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Mauser Models 92, 93, 94, 95 & 96 FdH

The 7mm Spanish Model 93 Mauser Short Rifle, 21.75” barrel, 41.3” overall, weight about 8.3 pounds.

AFTER SEVERAL YEARS of use by their armies, the Model 1889 (Belgian), 1890 (Turkish) and 1891 (Argentine) Mauser rifles, all essentially the same action, began to show some design and construction faults: The small spring extractor, with its narrow hook, proved unreliable; the magazine charger clip and clip guide, on the receiver bridge, proved faulty; the detachable box magazines were often lost and, because the magazine projected below the stock line, the rifles were not always easily carried. The trigger could be pulled regardless of position of the bolt; the threaded connection between striker rod and cocking piece often presented an assembly problem; the action had too many parts and needed simplifying. Double loading was possible—that is, unless the bolt was fully closed and locked after chambering each cartridge, the bolt could be opened without extracting and ejecting the chambered cartridge and the next round would jam behind it on reclosing the bolt.

Paul Mauser, hoping to gain new arms contracts, set to work to improve, strengthen and simplify this action. This effort led to the development of the Model 1892 Mauser (a few of which were made for Spain) and, shortly thereafter, to the Model 1893 Mau-ser— destined to become a worldwide favorite.

In the transitional M92, Paul Mauser introduced the long, non-rotating extractor attached to the bolt body with a collar. This extractor prevented double loading, since the cartridge head could slip behind the extractor hook when pushed out of the magazine. The cartridge was extracted and ejected on opening the bolt, even if the bolt had not been fully closed. The magazine box was made part of the trigger guard, so it could not be detached and lost, but it was still a single-column affair projecting below the stock line. A pin was provided at the front of the sear, projecting into the receiver and matching a notch milled in the bolt body, so that the trigger could not he pulled unless the bolt was fully closed and locked. The magazine clip-charger and charger guide were improved, eliminating the need for the bolt-stop to hold the clip in place. Instead of threads, the cocking piece and firing pin had interrupted lugs so these parts could not be assembled incorrectly. A thin bolt guide-rib, milled in the center of the left locking lug raceway over which the slotted locking lug passed as the bolt was operated, helped to prevent the bolt from binding as it opened and closed. Introduced with the M92 Spanish rifle was the now famous 7mm Mauser (7x57mm) cartridge.

Although the M1892 Spanish rifle was an improvement over its predecessors, it had a short life. The same was true for the test Model 92/93 Spanish Navy carbine in 7.65mm caliber, only a few hundred being made. Apparently Mauser was dissatisfied with the single-column magazine arrangement in the rifles, for in 1893 he introduced the flush, staggered-column box magazine.

The new rifle, with its new magazine, was entered in the Spanish trials, where it was a huge success. It was promptly and enthusiastically adopted by Spain and designated the Spanish Model 93. Apart from having the new magazine/trigger guard combination, and the receiver altered to accept this magazine, the rest of the action was essentially the same as the M92. The M93 safety, however, was simplified by eliminating the spring and plunger.

Model 93 and 95 Actions

The receiver of the M93 Mauser is a machined, one-piece steel forging. The bottom is flat for most of its length. The recoil lug, about ¼” back from the forward edge of the receiver ring, is about .225 ” deep and 1.086” wide. The barrel has twelve threads per inch (V-type, 55 degrees). The barrel is flat at the breech and is made with a shoulder to butt against the front of the flat receiver ring, rather than against a collar inside the receiver ring. The receiver is the same width throughout, thus the left side of the receiver ring, wall and bridge is an evenly rounded surface. The front part of the receiver bridge is of the same radius as the receiver ring and a clip-charger guideway is milled into this area. Behind the clip-loading guideway, the receiver bridge is machined to a smaller diameter to reduce weight. The receiver ends in a tang about 2.5” long.

The one-piece bolt has dual-opposed locking lugs on its forward end, these engaging shoulders milled in the receiver ring which securely hold the bolt against the barrel breech when the bolt is closed. The right (or bottom) lug is solid; the larger left (or top) lug, being slotted, allows the ejector to pass. The left locking lug raceway in the receiver is milled to leave a long ridge or rib of metal down its center, matching the ejector slot in the locking lug. This rib acts as a guide and helps to keep the bolt from binding as it is opened or closed.

