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Mauser Smokeless Powder Actions Models 88, 89, 90 & 91 FdH

M91 Argentine carbine, caliber 7.65mm Mauser. Barrel is 17.63” long, length 37” overall, weight about 7.2 lbs.

PAUL MAUSER MUST surely have been disappointed when his native country adopted the Model 88 Commission rifle in 1888. Although the M88 action contained a number of original Mauser design features, it was not a “Mauser.” The Mauser features used in the M88 were those of the blackpowder M71/84 including the non-rotating separate bolt head, ejector, trigger and firing mechanism.

While Germany was considering adoption of the M88, Paul Mauser was busy designing a new action. He tried to improve and strengthen his M71/84 action, and at the same time eliminating the special clip needed to hold the cartridges in the M88 magazine, a poor feature.

Experimental M88

This action was an improved version of the M71/84 Mauser with high receiver walls, double locking lugs engaging recesses in the receiver bridge, and a nine-shot single column box magazine. It was chambered for a new Mauser cartridge, the 7.65mm, a smokeless-powder load. Mauser entered this rifle in the Belgian rifle trials but was not successful in selling it—it remained an experimental model.

Failing with the experimental M88, Paul Mauser designed an entirely new action. A far departure from any of his earlier types, it was the forerunner of the justly famed Model 1898 Mauser. This new and vastly improved action introduced the Mauser locking system for the first time. The one-piece bolt, bored from the rear, had dual-opposed locking lugs on the forward end. The rifle, chambered for the 7.65mm Mauser cartridge, was adopted by Belgium in 1889 and became known as the Model 1889 Belgian Mauser.

The M89 was the first highly successful Mauser action designed for a powerful, smokeless powder, rimless military cartridge. It was also the first Mauser action designed to load the magazine with a charger (more commonly referred to as a stripper clip). This action set the general pattern for other Mauser turnbolt rifle actions which followed, with changes and improvements that made Mauser actions a standard the world over.

M89 Mauser Rifles

The first Belgian M89s were made in the large Fabrique Nationale (FN) plant in Herstal, Belgium. Originally there were three versions: a rifle with a 30.67” barrel, a carbine with a 21.65” barrel and a shorter carbine with a 15.75” barrel. All of these (plus a carbine to be introduced in 1916) were made with a barrel jacket—essentially like the one used on the M88 Commission rifle. This jacket was a thin-walled steel tube covering the barrel. The rear of the tube threaded on to the front of the receiver ring, with a bushing at its opposite end to center the barrel muzzle. The FN plant made some 275,000 of these rifles and carbines from 1889 to about 1925. A great many more were made in the Belgian government arsenal in Liege. Many were also made in Birmingham, England, at a plant set up and operated by Belgian refugees. Oddly enough, an American firm (Hopkins & Allen of Norwich, Conn.) obtained a contract and made many of these rifles for Belgium a few years before World War 1.

Some versions of the Belgian Mauser made after the introduction of the 1890 Turkish and 1891 Argentine Mausers will often have minor improvements found on these later rifles. These improvements will be pointed out in the detailed discussion which follows.

The last version of the M89 Belgian Mauser, the M89/36, does not have the barrel jacket.

None of the M89 Belgian rifles were made by the Mauser plant in Germany. Some of the late M89/36 Belgian rifles were made by Ancetab Pieper in Herstal, and were so marked.

Model 1890 Turkish Rifle

During the development of the M89, Mauser had a contract to make the M87 rifle for Turkey, one based on the M71/84 action. A clause in the contract provided Turkey with the benefit of any improvements made to the Mauser actions. After more than 200,000 M87s were made, Turkey insisted that the rest of the contract be filled with rifles based on the Model 89 action. Thus Mauser made upward of 280,000 of these M89 rifles (some of which may have been carbines). Designated the Model 1890 Turkish, these rifles had a 29.13” stepped barrel, without barrel jacket, but with a short wooden handguard to cover the top rear of the barrel. The only noticeable change made in the action was a buttress thread used to thread the bolt sleeve in the bolt. These rifles were chambered for the 7.65mm Mauser cartridge, as were the Belgian rifles and carbines. The M90 Turkish rifles are very uncommon today.

