's part as most articles online about the 30 Mauser refer to it as a pistol cartridge. Thanks everyone.
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Model 98 Mauser in "30 Mauser"
- Thread starter 101guns
- Start date
The .30 Mauser is a handgun cartridge. I've seen a few old M98 converted to a single shot pistol cartridge like .45 ACP before. I don't see why one couldn't be converted to the .30 Mauser.
Here is a .45 ACP repeater!
Here is a .45 ACP repeater!
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I've only heard of it being chambered in the Luger and C-96 Mauser. The cartridge is pretty much identical to the 7.62mm Tokarev. A rifle in that caliber sounds pretty neat. Just not sure what it would be used for other than plinking.
I wonder if the guy they bought it from told them it was an 8mm-06, a 30-06 necked up to 8mm (.323), and all they took from the conversation was 30 and mauser.
I wonder if the guy they bought it from told them it was an 8mm-06, a 30-06 necked up to 8mm (.323), and all they took from the conversation was 30 and mauser.
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Mike Irwin
Staff
Another possibility...
A standard 98K with the chamber lengthened to take .30-06 cases, but retaining the 8mm barrel. AKA the 8mm-06.
A standard 98K with the chamber lengthened to take .30-06 cases, but retaining the 8mm barrel. AKA the 8mm-06.
jaguarxk120
New member
It's what the seller told the pawn shop it is. Could be anything, just like Scorch said chamber cast.
sc928porsche
New member
Just for trivia.....30 mauser and 7.63x25 are the same cartridge. The difference is in the power. The old broomhandle was not designed to take the higher power of the x25. Its something similar with the 308 vs 7.62x51.
Gunplummer
New member
Probably just a Belgian mauser.
kodiakbeer
Moderator
It's sporterized, so probably .308 or 30.06 or something - with a tag written by somebody who doesn't know much.
"It's .30 caliber, it's a Mauser, so, .30 Mauser...."
"It's .30 caliber, it's a Mauser, so, .30 Mauser...."
Mike Irwin
Staff
"Just for trivia.....30 mauser and 7.63x25 are the same cartridge. The difference is in the power. The old broomhandle was not designed to take the higher power of the x25. Its something similar with the 308 vs 7.62x51."
Huh?
The .30 Mauser didn't become the .30 Mauser until it made it into production in the United States after World War I and the influx of Mauser C96 pistols.
It was originally developed by Hugo Borchardt in the early 1890s. A few years after that Mauser adopted the cartridge, in a beefed up loading, for the C96 pistol.
Standard European ballistics for the C96 variant of the cartridge was 1,400 or so feet per section, about 200 fps faster than Borchardt's original design.
So, the .30 Mauser is simply the Americanized name for the European 7.62x25 cartridge. If anything, American loadings were generally more sedate than the European ones, a problem that Smith & Wesson ran into in the late 1930s when they used American 9mm ammunition to develop the Light Rifle for the British. When the British fired the Light Rifle with European specification ammunition, it broke.
Huh?
The .30 Mauser didn't become the .30 Mauser until it made it into production in the United States after World War I and the influx of Mauser C96 pistols.
It was originally developed by Hugo Borchardt in the early 1890s. A few years after that Mauser adopted the cartridge, in a beefed up loading, for the C96 pistol.
Standard European ballistics for the C96 variant of the cartridge was 1,400 or so feet per section, about 200 fps faster than Borchardt's original design.
So, the .30 Mauser is simply the Americanized name for the European 7.62x25 cartridge. If anything, American loadings were generally more sedate than the European ones, a problem that Smith & Wesson ran into in the late 1930s when they used American 9mm ammunition to develop the Light Rifle for the British. When the British fired the Light Rifle with European specification ammunition, it broke.
mapsjanhere
New member
Just one pet peeve, with a "spoon" bolt handle, it's often not a sporterized gun (as in ex military) but regular German pre-WWII civilian production. A lot of those were "liberated" and made their way to the US after the war (putting a lie to the old myth of Hitler confiscating all guns in Germany btw). Since post WWI Germany was limited in the number of guns of military caliber, there's a lot of "odd" caliber weapons out there from the 1919 - 1935 period, like the 8x60 which was nothing but a 8x57 with a chamber lengthened by 3 mm to comply with the Versailles treaty restrictions.