The bolt face is partly recessed to enclose about two-thirds of the cartridge head extractor rim. The left locking lug extends ahead of the bolt face and forms part of the cartridge rim recess. The recess is about .060” deep, slightly deeper than the thickness of the 7mm Mauser cartridge extractor rim.

The long spring extractor is attached to the outside of the bolt by a collar which fits into a groove in the bolt body. Hooks at the ends of the collar engage in a mortise, cut into the inside of the extractor, holding the extractor against the bolt. A lip machined inside the front of the extractor engages a groove cut partly around the bolt head to prevent longitudinal movement of the extractor on the bolt. The extractor’s beveled hook extends over the bolt face rim far enough to engage the extractor rim on the cartridge, thus holding it against the extended left locking lug for proper extraction and ejection of the cartridge, or fired case. The extractor does not rotate on the cartridge head as the bolt is opened, but only moves back and forth with the bolt.

All M93 and M95 bolts, including the variant M94 and M96 Swedish Mausers, have part of the cartridge rim recess cut away, permitting the cartridge rim to rise and slip under the extractor hook as it emerges from the magazine. The extractor hook is made to hold the cartridge head in place within the bolt head. The extractor will hold it there until the cartridge or case is ejected when the bolt is opened. This feature prevents double-loading, since the extractor engages each cartridge as it leaves the magazine and will extract and eject it when the bolt is opened—even though the bolt was not entirely closed or locked. Most of these rifles permit the bolt to close on a cartridge singly loaded into the chamber ahead of the extractor, but not all. A few require some extra force to close and lock the bolt on a cartridge in the chamber—the extractor hook does not easily snap over the case rim.

The bolt handle, at the extreme rear of the bolt, is forged as an integral part. The shank of the handle ends in a round grasping ball. On most M93 and M95 rifles the shank is straight, the bolt handle sticks straight out or horizontal. On some short rifles or carbines the shank is bent down to bring the grasping ball closer to the stock. At the left rear of the receiver bridge a rearward slope forms a camming surface against which the bolt handle’s square base moves as the bolt is opened. This provides initial camming power to the extractor.

Model 93 Spanish Mauser action.

The bolt sleeve threads into the rear of the bolt body. The coil mainspring slips over the firing pin and is compressed between the bolt sleeve and a shoulder at the front of the firing pin. The rear end of the firing pin extends through the bolt sleeve and is held to the cocking piece by a series of interrupted lugs. The rear part of the firing pin is milled flat on two sides to match a hole through the bolt sleeve. This prevents the firing pin from rotating and coming loose from the cocking piece. A cam on the cocking piece extends through a slot in the bolt sleeve and slides in a groove cut into the receiver tang. The cam catches the rear end of the bolt or sear, depending on whether the action is cocked or uncocked. The rear of the bolt is notched in two places. The front end of the cocking cam can engage either a deep notch, when the bolt is closed so the firing pin tip can reach the primer, or a shallower notch when the bolt handle is raised or the bolt opened. The purpose of the shallow notch is to retain the firing pin tip within the face of the bolt, and to prevent the bolt sleeve from being easily turned out of position when the bolt is opened. The firing pin is cocked on the closing motion of the bolt.

The wing safety has a round stem which fits lengthwise into a hole at the top of the bolt sleeve. It is held in place by the wing overlapping a lip on the bolt sleeve. A notch in the right side of this lip allows the safety to be removed, but not while the striker head is in place. Swung to the far left the safety is disengaged. It is then in the “off ” or “fire” position. Swung upright to the intermediate position, the safety locks the striker back and the bolt can be opened and closed. Swung to the far right to the “on” or “safe” position, the safety locks the striker back and the bolt closed. When the safety is either up or to the right, it draws and holds the cocking piece off the sear—the sear will still be in position ready to engage the cocking piece when the safety is moved to the “fire” position. With the safety upright, this offers a safe way to unload the magazine, chambering and ejecting cartridges with the bolt. No bolt sleeve lock is provided, therefore, the slightest touch against the bolt sleeve or safety, when the bolt is open, could cause it to rotate counter-clockwise and twist out of alignment with the receiver, prohibiting closure of the bolt.

Model 93 Spanish Mauser action open.

Left side view of Model 93 Spanish Mauser action, cocked, with wing safety upright.

