siamese mauser

[wgr]

can anyone tell me about this rifle? like who made it and what army used it. i been looking for one for awile now like to build a 45-70 are 405win. thinks for any help bill

[Buckshot]

can anyone tell me about this rifle? like who made it and what army used it. i been looking for one for awile now like to build a 45-70 are 405win. thinks for any help bill

...............They were made for the government of Siam (Thailand) and IIRC they were all made at Japanese arsenals. Any you might find now will probably carry a decent price. One in good condition 'as issued' shouldn't really be a candidate for alteration. However, if you can bear the freight and bought one, it would be yours to do with as you please.

Alternative candidates for a repeater would be the Marlin M95 or Winchester M86 repros. They can supply all the 'fun' a normal human being can stand. For a bolt action the only suitable one I'm aware of (outside of the Siamese) would be the French MAS36 with it's 0.800" OD bolt. Single shots abound!

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

[Scrounger]

Buckshot, don't forget the British Enfield actions rebuilt into .444 Marlin and .45-70. Was it Navy Arms who had them for sale? Or maybe Gibbs Rifle Company?

[C1PNR]

Buckshot's right about being built by the Japanese. IIRC, when I did the research on mine I found they were made at the Tokyo Arsenal in ~1907 under license from Germany.

I bought mine mail order (from Navy Arms, according to my inventory records) and had a local gunsmith re-barrel it in 45-70 with a 24" Douglas. I think he had to open up the bolt face a little, too, but it feeds just fine.

Navy Arms bought a boatload of them and finally quit selling them as surplus in favor of doing their own 45-70 "sporter" version. They had the Douglas barrel installed, in addition to a relatively nice wood stock and maybe some other stuff.

That Navy Arms sporter version is what I would look for. The Siamese that are in original condition should probably be kept as is. A little side note is that the Siamese were of very small stature and the original military stock reflects that fact. The length of pull on an original is WAY too short for the average American.

[NoDakJak]

My good friend, the late Bud Hansen who operated the "Pine Ridge Gunshop" at Chadron, Nebraska origined the 45-70 conversions of the Siamese Mausers and when contacted by them produced the first sporters for Navy Arms. Bud also built a semi-automatic 45-70 on the 1938 Tokarev action. It worked well but required a pointed rather than round nose bullet to feed reliably. By the time pointed, jacketed bullets became available he had lost interest in the project. He rebarreled a Destroyer Carbine to 7.62 Mauser that I lusted for. It was fairly accurate and would have been an excellent plinker and small game rifle.
I have a Siamese action rebarreled to 22-303. Feeds reliably and is accurate. It turns out that the cartridge is actually a 220 Swift with a rim and I use Swift dies to reload for it.
I have another Siamese action tucked away that I am considering rebarreling to 405 Winchester. Ah well! Many projects and little money. Neil

[Buckshot]

Buckshot, don't forget the British Enfield actions rebuilt into .444 Marlin and .45-70. Was it Navy Arms who had them for sale? Or maybe Gibbs Rifle Company?


...........Oops, yup I forgot about them. Thanks for bringing them up.

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

[Bob S]

I had one of the $17.50 rifles from Century Arms circa 1973 with the idea of making a 45-70. Dinged up on the outside, it had a perfect bore, and I did not have the heart to do any "conversion". I eventually bought the RCBS dies for the odd-ball 8mm cartridge and made cases from 45-70. It proved to be a great cast shooter with bullets cast from a borrowed 323471 mould. Unfortunately, it had to go in the "divorce sale" many years ago .... :(

Resp'y,
Bob S.

[longbow]

I bought aSIamese Mauser action about 35 years ago and had a bolt action .45-70 made from it. It was a beautiful gun and shot well. It never had a jacketed bullet in while I owned it ~ yes "while I owned it". I sold it and many other things to put myself through college. Fortunately a friend bought it so I know where it is.

The conversion was pretty simple and if memory serves the gunsmith said he had to open up the bolt face a little for larger and/or thicker rim and I think it took a little bit of work to open up the the feed for slightly larger diameter at the lead end.

Not only did it shoot well but it handled loads I couldn't ~ at least not until I got a Pachmyr triple magnum recoil pad. A hot loaded .45-70 is all the gun I care to shoot.

I have been toying with the idea of converting a Lee Enfield to .444 Marlin. Hmmmm...

Longbow

[No_1]

The Siamese Mauser is a great base for a custom rifle in almost almost any rimmed cartridge such as 303 british, 30-40 Krag, 45-70, 444 Marlin, ect. The 2 I have are in 30-40 Krag and 45-70. The first one was already sporterized as a 30-40 but had a rough finish. I bought it with the idea of converting to 45-70 but the gunsmith who checked it out suggested I keep it as is. I ask him to add the recoil pad then re-blue it but when I got there it was parkerized. I believe it turn out fine. The 2nd one was aquired just a few weeks ago. I have not had a chance to "drop the hammer" on it but I am sure I will be pleased with it too. Please excuse the blurry pic on the 45-70.

Ps. I will continue my quest of aquiring more.

R.
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p206/no_one_photos/SIAMESE%20MAUSERS/SIAMESE3040A.jpg
http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p206/no_one_photos/SIAMESE%20MAUSERS/S5002889.jpg

[wgr]

Any Idea Were To Start Looking For One Of These Rifles? Thinks Bill.

[No_1]

Keep your eyes peeled on the auction websites as well as at the gun shows. Keep in mind when you are looking at candidates that the bottom metal (trigger guard / floor plates) are almost impossible to find. I have never seen those sold by themselves. They are different that the standard 98 floorplate assembly because they are designed to handle the rimmed cartridge. I am not saying do not buy a stripped action, I am saying if you do it will be difficult AND expensive to finish that project. A call to Shaw Barrel Co. or a quick look at this price list http://www.ershawbarrels.com/pricelist/pricelist.asp will give you a price for converting a stock rifle into a sporter. It will be upwards of $500 not including the stock or the original purchase price. If you really must have one the best bet is to jump on one when you see it on the auction sites and big until you win.

Robert

[KCSO]

I had one of Hansen's custom jobs a couple of years ago and it was a real class piece of work. I eventually sold the rifle to a collector who had more money than good sense. There was a Siamese conversion on gunbroker last month and it went pretty reasonable, keep looking.

[wgr]

i think i may have found a siamese mauser. its as issused might keep it that way but havE no idea on the ammo. i dont think i have ever seen a rimed 8mm. who makes the dies and what donner brass do u use. anyone have a pic of the case thinks bill

[Oldeyes]

For brass and dies, try Buffalo Arms. Their cases are formed from 45-70; I had to neck ream the brass I got from them to be able to chamber bore-sized bullets since the groove diameter on my rifles ran .327 to .329 and the thick neck walls on the BuffArms brass only left room for .323 bullets. I don't have a mold for these oversized 8mm's yet so can't offer much advice on cast boolits, I have been shooting pulled bullets from 8x56R surplus M95 ammo.
Also, be aware that these rifles were originally in 8x50R and most, but not all, were upgraded to 8x52R. If the numbers on the side of the rear sight base look like they have been partly ground off by gringing down the sight ramp, then you have the later version in 8x52R.

http://www.buffaloarms.com/