Model 1891 Argentine

In 1891, Argentina adopted a Mauser rifle based on the M89 action. It was designated the Model 1891 Argentine Mauser. The M91 was made with a 29.13” barrel and chambered for the 7.65mm cartridge, a popular military cartridge by this time. M91s had no barrel jacket, but a wooden handguard covered part of the breech end of the barrel. An M91 carbine version had a 17.63” barrel. The principal supplier of these rifles and carbines was Ludwig Loewe & Co., Berlin, who made 180,000 rifles and 30,000 carbines. DWM, of Germany, also made a quantity of the Argentine rifles. Peru, Columbia, Bolivia and Ecuador also adopted the M91 as their military arm.

M91 Spanish Mauser

In 1891 Spain became interested in these new smokeless powder rifles and, mostly for trial purposes, bought about 1800 of them in caliber 7.65mm. Known as the Spanish Model 91, it was essentially the same as the Turkish M90. Few were made and therefore the M91 Spanish rifle is very scarce today. Spain did adopt the carbine version, almost the same as the M91 Argentine carbine, and since more of these were made, the carbine is more common than the Spanish M91 rifle.

M91 Argentine Mauser action.

The Spanish M91 Mauser action differs from the Turkish M90 in that it has a small spring built into the right locking lug on the bolt to prevent double loading. The Belgian M89, Turkish M90 and Argentine M91 actions were made without this feature. It is possible, therefore, to double-load those rifles unless the bolt is fully closed and locked when chambering a cartridge.

Normally, in these rifles, the cartridge is pushed into the chamber by the bolt, and not until the bolt is turned down and locked does the extractor slip over the cartridge rim. Therefore, if a cartridge is chambered, and the bolt is not fully closed, on withdrawing the bolt the cartridge will be left in the chamber. Then, on closing the bolt again it would pick up another cartridge, and its bullet would strike the cartridge already in the chamber. This is not only annoying, but could discharge the chambered cartridge should the pointed bullet strike the primer hard enough. The bolt head recess of the Spanish M91 is so undercut that, on pushing a cartridge from the magazine, the cartridge head slides directly into the bolt face recess, under the extractor hook. Held there under tension by a small spring in the right lug, if the bolt is not fully closed, the cartridge will be extracted and ejected when the bolt is drawn back.

The Actions

As already noted, except for minor differences, the M89 Belgian, M90 Turkish, M91 Argentine and M91 Spanish Mauser actions are essentially alike. I suspect, therefore, that practically all action parts are more or less interchangeable. At any rate, all of them were made for the 7.65mm Mauser cartridge. Since the M91 Argentine rifles and actions appear to be the most common, I have chosen this action to describe in detail. The description following applies to the other actions as well— except for the few differences already mentioned or to be noted later on.

The one-piece receiver is a machined steel forging. The recoil lug, integral with the receiver, is located about 1.00” back from the front edge of the receiver. The front part of the receiver ring is round, The bottom of the receiver, from the recoil lug to the rear of the magazine, is flat. The magazine well opening is milled in the center of this flat area. The receiver ring is threaded inside to accept the barrel shank. The barrel has a short shoulder that butts against the front of the receiver when the barrel is tightened. The M89 Belgian rifles with the barrel jackets have about 9/32” of the front outside of the receiver threaded for the barrel jacket collar.

M91 Mauser action with bolt open.

The receiver is the same width from receiver ring to bridge, making the left side of the receiver ring, side wall and bridge a smooth, rounded surface. The front part (about ½”) of the bridge is the same diameter as the receiver ring. A rectangular notch, milled into this part, forms the charger guideways. The rest of the bridge is milled thinner to reduce weight. The receiver ends in a tang about 2.3” long.

The one-piece machined bolt has dual-opposed locking lugs on its forward end. These engage matching recesses in the receiver ring and hold the bolt locked against the barrel when the action is closed. The right (or bottom) locking lug is solid, while the left (or top) locking lug is slotted to allow the ejector to pass.

The bolt face is recessed to a depth of about .120”. Except for a shallow notch in the bottom of the bolt face, narrow extractor and ejector slots, the cartridge head is surrounded by a ring of steel when the bolt is closed.

