Monday, July 7, 2008

M1916 Spanish Mauser

I have wanted to buy a new gun for quite awhile, and it has been way too long since I have bought a new one. I have been thinking about this one and that one, expensive ones and inexpensive ones, new ones and old ones. Of course I could just go out and buy one, and in the end it is what I will do, but heck the search for the right one is half the fun.Now it would help make things quicker if I could afford a new one in the first place, but lately there have been a lot of repair bills that were quite unexpected.

HEY SELF - STOP PROCRASTINATING ALREADY!

Okay, I have made up my mind - finally - that I should at least pick up something even if not my heart's desire (like a new HK pistol), and I have finally decided to buy a surplus rifle. Well, I should say I have decided to send my C&R license to a dealer in preparation for such a purchase because the rifles are currently back ordered.

The one that I have my eye on is a M1916 Spanish Mauser, a bolt action rifle rechambered in .308. It is available through Samco Global Arms at the price of $129.95, shipping adds another $19.50. As I understand the wait for these back ordered rifles could be as long as 6 months. If that is the case then I have plenty of time to start saving for one, maybe even two of them. In order to get the ball rolling, I have to mail them my order along with a copy of my C&R license. I have only heard good things about SAMCO in the past, so I think I am going to begin the process today.

The way I look at it, this rifle should be a good plinker, and a good hunting rifle. It is 5 shot, bolt action, and has a relatively short barrel (good for a deer rifle here in the woods of the northeast). Of course if the deal somehow falls through because SAMCO does not receive any of them for sale in the near enough future, I can always take whatever cash I have saved and buy another Yugo SKS from them. So for just the price of a stamp today, and maybe saving $10 per week for a few months, I will have a nice new (well surplus but new to me) rifle in my collection.

So off to the post office I go, order and C&R in envelope, envelope in hand.

All the best,
Glenn B

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Glenn,
And speaking of,,
I just wanted to let you know that we have now have tickets for September's gun raffle again.
Check out the info at:

http://eastarenacsportsmen.blogspot.com

Thanks and Hang in there,

Gary

Glenn B said...

Thanks.

Pen of Jen said...

Buy two as I am confident that we will always be readily available to buy guns...I still am not sure with the looney left.

Buy Buy Buy...one of the few things that we still think on any budget that one cannot have enough of.

Anonymous said...

Nice looking rifle. You guys are lucky to have that C&R rule.

JacktheToad said...

A nice value indeed.
One caveat. I believe these rifles were based on a 1893 design. They were later rechambered for the 7.62 Nato round (which has lower pressures than the .308 Winchester).
At least some of these rifles (as well as the 1895 7X57 carbines) are the small ring mausers and have 2 lug designed bolts, instead of the 3 lugs normally found on mausers.

http://www.surplusrifle.com/1916guardiacivil/index.asp

I think the 3 lug bolt became standard in 1898. Since at least some of the Spanish rifles manufactured in the early 1900s were based on an earlier design, they are not as strong as rifles manufactured at the same time, but of the 1898 design.

I found this out after purchasing a 1895 7X57 Spanish Mauser. It is still safe for ammo designed for it; but modern ammo generating higher pressures are unsafe.

If you stay within the limits, it will fetch game now as well as it did 100 years ago.

Glenn B said...

Jack The Toad,

Thanks for that info. If the gun is ever actually delivered to me it will be useful info indeed. They said it was on back order for 6 months, I should have it soon if they were correct.

All the best,
GB