Most M93 and M95 Mausers, including the German-made Chilean Mausers, had no provision to divert or vent powder gases harmlessly out of the action in the event a primer or case head ruptured. In such cases, then, these actions will permit gases to enter the bolt through the firing pin hole, rush back along the striker and mainspring and spray them, and some oil picked up along the way, at the shooter’s face. Gases escaping past the unrecessed part of the bolt face will be directed backward, down the left locking lug raceway, toward the shooter’s face despite the bolt stop lug and flared bolt sleeve. Some M93 Spanish Mausers, notably the ones made in Spain by Industrias de Cataluna, have a single gas escape vent hole in the bolt near the rear bottom edge of the left locking lug, matching an oblong hole in the receiver ring. These vented actions are safer, but the one small hole is not likely to vent all the escaping gas from a serious case head rupture, and some may still be directed to the shooter’s face.

The bolt-stop is attached and hinged to the left of the receiver bridge by a pointed screw passing through the bolt-stop and an integral square lug on the receiver. A stud, on the end of the bolt-stop, protrudes through a hole into the locking lug raceway and halts the rearward travel of the bolt when it contacts the locking lug. This stud is slotted for the ejector, housed partially within the bolt-stop, and held in place by the bolt-stop screw. A double-leaf flat spring, mortised into the bolt-stop housing, holds the bolt-stop against the receiver and keeps the ejector pivoted against the bolt body.

The sear is attached to, and pivots on a pin through a stud on the bottom of the receiver. The trigger pivots on a pin in the sear to the rear of center. The top of the trigger, which bears against the receiver, has two humps which provide the double-stage let-off. The sear and trigger are tensioned by a coil spring between the front of the sear and receiver. Just ahead of the trigger spring, a pin pressed into the sear projects through a hole into the receiver. There is a single, narrow groove cut into the bolt body that aligns with the point of the pin only when the bolt is completely closed, otherwise the bolt body prevents the sear being released. There is also a flat spot on the bottom of the bolt which positions over the pin when the bolt handle is raised, and when the bolt is closed until the cocking cam contacts the sear. This allows the trigger to be pulled back, lowering the firing pin as the bolt is closed.

The cartridge guide lips are milled integral with the magazine well opening in the receiver. These guide lips, one at each side of the magazine well, hold the staggered column of cartridges in the magazine until pushed forward from the magazine by the bolt, and they guide the bullet point into the chamber.

Top view of Model 93 Spanish Mauser action.

The magazine box and trigger guard are of one-piece, machined-steel construction, with the open top of the magazine box matching the magazine well in the receiver. The receiver and barrel are held securely in the stock via two heavy guard screws going through the front and rear ends of the magazine/guard. The front guard screw threads into the recoil lug, the rear screw into the end of the tang. Many post-1898 rifles have lock screws to prevent the guard screws from turning. The magazine/guard is securely held in alignment with the receiver by a stud collar toward the front overlapping a matching stud extending from the bottom of the recoil lug.

A longitudinal rib, to the left on the top of the milled steel follower, causes the cartridges to be staggered in the magazine. A W-shaped follower spring, held by undercuts in the bottom of the follower and inside the floorplate, provides the upward pressure to the follower. The detachable magazine floorplate is held in position by lips at both ends engaging recesses cut into the magazine/guard. A spring-loaded plunger, at the rear of the magazine box, acts as the floorplate catch to lock it forward. Depressing this catch with a pointed tool through the hole in the rear of the floorplate allows the plate to move back, and carry the follower and follower spring with it free of the action.

Model 93 or 95?

For all practical purposes the M93 and M95 Mauser actions can be considered the same. In fact, an early Mauser catalog describing them makes no distinction. They are listed under the subheading MAUSER MODEL 93-95 with a single description. There are, however, variations by which one may determine their correct designation, or identify them positively by markings on these actions. If an action is marked “Model 1893” or “Model 1895,” as in the case of the Chilean M95, there is no question about the correct designation.

