New Mauser and Mosin

[Siberian64]

Just received my new Mauser and MN M44 today! Got them from AIM. At first glance they are nice; especially the M44. Bores are nice. Need a little cleanup. Will post pics soon.

[GSequoia]

Will post pics soon.

Tease.

[mur]

Not posting Pics with 24hrs should result in a BAN

[Siberian64]

OK, here's a quick (crappy) pic before I disassemble and clean.

[5968]

Those sure are some prutty rifles you got there boy. All jokes aside, they are nice. Just make sure to post some pictures after you get them all cleaned up.

[Siberian64]

Ok, so now that I have the Mauser completely disassembled:

I consider this one to be a shooter - not sure if it has "great" collector value. So I'm wondering how far should I go with cleanup: refinish the stock "aggressively"? Re-Blue all of the metal? The metal finish is about 85-90%. The bolt, however, has this huge nasty electropenciled number on it and the barrel has an import mark (small).

What do y'all think?

[Jared D]

Refinish

I personally think if your not worried about "collector value" you should refinish. You bought the guns to enjoy and refinishing the wood is very rewarding. If its a museum piece leave it in the museum, otherwise enjoy them as you like!

[Dr. Peter Venkman]

Ok, so now that I have the Mauser completely disassembled:

I consider this one to be a shooter - not sure if it has "great" collector value. So I'm wondering how far should I go with cleanup: refinish the stock "aggressively"? Re-Blue all of the metal? The metal finish is about 85-90%. The bolt, however, has this huge nasty electropenciled number on it and the barrel has an import mark (small).

What do y'all think?

The farthest I would go with it would be to use denatured alcohol and the lowest number steel wool to remove the russian shellac off of your Mauser's stock. I think if you did anything else you'd probably regret it.

[Wyatt]

The farthest I would go with it would be to use denatured alcohol and the lowest number steel wool to remove the russian shellac off of your Mauser's stock. I think if you did anything else you'd probably regret it.

+1
Just clean it and shoot the crap out of it. It's a warhorse, not a fancy plinker, it should look well used

[Siberian64]

Very Good - we think alike!

I've been cleaning with mineral spirits (with good results) and started rubbing with 0000 steel wool. This seems to get the crap off, bring out the character of the wood, but does not harm the markings and stampings. When it's all clean, I'll rub it down with BLO or Tung oil.

Can't wait to shoot it!

Gun show tomorrow (Del Mar) - shopping for sight hood, cleaning rod, locking screws, and a bayonet.

Thanks for the input!

[bigthaiboy]

What year and manufacturer code does the reciever have?

[Siberian64]

The receiver is stamped:

"CE 44" , so made by J.P. Sauer in 1944

This is a Russian capture, so almost nothing matches. I'm still deciphering the marks.

Also, after a normal cleaning, the bore appears to be in like new condition.

[Siberian64]

On the Mosin:

Bolt, Barrel, trigger guard are all marked "MT3606". But the receiver is marked M46886 (looks like modern electro-pencil, import mark?). On the underside of the chamber end of the barrel it is marked "K8984". Also, where the barrel is staked to the receiver, it appears to have been done only once. On the outside of the butt plate is also marked "MT3606". On the inside, is stamped "5976" and this also appears stamped in the wood of the butt stock.

Is this to be considered "all numbers matching" ?

Also, after a normal cleaning, the bore appears brand new!

[Boomer1961]

So other than the shellac'd stock and the electro stencil and non matching parts would you say this is a "GREAT CONDITION" rifle.

At 95% finish and excellent bore it kind of sounds that way.

Also any historical markings like the Eagles Crest or nazi markings?

Also for a run of the mill mauser the Russian Capture is sure to be the uber collector after stocks dry up. It has allot more history than the German and is shown in the re-arsenal work. I personally would not mess with the thing other than detailing, or that is addressing each individual blem with careful thought, thoroughness, and care.

If ya want a mauser to play with then I would get one of the Yugo's 47 or 48, as there is not allot of collector value in these and they can be had at a great price in new condition.

Speaking of RC Mausers, anyone in the bay area (especially around Martinez) have one in good condition that they want to sell?

PM me if you might be such a person.