Model 1912 7mm mexican mauser by waffenfabrik STEYR Austria

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TaterM14
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Model 1912 7mm mexican mauser by waffenfabrik STEYR Austria

#1

Post by TaterM14 » 23 Sep 2004, 22:24

Greetings from N.W. Georgia. Back in June. A good friend called me and asked if I was intrested in a 7.62mm Mauser, of course I was,I met the man that had the rifle and ended up: $15 12ga pump ,old + $50 = 1912 Mexican Mod.98 in 7.62mm.. hey, he was happy and so was I.... The rec. is marked WAFFENFABRIK STEYR AUSTRIA and is stamped on top with MEXICANA REBUBLICA around a standing eagle? fighting a snake, and at the bottom, 1912 .. All other markings and proofs are completly intact, several I have identified , but more that I havent, hence, any help would be greatly appreciated.... I've ID'd 2 Israeli current proofmarks , 1 on the barrel in front of the rec. and another on the extractor,,,the Czech 6 pointed star proofmark stamped on the left side of the rec. It was used 1919 - 1931 in Prague... A WaA623 Insp. mark stamped on the right side of the rear sight base ,623 being used by STEYR ... There are 8 different marks I cant ID. I'll try to be brief , 1. A "U,, stamped on the barrel in front of rec. ??.. 2. On the left side of the rec. A deep stamped Mum? with 20 petals ((Jap Mum had 16 petals ??)) and a tiny Roman looking helmet in the middle ??...3. A 3/4 circle, flat on bottom, around a bomb having a flame , vertically out the top of the bomb and the circle, then, turning to the right 90% ??...4. The serial # begins "S"_D8602 ?? after more research i believe the "S" is a SERBIAN mark...5. 2 small circles with what look like an angled U shaped Y with a down turned leg at the bottom of the Y ?? Believe these are YUGOSLAVIAN proof marks...6. A T stamped on the rear sight base ??.. 7. The number 32 - 57 stamped on top of the barrel behind the rear sight ??... 8. A backward capital S stamped on the front rec. ring stepdown ??.. This rifle was imported by ARMSCORP SI VR SPG MD..Not sure what year/year's they were Imported. Any help ID'ing any of these marks is greatly appreciated.. the stock is laminated and is in VG condition.. Very little finish on the rec. Overall condition is VG. The Bore was dirty but cleaned up shiny and looks good . I've only fired 10 Rd's out of it plinking, I hit what I aimed at.. I've been too busy researching this facinating piece of history.. Thank you for your time and patience...With Regards L.W.P P.S. Further research has led me to believe that these Rifles were used during WW 1 by Austrian troops,after WW 1... 1.. they were re-built by the Austrian Arms Co. in 7.92mm and sold to YUGOSLAVIA.... OR... 2.. they were GIVEN to YUGOSLAVIA as war reparations and re-built by them as Model 24B rifles.. By all accounts ive read the MEXICAN CREST should NOT have survived at all.... Again , any help is most appreciated

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Xavier
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#2

Post by Xavier » 23 Sep 2004, 23:15

sorry, but you have a parts rifle......... :? only the receiver is/was of Mexican origin.....

the Mexican crest is alive and well, in weapons of current issue to mexican armed forces, and most (i guess up to 95%) of mexican rifles sold as surplus carried the crest (variations of it..).

the "mum" you mention is a french revolution style peasant hat that is surrounded by sunrays at the style of the japanese war flag.

Mexico bought several variations of mauser (an even arisakas..) in 7mm from different european factories, before setting its own tooling in mexico, to build mauser 98 type rifles.

some of the last batch were exported as surplus about 5 years ago to the US market, I have a boook detailing all mexican martial guns, i will update you tomorrow (I am at office now) on the details of your receiver.

regards

Xavier
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TaterM14
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Mod 1912

#3

Post by TaterM14 » 24 Sep 2004, 01:24

Xavier, Thanks for the info , looking forward to more. i think i failed to mention that this rifle is in 7.62mm NATO, converted either by Israel or FN, I'm thinking it was done by Israel as it has Israel's current accp. mark stamped on the barrel and the extractor, and the date 32-57 also stamped on the barrel. The trigger guard is the stamped winter guard made by Czech. as are the front and rear barrel bands. Everything ive read is that most mod 1912 era crests were ground off.. I have another Israeli Mod 98 ,Rec. made in Czech, with only the lion crest and 1 tiny WaA stamped on the front sight base, all other markings (probably german) ground off crudley and with extreme vengence. It is intresting that NO marks on the Mod 1912 have been wiped.. Thanks Xavier,hope to hear from you soon.. With regards .. Lee

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Xavier
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#4

Post by Xavier » 24 Sep 2004, 15:57

I owe you an apology, after getting home, I found out the following:
mauser M-1912 rifle

caliber: 7 mm mauser (7x57mm)
system: manual operated turning bolt
total lenght 49"
barrel lenght: 29"
weight 8.75 pounds
feed device: staggered box magazine 5 ruounds
sights: front. inverted V rear: tangent leaf, 100-1800 meters
bayonet: Knife type 192 long 14" blade

the model 1912 mauser, the second mexican service arm to be produced exlusively by Steyr, is another of the 7mm 1898 series mausers that was purchased in europe.

the Steyr plant had filled a mexican order five years prior (for the M-1907 mauser).Mexico again placed an order for Mauser rifles with the Austrian Arms Co. The factory at Steyr was still working to fill this contract when the first world war erupted late in july, 1914

A few of these mexican contract arms (as yet, undelivered) saw service with Austro-hungarian troops during the war, 1914-1918. These rifles were used only as secondary armament.

