Author Topic: Spanish La Coruna Mauser: Finish sporterizing or restore? (Read 2019 times)

MGMorden · « **on:** February 25, 2005, 03:36:05 PM »

I was in the local pawn shop today and noticed that there was a partially bubba'd 98 Mauser they had marked for $90. I didn't recognize the type but it looked sort of like a Yugo (but not quite). They said they could do $75 on it so I went ahead and bought it.

When I got home and did some searching I found out it's a Spanish La Coruna Mauser (dated 1947). Apparently these are a bit more sought after than your average Mauser, though not quite as much so as a Persian or the like. Unforunately, mine is non matching with the stock cut down and it's missing the rear sight band. Besides the stock (and missing handguard) and rear sight though, it's in pretty good shape.

Soooo, I was thinking: would this rifle be worth looking for a replacement stock/handguard and rear sight for, or would I be better off using it for a sporter action (which I'm currently on the lookout for another action to tinker with anyways)?

jh45gun · « **Reply #1 on:** February 25, 2005, 04:37:34 PM »

From what I have heard the Spanish Mausers are on the low end of the totom pole as far as the other Mausers are. Not saying they are bad guns I have one in 7x57 I built from parts and sporterised. As long as it is unmatching and you would have to add more nonmatching parts consider you got a deal on a gun you can sporterise and let it go at that as it would never be considered a "Collector" Gun with all the mismatched parts but be considered more of a parts gun. As long as it headspaces fine and is started as a sporter I would go ahead and finish it as one make it a project gun. Jim

Leftoverdj · « **Reply #2 on:** February 26, 2005, 11:27:43 AM »

What Jim said. You did not get hurt at $75 but you did not get a great bargain, neither.

What caliber and how does the bore look? It would have come out of the factory as 7mm. but I believe that the Spanish arsenals rebarreled a good many to .308. Given a good bore, my inclination would be to complete the bubbarization.

MGMorden · « **Reply #3 on:** February 26, 2005, 01:59:35 PM »

Well, that's the thing. This came from the factory as 8mm Mauser (which is what it's still at). It's a M43 Spanish mauser (a 98 Mauser action), not the old M93. The complete ones seem to pull in at least $200 on the gun auction sites. There's 2 on gunsamerica.com going for $495 and $575.

Still though, buying enough replacement parts would still yield a cobbled together gun

. Oh well. Like I said I certainly don't mind using it for sporter basis, since it's already been messed with. I'll be finished with my Turk sporter as soon as I Duracoat it, so this will give me another something to play around with. I still don't have an original condition Mauser in my collection (3 modified ones though) so there's a bit of a hole I'd like to fill.

The bore looks pretty good (dark, but very strong rifling), but I'm not sure if I'll keep the original barrel. 8mm Mauser is a bit close to .30-06 in performance which I've already got. I might use this one for a .35 Whelan eventually

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C1PNR · « **Reply #4 on:** March 04, 2005, 04:50:29 PM »

MGMorden,

When you say "mis-matched" I presume you mean receiver and bolt are non-matching serial numbers. If that's the case, and the stock is cut, too, I think the transformation to a sporter in 35 Whelan is an Excellent idea.

Modify the bolt handle. Put on a new stock and new barrel. Drill and tap for scope mount, or maybe receiver sight. Makes one heck of a good hunting rifle in my mind!

Bolt work, barrel, and stock do add up to some potentially serious cash outlay (not to mention putting a scope on it), but the result could be a truly nice hunting rig. :grin: