1893 Spanish Mauser Question

[jjnpg317]

I got this weapon the other day and it was painted black. I'm getting the paint off with stripper, and the metal does have some pits on it under the paint but not enough to keep it from being shot. I've been trying to clean the inside of the barrel for five days but never run out of copper fouling with this barrel. Is this common ? Can I get a take off barrel (Ruger, Remington, ETC ) and replace it , or just keep on using Hoppe's copper cleaner ?
Thanks

[Cactus Farmer]

Keep cleaning. I'm assuming it's a 7X57? Great caliber. I have a 95 that had a cruddy bore but with a lot of elbow grease it cleaned up nicely. Shoots boolits pretty well too. It's one of my knock around guns. not one I let anyone borrow though. I have less desirable "rent" guns.

[shredder]

Try some wipeout. It really strips that fouling out fast. Also a good overnight soak with something like Ed's Red or hoppe's benchrest will help. Some of the old war horses were shot a LOT and cleaned very little over many many years.

[Ragnarok]

Small shank barrels...93 actions...not bad little guns.

Is this on a long-rifle or a M1916 short rifle?....Is it 7mm Mauser or 7.62 Cetme(.308)?

Personally..if the bore was basically good otherwise..I would just shoot and clean..shoot and clean..shoot and clean...

[atr]

not to be overly discouraging.....but....I had a spanish model 93 in 7x57...painted black with a cruddy bore....took forever to get the bore clean...lots of elbow grease...in the end I got ride of it because it wouldn't group at 25 yards with either cast or jacketed

[jjnpg317]

The rifle is 7x57 and has 1927 stamped by crest. I think it started as a long rifle & the barrel was cut back to 25". I've gotten most of the paint off but there is not a matching number anywhere on this rifle. They're all different.
First miltary rifle I've owned & I like it ! The more I handled it & discovered how simple they are to maintain , it began to grow on me. Cleaning the barrel is like gargling with peanut butter but I'll keep going until ready for boolits. Any suggestions on a current mold ? Never had a 7mm of any kind before.
Thanks

[Nickle]

Sweet's 7.62 Solvent and a lot of patches. Lots of ammonia in it, so don't let it sit in your barrel too long.

Iosso paste works some too.

[Hank10]

The 7mm mauser military barrels were chambered for a long 175 gr bullet so the throat is cut long and usually accuracy is better with a cast bullet like the Lyman 287308. I think they're still available. That's what I use in my 7x57.

[atr]

and mulling it over I have always been amazed at the difference in the barrels between the old military mausers and the old military enfields,,,I have had both and its always been the same...the mausers had sewer pipes for barrels while the enfields were always clean and shiny.....makes me wonder what was going on.

[Smokepole50]

A lot of south american 7x57 Mausers were rode hard and put away wet after shooting corrosive ammo. Add in a humid enviorment and you have the recipe for corrosion. If it has pitting on the outside of the barrel I would be surprised if in the end after hours of cleaning you don't find a pitted barrel on the inside under all that fouling. You might just want to polish what is already there, copper and all with some JB Bore Paste and see if the rifle will shoot well with jacketed bullets before you spend money and time trying to revive a dead horse.

[atr]

good Idea Smokepole,,,I used some diluted valve lapping compound and yes there was pitting on the inside of the barrel

[gwpercle]

Don't give up on it. My 93 7x57 had a barrel that looked like a rusted sewer pipe. I spent several sessions with bronze bore brush and rod and hoppes #9 and WWII surplus G.I. bore cleaner. Then wrapped brush with 0000 steel wool and coated steel wool with JB bore paste did this about 4 times. Took several days but finally could see rifling, bore was still dark but well scrubbed and smooth from JB bore paste. Took her to the range and just before dark took 3 shots at a target I could barely see, ( 75 yards or so) offhand with open sights. Not the military sights I had them replaced with Williams sights. Two shots touched and the third was 1/4 inch away from the other two and the group was dead center....on target.

So clean the thing till your arms wear out , use steel wool on brass brush and polish with JB bore paste...once everything is clean and smooth you just might be surprised.

[Dutchman]

A thread with no pictures is sooooo boring

I was at a residential estate auction in rural Indiana about 1999. Among the several firearms was this 1893 Spanish Mauser. It was stored in an unheated garage in very humid and wet northwest Indiana. It was a fresh rebuild judging from the new beech stock. I won the bid at $75. Once I spent some time with it I decided not to go through the arduous task of removing all the rust so I sold it to a friend for the same $75.

