Local gunshop has a sportered Mauser with this crest. Any idea of the nationality?? Appreciate any assistance.
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Local gunshop has a sportered Mauser with this crest. Any idea of the nationality?? Appreciate any assistance.
Attachment 35827
Hear is info from another forum. If you google Mauser 98/85 you get all kinds of info
"It's a re-barrel 98 Mauser in 7.62X51mm (.308 Winchester). This Mauser started out as an Spanish model 43 in 8X57mm. In the mid-1980's Federal Ordnance Inc. started to import surplus guns and they received a large shipment of Spanish 43 Mauser's which most of them was in very bad condition. They also imported a lot of Mauser barrels chamber for the 7.62X51 NATO round. They took off the bad barrels, remove all markings, put the American seal on the receiver and refinish the usable parts. They put all the parts together, check the head space and test fired the rifles. They send the spent shell casing with each rifle to show that it had the head space check. Then they call them the American Mauser Model 98/85. Back in the late 80's they sold for around $200.00. My Mauser 98/85 condition looks OK until I took it off the stock and saw how bad the rust pits were under the stock. Well I guess they didn't think that the owners would ever take the stock off to see what under it. You know the old saying. OUT OF SIGHT OUT OF MIND. Now I know why they didn't sell to many of them and the prices went down to under $100.00 in the early 90's. Beside how my Mauser looks under the wood it shoots great. Plus not long ago you can find 7.62X51 NATO at cheap prices. But not now. I have seen them going for $25.00 or more for a box of 20. If you see one at a gun store or gun show and the price is right, go for it. They are fun to shoot."
Federal Ordanance was a comp[any in El Monte Calif that made M14 rifles with their own cast receivers.
Many thanks! I would never have guessed that was the case. The one I saw looked OK superficially. They wanted over 200 for it.
I saw a really old, long-barrel 98 Mauser with the US Army seal on its crest, at Ron Petersen's shop in Albuquerque many years ago. It was missing the forend and hardware, also the handguard, but the barrel was uncut at 29" or so. It was in 7x57 and looked like it had been parkerized. Wish I had bought it, as it was only $175.
I always wondered what was the story on that one.
jn