The extractor is a thin piece of spring steel about l.460” long with a small hook on its front end to engage the cartridge rim. It is fitted into a slot and dovetail mortise, cut lengthwise in the head of the bolt body. Held in place in its recess by the dovetail mortise, the extractor is prevented from moving forward by a lip under its forward end, engaging a cut in the bolt head. On closing the bolt with cartridge in the chamber the extractor snaps easily over the cartridge rim.

15-2 M91 Mauser bolt face.

There is a small stud (pin) pressed into a hole in the right receiver ring locking recess. When the bolt is fully closed, this stud coincides with the hook end of the extractor. Its purpose is to support the end of the extractor and prevent it from springing too far should powder gases escape in the extractor area. Thus, with the bolt closed and locked, the extractor hook becomes part of the supporting rim around the cartridge head.

The bolt handle, an integral part of the bolt body, has a short square base, a slender round shank and a round ball grasping handle. On most of the rifles the bolt handle is straight, while on the carbines it is generally bent down. Primary extraction power is achieved on opening the bolt—the base of the bolt handle contacts and moves over an inclined surface on the left rear edge of the receiver bridge.

The bolt body is drilled from the rear to accept the firing mechanism. The coil mainspring is compressed over the stem of the firing pin, between the shoulder on the firing pin and the forward, threaded shank of the bolt sleeve. The rear of the firing pin extends through the bolt sleeve and is held in place by the cocking piece, threaded to the firing pin. The unit is retained in position by the bolt sleeve, being threaded into the rear of the bolt body. A small rib on the firing pin and a matching groove in the bolt sleeve, through which the firing pin moves, prevents the firing pin from turning in the cocking piece. This rib is of such length that in assembling the firing pin parts, the cocking piece is turned on just far enough for correct firing pin tip protrusion when the cocking piece is threaded against the rib.

There are two notches at the rear of the bolt into which the cam or sear of the cocking piece can fall. A deep notch coincides with the cam on the cocking piece when the bolt is fully closed and locked, allowing the firing pin to move forward under mainspring tension for proper firing pin protrusion and ignition. On raising the bolt handle, the inclined surface of this deep notch moves the cocking piece, firing pin, and firing pin tip back within the bolt face. When the bolt handle is fully raised the cam on the cocking piece falls in the shallow notch. In this second position, the firing pin tip is still within the bolt face and prevents easy turning of the bolt sleeve when the bolt is drawn back. The rifle cannot be fired unless the bolt is closed enough to allow the cocking piece to fall within the deep notch; in which case, the locking lugs are engaged in the receiver and lock the bolt closed.

No provision is made to block the sear when the bolt is not fully locked. The action is cocked on the bolt’s final closing motion—the sear engages the cocking piece and holds it back when the bolt is closed. The firing pin can be lowered, without snapping the action, by holding the trigger back as the action is closed.

The wing-type safety is fitted lengthwise into a hole at the top of the bolt sleeve. A small spring-loaded plunger in the safety wing engages a shallow groove in the bolt sleeve, holding the safety in place; shallow detents at either end of the groove provide the “off ” and “on” safety positions. Swung to the left, the safety is disengaged, allowing the action to be operated. When the action is closed and the firing pin cocked, swinging the safety to the vertical or to the far right position locks the bolt closed, so it cannot be opened, and holds the cocking piece from contact with the sear. The safety can also be swung to the right, when the firing pin is uncocked, to lock the bolt.

M91 Argentine Mauser rifle, caliber 7.65mm Mauser. This rifle has a 29.1 ” barrel, length 48.6 ” overall, weight about 8.8 lbs.

Top view of the M91 Mauser action.

The sturdy box-like bolt-stop is hinged to the rear left side of the receiver on a stud and pin. A projection on the bolt stop extends through a hole in the receiver and, on opening the bolt, its travel is stopped when the left locking lug contacts this projection. Swinging the bolt stop outward manually allows the bolt to be removed. The thin ejector extends into the receiver through a narrow slot. It is housed in the bolt-stop and pivots on the bolt-stop pin. The bolt-stop is tensioned by a sturdy flat spring, mortised in the bolt-stop housing and bearing against the top surface of the square bolt-stop stud. This spring keeps the bolt-stop closed and against the receiver. The small flat ejector spring, dovetailed inside the bolt-stop housing, contacts the ejector to keep it against the bolt body. A small screw, through the rear end of the bolt-stop spring, holds it and the ejector spring in place.

