Mexican Mausers - Pre and post revolution examples -

[InFamous20]

How difficult would it be to bring one of these home?


Beautiful rifles btw..

[turkeyenchilado]

That is a beautiful riffle thanks for sharing just awesome !!

[SilvV]

Great Collection!!!

I hope to acquire a few myself, but they are not that common.

[Saigon1965]

Thank you - I am glad you all enjoyed them -


Bring them home as in import them here? Quite difficult -

How difficult would it be to bring one of these home?


Beautiful rifles btw..

You are correct - They're not many around - Most were sporterized and butchered for the action -

Great Collection!!!

I hope to acquire a few myself, but they are not that common.

[Mike A]

Wonderful thread! Reminds me of shooting my FN 1924 police carbine back in the day (I traded a retired federal bank guard a Colt Frontier Scout .22 for it in 1962).

That 16" barrel really spouts fire when you shoot a full power 7x57 round in it! And it DO back up on ya! Not a terribly practical firearm IMO, but cute and beautifully made.

[Saigon1965]

Thanks for dropping in Mike - I have to agree with you on the fireball much like the M38s - Great for packing on horseback -

Wonderful thread! Reminds me of shooting my FN 1924 police carbine back in the day (I traded a retired federal bank guard a Colt Frontier Scout .22 for it in 1962).

That 16" barrel really spouts fire when you shoot a full power 7x57 round in it! And it DO back up on ya! Not a terribly practical firearm IMO, but cute and beautifully made.

[Saigon1965]

Some additional information on MX Mausers -

Mexico started with buying M1895 Mausers from DWM. They were the same as the Spanish M1893. The next step was an upgraded version, the M1902, which had a 98 type third locking lug and gas shield. The M1895 cocked on closing, the M1902 cocked on opening. Over 43,900 M1902 were purchased from DWM (serial number over E3900 reported). Mexico then started making their own Mausers, the M1910, which was the same as the M1902. All had a small ring.

The Kar 98a was a similar design with a small ring and 98 type bolt, although it had an 8.75 inch standard length receiver - unlike the shorter 8.56 inch intermediate length receiver used on the M1895, M1902, and M1910.

Regards,
Bill

Hi Saigon1965.
I have the same rifle as yours except that my serial number is in the "E" block (E39XX) while yours begins with "C". Its cleaning rod is numbered, although not to the rifle.

These rifles are unusual for a number of reasons. First, the only ones I have ever seen in 50+ years of collecting are these nearly-new, unissued rifles. Clearly, tens of thousands of Mexican M1902's were made....but what happened to them? Second, what accounts for the fact that the only known M1902's are in unissued condition? This is pure guesswork, but because the long Mexican Civil Wars/Revolutions ate up thousands of rifles, I suspect that our M1902 rifles may have been fallen into US possession earlier.

Another interesting fact is that by far the rarest of the M1902 Mexicans is the carbine. I have a matching one which is in the "A" letter block, A64XX. It is the exact same rifle as the Mexican M1910 carbine, just as the M1902 long rifle is the exact same rifle as the Mexican M1910 long rifle.

The serial number ranges of the carbine and rifles call into question whether only 38,000 rifles were made. While this number may be totally accurate, one is left wondering since DWM normally made rifles on letter-designated blocks of 10,000 each, e.g. A1 thru 10,000, B1-10,000 etc.

Two interesting "facts" regarding Mexican rifles that I've noticed on the few rifles I've observed are that 1) the M1902 Mexican receivers are that same size and dimensions as the M1910 and M1936 receivers. Also, if you examine the receiver rings of the M1902, M1910 and M1936, it's only the M1902 receivers that don't have machining marks left under the bluing. It makes me wonderr if the reason that the M1902's are so rare is that so many were rebuilt as M1910's and M1936's.

Bill, regarding production numbers, the Hintermeier Steyr production lists on the Steyr Forum do not list any Steyr production for Mexico.
Regards,
John

Great Rifle example...I wonder if the DWM development of the M1902 Mex. was connected to the Concurrent development of the (Oberndorf) M1903 Turk and the RS121 (M1902) Siamese Action designs (all "Intermediate" actions, the Turk Large Ring receiver, but the Siamese small ring receiver...all with the M98 Bolt design, but intermediate length; some features also carried over to the M1904 Commercial design...

A very fertile era of Mauser development, still needing much research.....

