mauser....????

[jworm1420]

I have a mauser that was given to me by my father in law. I thought it would be cool if i could redo it all and give it back to him as an xmas present in like new beautiful condition. the action has pits in the metal. shoud i just get a new bolt or is ther some way i can smooth iit out and clean it up shiny and new???? Also he doesnt know the caliber and idont see any markings on it. anyone want to volunteer there expertise and help me id the caliber. thanks everyone.....

 

[solution_zero]

Got any pics of it? What markings are on the receiver?

 

[jworm1420]

i will post pics, im trying to figure out how to do that now.

 

[nra4ever]

You may want to hold off on doing anything to the gun until someone has a chance to look it over. You may destroy the value cleaning it up and re bluing it.
If the gun has any stamps on it be sure to post clear pictures of all of the stamps. Also include all the numbers.

 

[kalboy]

You may want to hold off on doing anything to the gun until someone has a chance to look it over. You may destroy the value cleaning it up and re bluing it.
If the gun has any stamps on it be sure to post clear pictures of all of the stamps. Also include all the numbers.

^ Good advice here, you will want to make sure that you don't have a valuable collectors item before modding.

 

[Libertarian01]

To Jworm1440,

To alter a collectible is to destroy its value. Time and again we see this with all sorts of antiques, not just firearms.

The value of ANY collectable is kept by maintaining its original configuration. This means no stripping of wood, no rebluing, no scrubbing, etc.

That said, if it is significantly damaged a restoration may be done to try to return it to an original configuration.

When you post the pics try to get several in close detail of any markings on the receiver. These markings will tell a bit about the firearm and its rarity.

Check the barrel to see what kind of condition it is in.

In all of my preaching it is regarding collectable value. I have seen someone modify a $300 Finnish Mosin Nagant by drilling it and putting on a "cool" $800 scope. So now you have a used scope worth $400 - $600 and a Fin worth $75 - $100. You destroy the value of an antique by modifying it. However, some collectibles have through time had parts damaged and can be increased from where they are, but never to where they could have been had they remained in good condition, original configuration.

If I come off as preachy and arrogant I do not intend to. It is just a shame when good, well intentioned people don't realize the damage they are doing. I have seen the Antique Road Show where someone brings in a table or dresser that the grandparents had scrubbed down and repainted because "it looked worn or old." Little did they realize that the paint job they were doing took a $5,000 piece of furniture down to a a $500 piece. It isn't just firearms that are affected like this.

I am not an expert by any means and I hope once pictures are posted those more educated than I will give some ideas for restoring the rifle if it is possible to do so without ruining its collectable value.

Regards,

Doug

 

[bstewrat3]

To Jworm1440,

To alter a collectible is to destroy its value. Time and again we see this with all sorts of antiques, not just firearms.

The value of ANY collectable is kept by maintaining its original configuration. This means no stripping of wood, no rebluing, no scrubbing, etc.

That said, if it is significantly damaged a restoration may be done to try to return it to an original configuration.

When you post the pics try to get several in close detail of any markings on the receiver. These markings will tell a bit about the firearm and its rarity.

Check the barrel to see what kind of condition it is in.

In all of my preaching it is regarding collectable value. I have seen someone modify a $300 Finnish Mosin Nagant by drilling it and putting on a "cool" $800 scope. So now you have a used scope worth $400 - $600 and a Fin worth $75 - $100. You destroy the value of an antique by modifying it. However, some collectibles have through time had parts damaged and can be increased from where they are, but never to where they could have been had they remained in good condition, original configuration.

If I come off as preachy and arrogant I do not intend to. It is just a shame when good, well intentioned people don't realize the damage they are doing. I have seen the Antique Road Show where someone brings in a table or dresser that the grandparents had scrubbed down and repainted because "it looked worn or old." Little did they realize that the paint job they were doing took a $5,000 piece of furniture down to a a $500 piece. It isn't just firearms that are affected like this.

I am not an expert by any means and I hope once pictures are posted those more educated than I will give some ideas for restoring the rifle if it is possible to do so without ruining its collectable value.

Regards,

Doug

You would have a coronary if you looked in my safe. All those beautiful 945 code G33/40's with bull barrels, the bottom metal tossed and the magazine openings welded up. Just kidding. They are VZ-24's.