When first made, the M93 bolt had two slight bolt face projections forming a small flat spot under the bolt, clearly shown elsewhere in this chapter. The tang and the rear of the receiver, as well as the loading ramp, were cut accordingly to allow passage of the bolt. These small projections permitted more of the bolt head surface to contact the cartridge heads when feeding them from the magazine into the chamber. Later on, however, this feature was dropped—it was found to be unnecessary for proper feeding— and the bolt was then made round. Actions having this later type round bolt head, and otherwise unmarked, can be either M93s or M95s. M93 bolts with flat-bottom bolt heads are not interchangeable in receivers made for the round-headed bolts.

Faces of the M95 (left) and M93 (right) Mauser bolts. Note the flat spot on the bottom of the Model 93 bolt.

The M95 Chilean Action

The M95 Chilean action is almost identical in every detail to the regular M95 Spanish action, except that it has a third, or safety, locking lug. This lug, about .175” high, .125 ” wide and .540” long, is located on the right side of the tang just behind the bolt handle root. This lug does not contact the bolt handle, but is designated to leave a visible gap between it and the bolt handle. Its purpose is not to help hold the bolt locked in the receiver, but to act as a safety measure. That is, if the forward dual-locking lugs should fail when the rifle is fired, the small safety lug behind the bolt handle would halt or retard the rearward movement of the bolt. In such an extremely rare event the safety lug would afford some protection to the shooter by preventing the bolt from striking his head. It is in this respect only that the M95 Chilean action is somewhat safer than the other pre-98 actions. In my opinion, however, this feature does not make the action any more suitable for high-intensity cartridges.

Other Variations

Earlier in this chapter the M93 Spanish action, made in Spain by Industrias de Guerra, was mentioned as having a gas escape vent in the bolt and receiver. This particular action further differs from the usual M93 and M95 in that the magazine/guard has a hinged floorplate. The floorplate is hinged at the front on a pin and is held closed by a small spring-loaded latch—fitted into a hole at the upper front of the trigger guard bow. Pushing the small plunger of this latch to the left, with a bullet tip or pointed tool, releases the floorplate so it, along with the follower and follower spring, can be swung down to empty the magazine. On others of the same make, a different latch was used. A release lever similar to that used on the Japanese Type 38 caliber 6.5mm rifle is located inside the front curve of the trigger guard bow, and depressing the button releases the floorplate.

Bottom of the M95 bolt (right) as compared with the M93 bolt (left). Note gas escape vent near M93 bolt head.

Another distinct variation is found on M93 Turkish rifles in 7.65mm caliber. This action has a magazine cutoff—a thumb-operated lever, pivoted on the right side of the receiver. When the cutoff is engaged, it forces the cartridges in the magazine down so the bolt can be closed without picking up a cartridge. To lower a full magazine of cartridges, a deeper floorplate was used on this rifle.

Most M93 Spanish Mausers were made with a magazine follower, square at the rear, which blocked the forward movement of the bolt when the magazine was empty. This feature prevented “blind loading” of the rifle. After ejecting the last case, the bolt will not close, indicating an empty magazine. Other military rifles based on the M93 action, like the M94 Brazilian and the M95 Chilean, had the follower sloped at the rear so the bolt would close when the magazine was empty.

Some M93s and M95s have a deep thumb notch cut into the left receiver wall just ahead of the bridge—an aid in loading the rifle from a stripper clip. The notch is frequently as deep as that found on the M98 action. On others, the thumb notch will be very shallow, just the top edge of the locking lug raceway cut away and rounded. Another type, like the M95 Chilean Mauser, shows no left wall cut at all.

The safety lug (arrow) on the Chilean M95 action is located on the tang just behind the bolt handle base. The lug is about .175” high, .125” wide and .540” long. It does not (and should not) contact the base of the bolt handle.

Model 93 and 95 Rifles

I will list here a few of the variant rifles and carbines based on M93 and M95 Mauser actions. Foremost were the M93 Spanish rifle with 29.06” barrel, weight about 9 pounds; the M93 Spanish short rifle with a 21.75” barrel, weight about 8.3 pounds, and the M95 Spanish carbine with a 17.56” barrel, weight about 7.5 pounds. Many of these Spanish rifles and carbines were made in Germany—Ludwig Loewe &Company, Berlin, made about 250,000; the Mauser firm made 30,000. A great many of these arms were made at the Fabrica de Armas arsenal in Oviedo, Spain, and a huge number of the short rifles were produced by Industrias de Guerra de Cataluna arsenal, also in Spain. The Spanish arsenals made these rifles for many years and I have seen some dated after WWI.

