[ice1874193]

I just got this gun from a garage sale today for 100 bucks. It fires and uses 6.5/55 rounds.

It has the following markings:

On Safety - A "23" and a star stamp
Barrel - E 3044
Stock - B5444 and slight below that 3812

It appears to be Walnut and the end of the stock is metal. I thought it was a swede but it doesn't have the disc on the right side of the stock. Any ideas?

 

[assaultrecon28]

Sporterized Swedish m96?
maybe a second opinion

 

[Bob In St. Louis]

Spanish M1916 Mauser, rebarreled in 6.5 Swede, stock sporterized, bolt swept back. Worth about $20 to a collector, if even that.

 

[assaultrecon28]

Id say you did alright for 100$. its probly pretty accurate. Id look for an unsportered stock thought

 

[ij70]

Id say you did alright for 100$. its probly pretty accurate. Id look for an unsportered stock thought

That would make rifle heavier, not desirable in a hunting rifle. As a collector item, well, I can not say any better then Bob which also means that investing in correct stock is a waste of money.

 

[Bob In St. Louis]

Wait a minute - looked at photos closer - the barrel and receiver has the same Spanish serial number. This gun cannot be in 6.5 Swede unless it has been sleeved. It is most likely 7mm Mauser, or possibly a later 308 conversion. If it has been sleeved, then it is totally dubious.

DO NOT FIRE THIS RIFLE - Take it to a gunsmith and have a chamber cast. Better yet, dispose of it.

 

[LVSteve]

If the rifle has 7.62 written on it, then it is a converted Spanish 1916. I cannot see it in the photos provided. If you go to the Spanish Mauser site. http://masterton.us/Spanmauhome , you may be able to tell if the barrel has been set back for rechambering by comparing yours with the detailed pictures. Try at the bottom of this page. http://masterton.us/Unmarked1916

 

[lcmunn]

The leaf style rear sight (rather than tangent type) suggests that the rifle is probably still in its original 7x57 caliber. If the bore condition is good or better, this may be a decent shooter but you do need to get the caliber question figured out and it would be good to have the headspace checked before you shoot it. A lot of collectors bristle up and nash their teeth over a sporterized military rifle, but the practice has been going on for a long time and a lot of today's old timers got started shooting "high-powered" rifles with a cut down military rifle. The 1893 style Mauser action saw a lot of war use and served well.

 

[ice1874193]

6.5 seems to fit Ok - any thoughts from pic?

 

[ice1874193]

Thanks for the info guys - I didn't buy it for collecting - just to goof around shooting targets in the yard and possibly small game. Is there anyway to determine the correct caliber? The 6.5x55 fits fine in the chamber - are there any tell tale signs the bullets are not the correct size? I'm probably going to clamp it and fire it w/ a string (mythbusters style) to be safe

 

[RETREAD]

Chamber

If you can take a chamber casting do so. If nothing else please get the headspace checked. This rifle has had an eventful history, going through who knows how many hands and suffering many indignities. It may be rechambered, or rebarrelled by incompetents If in original 7mm and correctly headspaced with a decent bore it will make an OK hunting gun. I advise against restoration, it won't be worth it as the guns are very common.

 

[lcmunn]

What version of "fits fine" are you looking at?

I just tried a 6.5x55 round in my Ruger No. 3 (7x57) and it fit up to the top of the extraction groove. The block would not close. In a 1908 Brazilian, the round chambered but the bolt would not even start to close (I did not try to force it). A chamber cast as per Retread's suggestion would be very wise. At the least try a 7x57 round for fit before firing anything. It may also "fit fine". Your rifle's sight hinges at the rear like a Spanish 1893 long rifle sight. The Swedish 1896 rifle sights hinged to the front. Replacing the barrel, resetting the original sights and re-stamping a Spanish style serial number seems like a lot of work for someone to have gone to when these sporters sold for $12.95 back in the early '60's. But you never know???

 

[cousinkix1953]

I didn't see any pics of the top of the chamber. It would be hard to confuse a Spanish (Oveido / La Coruna etc) action, with a Swedish Mauser made by the likes of DWM, Carl Gustav or Husqvarna...

 

[Milsurp2.0]

Its obviously a Spaniard. Gas relief hole should indicate .308 shouldnt it?

 

[Bob In St. Louis]

1) It is a Spanish Receiver and barrel.
2) Gas relief hole has no relivence to 7mm or 308. This was done much earlier than the 308 conversions.
3) The original 7mm chambering is a bigger diameter bullet than 6.5 Swede. DO NOT FIRE 6.5 SWEDE AMMO IN THIS RIFLE!!!!!!!
4) Again, I emphasis, all consideration of collectable aside, you have bought somebody's home workshop sporter. I seriously doubt the 6.5 ammo was fired in it. The Garage sale folks were just trying to make a buck, and could care less if you blow your head off.

 

[ice1874193]

i just got back from my dads - his neighbor checked it out and confirmed it was 6.5x55 - loaded it up - and shot a small tree in half. thing shoots awesome and the sight is true. cant wait to get a bunch of ammo for this thing...

 

[ice1874193]

1) It is a Spanish Receiver and barrel.
2) Gas relief hole has no relivence to 7mm or 308. This was done much earlier than the 308 conversions.
3) The original 7mm chambering is a bigger diameter bullet than 6.5 Swede. DO NOT FIRE 6.5 SWEDE AMMO IN THIS RIFLE!!!!!!!
4) Again, I emphasis, all consideration of collectable aside, you have bought somebody's home workshop sporter. I seriously doubt the 6.5 ammo was fired in it. The Garage sale folks were just trying to make a buck, and could care less if you blow your head off.

See my last post - 6.5x55 is the correct ammo - it shot like a champ

 

[ij70]

i just got back from my dads - his neighbor checked it out and confirmed it was 6.5x55 - loaded it up - and shot a small tree in half. thing shoots awesome and the sight is true. cant wait to get a bunch of ammo for this thing...

I will play along. You have demonstrated that 6.5 Swede works. Now you should demonstrate that 7mm Mauser does not work. Get it?

If 7mm Mauser does not work, then you are right.
If 7mm Mauser works, then you are wrong and Bob is right.

 

[ice1874193]

this is the 1st gun i've ever fired...i leave it to the experts lol but i'm just saying i had 3 different people look at it and call 6.5 without knowing anything. that being said i have no idea if they know what they are talking about. what happens if you put a 7 in a 6.5? will it just not fire or will it blow up in my face?

 

[Bob In St. Louis]

OK, let me try to explain again - 6.5 is slightly smaller in diameter than 7 mm. If you are firing a 6.5 diameter bullet through a 7mm bore, it does not contact the grooves and lands and is "free floating" down the barrel, in which case you have very little accuracy. Now, to sleeve an original 7mm barrel to 6.5 - I think that is a very hard thing to do, and will likely not be a very competent job that will hold up.

I don't know what these 3 different people that looked at it used to judge that it is 6.5mm. Frankly, I would not have any faith in some hybrid monster unless I knew the person that assembled it, and knew of the quality of work they did.