1891 "Argie" Mauser Cavalry Carbine (7.65x53 mm.)

[Argentino]

Hi,

Newbie here. I bought this one just a couple of days ago.

Even when this carbine was military issued at my country by the thousands at the turning of the century now they are getting hard to find in original condition.

Despite of the stock (which seems coated with some kind of varnish or something), it is original and 100% matching. Both bore and crest are in excellent condition as well.

This particular one is from the first run of 10000 Cavalry Carbines made for the argentinean army by Loewe during early 1890´s.

It is better known here by the nickname "mulita" (spanish word for "little mule") due to stout recoil when firing 7.65x53 military rounds: that steel buttplate can hit really hard on the shoulder when shooting from bench or prone position.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_24784501c27950936d.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=6120)

[Ed in North Texas]

Good looking carbine. I like the 7.65x53mm cartridge, and yes - it does kick in the carbines. Cast boolits are a good start at taming that kick to something more reasonable.

Welcome to the forum.

Ed

[Uncle Grinch]

Enjoy what you have, they are very hard to find in matching unaltered condition.

I've got the '09 version carbine and love to shoot it.

[largom]

Great gun and it will become more valuable in the future if maintained in it's original condition. I have one but like an idiot, I drilled and tapped it for a scope many years ago.

Larry

[Hip's Ax]

NICE rifle! I have a 1909 long Argentine and it shoots less then 2 MOA with my hand loads and jacketed match bullets. Still trying to find time to work up a cast load for it.

[Frank46]

I'd try lymans #314299 which is a fairly heavy long bullet for your carbine. Should go well as your carbine had a fairly fast twist when the ammo they had had long for their caliber bullets. 4759 should do well for powder. Frank

[Buckshot]

http://www.fototime.com/DE165DBDC8216AD/standard.jpghttp://www.fototime.com/87049B3824DE231/standard.jpg

M1909 Cavalry carbine (was sold as a "Mountain Carbine?) I got from Century Arms, matching numbers & intact crest. I had 2 of'em. This one has a .301"x.314" barrel in great shape. I sold the other that also had an excellent barrel but had a .303" bore. Never could get anything to fit, except to size down the 8mm Lyman 323470 to .314".

http://www.fototime.com/9C6BFD0E97DDEBF/standard.jpghttp://www.fototime.com/EE054CEF4F7EFC5/standard.jpg

M1891 Engineers carbine. Has a repair to the toe of the buttstock. I guess they were using it to drive grade stakes or something? It's all matching numbers and has a good shootable barrel. It like's most any of the 'Fat 30 Loverins' as it has a .302" bore and .312" groove.

http://www.fototime.com/5561AB04090CE6E/standard.jpg

Even have the 'Issue' military canvas & leather carrying case.

http://www.fototime.com/D1C0D4FE8A65D60/standard.jpghttp://www.fototime.com/791BAB15E99BC05/standard.jpg

The M1891 Infantry rifle is my favorite military surplus rifle. I have 2 of'em. LEFT: This is a rifle I got from Century Arms many moons ago. Has an intact crest and is matching with the exception of the cleaning rod. Barrel is in great shape and tight @ .301"x.312". Rather odd is an oval brass plate you can see on the side of the butt. It's stamped "R.Robertson" and is the way I got it from Century. No clue as to what that's all about. RIGHT: This is a rifle I got from Dennis at Empire arms about 14 years ago. It's all matching, even the cleaning rod. The crest has been buffed. It also has a carbine length handguard, which I understand some rifles had, but I don't recall now the reason? It's barrel is like new and slugs .301" x.314". This is the Empire Arms picture I stole. A heckuva lot better then any I could have taken.

http://www.fototime.com/7CD7CAD02940F78/standard.jpg

At the bottom of the stack in this pic is an M1879 Rem RB in .43 Rem Spanish. It's bayonet is just above it. Put'em together and they're about 7' tall :-) The barrel is in superb condition and slugs .440" in the grooves. I bought it at a small gunshow many years ago for $165. The guy said he just couldn't find ammo for it? I agree that ya can't go to Wal-Mart to get ammo, but you could sure get components and reload for it. His loss, my gain.

...............Buckshot

[enfield]

Buchshot, that engineers carbine looks a bit front end heavy with all that steel up front. they must have thought the wood was going to fall off when they built them.:D

[Bret4207]

Beautiful rifles! And welcome aboard Argentino!

