Ammo for M1916 Spanish Mauser

[Gun Smoke]

I’m sure this is a M1916 7mm Spanish Mauser rifle. A .308 bullet does not begin to enter the muzzle but the 7 mm round nose goes about 3/4 of the way in. Is the long round nose 7 mm Mauser Remington bullet the correct ammo for this rifle?

I had no question over the caliber, just the name/model.

The RN bullet came first but they wouldn't have been made by Remington originally.

Scroll down to military use/military ammo on the link below:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7%C3%9757mm_Mauser

Here is some old UMC ammo on GB if interested. The seller has more than one listing on these:

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/859186976

https://www.gunbroker.com/All/search...Sellers=183669

[jon_norstog]

That is a beautiful rifle and should not be confused with the '93 Mausers that came back from Cuba after the Spanish-American War. This is a modern rifle and you can shoot modern ammo in it, FN 7X57 ammo was hot stuff and that's what the Franco government bought for those rifles. If you are reloading, you have a wide choice of bullets up to and including 175 gr. Or you can buy Norma ammo.

Don't take my word for it. Take the rifle to a 'smith and listen to what he says.

Good luck!

jn

[fguffey]

As a design feature, it is more appealing than the safety lug of an American Springfield M1903, in that the bridge of the Mauser is much lower than the bridge of the Springfield.

I do not know what appeals to most but for the reloader/smith there is nothing that offers more advantage than the exposed 03, 03A3.

F. Guffey

[Art]

Everything John Norstog says is true. It is a beautiful little Spanish M 1916 short rifle and the correct ammunition is the 7x57mm Mauser (the Spanish Hornet.) Most of these were converted from full size M1895 rifles. They are fine, fine rifles. Congratulations on a great find.

My "Small Arms of the World" shows a muzzle velocity of 2625 fps for the rifle which means it's sights are probably calibrated for the 140 gr spitzer bullet. My Hornaday Handbook shows 2300 ft sec for 175 gr round nose with a max load and 2600-2700 fps with 139 gr bullets which was the other military option. Either will work fine in your gun but may not shoot to the sights but you'll figure that out. 139 gr. loaded ammo is easier to fine so you might pick up a box of that and see how it does. Midway USA seems to have a good stock of the 139/140 gr ammunition in stock and a 173 gr. spitzer by S&B. The only 175 SP round nose they show is from Federal and it's unavailable. If you can't find commercially loaded 175 gr. bullets they are still listed in the Hornady handbook. You might contact them directly if you want to whip up a batch of those.

That is a really ancient box or Remington that came with the rifle. I haven't seen a box like that since I was a kid and that was a loooooong time ago.

[Tuna]

The 1916 Spanish Mausers were ALL conversions to 7.62x51 Cetme. While this is in a .308 diameter it was loaded to lower pressures then the standard NATO round. It did not exceed the 7x57 pressures the rifle was originally made in. One can fire NATO 7.62 in it but do not use .308 ammo. Especially the heavy 180 gr bullets as it will start bending the lugs. If you do shoot it with NATO spec ammo then keep a close eye on the fired primers. If you see any primers backing out of their pockets even a little then stop shooting as the lugs are moving and head space is changing.

[Art]

The 1916 Spanish Mausers were ALL conversions to 7.62x51 Cetme. While this is in a .308 diameter it was loaded to lower pressures then the standard NATO round. It did not exceed the 7x57 pressures the rifle was originally made in. One can fire NATO 7.62 in it but do not use .308 ammo. Especially the heavy 180 gr bullets as it will start bending the lugs. If you do shoot it with NATO spec ammo then keep a close eye on the fired primers. If you see any primers backing out of their pockets even a little then stop shooting as the lugs are moving and head space is changing.

I've learned to always be careful about saying "all" especially in this case since Merc's rifle passed the "bullet test" with a 7mm cartridge. If the rifle had been converted to 7.62mm it would have swallowed the 7mm round, probably partway down the neck. When in doubt see a gunsmith.

[fguffey]

If you see any primers backing out of their pockets even a little then stop shooting as the lugs are moving and head space is changing

.

If you see any primers backing out of their pockets even a little then stop shooting

When I find protruding primers I know the case body locked to the chamber but the case head never made it back to the bolt face. I understand that makes no sense to an internet reloader. And then there is 'what else I know'. I know if the case head does not make it back to the bolt face the case does not have stretch between the case head and case body. If the case head makes it back to the bolt face it seats the primer and the 'bad news'? The case stretches between the case head and case body.. I am very luck because the headspace on my rifles does not change. If my rifle had clearance the clearance had to be added to the length of the chamber; I off set the length of the chamber with the length of the case from the shoulder to the case head.

And then there is case headspace; my cases do not have case head space.

F. Guffey

[Tuna]

Art, I should have added that in all 1916 Spanish Mausers converted to .308 were ALL in 7.62x51 Cetme, not in .308.

[Art]

Art, I should have added that in all 1916 Spanish Mausers converted to .308 were ALL in 7.62x51 Cetme, not in .308.

Got it, thank you for the explanation .