Perhaps the next most common rifle using this action is the M95 Chilean. It carries a 29.06” barrel and weighs about 9 pounds. Like the Spanish M93s and M95s, it is chambered for the 7mm Mauser cartridge.

Century Arms has Chilean M95 Mausers with “OVS” over the serial number (left side of the receiver ring). These were originally sold to Orange Free State, Africa, but a portion were not paid for or were refused— for whatever reason. These were then engraved (?) with the Chilean coat of arms on top of the receiver ring and sold to Chile.

Rarer, and not as well known, are the M93 Turkish caliber 7.65mm rifle with a 29.06 ” barrel, the Brazilian M94 in 7mm caliber with 29.06” barrel and the Orange Free State M95, which is similar to the Brazilian M94. Other countries which also adopted the M95 Mauser were Mexico, Uruguay and Persia (Iran).

The Mauser firm made over 200,000 of the Turkish M93 rifles. Ludwig Loewe &Company (Germany) and Fabrique Nationale (FN) of Belgium produced rifles for Brazil.

M94 and M96 Swedish Mausers

By the time Spain had adopted the M93 Mauser in 1893, Paul Mauser was making further changes to improve it and obtain contracts from other countries. In 1894, Sweden adopted a carbine with these improvements, designated the Model 94 Swedish Mauser Carbine. The new cartridge introduced with this carbine was the 6.5x55mm. which eventually became famous for its long-range accuracy, both as a military and target round.

The Swedish government ordered 12,185 of these carbines, during 1894 and 1895, to be made by Mauser Werke in Germany. Later, the M94 carbines were made by Carl Gustafs Stads Gevarsfaktori (the Swedish government arsenal) in Eskilstuna, Sweden.

Being made for a different cartridge, having a slightly larger body and head diameter than the 7mm, the M94 Swedish action differed from the M93 and M95 actions in that the cocking piece had an upright projection at the end, the top checkered. The true purpose of this feature is not known, but most likely it was meant to uncock the action manually: that is, a way to hold the cocking piece so that, on pulling the trigger, the striker could be lowered or uncocked. It is almost impossible to cock the striker by pulling the checkered projection. Hence, its purpose must have been to uncock the action rather than to cock it, if it had any purpose at all.

Just ahead of this checkered projection there is a notch which allows the safety to be swung over when the striker is down. Like most other bolt actions, when the M94 firing pin is forward and the bolt closed, the firing pin tip protrudes from the face of the bolt. If the safety is swung over to the right, engaging this extra notch in the cocking piece, the firing pin is pulled back within the bolt and locked there. It may have been that this feature, plus the checkered projection on the cocking piece, allowed the soldier to uncock a loaded rifle (with a cartridge chambered) and then engage the safety; thereafter, an accidental blow to the cocking piece would not discharge the rifle. With the safety engaged on the uncocked action, the bolt is locked closed.

M94 Swedish Mauser bolt face.

In 1896, Sweden adopted a rifle called the Model 96 Swedish Mauser, based on the M94 action, but made with an important additional feature. The early M94 Swedish action only had a shallow cut for the thumb in the left receiver wall, and this was found to have insufficient thumb clearance when charging the magazine with a stripper clip. On the M96, the thumb notch was made much deeper, extending through the left locking lug raceway. Therefore, to prevent the left locking from striking the edges of this notch as the bolt was operated, and to keep the bolt from binding, the bolt body was made with a narrow guide rib which passed through a matching groove cut inside the receiver bridge.

In addition to the deep thumb notch and guide rib, the M96 bolt had more gas escape holes. One small hole was located behind the extractor collar, directing any escaping gases to the left and into the lug raceway. A second hole is forward of in extractor collar, visible when the bolt is locked, just behind the receiver ring above the extractor. Another smaller hole was bored through the front of the extractor under the extractor hook. The gas escape holes made these Swedish actions safer than any of the other pre-98 Mausers.

M94 Swedish action is cocked, showing the thumbpiece projection and extra cocking-piece notch.

The M96 Swedish Mauser retained the checkered projection and the uncocked safety notch features of the M94 Swedish action. All M94s made after the introduction of the M96 were made with the deep thumb notch, guide rib and gas escape holes. Since few early M94 Swedish carbines were made, they are very scarce and seldom encountered, therefore, M94 and M96 actions usually seen are alike in practically every detail. The only noticeable difference is that the M94 bolt handle is bent down, while on the M96 it sticks straight out to the side. The M94 and M96 actions are like the M93 and M95 actions in most other respects.