After the war, the Asutrian Arms co. converted some of these undelivered Mexican model 1912 mausers to 8mm (8x57 mm). these converted rifles were then sold to the new Yugoslav state where they saw service as the model 24B

the 1912 rifle differs from the M-1902 and M-1910 mausers in that it has:

1- a large diameter receiver ring
2- a tangent curve rear sight rather than a leaf
3- a pistol grip stock as found on the m-1907
4- a bayonet lug and upper band like that on the standar 1898 and 1907 mauser
5- the standar m-1898 bayonet, as used with the M-1907 rifle

only a small portion of the contract was delivered before the WWI began. these rifles, like the 1907, are quitre rare outside of mexico

those arms produced for intended delivery to the government of mexico are marked:
Model 1912
STEYR
date of manufacture
then, no parts rifle, as I wrongly assumed (maybe the barrel...) :oops:

al of the above info from the booklet :
Mexican Military arms, the cartridge period 1866-1967 by James B. Hughes, Jr (1968 published by Deep river armory, Inc Houston, texas)
a very rare to find book, I may remark 8)

what puzzles me is the presence of the mexican eagle, as you correctly mentioned, and the sunray cap, because I think they were appplied upon acceptance by the ordnance inspector of the mexican government, in this case, a mexican army inspector whitin the Steyr factory, when ready to be shipped.

also,seems you rifle was re-issued during WWII and then found its way to, of all places, israel, no doubt also as a secondary rifle... but re-chambered in Nato caliber!!

I would be very glad if you could post here or email me pics of the crest and marking and the complete piece...
very best regards

Xavier
Instandsetzungtrüppfuhrer

P.D: indeed , you have a rare piece here

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Xavier
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#5

Post by Xavier » 24 Sep 2004, 17:22

forgot to add, you did mention the caliber, also, as I see you are a gun aficionado, can you comment if you know of current sources (internet or local, or even better, in Texas) for Mauser M71/84r and/or 1888 commision rifles?

Gibbs rifle is out of stock as of now, ( http://www.gibbsrifle.com/military.html )

best regards

Xavier
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TaterM14
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#6

Post by TaterM14 » 25 Sep 2004, 03:38

Xavier, Thanks for the info , most helpful :D .. No apology necessary at all. I agree wth your head scratching about the Mexican crest AND the French sunray mark , im also puzzled abut the Czech proof mark , i've read several posts at different sites that this is a star of david mark(Israel) but in this case it isnt .I do believe it's the Czech proof mark used from 1919 - 1931 in Prague... also the 2 YUGO. proof marks ( ive seen this same mark on captured German Mod 98k's rebuilt by Yugoslavia )and the WaA623 which is a 3rd Reich Waffenamt inspectors mark used at Steyr,daimler-puch AG, Steyr , Austria . the WaA stamp is only on the rear sight collar/base and possibly came with the new barrel when the rifle was re-built by Israel / FN... You seemed surprised by the 7.62mm NATO caliber , maybe this will help explain that ; http://www.carbinesforcollectors.com/israeli.html check it out . As i mentioned I have 2 of these Israeli Mod 98k rifles ; the Mod1912 and a Czech mod98k both in 7.62mmNATO , the Czech 98 is quite the deer slayer 5 so far...Also i have a non-matching (i've found 12 different serial #'s) German Mod 98k byf 1940 in battlefield cond. and a vet bringback German Mod98k byf 1944 in Excellent + cond. matching, except for the bolt .. I'm working on the pics , i have a pic of the 1944 & 1940 somewhere i'll post as soon as i find them.. I've drawn the marks on the 1912 on paper ,i might scan them and post them also.. Xavier ,thanks so much for the help ,very much appreciated ... Trying to figure this Mexican 1912 out has consumed me 8O ... Maybe we can figure this mystery out ..With Regards Lee

TaterM14
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#7

Post by TaterM14 » 25 Sep 2004, 03:41

Xavier, almost forgot go to http://www.hunterslodge.com they have the Mod 1888 commission rifles and http://www.collectiblefirearms.com/RiflesMauser.html they have the M.1871/84 rifles enjoy .. Lee

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Xavier
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#8

Post by Xavier » 25 Sep 2004, 16:11

everyhing makes sense, I already knew about the 7.62 conversions, no problem, what puzzles me is , as you mentioned first, the crest surviving all these "owners", and the french hat is a mexican mark, I mentioned the "french style" as reference.

maybe the rifle was lucky enough to be handled by some one like us, a gun lover that saw fit not to deface it, and kept it in a corner of the armoury, whitout issuing it...(In the hope of taking it home someday. :D ). also, the stock I think is not original, as all mexican issue rifles I have seen so far are solid, laminated stocks being introduced in WWII I think

I will scan some drawings of the different mexican crest and markings as on the book I have later today.. (you know, saturday is payday and I am the paymaster, and lots of work!!)

and thanks for the links!!

regards

Xavier
Instandsetzungtrüppfuhrer

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