Need some help identifying grandfather's collection

I am pretty sure the 8x57 IS that the IS Stood for infantry Spitzer I have a Mauser with eagle facing left and duel set triggers love those old mausers
 
I have had several old Mausers. Yours is a nice one, although the stock is not exactly to my taste.

Let me try to explain about the trigger. The rear trigger is the one you "set". It should pull back about 1/8", and stop there. Then pulling the front trigger (which will typically be very light) releases the rear trigger, which flies up and hits a rocker on the bottom of the action. That rocker is the sear, and when you hit it from the bottom with a smart snap, it releases the cocking piece and the rifle fires.

Since it is old and has not been fired in a while, there are a number of problems that can creep in. The spring that snaps the rear trigger into the rocker might be broken. Rust might have crept in around the triggers so they don't move freely. The front trigger, which releases the rear one, might have the overtravel screw turned down too far so it doesn't release the rear one.

You have removed the trigger assembly from the stock, so you can test whether or not it is working by pulling the rear trigger to set it, then pulling the front trigger to see if it releases the rear one, and the rear one snaps up. It should snap up with a good strong snap, as it has to release the sear. If it does not, but you can push it forward and it goes up ok, the spring is either gummed up or dirty.

If setting the rear trigger works ok, but the front trigger doesn't release the rear one, there should be a screw through the bottom of the front trigger than you can turn. Try turning it out and see if that allows the rear trigger to snap up.

If both of those work as they should, look for the rocker on the bottom of the action. Cock the rifle and strike the rocker with a small hammer. If that releases the cocking piece, then there might be a problem of alignment between the trigger assembly and the rocker -- not likely, since it is pillar bedded.

First step in this process is probably to soak the entire trigger assembly in kerosene -- it is probably filled with dirt and rust.

The file marks, BTW, and not at all unusual on these old triggers.

Let me know how this goes.
 
I forgot to say, most double set triggers were designed in such a way that if you did not want to "set" the rear trigger, you could pull the front one and it would eventually put enough pressure on the rocker to release the sear.

The first thing to do, though, is to see if the trigger can be set and released. If not, you have the problem isolated.

BTW, I have a spare double set trigger. Of course I don't know if the screw spacing and other dimensions are such that it would work where yours is, but they are available used on various sites.

If it is possible to post videos on this site, I could post one. Someone would have to talk me through the process, though.
 
Hi there, greetings from Germany!

the marking "7,8" means bullet diameter .318"! Don't use "normal" 8mm Mauser ammunition, as it uses .323" bullets! That would be caliber 8x57 IS.

Your rifle is probably caliber "8x57I" without the S, with the smaller .318-bullet.
To be sure you could push a piece of pure lead with a cleaning rod through the barrel and measure the diameters of the lands, which will be imprinted in the lead.

The trigger is a "Deutscher Stecher". It's a kind of match-trigger. First you pull the rear trigger until you hear a click. Then the forward trigger will react to a very (!) light touch and release the firing pin.
Behind the forward trigger is probably a little srew. With that, you can adjust the trigger pull of the forward trigger.
Have fun with it!
same as the 1888 commission rifle. the imperial german army converted them by creating a huge amount of freebore which swaged the .323 bullet down to .318, at the cost of excessive recoil.

unfortunately .318 is very hard to find. 32 cal, which is .321, nearly splits the difference
 
Great looking rifle. With it being a .318 bore,I'd expect it will be a hand load proposition if you want to shoot it much at all. Hawk has bullets in the .318 bore.
 
I will put this as politely and gently as I can, I am really not trying to give you a hard time. My suggestion would be to find a good gunsmith and get him to put it back in working order. Based on your questions and apparent level of knowledge this is not something you should be doing yourself. The dangers associated with getting it wrong are quite large, and the potential to ruin what looks to be a fairly nice piece while not dangerous is also something to consider. Best of luck and let us know how you make out.
 
same as the 1888 commission rifle. the imperial german army converted them by creating a huge amount of freebore which swaged the .323 bullet down to .318, at the cost of excessive recoil.

unfortunately .318 is very hard to find. 32 cal, which is .321, nearly splits the difference
I have 2 commission rifles, slugged both barrels and found one is .318 and one is .323. I have a vague memory of reading that many .318's were re-barrelled to .323. In my opinion, it's not the best idea to use the .323 in the .318 barrel, so I don't. I was able to pick up some boxes of Norma 8MM-.318 bullets. If you contact me, I would be glad to sell a box. If you would prefer to go commercial, then Hawk bullets has some. Have fun with it.
https://hawkbullets.com/ordering.html
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