The bolt-stop is made with a long lip curving upward at its forward end. The end of this lip extends slightly past the left edge of the clip charger guideway. The end of the bolt-stop lip holds the special stripper clip in place. The lip, of course, is also the means by which the bolt-stop can be swung outwards so the bolt can be removed.

The sear is attached to the underside of the receiver and pivots on a small pin. Tension is provided by a coil spring within the sear. The trigger is of the double-pull type and is pivoted to the sear on a pin.

The trigger guard is combined with the magazine plate through which the detachable box magazine enters. Two guard screws, one on each end of the trigger guard, thread into the recoil lug and tang, holding the action securely in the stock.

The single column, five-shot box magazine is extremely well made, with thin sides of spring steel. The top edges of the sides are bent inward slightly to hold the cartridges in place, but can spring outward when cartridges are inserted. The jointed-V follower pivots at the bottom front corner of the magazine box on a screw. This screw also holds the bottom plate of the magazine in place along with a pin (riveted in place and not easily removed) at the rear of the box. Two leaf springs, grooved in place, one each in the bottom plate and lower follower arm, tension the follower to raise cartridges in the magazine. The magazine is guided, and precisely positioned in the action, by a hole in the trigger guard and the guide extension at the bottom of the receiver when the sear is pivoted. A spring-loaded latch, in the front of the trigger guard bow, holds the magazine in place. The magazine, not intended to be quickly detachable, can be removed, however, by depressing the latch with a pointed tool or bullet point, through the trigger guard bow, and pulling down on the magazine. On the M91 Argentine Mausers, the magazine is fastened in front by a coin-slotted, lipped stud. It is riveted into the trigger guard with the lip of the stud engaging a slot at the front of the magazine.

The magazine is normally loaded while it is in the action. With the bolt open, the magazine can be loaded through the top of the action by using a stripper clip or loaded singly by pressing the cartridges directly into the magazine. The magazine could be removed from the action, loaded, and reinserted into the action, but removing the magazine is not easily done without a tool to depress the magazine catch.

Left side of the M91 Argentine Mauser action.

A M91 Argentine Mauser rifle sporterized by the author.

All of the Belgian and German M89, 90 and 91 Mauser rifles and carbines I’ve seen were superbly made and finished. There were no short cuts, crude stampings or soft alloys used in their manufacture. All of the action parts are precisely machined and well finished. I would assume that such vital parts of the action as the receiver, bolt, extractor, firing pin, etc. were made of the best steels available and suitable for these parts, and that they were properly heat treated.

Markings

The serial number, or a part of that number, is stamped on all major parts of these actions. If these numbers match, it can be assumed that all the parts are original. Some parts are proof marked as well. The model designation and the name of the manufacturer is usually stamped on the left side of the receiver. The crest of the government for whom these arms were made was usually stamped on top of the receiver ring, but in many cases this identification was ground off before the arms were sold as surplus.

The 7.65mm Cartridge

All of these arms were chambered for the 7.65mm Mauser cartridge, very popular in years past. It was and is an excellent military and sporting cartridge. With a 150-grain semi-pointed softpoint bullet it has an advertised muzzle velocity of 2920 fps. This places it in a power velocity class between the 308 Win. and 30-06. Therefore, if you have one of these rifles with an excellent bore and want to use it, I’d suggest using its present caliber. The 7.65 cartridge is well designed, and it can be handloaded easily.

Action Strength and Safety

I would judge these actions to be as strong and safe as any other pre-98 Mauser action— the M93 and M95. These actions have no “safety” or “third” locking lug. No provision is made to vent escaping powder gases harmlessly from the action, in the event of a case or primer failure. However, the deeply recessed bolt head and narrow extractor slot actually provide more cartridge head support and coverage than do any of the later Mauser actions—including the Model 98. Nevertheless, though these actions may have been proofed at much higher pressures, when converting to other calibers by rechambering, reboring or rebarreling. I would limit the cartridge choice to those developing less than 45,000 psi. The magazine, bolt head and extractor, as well as the chamber and bore, impose other limitations on the choice of cartridges suitable for this action, which largely limits any conversion to rebarreling only. By rebarreling, the M89, 90 and 91 Mauser actions would be suitable for the following cartridges, none requiring any action changes to be made: 250-3000 Savage, 257 Roberts, 6.5mm Mauser, 7mm Mauser, 300 Savage and 35 Remington.

