[Doglips]

Ok few silly ?? about mausers....I know there are a lot of them...but what are the main C&R ones...ie spanish, turkish, chek ect. Whats the diffrence between them? Which ones are better/best whcih are the worst? The 8mm ammo seems cheep....too cheep....is this a wimpy calaber? Any good for hunting/plinking?

Thanks All.

 

[Big Dog]

Wimpy caliber? It's about on a par with the .30-06 - pretty wimpy compared to a .458 WinMag.

The main ones on the market now are the Turkish M38, the Yugo and Russian reworked Kar98k's, and the Swede M38 and M96.
The Israeli Kar98k's are seen, too.
As with any milsurps, some are sweet and some are skanks - it's nice if you can see them in the metal at a gunshow and be able to check 'em out. Ordering sight unseen always makes me queasy. Some distributors give good descriptions (Alan's Armory in Florida is one such) but you'll pay more for quality.
Do not bother with Mitchell's Mausers - way too expensive!

Over all the Swedes are probably the best Mauser model - they took good care of them.

The Spanish are scarce these days, and the metal quality is always suspect.

The Yugo and Russian reworks can be decent, but are usually parts rifles - few if any matching numbers. Good shooters, but not true collector pieces.

The Turks have the greatest variation in quality - from diamonds to turds. Check 'em carefully.

 

[dhermesc]

For the money the turk is a sweet buy. Even if you get a turd for $50.00 you can afford to do a little work. Since they are not collectors items (yet) replacing the stock with a new one costs about $20.00 (According to last Shotgun News). I lucked out and got an all numbers matching one with a beautiful dark walnut stock and 80% blueing, all for $58.00. The only problem is that the **** thing is so long it barely fits in the back window of the truck. The Turkish ammo is cheap, and seems to have gotten hotter with age. The Turks do seem to have a little more trouble with head spacing (mismatched bolts) then other versions.

 

[Dale]

I've taken my Turk 88/38 to three good smiths and all three suggest, highly, not to shoot it.

It seems the Turks were poor metal workers and, in my case as with many, the mauser's receiver, barrel and bolt strength is very poor. And it seems their quality was hit and miss....in that, some gun metal had high tinsel strength while other gun metal was near pot metal quality.

I'm not sure who can, or how one could, improve the metal quality in order to safely shoot it. In fact, without changing out the complete barrel, receiver and bolt I see no viable and inexpensive way to convert mine to a shooter. So, I'm out over $100....kinda expensive for a collection of parts. But, dang, it sure looks good and is pristene otherwise.

I checked back with the gun store to see if they would trade it back in toward another gun buy and they just laughed (probably like they did when I walked out with it). That was one valuable and educational learning experience.

I'd be VERY careful when even considering a Turk and I would only consider buying one unless the seller is a qualified smith who blesses the gun as sound or someone who allows you to take it to a good smith to be checked out. In other words a Turk is certainly one gun I would NOT buy sight unseen and outta magazines such as Shotgun News.

I've heard stories that the Germans sold some of their mausers to Turkey so if you find one of those I would suspect the quality would be high enough to consider it as a shooter. But watch out for true Turkish made mausers.

After replacing the sights on my two Swede 96s so they zero in at 100 yards I'd have to rank them as El Primo! They shoot as accurately, if not slightly more accurate, than my American Springfield/Remington 1903/A3.

My Yugo M48 is ranked second.

Keep in mind that many, many mausers were manufactured to be accurate at 300 yards so if you do buy one don't panic if it shoots high at distances our ranges are at normally (100-150 yards). But there is always Brownells to buy a good and inexpensive front sight blade that can be filed down for 100 yard ranges.

As pointed out by Big Dog the 8MM is no whimpy caliber and it's very very close to a 30.06 round......large and powerful enough for most North American game....a tad light for elephants unless it's a straight on head shot, lol. The only problem is the majority of surplus or foreign 8MM is corrosive. Sellier and Bellot sells it non-corrosive but it's slightly more expensive than surplus.

 

[FALPhil]

The turks you want to buy for shooters are the ones with the following markings stamped on the receiver:

T C
AS (STAR)FA
ANK(CRESCENT)ARA
K. KALE
194x

Stay away from the ones stamped with the following (unless you are a collector):
A
F
195x

 

[dhermesc]

I have never heard of a Turk refered to as 88/38. What is the differance between an 88/38 and an M38? I have seen quite a few M38s rebarrelled to other rounds because they are considered to have an extremely strong action (Mauser '98) Are the '88s an older Mauser action updated to the modern 8MM round?

 

[Snakebite]

You can find unissued Yugo M48's and they are a great shooter and very well built. I paid about $160 for mine with all the accessories. Plus they have a turned down bolt handle if you ever decide to scope it.
The Czech VZ-24s are nice too but they can be a little dinged up. The stocks are a nice grade of walnut though.
I agree that the Swedish is the nicest. The Yugo is a very close second.
I have about 100 rounds of the Turkish ammo left and I won't shoot anymore of it. It showed signs of excessive pressure and some wouldnt even chamber. A lot of it misfired and a few had cracks at the neck.

 

[Dale]

dhermesc, the 88/38 I referred to is the 1888/38 commission rifle.....often referred to a mauser.

It is not related to the 38 or the 98 as far as action goes.

FalPhil, btw, my 88/38 has the 'ANK (crescent) ARA' on the topside of the receiver/barrel with the date of 1939 on it so, I'm not sure if that is an accurate indicator. If so then I had either gunsmiths that were uninformed or it doesn't apply to the 88/38 rifle.

I see where this could become a rather confusing subject...yepper....fer sure.

 

[Indy]

I have several Mausers, to be exact 3 Turks, 3 Swedes, 2 Yugos, 1 Czech and 1 Persian. By far, the Persian is the best. The workmanship is excellent. If you hold it you know its the best. The Swedes are probably the most accurate with excellent workmanship. However, it's a real treat to shoot the Turks. They are pretty basic, a shooter's rifle. The wear and tear is apparent, the cosmoline is heavy, and nothing matches. I clamp them to my deck and fire the first rounds with a line to check the headspace. I always neutralize the corrosive salts of the primer with a solution of half ammonia and half water. After about a minute I clean them as normal. I like the cheap Turk surplus ammo. Usually it's pretty hot and after 80 to a 100 rounds you get these little bruises on your shoulder. The barrel and stock get hot enough more cosmoline appears. I must say, if you want cheap fun, the Turk is the one to buy. If you can find a matching bolt and receiver it would be perfect, none of mine match.
Indy

 

[Shaun]

I have several Turks made into different Calibers all have been excellent shooters. I have the Yugo and its awesome - I am waiting for 2 VZ24's the Chezc Mauser and I am looking at a couple of K98s for modification as well --