Besides the M94 Swedish carbine, in Mauser plant at Oberndorf (Germany) made many of the M96 Swedish rifles. In 1899, for example, they were given a contract to make 45,000 M96 rifles.

A great many more of both the M94s and M96s were made in Sweden by Carl Gustafs firm, and they continued to produce them for many years—I have seen them dated as late as the early 1940s.

In 1938, Sweden adopted a shorter barreled version of the M96 rifle, namely the M38 Swedish Short Rifle. In 1941, they introduced the Model 41 Sniper Rifle, simply a M96 rifle selected for accuracy and with a high, side-mounted telescope fitted to the receiver. The actions of both the M38 rifle and the M41 were the same as the M96, except for the turned-down bolt handle of the M4l.

M94 and M96 Swedish actions are readily identified by the checkered projecting lug on the cocking piece. The early M94s will not have the guide rib on the bolt, but all M94s will have the bent bolt handle.

Markings

Mauser actions made in Germany are stamped on the receiver thus:

MAUSER/OBERNDORF

Those made in Sweden are stamped on the receiver ring with a date (year) as follows:

CARL GUSTAFS

STADSGEVARSFAKTORI

Top view, M94 Swedish action showing the bolt-stop, clip-charger guideway, extractor, bolt guide rib (under extractor), exposed gas vent hole and checkered cocking-piece thumbpiece projection.

M93 Spanish action with hinged floorplate magazine box as made by Industries de Guerra de Cataluna arsenal.

Both the German- and Swedish-made actions will have their major parts numbered, and only if all the numbers of the action match can it be considered original. The full serial number is on the receiver, and the smaller parts usually carry only the last two or three digits of the entire number. This numbering practice was generally followed by all makers of the M93 and M95 actions.

Interarms of Alexandria, Va., imported many M94 and M96 Swedish Mausers into the U.S. after WWII. For some reason the receiver of most M94s imported by them were remarked with

INTERARMCO G33/50.

Takedown and Assembly

The following procedures apply to all models described in this chapter. To remove the bolt, raise the bolt handle, draw the bolt back, swing out the bolt-stop and pull the bolt from the receiver. To remove the firing mechanism from the bolt, first close the bolt and place the safety in its upright position, then remove the bolt from the receiver. Unscrew (counterclockwise) the bolt sleeve from the bolt. Place the firing pin tip on a hard surface and, firmly grasping the bolt sleeve, push it down; turn the cocking piece one-quarter turn in either direction and lift it off the firing pin. The striker and mainspring can now be removed. Swing the safety to the right and pull it from the bolt sleeve. Remove the extractor on the M93 by turning it to the top of the bolt and push it forward, off the bolt.

Remove the extractor on the others by turning it to the bottom of the bolt before pushing it forward, which releases it from the collar. The collar can be spread apart to remove it from the bolt body but do not remove it unless absolutely necessary. Reassemble the bolt in reverse order.

Remove the magazine floorplate by depressing the floorplate catch with a pointed tool, moving it to the rear until it is released. Slip the follower spring off the follower and the floorplate. To remove the action from the stock take out front and rear guard screws, lift the barrel and action from the stock and then pull out the magazine/guard. Drive out the sear pin and remove sear, trigger and trigger spring from the receiver. Drive out trigger pin to remove the trigger from the sear. Turn out the bolt-stop screw and remove bolt-stop from the receiver. Pull the ejector forward and out of the bolt-stop housing. Hold the bolt-stop housing in a vise by its lug and, using a drift punch, drive the bolt-stop spring forward until the end of it snaps inside the housing. Insert a sharp narrow screwdriver blade between the end of the spring and the housing and pry it back until it is free. Reassemble these parts in reverse order.

Another version of the M93 Mauser. The hinged magazine floorplate (shown open) has a release lever at the front of the trigger guard bow.

The barrel is threaded (right-hand) very tightly into the receiver and should not be removed unless necessary, and then only if proper tools are available.

