What Mauser did I get (Sporter)

[Bigfatts]

So I work in a little gunshop and snagged this today. It's in .30-06 and was done quite a while ago by the looks of it. Nice job, whoever did it, very clean and well finished. It has a nice European styled stock with the narrow forend, it has nice checkering on it too. I'm at a loss as to what Mauser it was built on though. It bears the markings: WAFFENFABRIK MAUSER-OBERNDORF A/N. It also has these markings stacked vertically on the receiver and bolt. A B with a crown on top of it and a U with a crown on top of it.

 

[RJM]

Nice, this is the kind of thing I would like to do with my Mauser. Get a much better stock and put a peep on it. Do you know what kind of peep it is?

 

[Jimro]

This is an educated guess.

The turned down bolt handle doesn't looks like the turned down bolt handle of a k98, and most k98's on the surplus market have Nazi proofs or obvious scrubs where the proofs were removed.

This means your rifle was likely built on a Gew98 action with a sporterized bolt handle.

The Crown with a U underneath is an inspection proof mark from the Suhl proofing house in Germany, certifying the action fit for service. This also dates the inspection to post 1950.

I am not familiar with the other mark, Crown with an AB under it.

Jimro

 

[surg_res]

By the looks of it, the bolt and receiver appear to be from a Gew 1898 mauser. I'd speculate by the looks of the stock (although the picture is very limited, as it makes the stock look very mature) that the sporterization may have been done in Europe in the 1920s or 1930s when that was a common practice for European gunsmiths--whoes craftsmanship is underappreciated by today's standards. The 30-06 was occasionally chosen as a chambering for customized mausers around that time, but mostly for export for the American market.

Is there a date on the receiver? Most german mfg. mausers have a date on the receiver as well as Gew 98 on the left of the receiver. Crowns were a typical symbol on the earlier productions (pre WWI).

Enjoy the rifle.

 

[surg_res]

The turned down bolt handle does not look like an original, as one would see on a K98.

The post war conversions of older 8mm mausers to 30.06 were done in nations like Belgium, Spain, and Austria. They were done due to the surplus of 30.06 that we supplied them after the war. These rifles usually have a date stamped on the receiver (i.e. 1950). The dutch did have some elaborate "B" marks with big crowns that I found in Ball's mauser book, though these were FN and not Oberndorf rifles pictured (Ed 4, pg 40). I haven't seen many of these post-war conversions fasioned into nice sporters, though in rough form they make a good 30.06 rifle.

 

[Atticus Thraxx]

Big, I looked up what you described and from what I can gather the rifles with a crown we're made at national arsenals and only national arsenals.
The U with a crown over it means:Untersuchungsstempel. This indicates that the barrel at somepoint has been rexamined or inspected.
There is no AB under a crown mentioned but the is a B which indicates the rifle was proofed in finsihed condition,it must also have the Crown over U mark.
Get me some pictures of markings and any other numbers and letters, I might be able to narrow it down some.

Reference: Standard Dictionary of Proof Markds by Gerhard Wirnserger
Handbook of Military Rifle Marks 1870-1950 by Richard A. Holman

 

[Baba Louie]

Do you know what kind of peep it is?

Williams. Maybe an FP-98?

http://www.williamsgunsight.com/gunsights/gunsightsdefault.htm

 

[Bigfatts]

Sorry for the late reply, been away for a while. General gun just opened in my local WMA. Anyways, it is a Williams peep, I do not know exactly what model. There is no date on the receiver. The markings on it are not AB under a crown, just a B under a crown. I don't know if the bolt handle is original or not, but the serial number on it matches. There are no Nazi markings on it or anything like that. I will try and get more pics of the markings. Thanx for all the input.

 

[Gewehr98]

It's definitely a military 98 Mauser.

Note the thumb cut-out on the left receiver wall - that's for stripper clip feeding in conjunction with the clip slot in the rear receiver ring. That's a hallmark of military variants, vs. the commercial sporters.

I've welded more than a few replacement bolt handles on my own 98 sporters, and some look good enough to be called "factory". I've got punches, and I suppose if I wanted to, I could put the serial number on the replacement bolt handle.

Oberndorf ain't a bad place to get a 98 Mauser action from, btw.

 

[Bigfatts]

Yeah I new it was a military action. The thumb and stripper clip cuts. The bolt handle I figure may have been replaced when it was sporterized and then marked with the proofs and serial numbers.