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I'm a South American Mauser collector, and it's the focus of my collection. The name is misleading because people think they were made in South America. Almost all were made in Germany and Belgium, and then sent to their respective countries. They are exquisite, going back to the beginning of Mauser as a company, and they are offered at a fraction of the price of so called "European" rifles. They are in some cases much finer than the best European guns, and on average are in much better condition.
For instance, you can pick up a Brazilian 1908 in decent shape for $350 or so. For $1000 you can have your pick of FN made Venezuelan, etc. They all shoot the marvelous 7mm cartridge, one of the original Paul Mauser designed cartridges and the one he favored. It's a much better cartridge than the 8mm in my opinion.
Other than that, Swedish are very nice. Swedish is dominated by the M96, which is a fine rifle in the amazing and probably best long range 6.5 cartridge. Very lightweight rifle that is almost as modern as the M98.
Check Mausers are also exquisite, coming from BRNO.
In general, I would concentrate on discovering the historical model timeline of the Mauser company. People tend to always want to focus on the country they are associated with, but that's harder to understand. If you look at how the rifles were developed, things become most clear. Everything really happened between 1889-1898, and after that the rifles all just had various traits of the various 90's models.
First you have the 1889, which is a rare Belgian made rifle. Then came the 1891, which is most associated with Argentina. The M93 and M95 are associated with Chile mostly and are very similar to the M96 (which is almost exclusively Swedish). Then comes the one everyone knows, and represents the final version made until well into the second half of the 20th century, the M98.
My personal favorite is the M95, it's got the perfect blend of lightweight and design features. It represents Mauser's pinnacle achievement before politics got involved. The finest company to make Mausers ever to me was Lowe of Berlin, and you can find a Chilean 1895 in fantastic shape for around $750. A regular one is less than $500.
For instance, you can pick up a Brazilian 1908 in decent shape for $350 or so. For $1000 you can have your pick of FN made Venezuelan, etc. They all shoot the marvelous 7mm cartridge, one of the original Paul Mauser designed cartridges and the one he favored. It's a much better cartridge than the 8mm in my opinion.
Other than that, Swedish are very nice. Swedish is dominated by the M96, which is a fine rifle in the amazing and probably best long range 6.5 cartridge. Very lightweight rifle that is almost as modern as the M98.
Check Mausers are also exquisite, coming from BRNO.
In general, I would concentrate on discovering the historical model timeline of the Mauser company. People tend to always want to focus on the country they are associated with, but that's harder to understand. If you look at how the rifles were developed, things become most clear. Everything really happened between 1889-1898, and after that the rifles all just had various traits of the various 90's models.
First you have the 1889, which is a rare Belgian made rifle. Then came the 1891, which is most associated with Argentina. The M93 and M95 are associated with Chile mostly and are very similar to the M96 (which is almost exclusively Swedish). Then comes the one everyone knows, and represents the final version made until well into the second half of the 20th century, the M98.
My personal favorite is the M95, it's got the perfect blend of lightweight and design features. It represents Mauser's pinnacle achievement before politics got involved. The finest company to make Mausers ever to me was Lowe of Berlin, and you can find a Chilean 1895 in fantastic shape for around $750. A regular one is less than $500.
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