[Argentino]

Good looking carbine. I like the 7.65x53mm cartridge, and yes - it does kick in the carbines. Cast boolits are a good start at taming that kick to something more reasonable.

Welcome to the forum.

Ed

Thanks Ed. I just ran a few boolits through it.

Reduced loads so far but I´m planning to do something more powerful in the next few days. I´ll post my results in a minute.

[Argentino]

Enjoy what you have, they are very hard to find in matching unaltered condition.

I've got the '09 version carbine and love to shoot it.


Thank you Mike. Which version of the 1909 Carbine do you have?
Our army had both the Cavalry and Engineer´s Models. Both of them are really nice.
I hope to find one in very good condition someday.

[Argentino]

Great gun and it will become more valuable in the future if maintained in it's original condition. I have one but like an idiot, I drilled and tapped it for a scope many years ago.

Larry


Thanks Larry. It´s a very common practice to drill & taper these carbines around here too.

These are pretty popular among hunters due to lightweight: they can walk all day in the woods looking for some hog or deer without worrying about its weight.

I guess that is the main reason why most of these Carbines were modified. They also were cheap back then but now they are getting expensive. I think I will keep this one as it is.

[Argentino]

I'd try lymans #314299 which is a fairly heavy long bullet for your carbine. Should go well as your carbine had a fairly fast twist when the ammo they had had long for their caliber bullets. 4759 should do well for powder. Frank

Thanks Frank. Right now I only have Lee moulds (both #90361 and #90371 this late one being a nice 185 gn. mold) and Hodgdon or Alliant powders. I know that IMR 4759 should be a good choice but unfortunately nobody is importing IMR powders around here.

[Argentino]

Buckshot: all I can say is....WOW!!! That´s a wonderful group of Argentinean Military rifles! Right now I only own this carbine and a 1909 Infantry rifle in very good condition too. I hope to get a 1909 carbine someday. They are getting hard to find (and expensive as well!)

BTW I love those Remmies too. I had the chance of buying one several months ago (a 1879 Rolling Block saddle carbine chambered in .43 Spanish) but the bore had been drilled out for shooting shotgun cartridges out f it so I decided to pass on that one.

[Argentino]

Beautiful rifles! And welcome aboard Argentino!

Thank you! Here´s a better pic of my carbine:
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_24784501df293981db.jpg (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=6136)

[Argentino]

OK so I took it to the range today for testing my reduced loads using my own cast boolits.

I made different batchs of reduced loads using bullseye and Unique under both Lee designs #90361 and #90371 (#2 Alloy, no sizing, no GC, no filler; lubed only with LLA).


First thing to notice: the rounds loaded with the Lee 90361 boolit were all over the target. I had never seen something like these before. At least a 12" pattern was obtained. :-?
I believe either the OAL (around 2.85 inches) was too short or maybe that boolit is too short for the Mauser chamber. I could use some help here.

Anyway after that I switched to Lee#90371 rounds. This time the groups were way better (see pics).

I know it´s not great but this was the first time I loaded and used my Carbine so I´m pretty happy with it.
Those were 5-shot groups using 7.0 grains of Unique and 5.0 grains of Bullseye all of them primed with Rem #2 1/2 Large Pistol primers. For your reference: each square in the picture is 1"x1". Note that the 5 shots using Unique (each one identified with a B) are pretty close :)

I´ll try to repeat these same loads soon.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/thum_24784501df32bceb46.png (http://castboolits.gunloads.com/vbimghost.php?do=displayimg&imgid=6137)

[Hang Fire]

Hi,

Newbie here. I bought this one just a couple of days ago.

Even when this carbine was military issued at my country by the thousands at the turning of the century now they are getting hard to find in original condition.



http://castboolits.gunloads.com/imagehosting/24784501df293981db.jpg

That is one sweet looking little carbine you have there.

[Buckshot]

[smilie=1:[QUOTE=Argentino;1800652]Lee designs #90361 and #90371.

First thing to notice: the rounds loaded with the Lee 90361 boolit were all over the target. Anyway after that I switched to Lee#90371 rounds. This time the groups were way better.

