Building a Mauser - can anyone tell me more about this action?

Hello Mauser Fanatics,
I have a retired gunsmith friend that is giving me a Mauser action so I can build a complete rifle. Here is the image of the action. As you can see it is already altered with gun mounts installed. As returning this to stock form doesn't make sense (I have a K98 that is all original) I'm asking two questions really.



1. What model mauser is this? Is this a Spanish Mauser? I don't have the action close by to measure the receiver to verify if it's a small or large ring.

2. What was it's original caliber? What would you recommend for a new build?

Thanks all!

Small ring, likely South American, action. Not what I would choose to build a rifle on but if you do you should limit it to early smokeless cartridges like 7mm in mild loadings.

CLG said:

Small ring, likely South American, action. Not what I would choose to build a rifle on but if you do you should limit it to early smokeless cartridges like 7mm in mild loadings.

Click to expand...

Thanks CLG! I have a choice of two other actions:
This one looks like an 1891 Argentine Mauser


Or this one which appears like a K98 that was refurbed in Yugoslavia based on internet searches but low confidence in that:


Interesting if anyone has any insight to these actions. Obvious is the Argentine one but the other is interesting and appears to be a large ring mauser so more options exist.

Thanks for your insight!

You are correct on the ID of the other two. I would choose the Yugoslav K98k rework to build on since the strongest, most modern of the three.

The K98 even has what is probably an Argentine 1909 trigger guard which has a hinged floor plate, that’s a plus.

Tubby said:

Hello Mauser Fanatics,
I have a retired gunsmith friend that is giving me a Mauser action so I can build a complete rifle. Here is the image of the action. As you can see it is already altered with gun mounts installed. As returning this to stock form doesn't make sense (I have a K98 that is all original) I'm asking two questions really.

View attachment 264128

1. What model mauser is this? Is this a Spanish Mauser? I don't have the action close by to measure the receiver to verify if it's a small or large ring.

2. What was it's original caliber? What would you recommend for a new build?

Thanks all!

Click to expand...

That action is a Spanish Mauser action. The rifle would look something like this. Sometime around 1896 or 1897 the Spanish navy purchased around 10,000 to 15,000 of these rifles. They look identical to Boer rifles. The only major difference is the suffix letters the only went to A, B and C. The original rifle would have been chambered in 7x57mm.

CLG said:

The K98 even has what is probably an Argentine 1909 trigger guard which has a hinged floor plate, that’s a plus.

Click to expand...

Absolutely agree. You can see the cutout and pin hole. Also regarding the original bolt and receiver it may be possible to determine more about their origin, in any case this combo would be both the strongest and most modern as noted previously.

If you go with the K98, I would ask your gunsmith friend if he has the hinged floor plate and pin which appear to be missing from the trigger guard.

Great insights everyone! I joined this forum when I got my K98 in original form and keeping that beauty. The collective knowledge here is amazing.

Looking forward to building a "new custom" gun on the 98 action. Looks like all the top markings on the frame have been ground off so returning it to stock form would make it look like a beater without markings. I'm leaning now towards a Boyd's gunstock in Walnut with a new barrel in either .30-06 or 8mm mauser. I will probably go with 8mm mauser. What is everyone's experience with Boyd's? Any other suggestions for walnut stocks? I'm not going to start with a blank and head that route but want something 95% done.

I will blue the new barrel and action to match. There are professionals that do amazing things so I have to figure out if I want to do it myself or not. I enjoying the learning. Parkerized a sten gun build and it was really rewarding and pretty much a fool proof process. Blueing will be much more work but will also look good.

Considering putting a scope on it or a set of those Danish sights from the late 40's. Sources for peep sights are welcomed.
Saw these online and can't find the source. I like the vintage look. I'm not going to be hunting with the rifle, just precision shooting and having fun.


I intend to update this thread with my build and my decisions as I go. Not looking to spend $$$ but just have fun creating a working rifle while learning.

30/06 is too long without modifications. I’d go with .308, cheap and plentiful.