Evaluation

The M93 and M95 Mauser actions (including the M95 Chilean) made in Germany by Loewe in Berlin and by Mauser in Obendorf, show the highest quality of workmanship. They are extremely well made and finished. All the parts show careful machining and polishing. Without question, they were made of the finest and most suitable steels for the various parts. These were properly heat-treated and tempered for maximum strength and safety the action design allowed. On most of these actions the receiver and magazine/guard parts were finished a rich blue, while the bolt and all attached parts were left bright. The same praise would certainly apply to the German-made M94 and M96 Swedish actions.

As a general rule, the Spanish M93 and M95 actions made in the Oviedo and Industrias de Guerra arsenals are not as well machined or finished as their German counterparts. It is assumed that the Spanish actions conformed to the same general specifications as the German actions, and it is probable that similar steels and heat treating methods were also used in their manufacture. Since this is likely, the Spanish-made actions should be as strong and as safe as the German ones—though the latter actions are always preferred.

Of all pre-98 Mauser actions, the Swedish-made M94s and M96s are considered the best. Some experts believe that the Swedes used a better steel for their bolts and receivers. This may well be true for the high quality of “Swedish steel” is well known. Their actions were also as well made and finished as the German actions. The Swedish-made actions were proofed with loads developing up to 66,000 psi breech pressure. I don’t think Swedish actions are actually stronger than any of the other M93 or M95 Mauser actions, but they are safer because of the gas-venting holes.

Chilean M95 action. The original bolt has been altered to a forged low-contour bolt handle.

The firing pin can be lowered to the uncocked position on all of these actions by pushing the opened bolt forward and holding the trigger back while turning the bolt closed. Of course, this should only be done on an empty chamber.

Remodeling and Rebarreling

Any of these actions can be used to build a sporting rifle with a minimum of remodeling required. If a scope is to be mounted low over the receiver, the bolt handle must be altered to clear the scope. I recommend cutting off the original bolt handle and electrically welding a new forged one to the bolt body. Alter the bolt on the M95 Chilean so that the base of the bolt clears the safety lug on the receiver just as the original bolt did. Otherwise, the problem of altering the bolt handle, or welding on a new one, requires no more work than the M98 Mauser.

Commercially made low safeties are available for these rifles, eliminating alteration of the original. Attachments to eliminate the double-stage trigger pull are made, but it’s a much better idea to install a commercially-made, adjustable, single-stage trigger mechanism in these actions if you dislike the military pull.

All receiver sights made for the M98 Mauser action will also fit any of these actions. Most scope mounts made for the small ring M98 can be used. Of course, installing a receiver sight or scope mount requires that holes be drilled and tapped in the receiver. For actions which have the crest ground from the top of the receiver, I would suggest using a side mount instead of a top mount for the scope.

One of the main objections to pre-98 Mauser actions is their long striker fall and slow lock time. Most shooters also object to the cock-on-closing design of these actions. Actually, neither feature is so objectionable that they require alteration when building a sporting rifle. My suggestion to those insisting on a cock-on-opening action is to start with one already having this feature, rather than going to all the trouble and expense of converting these actions to cock on opening. Yes, this can be done with these actions, but it would not be practicable to attempt it.

When rebarreling any one these actions, I advise limiting the cartridge choice to those originally used, or to other cartridges within the following limits: Any cartridge developing less than 45,000 psi breech pressure, of 30-06 head size, with an overall length less than that of the magazine.

I consider all of these actions, with the possible exception of the M94 and M96 Swedish Mauser actions, as having marginal strength and safety for the 308 Win. (7.62mm NATO) cartridge. I would not recommend any of these actions for the 22-250, 220 Swift, 243, 244 or 6mm Rem., 284 Win. and 358 Win.

What about the 222, 222 Magnum and 223 Rem. cartridges? I believe these actions would be sufficiently strong and safe for any of them, but there is no practicable way to alter or adapt the magazine or the bolt face for these small cartridges and keep the rifle a repeater. However, the action could be fitted with a 22-caliber centerfire barrel and chambered for the 222 and used as a single shot. This requires lengthening the extractor hook for the smaller cartridge. At best, even as a single shot, these actions are just not too well adapted for cartridges having a head size smaller or larger than the standard 30-06 size.

M96 Swedish rifle, 29.1” barrel chambered for the 6.5x55mm Mauser cartridge, 49.5 ” overall, weight about 9 pounds.