Not that it's a major deal, but most folks here know the boolit moulds by their designation, ie: CTL-312-160-2R and C-312-185-1R rather then the makers part number. Like Lyman, ie: 314299, everyone pretty much knows what it is. A 200gr slug that's a fat 30, or .314" or so on the drive bands. If you'd said, #2660299, some might have thought you were talking about a 6.5mm instead of Lyman's product number :-)

As I said, no big deal really. Just added to make things simpler for us red necks [smilie=1:

..............Buckshot

[leadman]

I found my 1891s shoot good groups with a little more Unique than you are using. I would try 10 to 12grs. of Unique.

Really nice carbine!

[tward]

Welcome aboard argentino! Nice looking carbine, thanks for posting the second picture, looks way better. Tim

[UBER7MM]

Welcome Argentino!

I've always liked the sleek looks of the Model 91 Mauser. What's the gun laws like there? Any special licenses required to own?

Enjoy your new best friend,

[Argentino]

I found my 1891s shoot good groups with a little more Unique than you are using. I would try 10 to 12grs. of Unique.

Really nice carbine!

Thank you!
I will definitely try 10 or 12 grains of Unique next time.

Should I use GCs with that load?

Thanks again.

[Argentino]

[smilie=1:[QUOTE=Argentino;1800652]Lee designs #90361 and #90371.

First thing to notice: the rounds loaded with the Lee 90361 boolit were all over the target. Anyway after that I switched to Lee#90371 rounds. This time the groups were way better.

Not that it's a major deal, but most folks here know the boolit moulds by their designation, ie: CTL-312-160-2R and C-312-185-1R rather then the makers part number. Like Lyman, ie: 314299, everyone pretty much knows what it is. A 200gr slug that's a fat 30, or .314" or so on the drive bands. If you'd said, #2660299, some might have thought you were talking about a 6.5mm instead of Lyman's product number :-)

As I said, no big deal really. Just added to make things simpler for us red necks [smilie=1:

..............Buckshot

Thanks Buckshot.

I apologize since I wasn´t clear enough. I will take a look at molds designation.

Thanks again for your suggestion!


BTW: according to their designation both of my Lee molds are:

- CTL 312-160-2R (This is the #90361. I believe this is a C.E. Harris design)

- C312-185-1R (This is the #90371 I was referring to. This is the one that gave me good results in my 7.65x53).

[Argentino]

Welcome Argentino!

I've always liked the sleek looks of the Model 91 Mauser. What's the gun laws like there? Any special licenses required to own?

Enjoy your new best friend,

Thank you!
I would say that we have an acceptable gun´s law over here.

However We have some major restrictions if compared to the laws in your country i.e.:

-Concealed carry is not allowed in any place. Special and individual permits should be required for CC but they are rejected for the authorities in almost all cases.

-Automatic rifles & submachine guns are forbidden. They are only used by armed forces.

-Semiautomatic rifles are forbidden too. The only ones that are allowed by our laws are those ones with a non-detachable magazine (I know it is a weird law but that´s the way it is written).
Therefore the only S.A. rifle you might have is an M1 Garand and they are scarce around here. I´m not aware of any other SA rifle having a non-detach mag. If there is another... I want it!

Ten years ago you could also have FALs (our army used to produced FAls for both the army and civilian market) but then our politicians changed the law: they added the "non-detachable mag" thing and FALs were forbidden since then.

-Sixguns in really big calibers (such as the .454 Cassull or .460 S&W) are only allowed by special permissions that might be requested.
Waiting time for a permit to be approved varies from 6 to 12 months.:-(

Otherwise than that you can own any other gun you might want but you need to fulfill several requirements such as medical/psicological habilitations, a legal source of incomes (having a job is enough unless you are retired). You also need to pass a practical exam in firearms handling with a certified instructor.

Licenses last 5 years and then you need to do all the process again in order to revalidate your permits to legally own firearms.

I hope this helps.

[Kraschenbirn]

'Nother '09 Cavalry Carbine here. Mine's was made around 1910 ('B' s/n prefix indicating second DWM production run); intact crest, all-matching #s, and a near-mint bore. My 'standard' load is the 312-160-2R, sized .314, over 18.5 gr 2400 which produces consistent 3"-4" 100M groups...not really too shabby considering the shorter sight radius and military sights.

For the 185 gr. Lee, initial experiments with both IMR4198 and H4895 showed promise but I've never gotten around to working up a 'best' load for either.

