Caliber question

[teksan80]

Have any of you had any experience with a M1935 belgian mauser. I took mine to a local smith. A good smith. He said the barrel looks to be the same vintage. I have always known the rifle to be a .25-o6 but the smith was not sure. I have been looking online and have not found anything ever showing a mauser to be barreled in .25-o6. I am curious to see if any one here has seen one. Thanks.

edit: also does anyone know anything about bore casting and is this something i can do myself.

 

[mapsjanhere]

There are several issues with your description. First, the 25-06 didn't become a factory round until 1969. While it could have been theoretically made as a wildcat before that, it's highly unlikely to be factory made in a European gun as such.
To really answer your question a picture of the gun and the proof marks would be really helpful. Any original Belgian Mauser would have proof marks on both barrel and receiver. If the gun got rebarreled after the war, there won't be any on the barrel most likely. Last, the .25 caliber would also not be typical for a Belgian military Mauser, you would expect 7mm Mauser (7x57), 7.65 Argentine (7x53) and 8 mm Mauser (8x57). The only .25 calibers used in Europe at the time was the 6.5 Swede (6.5x55), the 6.5 Mannlicher-Carcano and the 6.5 Mannlicher-Schoennauer. All have distinctively shorter cases than the 25-06.
Final clarity about the chambering will most likely require a Cerrosafe cast ($20 at Midway).

 

[teksan80]

There are several issues with your description. First, the 25-06 didn't become a factory round until 1969. While it could have been theoretically made as a wildcat before that, it's highly unlikely to be factory made in a European gun as such.
To really answer your question a picture of the gun and the proof marks would be really helpful. Any original Belgian Mauser would have proof marks on both barrel and receiver. If the gun got rebarreled after the war, there won't be any on the barrel most likely. Last, the .25 caliber would also not be typical for a Belgian military Mauser, you would expect 7mm Mauser (7x57), 7.65 Argentine (7x53) and 8 mm Mauser (8x57). The only .25 calibers used in Europe at the time was the 6.5 Swede (6.5x55), the 6.5 Mannlicher-Carcano and the 6.5 Mannlicher-Schoennauer. All have distinctively shorter cases than the 25-06.
Final clarity about the chambering will most likely require a Cerrosafe cast ($20 at Midway).

From your description I would say it has been rebarreled after the war. There are no decernable markings. I will look again once I get the barreled action back from my smith. Most of the markings on the action are not of any use because long before I recieved the rifle the scope mount was welded to the top of the action. All I can see is a wreath of some kind but nothing else on top. I will try to get some photos soon.

I may not have been very clear in my question which is my fault but my problem is if its not supposed to be a 25-06 I would really like to know what it is. I will look at midway and see about the Cerrosafe cast.

Thanks for the info

Denny

 

[mapsjanhere]

Denny, a mount on top should not obscure the proof marks, they are usually on the side of the receiver and under the barrel. You might have to look at the action out of the stock. Good luck with the project, so be warned, researching old rifles can quickly become an expensive obsession

 

[teksan80]

Denny, a mount on top should not obscure the proof marks, they are usually on the side of the receiver and under the barrel. You might have to look at the action out of the stock. Good luck with the project, so be warned, researching old rifles can quickly become an expensive obsession

Ok, I will check it as soon as I get it back from the smith next week. I have the stock now im refinishing it. I will take pics and post them then.