Tom in Pittsburgh
Member
Greetings to the Board from a 1st-time poster - and apologies in advance if this post is inappropriate or in the wrong place.
I just recently inherited a sporterized Mauser deer rifle from a late uncle, who got the original gun from an older brother who served as a medic with the 63rd Infantry Division toward the end of WW2 in Germany. Unfortunately, and apparently sometime in the late 1950s or early 1960s, my uncle had the gun sporterized. It now has a Bushnell scope mounted on a Marbles Gamegetter see-through mount, a sporter stock, etc. Even more sadly, all of the "top-side" barrel and receiver numbers and markings were apparently removed before the metal was reblued.
I am a deer hunter myself, and plan to try this gun out in the Pennsylvania woods in the 2021 season. In the meantime, the gun needs some TLC and I would like to try to determine what it started out as - with only a few clues to go by, and no experience identifying these early Mausers. I'm posting here in the hope that more knowledgeable members may be able to shed some light on my gun's origins, so thanks in advance. A few images attached.
The gun seems to have an after-market (i.e., non-military) ~23" round barrel with a rib that runs the whole length of the barrel and carrying an open rear sight with one leaf. The barrel has the larger .323" bore. The initials "H.M." are stamped into the bottom of the barrel.
I just recently inherited a sporterized Mauser deer rifle from a late uncle, who got the original gun from an older brother who served as a medic with the 63rd Infantry Division toward the end of WW2 in Germany. Unfortunately, and apparently sometime in the late 1950s or early 1960s, my uncle had the gun sporterized. It now has a Bushnell scope mounted on a Marbles Gamegetter see-through mount, a sporter stock, etc. Even more sadly, all of the "top-side" barrel and receiver numbers and markings were apparently removed before the metal was reblued.
I am a deer hunter myself, and plan to try this gun out in the Pennsylvania woods in the 2021 season. In the meantime, the gun needs some TLC and I would like to try to determine what it started out as - with only a few clues to go by, and no experience identifying these early Mausers. I'm posting here in the hope that more knowledgeable members may be able to shed some light on my gun's origins, so thanks in advance. A few images attached.
The gun seems to have an after-market (i.e., non-military) ~23" round barrel with a rib that runs the whole length of the barrel and carrying an open rear sight with one leaf. The barrel has the larger .323" bore. The initials "H.M." are stamped into the bottom of the barrel.