The 1893 Mauser was earth shaking in the world of military rifles... any rifles. John Browning had just finished with the 1892 Winchester and was working fervently on a box magazine lever action that would become the 1895 Winchester still 3 years away. These rifles proved themselves by delivering a bad case of whoopass on American soldiers in Cuba circa 1898.

[UBER7MM]

I'd find a rubber plug at the hardware store and plug the breach. Then I'd fill with my favorite solvent and let the barrel and set for a couple of days or even a week. You'd be surprised what comes out.

I hope this helps,

[deces]

A thread with no pictures is sooooo boring

I was at a residential estate auction in rural Indiana about 1999. Among the several firearms was this 1893 Spanish Mauser. It was stored in an unheated garage in very humid and wet northwest Indiana. It was a fresh rebuild judging from the new beech stock. I won the bid at $75. Once I spent some time with it I decided not to go through the arduous task of removing all the rust so I sold it to a friend for the same $75.

The 1893 Mauser was earth shaking in the world of military rifles... any rifles. John Browning had just finished with the 1892 Winchester and was working fervently on a box magazine lever action that would become the 1895 Winchester still 3 years away. These rifles proved themselves by delivering a bad case of whoopass on American soldiers in Cuba circa 1898.

What dose that cleaning rod thread into?

[Dutchman]

What dose that cleaning rod thread into?

Probably another cleaning rod to make them long enough. There was a kit that went with these rifles, as with most Mausers. Those kits have long since disappeared.

Dutch

[jjnpg317]

Still cleaning & getting dirty patchs. I slugged the barrel twice and each one came out smooth! Each slug mic at .273. I can see rifling so I'm confused. Any suggestions?

[Multigunner]

These rifles proved themselves by delivering a bad case of whoopass on American soldiers in Cuba circa 1898.

Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't the U S win that war.
The 7mm Mauser with round nose 174 gr bullet proved to be the least deadly of any rifle in the conflict, not because of accuracy since it was accurate, but because the bullets didn't tumble and made neat wounds that often healed without medical attention.
Theres a book written by a surgeon attached to Cuban Rebels during that war, he made a very detailed study of the wounds inflicted by the 7mm.
My guess is the natural resistance to infection of the hardy rebels made a very big difference compared to British Casualties in South Africa. Of course a scratch could kill you in that pesthole before effective anti-biotics came along.


Found a site on the history of radiography and it states that 95% of U S casualties from the Spanish American War due to bullet wounds survived.
They of course claim this was due to the early X-Ray machines used at the time.

The Spanish had some hard core sharp shooters, and these caused quite a few casualties. Unfortunately they seemed to prefer infiltrating and shooting up the wounded men at field hospitals. One man on a stretcher was hit in the arm only inches from the wound that had put him there to begin with.

Records from the Philipines campaign show the deadliest wounds were from Remington Rolling Block Rifles with B P cartridges. Wounds from the Mauser or Krag FMJ round nose seldom got badly infected but wounds made by the larger caliber rifles with BP cartridges quickly became badly infected.
A substitute for BP used by guerillas was made from Japanese match heads. When tested these proved to be far more powerful than expected, with 8 inches more penetration power than the .30-40 Krag.

The U S did adopt many features of the 1893 Mauser. Swift reloading was its long suit.
The Krag was faster in rapid fire, but only for the first five or six shots.
The double opposed locking lugs of the Mausers ( a feature the Germans swiped from the French), allowed for more powerful and flatter shooting cartridges that the Krag could not digest on a regular basis.

This is pretty cool
http://www.ajronline.org/doi/full/10....174.5.1741233
Scroll down aways and you'll see an X-Ray of a soldier with a Mauser bullet imbedded n his brain.
he bullet went in over one eye and lodged in brain tissues an inch or so short of the back of the skull. They could not operate yet the soldier made a full recovery and returned to duty. The bullet remained in his brain.

[Janoosh]

Thanks for the article, multigunner. It was most interesting. The Spanish 93 rifle i have has a good bore, no pitting, and prefers a looong boolit for any accuracy.

[deces]

Probably another cleaning rod to make them long enough. There was a kit that went with these rifles, as with most Mausers. Those kits have long since disappeared.

Dutch

I'm not sure about this, but I believe they thread into a muzzle cap to serve as a handle. which ones? I have no idea, I was hoping that you would know.