Argentine Mauser in 308

[Staticsouls]

Hey guys,

My dad just picked me up a sporterized 1891 Argentine Mauser with a .308 barrel on it. I'm pretty sure he got it from Lock, Stock n Barrel on auction, but how safe is this to shoot with the new barrel? Should I be concerned? Would it be difficult to return the rifle to normal or is it not worth it on such an old rifle?

Any feedback would be great. Any experience with a 308 Mauser would be excellent!

[Emdawg]

Number one thing is that the 1891 is an early small-ring mauser, so I would be very careful with what .308 loads to use in it.

[Staticsouls]

I have read that there is almost a 10,000psi difference between the 7.65 round it originally shot and the win 308 round, which prompted this thread.

[ThemBastards]

Yeah are you sure the barrel says .308 or did it just advertise as .308? My buddy has a 7.62 nato barrel on a Chilean Mauser and it shoots the x51 ammo just fine but I would not want to see .308 in there.

[Milsurps]

Number one thing is that the 1891 is an early small-ring mauser, so I would be very careful with what .308 loads to use in it.

Yup this rings of the same issues with the Spanish FR-7.
Tread lightly my friend.

[Sailormilan2]

Yeah are you sure the barrel says .308 or did it just advertise as .308? My buddy has a 7.62 nato barrel on a Chilean Mauser and it shoots the x51 ammo just fine but I would not want to see .308 in there.

Is this a pre 98 Chilean Mauser or a 1912-61 Chilean Mauser. If it is a 1912-61 it is perfectly safe with standard 308 Win loads.

With regards to the 91 Argie. I had a guy who wanted me to put a surplus 7.62NATO barrel on a 91 Argentine action. I refused even after he said he would download to 30-30 specs. Because he had previously said he didn't handload, and then he told me he would. I didn't want a gun I had helped him put together with a caliber too strong for the action, floating around out there.

[ThemBastards]

Is this a pre 98 Chilean Mauser or a 1912-61 Chilean Mauser. If it is a 1912-61 it is perfectly safe with standard 308 Win loads.

With regards to the 91 Argie. I had a guy who wanted me to put a surplus 7.62NATO barrel on a 91 Argentine action. I refused even after he said he would download to 30-30 specs. Because he had previously said he didn't handload, and then he told me he would. I didn't want a gun I had helped him put together with a caliber too strong for the action, floating around out there.

98 Chilean

[Emdawg]

98 Chilean

That should be fine with .308 or 7.62 NATO. Good strong 98 Mauser action.

[ThemBastards]

That should be fine with .308 or 7.62 NATO. Good strong 98 Mauser action.

Really? Good to know, I will pass that on to him.

[Emdawg]

Still, be sure not to use any fancy loads in it.


Just run-of-the-mill commercial and older military surplus will work fine.

[Crunch130]

What did I miss? The OP said it was an 1891 Argentine action. How did we get on the subject of a 1912 Chilean?

The 1891 Argentine is earlier than an 1895, and may have fewer safety features.

Handload 308 Win to specs for 300 Savage, and you should be fine.

Crunch

[Emdawg]

What did I miss? The OP said it was an 1891 Argentine action. How did we get on the subject of a 1912 Chilean?

The 1891 Argentine is earlier than an 1895, and may have fewer safety features.

Handload 308 Win to specs for 300 Savage, and you should be fine.

Crunch

That is true...



OP, what is the rifle exactly?

[TRAP55]

My dad just picked me up a sporterized 1891 Argentine Mauser with a .308 barrel on it.

What Crunch said, load .308 cases using .300 Savage load data.
Are you sure the barrel has been replaced with a .308 barrel? or is it the original Argy barrel re-chambered to .308? Got pics?

[Crunch130]

I should have mentioned that 7.62 NATO was "based" on the 300 Savage cartridge, with the pressure pushed up to approximately match the performance of M2 Ball 30-06 with 150-ish grain bullets. 308 Win was a commercial licensing of 7.62 NATO, nominally the same on the outside, but with some specification and tolerance changes.

So using 300 Savage load data in a bolt action 308 or 7.62 NATO rifle is not some coincidence or rule of thumb, it is based on actual design intentions.

I'm sure some folks were already aware of this, but it's good for all 308 owners to know.

Thanks,
Crunch

[centricsports]

Really appreciate the discussion guys, I'm starting to look for 308 cal rifles since I've newly acquired one and have one on order. This is a lesson to me that even if the barrel is said to be or even marked 308 or 7.62 that the action must be evaluated and researched.

Cheers!