1916 Spanish Mauser

[Murgatroy]

Does anyone else have one?

My father bought this one about 30 years ago. I don't think he ever shot it, or did anything with it. My mother gave it to me a few months ago. I didn't know anything about it at the time other than it was a Mauser of some sort. I did my homework on it and figured out what it is.

This is one of the Civil Guardia models that has been converted to shoot 7.62x51 NATO.

Other than cleaning it and doing the homework on what it is, I haven't shot it.

I keep hearing about how the .308 commercial round shoots at a much higher pressure than the NATO round. Seeing as how most places are currently sold out of the NATO round (granted CTD has some now) I haven't bought any to try the rifle out.

Any opinions on the rifle? Personal experiences?

[Guest jackdm3]

No pics!?!?!? You must be new!

[Murgatroy]

How could I forget something as simple as that.

[Guest jackdm3]

Atta boy.

[Westwindmike]

I also have one of the .308 Spanish Mausers. I have fired full power 7.62 NATO Ball through it. I don't anymore, just due to the age of the rifle. I have found it to be a really great rifle for shooting reduced loads. It's a great cast boolit rifle and I do occasionally shoot jacketed bullets in it(but loaded down).

There is a continuing argument about whether it is ok to shoot full power NATO loads in it. Do some research and make up your own mind. Here is a good thread over on CastBoolits.com.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=73330&highlight=spanish+mauser

Edited April 21, 2010 by Westwindmike
Added link

[Murgatroy]

Thanks!

I have been thinking of taking up reloading, and this adds fuel to that fire.

[gregintenn]

Mauser actions are commonly used to build rifles in 375 Holland and Holland and beyond! Why couldn't you shoot 308 ammo in it?

[Westwindmike]

Mauser actions are commonly used to build rifles in 375 Holland and Holland and beyond! Why couldn't you shoot 308 ammo in it?

Because if I read it right, these were made with the "small ring" Mauser actions, not the "large ring".

[Garufa]

Because if I read it right, these were made with the "small ring" Mauser actions, not the "large ring".

True that. Found some info here to:

GunBroker.com Message Forums - Spanish 1916 Mausers In .308

Consensus seems to be NO commerical .308 and some 7.62 NATO may be pushing it. But there appears to be some kind of 7.62 x 39 converter you can get, that might be worth cheking into.

[Murgatroy]

But there appears to be some kind of 7.62 x 39 converter you can get, that might be worth cheking into.

I have been toying with the idea of buying that. However once you do that the internal magazine becomes useless and the rifle is a single shot.

It is still something to look into, and I have been toying with a few ideas on what to do with the internal magazine.

[R1100R]

It was re-chambered for the 7.62 CETME round. Which Spain adopted in the 50's after switching from the Mauser to the CETME rifle. H&K licensed the CETME and called it the G3 and adopted the 7.62 NATO round. You need to be careful what you shoot through it. They are called the FR7 for the small ring and the FR8 for the large ring.

Same as the 7.62 X 51 NATO but lower powered with a lighter bullet.

[roverboy]

If your gonna handload your in luck. Do what I do and load down to .300 Savage power. My rifle is like yours but mine don't have the Guardia Civil crest. I've killed probably 20 deer with mine over the last 15 years. I've even played with .30 Carbine handloads in mine. The small ring Mausers like the 88,91,93(which is basicly what you have),94,95,96 all are rated for 45,000 psi. Full power .308 ammo is 50,000+. I fired some full power .308 Federal ammo in mine when I first got it but heard it was a bad idea so I stopped that. But the old rifle took it in stride. How long it would have done that I don't know. I'm just saying be careful.

[gregintenn]

Upon looking further, I see I am mistaken. I have several small ring mausers in varying calibers such as 243, 257, and 7x57. I shoot full power loads in these, but upon looking at pressures, the 308 has a higher pressure limit than any of these cartridges, so I'd say one should download to an acceptable pressure level for safety's sake.

[TK47]

I too have one of these that I bought at a pawn shop for $100. (about 12 years ago) I've shot it a few times, but the rear sight had been butchered by some idiot with a file. I recently pulled it out of the gun closet and replaced the rear sight with one I got from Numerich. I can't wait to get it out to the range, to see how it performs with the new rear sight!

TK47