Bolt Action Rifles. Wayne Zwoll

the stampings on the left side of the receiver. I G Mod. 71 is stamped on the 71 and I G Mod. 71/84 on the M71/84. The name of the manufacturer, such a Spandau, Amberg, et al, is usually stamped on the top flat of the breech end of the barrel on both models, along with a crown. The date (year) of manufacture is usually stamped on the right wall of the receiver bridge. Both models are serial numbered, with the numbers stamped on the receiver ring, breech end of the barrel and bolt, with the last two digits of that number stamped on most of the other parts.

      Various German proofmarks are stamped on the barrel, receiver and bolt, as well as various inspector’s marks. A small number “11” stamped over the chamber indicates caliber 11mm.

      Comments

      The first Mauser rifle I ever owned was a Model 71/84, and with it came several boxes of fresh commercial ammunition. It was a carbine, in excellent condition, with a very nice light colored walnut stock. At that time I lived a long way from any boar hunting, but I often swung and snapped that rifle at a picture of a charging wild boar in my room. I fired that carbine a number of times at targets and enjoyed shooting it despite its heavy recoil. I don’t recall what became of it; I probably swapped it off for something more suited to my hunting needs.

      Most likely many more M71s were made than were M71/84s, but both have been quite common in the U.S. since the turn of the century. After WWII a great many more were imported and sold; as late as 1967 one firm still offered M71/84s in very good condition for less than $15.

      11 mm Mauser Cartridge

      The 11.15x60R (.43”) Mauser cartridge, also designed by the Mauser brothers, was introduced with their M71 rifle in 1871. A rimmed and bottlenecked cartridge with a case 60mm long, for military use the standard original load was 77 grains of blackpowder behind a round-nosed lead bullet of 385 grains. Muzzle velocity was about 1440 fps. The standard military load for the M71/84 rifle had a flat-point bullet, otherwise it was identical.

      The 11mm Mauser cartridge is practically the same as other 11mm military loads developed during the 1870s like the 43 Spanish, 11mm French Gras, 11mm Belgian Comblain and others. Like many cartridges developed for Mauser rifles, the 11mm Mauser became popular for sporting use in “as issued” M71 and M71/84 rifles and carbines, in remodeled military rifles, and in some sporting rifles specially chambered for it. Because of the many M71 and M71/84 Mauser rifles sold in the U.S. and Canada by Francis Bannerman & Son, both Remington and Winchester have loaded ammunition for it.

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