<<Semiautomatic rifles are forbidden too. The only ones that are allowed by our laws are those ones with a non-detachable magazine (I know it is a weird law but that´s the way it is written).
Therefore the only S.A. rifle you might have is an M1 Garand and they are scarce around here. I´m not aware of any other SA rifle having a non-detach mag. If there is another... I want it! >>

Too bad the Argentine military modified their FN49s to accept detachable mags when they converted to 7.62x51 NATO. There were a (very!) few of the 7.65x53 fixed-mag guns imported to the U.S. a few years back...apparently guns originally issued to the Argentine Navy and 'overlooked' when the Army and Air Force converted theirs. Wish I'd snagged one when they were available; the one that I got to handle appeared barely used.

Bill

[UBER7MM]

Thank you!
-Semiautomatic rifles are forbidden too. The only ones that are allowed by our laws are those ones with a non-detachable magazine (I know it is a weird law but that´s the way it is written).
Therefore the only S.A. rifle you might have is an M1 Garand and they are scarce around here. I´m not aware of any other SA rifle having a non-detach mag. If there is another... I want it!

Argentino,

Fixed magazine military auto loaders are getting to be antiques and expensive. You might consider the SKS, which is loaded via a stripper clip into a fixed magazine. There is also the Fabrique Nationale Model 1949 (FN-49 or SAFN) has a 10 round fixed magazine. However, I just read on the Web that the Argentinian model has a 20 round detachable magazine! You'd need an imported model.

I may not have helped..... :-(

[adrians]

Thats a very nice looking cavalry carbine you got there Argentino, this is one rifle i'm on the lookout for ,, i love these little rifles .

Here's a pic of my Engineer's and my Kar 88 ,,,,, i need a cavalry.. .

I bought the NOE 316299 for this and maybe a couple of brits ( sizing accordingly :veryconfu ).
have fun ,,, i do,,,,:bigsmyl2:

[artu44]

I've alway loved short barrels since Mannlicher Schoenhauer so I had to have a milsurp carbine and I've bought last month a 1909 but I wasn't able to find in Italy a 1891. I've found a 1891 peruvian rifle at decent price with luxury rear sight and with few pieces from Liberty Tree I've got my own personal fake carbine. I didn't buy the carbine rear sight because it's quite poor compared to the rifle one so I've cut an half inch from this one. Now I'm waiting for the correct bolt next days.182773182774182775182776182777182778182779

[Scharfschuetze]

Artu44,

Good luck on your project! I was in your home town of La Spezia four years ago. I enjoyed the Navy Museum there as well as the scenery around the harbour.

On to the topic at hand.

I love all the photos of the carbines! I've always wanted one, but those that I've looked at over the years were not worth investing in. I do have a couple of the 1891 rifles that are favorites of mine to shoot.

My favorite cast load in them is:

208 grain (lubed with GC) 314299 sized to .313"
Norma cases, CCI 200 LR primer, No filler
SR 4759 powder, 21.5 grains
Velocity: 1796 fps, Es: 13, Sd: 05 for 10 shots

Accuracy is exceptional out to several hundred yards and it's usually within the magical 1 MOA on calm days.

Still looking for a nice carbine though...

[artu44]

Thanks scharf. At present I can't cast bullets so I rely on german H&N 180 grs full coppered and lacquered .312 caliber born for the 303 british. (You can see it here https://www.hn-sport.de/de/reloading/rn-312-180-gr-hs) It's a strange bullet specially designed for reduced load. I bought a box of 500 and I start loading a dozen With 12,6 grs of Vihtavuori N340 (my choice for 45ACP), no filler and no crimp. Sunday morning I'll go to the range for a test. Moreover I prepared another dozen with 150 grs hornady flat base and 38 grs of Vihtavuori N140 following the suggestions of a german shooter. I have also a peruvian M1909 long rifle identical to the WWI Gew 98 and an argentine made m1909 carbine in good shape and of course they are strong enough for full loads , but the 1891 , even if mine is from late W serie will kick too much with ordinary loads so I'm looking for reduced or mild loads with 150 and 123 grs. I'd like to duplicate 7,62x39 loads in argentine but I wasn't able to find suggestion. Do you have some tips?

[Scharfschuetze]

I enjoyed your link to H&N Sport and the unique bullets that they sell. I speak German so it was fun to review it.


I'd like to duplicate 7,62x39 loads in argentine but I wasn't able to find suggestion. Do you have some tips?