Gunsmithing Tips

The receivers of the M89, 90 and 9l Mausers are of the same general size, length and contour as the M93, 94, 95 and 96 Mausers; any scope mount suitable for the latter group can be used on the former.

Receiver sights made for the M98 are correct for the M89, 90 and 91. When mounting a scope low and over the bore, it is necessary to alter the bolt handle to clear the scope. The same procedure is followed as when altering any other bolt handle. I recommend cutting off the original handle and electrically welding on a new one. Maynard Buehler makes a low scope safety for these actions. I don’t know of any practical way to rework the action to make the bolt cock on opening, nor a way to alter the magazine to be flush with the stock. I can only suggest, if you use one of these actions, that you accept these limitations, including the long striker fall. When using the M89 Belgian action fitted with a barrel sleeve, I would discard the jacket. However, you can use the collar from this jacket to cover up the threads on the receiver ring by turning the collar on tightly and dressing it flush with the front end of the receiver. You should be able to purchase a semi-inletted and shaped stock from one of several commercial stock makers.

Takedown and Assembly

To disassemble the Model 89, 90 or 91 Mauser action, proceed as follows: Remove the bolt by swinging the bolt-stop to the left and pulling the bolt to the rear. To remove the firing mechanism from the bolt, pull the cocking piece back slightly with a small tool and unscrew the bolt sleeve form the bolt. Grasp the bolt sleeve firmly in one hand and, resting the firing pin tip on a hard surface, push the bolt sleeve down to compress the mainspring. Then unscrew the cocking piece from the firing pin.

Remove the safety by unscrewing the plug screw in the safety wing. Remove the spring and plunger, then pull out the safety. Reassemble in reverse order.

Remove the extractor by inserting a small screwdriver under the extractor hook, pushing the hook outward, and at the same time prying the extractor forward until the lip on the extractor clears its recess. Reassemble in reverse order.

Remove the magazine by unlocking the forward magazine lock stud and depressing the magazine latch in the trigger guard with a pointed tool. Pull out the magazine. Disassemble the magazine by removing the exposed magazine follower pivot screw, allowing the magazine plate to swing down and remove the follower. Do not attempt to remove the bottom plate entirely—the small hinge pin is riveted in place. To reassemble the magazine, insert the follower and partially insert the follower screw. Swing the bottom plate into place and turn the screw tight.

To remove the receiver, barrel and trigger guard from the stock, first remove the barrel bands, then both guard screws and lift these parts from the wood.

Remove the sear and trigger by driving out their retaining pins. Remove the bolt-stop by driving out its pin. Bolt-stop and ejector springs are held by the bolt-stop spring screw; remove it and drive each spring rearward form the bolt-stop housing. The ejector comes out of the bolt-stop without removing the springs, by pulling it forward.

Remove the magazine latch by driving out the latch pin. Reassemble all of these parts in reverse order. Do not unscrew the barrel from the receiver unless proper tools are available to do this correctly.

Conclusion

Here are some questions I’ve been asked many times about these rifles and actions: How many of the M89, 90 and 91 Mauser rifles were made? Answer: All told, a great many. I don’t have any exact figures, but if the known quantities given in the first part of this chapter are totaled, there must have been over a half-million of the M89s made for Belgium, and about the same number of the M90s and 91s made for Turkey and Argentina combined.

Do you consider these actions as being suitable for cartridges like the 22-250, 243, 6mm, 308, and 358? Answer: No, I do not. These are all modern high-intensity cartridges, and should be restricted to stronger and safer actions. I don’t mean to imply that a Model 91 Argentine action, for example, would blow up if properly barreled in any one of these calibers. However, in case of a serious primer or case head rupture with a high-intensity cartridge, this action does not offer the shooter the same protection from escaping powder gases and brass particles that a safer action like the M98 Mauser would. In other words, the action may be strong enough, but is it safe enough? I know that many gunsmiths do not agree with me on this point, but I prefer to err on the side of safety.