Doc AV

John,
The Mexican-Steyr contract was dated July 20, 1912. Deliveries were 15,002 in fiscal year 1912-1913 and another 18,000 in fiscal year 1913-1914. The ammunition contract was with Hirtenberger for both round nosed and spitzer bulleted rounds. They were packed on 5 round stripper clips, 3 clips per carton, 100 cartons (1,500 rounds) per zinc lined wooden case. The ammo was simply addressed to "Mexico" at "Vera Cruz" [sic.]. The round nosed ammo was impressed into Austro-Hungarian service in 1914.
Best regards,
Jim

[Saigon1965]

Viva Mexico -

Diez y Seis de Septiembre - Grito de Dolores -

[Army GI]

Since you bumped your 1+ year thread last month, I won't feel so bad for commenting

I will never own a minty gun that I can never shoot and stays in the safe. Having said that, this 1910 is the gun I've owned for the longest amount of time (about 4-5 years) without ever shooting. Therefore, I've decided to begin a restoration project.

I've searched high and low for a replacement barrel but no luck. Apparently, it's quite impossible to find 29" 7x57mm small ring profile barrels -- they have to be taken from other guns or custom made from a rifle blank. I've decided to go with the latter, although it is quite expensive. But at least it will be an excellent shooter.

I'll keep you posted as to my progress in case you are interested. Here is the original rifle:










It's actually really not in bad external condition for being a Mexican Mauser. But having that bad chamber was really frustrating because the barrel is the hardest part to replace, but it is the most important. For a someone who is relatively well-versed in finding surplus gun parts online: rear sights, stocks, butt plates, trigger groups, complete receivers, and even barrel bands were pretty easy to find after a solid night of research. But a good barrel might as well be a unicorn.

[I Swan]

The bolts are unique too and some of the rear sights seem to be as well. It is not good to get in to these guns as restoration projects especially in the rarer more unique models. A 1910 rifle is probably the most common one so is easier to find stuff for them but production and survival rate are still low.

[G-Man WC]

Saigon never disappoints with show and tell.
Congrats and a very nice south of the border collection you have there sir.
I've seen a few items in country but can't think of a way to import them in accordance
with laws in place.

-g

[Bobby Ricigliano]

Mauser aficionados know that the Mexican is an uncommon and rarely seen variant. And once again, Saigon brings the house down with some museum quality pieces. Bravo my friend.. beautiful rifles.

[Saigon1965]

Thank you Gents -

Army - I am glad you found and added to this thread -

I applaud your effort to restore your rifle - There are things in life one do simply because...

The amount of time and money spent is rewarded with a tremendous ear to ear grin when you are done -

Please keep us updated with your progress however slow it might be -

You might want to check with AR15Barrels regarding turning your own barrel -


I recently found a Modelo 1936 - I'll add it when I have her in hand -

Since you bumped your 1+ year thread last month, I won't feel so bad for commenting

I will never own a minty gun that I can never shoot and stays in the safe. Having said that, this 1910 is the gun I've owned for the longest amount of time (about 4-5 years) without ever shooting. Therefore, I've decided to begin a restoration project.

I've searched high and low for a replacement barrel but no luck. Apparently, it's quite impossible to find 29" 7x57mm small ring profile barrels -- they have to be taken from other guns or custom made from a rifle blank. I've decided to go with the latter, although it is quite expensive. But at least it will be an excellent shooter.

I'll keep you posted as to my progress in case you are interested. Here is the original rifle:

It's actually really not in bad external condition for being a Mexican Mauser. But having that bad chamber was really frustrating because the barrel is the hardest part to replace, but it is the most important. For a someone who is relatively well-versed in finding surplus gun parts online: rear sights, stocks, butt plates, trigger groups, complete receivers, and even barrel bands were pretty easy to find after a solid night of research. But a good barrel might as well be a unicorn.

[kowalski]

Beautiful rifles saigon1965!

[Saigon1965]

Thank you Kowalski -

I dedicate this rifle to a long time collector friend that have passed on recently -

I would have liked to chat with you about this rifle - It saddens me so -

RIP John Wall -

I found this Modelo 1936 dated 1947 -



A bit of info regarding this particular model -


The production of the M1910 rifle stopped after about 40,000 had been produced, when the Mauser Modelo 1936 went into production using receivers made for the M1910. It had a U.S. M1903 type cocking piece knob at the end of the striker. The reason for this was to allow re-cocking without opening the action in the event of a hang fire as Mexican 7x57mm ammo of the period was not of the highest quality and this was a prudent safety measure.
The rifles were made by Fabrica Nacional de Armas in Mexico City with a Mexican crest and year of manufacture on the receiver. They are a small ring 98 action like the Mexican M1910. Serial numbers were marked on the receiver and bolt only.