I've had some experience using 123 and 124 grain SKS/AK .311 diameter bullets. My loads should also work in your 7.65 Mauser without any issues. I would lower the powder charge a few grains and work up though. I don't know if you have access to any of the powders that I used, but hopefully you should be able to find something similar.

Load One:

123 grain TMJ (copper coated like the H&N bullets)
Winchester LR primers
13 grains of Unique powder
Velocity: 1,716 fps, Extreme spread (ES) 33, Standard Deviation (Sd) 12
Accuracy was right at one MOA within 200 yards

Load two:

124 Winchester FMJ SKS bullet
Winchester LR primers
25 grains of 5744 (Fired in a Spanish FR8 Mauser)
Velocity 1942 fps, Es 20, Sd 07
Accuracy was about 1 1/2 MOA within 200 yards

Load three:

125 grain Remington soft point SKS bullet
Winchester LR primers
6.5 grains Bullseye powder
Velocity 1023 fps, Es 36, Sd 12
Good accuracy through 100 yards. A very light load for small game or paper targets within a hundred yards.

In bocca al lupo mi amico!

[artu44]

Fine! Actually in Italy you can find every kind of gun powder but not in the same place. In my neighborough you can have access most to Vihtavuori, a nice but quite expensive choice. To have US made powders I have to move some hundred miles and moreover, being an import, they cost twice than in the states. I think the best to me will be 13 grs of N340 (very close to Unique) with AK bullets. Magnum or normal primer? enlarged or factory flash hole? crimp or not crimp? I had also the idea to buy a can of N110 suitable for revolver magnum food and M1 carbine (equivalent to IMR4227 and H4198) for mild loads and 150 FMJ bullet.

[Scharfschuetze]

Artu44,

I wish that I could help with the Vitavouri powders, but I just don't know much about them. I have used the N140 for long range heavy bullet loads in the 5.56/223 Remington. It's a pretty good powder for that, but it would be way too slow for what you have in mind.

Primers? I just use large rifle primers in my 7.65 Mauser loads. For the very lightest small game or plinking (tin cans, clay pigeons, etc.) loads, I have cases with the flash hole drilled out and that helps performance as well as keeping the shoulder from collapsing with these very low pressure loads and thus keeps the shoulder at the proper location for correct headspace. You only need to do this for the very lightest loads though. A large pistol primer would also work well in these squib or plinking loads.

Do you know the small town of Fidenza in Parma Provence to the east of you? I had a very good friend there, but he just passed away recently.

[artu44]

Thanks Scharf. Yes the N140 is the choice for full loads in most milsurp and not suitable for squibs. I know very well Fidenza. When I worked in Brescia at Breda factory sometimes I was pissed off of Highway so I had my back home trip with the railways and I had an hour gap to spend in Fidenza between two trains.

[castalott]

Welcome to all of our overseas friends!

You have a wonderful rifle... If I could get rifles as nice as yours, I might have another collection passion... I am sure you will get it to shoot... Those have a reputation of accuracy with the right bullet.

Personally, I would keep pressures down below 1/2 of what the rifle was rated for. It's over 100 years old...

I'm very jealous of your rifle...

Dale

[Argentino]

More than 4 years since I started this thread, I´m glad is still going strong.

I´still have my ' 91 Cavalry Carbine and I´ve added a ´91 Infantry rifle as well. I only shoot reduced loads on them (not that they cannot stand milsurp ammo; but I enjoy reduced loads the most)

One of the best combinations I´ve tried so far is 6 to 7 gns. of w231 + 1,0 gns of kapok under a 160gn-2R Lee boolit (my mould casts a tad larger than .312" when using a 80%lead-20% linotype alloy) and lubing with LLA .Both the rifle & carbine perform beautifully up to 150 mts. with these almost subsonic loads.


Recoil with original milsurp ammo (argentine & belgian "FN" made) is so stout on ´91 Cavalry Carbines that they tend to develop a crack on the lower portion of the buttstock near the buttplate. I´ve seen many this way (including mine).

Argie.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

The British used to be very big in the Argentine cattle industry, and there are still a lot of British surnames, including Robertson. I suppose it was bought as surplus in Argentina, and privately owned, just as Argentino describes them today.

http://www.paginasblancas.com.ar/persona/robertson

I don't know about Argentina, but in Brazil (according to Thurlow Craig, my favourite author on South American revolutions and many another thing), the early Loeuwe-made Mausers were considered the best. Of course the 1891 has the pressure limitations of any early-90s Mausers, but they are well made and the cartridge is a very practical one - for the reloader in most places, but maybe ammunition is loaded in its own country.

As has been said, the little carbine had quite a kick for the man who couldn't reflect on all the fun he was having. A little weight up forward wasn't a bad thing. It would be better for a dropped carbine to fall on its muzzle than its butt, and like the SMLE Enfield, a large nosecap right at the muzzle would much reduce the chances of picking up a dangerous amount of mud or damaging the crown.

[Argentino]

Yup, Ludwig-Loewe ones tends to be a little more desirable, specially first "A" series. They´ve a reputation of being better than the DWM-made, but I guess that would be like comparing quality between a Rolls-Royce and a Bentley: they are both extremely well made.

1891 argentine mauser actions are not as strong as 1909 Argentine Model (actually the 1909 is considered by some to be one of Mauser´s best actions in terms of quality, or so I heard) but they can perfectly handle argentine military surplus ammo (some of them dating from the 40´s).


Just as an offtopic/side note: cattle industry in Argentina was strongly related with european demand (specially british) indeed,
from 19th century and up to 1930s with the signing of the Roca-Runciman agreement.

However, british companies were particularly strong in railway industry: most of the huge railway system (now obsolete) developed in Argentina since the later half of the 19th century belonged to british capitals.

You still see around the country a lot of old railway stations and bridges going strong after near 100 years or so. Such a pity that (in Sam Spade words):"they don´t make´em anymore"

Argie

[Kosh75287]

I've only shot one carbine version (IT KICKS, please believe them), but several of the rifles in 7.65x53 Argentine/Belgian/Turk/whatever. They were among the most accurate surplus military rifles I've ever shot. Ballistically, it is a step ahead of the .303 British, and on par with the .308 Winchester. Except the largest bears and possibly moose, I would be unafraid to hunt any game in the western hemisphere with a well set up Argentine Mauser.
With cast bullets and Ed Harris' "the load", they are accurate, very pleasant shooting, fun rifles.

[azrednek]

I always take advantage of a 91 Argie thread I come across about the absolute necessity of using shooting glasses when shooting one. Although it should apply to all shooting don't even think about not using glasses with a 91. It is especially important if one is fire-forming brass.

The 91's don't have the vent hole for escaping burning gas the later Mausers do. I had my 91, a Peruvian version blow hot gas back into my face. No exaggeration, it literally fried and destroyed the lens of my shooting glasses.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

However, british companies were particularly strong in railway industry: most of the huge railway system (now obsolete) developed in Argentina since the later half of the 19th century belonged to british capitals.

You still see around the country a lot of old railway stations and bridges going strong after near 100 years or so. Such a pity that (in Sam Spade words):"they don´t make´em anymore"

Argie

Oh, they don't mind off-topic when the topic is about worked out, really they don't. Every time a road vehicle meets a slight irregularity, it either squashes a little rubber and compressed air out of shape, or it climbs a tiny hill. A figure I have, possibly dating from a time when roads were a little less smooth, is that it takes six to ten times the energy and a lot more than ten times the number of drivers, to move a given weight on the road, than on steel rails. It seems a great pity that railways, like passenger sea traffic, has declined so much.

[Buckshot]

................Well, since last postings I managed to come up with another nice M91 Argentine. :-)

http://www.fototime.com/9EDFD86A5BD0DBF/standard.jpg

Other then the 'Custom' artwork done by some apparently bored trooper (are they Pterodactyls, or Bats, or what?)

http://www.fototime.com/D835F6A17B6F249/standard.jpghttp://www.fototime.com/64826F28AED912F/standard.jpg

The rifle is all matching, including the cleaning rod. http://www.fototime.com/CD0C6E87039EB10/standard.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/CB9A1B2E91BE8AF/standard.jpg

The barrel is mirror bright and sharp as if unfired, but I'm sure it had been. Such a magnificent piece of work it's amazing to think rifles like these were simply cranked out by the tens of thousands.

.................Buckshot

[Der Gebirgsjager]

That is certainly a pretty rifle! Congratulations on finding it. The stock art is pretty well done. It's hard to believe that the rifle was issued, stock carved, but is otherwise so lacking in handling marks. I wonder what you'd find out if you researched the stock marking. Could be a military unit insignia applied in some local armory but the rifle was not issued. Worth investigating, given the time and interest.