Fabrica de Armas 1946 La Coruna

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snarky

Fabrica de Armas 1946 La Coruna

Post by snarky »

Fabrica de Armas 1946 La Coruna - - it has a serial number
I have a windfall- I think it is a Spanish Mauser that has been left neglected in the back of a Garage for a long long time- I have never cleaned up a gun this rusty. Any advice? It says 792 and it looks like someone maybe etched "cal" in front of that. it has a little makers mark bird or fluer de lise type tiny design on it. It has a square with a P in it.

I am wide open to advice here- I dont plan on shooting it until I get independent reliable confirmation that this is "safe".

I took one pass at cleaning it but... this may be beyond my salvage abilities as they stand today. Is there a huge difference between this and other mausers that may have better interweb documentation and step by step take down instructions posted somewhere? I am getting dizzy from the bore cleaner here. Need to ventilate and recaffinate.
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SeekHer
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Re: Fabrica de Armas 1946 La Coruna

Post by SeekHer »

The 7.92 is the CALiber or older Mausers, sometimes (and some say erroneously) called the 8mm Mauser...

A Mauser is a Mauser is a Mauser...They were two kinds. Actual guns made in Germany by Mauserwaffen and sold to other countries OR a country would request the right to build, under license of course, Mauser rifles for their military...

Which is why Argentinean guns are slightly better the Peruvian guns...Turkish guns just aren't as nice as Swedish guns and quality is also dependent on whether the guns were made prior to WW2, during (depending on year & location) or after...

Historical tidbit: The Springfield Model 1903A1 bolt action rifle chambered in .30/06 had taken so many parts from the original, captured weapons, to make their rifle that they had to pay royalties to Mauser for years...The British changed it a slight bit to make the Lee-Enfield SMLE .303 British rifle and basically told them to go to Hell!

You can get some rust remover(s) and soak the metal portion of the gun in that overnight and then take a steel medium bristle brush and try to scrape away as much as you possibly can...you may have to repeat this a few--3,4 times before it gets presentable...then switch to a softer bristle metal brush, maybe copper, and do it again a few more times and finally switch to a nylon bristle brush and repeat...

After all that you'll need to it it and maybe have it reblued...

Also, you can always sandblast it and either leave it in the white or reblue it...

If the bolt assembly moves easily and the trigger works then it just might be worth saving and restoring but if they're not, just get as much rust off as you can and then oil the heck out of it and hang it on the wall...

They aren't major, heavy duty, collectibles and a pristine one from places like Mitchell’s Mausers go for around $200 in NRA good condition...
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snarky

Re: Fabrica de Armas 1946 La Coruna

Post by snarky »

Thanks very much for your reply- this was helpful-

Since mine says 1946 does that mean that was the year it was made?
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Bob K
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Re: Fabrica de Armas 1946 La Coruna

Post by Bob K »

First, understand I am a cautious man ... I never wanted to be known as "Patch", "Lefty", or "One Eye".

Second, many Euro military rifles carry part of the serial number (the last 2 or 3 digits) on all component parts. If there is a number on the bolt, and it does not match up with the serial number on the receiver, DO NOT FIRE THE RIFLE!!!!!! Take it to a gunsmith, and have him check the headspace. (Google headspace if you don't know what it means.) Probably a good idea to have the headspace checked as a matter of course.

Third, it was said, back in the 50s & 60s, that many Spanish made Mauser receivers were of mild steel. If the headspace is OK, test fire the rifle using the old tire technique. Go out in the country, or to a willing range, lash the rifle to an old tire, tie a string around the trigger, load one round, back off as far as you can, hit the deck, and pull the string. Repeat 5 or 10 times, just to be sure. Even better, if you know a handloader, ask him to make up a couple blue pills for you.

Good luck and be safe!!!!
"Youth and skill are no match for age and treachery." Unknown

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snarky

Re: Fabrica de Armas 1946 La Coruna

Post by snarky »

Thank you Bob K-

I have it at the gunsmith right now- when I removed the bolt (thanks to Youtube) and could not get it to come apart (gummed up I guess) I figured I better check it out. It has had the bolt hard chromed or plated or something so it is not exactly pristine original. Its a straight bolt. I am having him check the headspace. I know someone fired it and lived and I have a totally isolated country place to shoot safely. I bought some 8MM- so that begs a question. I looked at some 8mm and it was round nosed like a 30-30. But the Romanian surplus stuff I ordered is spitzer. I guess it comes in both varieties and this is common and wont matter?????
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Bob K
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Re: Fabrica de Armas 1946 La Coruna

Post by Bob K »

Most military rifle ammunition since about WWI have fired spitzer bullets, though there are some notable exceptions.

Are the roundnose bullets FMJ or soft point commercial hunting loads? Are the bullets the same weight?

Spitzer & round nose bullets of the same weight will often behave differently in the same rifle. This is because of the variation in bullet surface contacting the rifling.
"Youth and skill are no match for age and treachery." Unknown

“A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity.” Sigmund Freud

"Oderint dum metuant." ("Let them hate, so long as they fear.") Accius
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FelixEstrella
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Re: Fabrica de Armas 1946 La Coruna

Post by FelixEstrella »

Bob K wrote:Even better, if you know a handloader, ask him to make up a couple blue pills for you.
Blue pills? Never heard that in reference to ammunition.
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Bob K
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Re: Fabrica de Armas 1946 La Coruna

Post by Bob K »

Blue pill is a proof round.

In arms development, they are used to determine the absolute limits of the arm. These can be +100% of the standard pressure; call it destructive testing.

In proof testing, blue pills are typically +25% of standard pressure.

Been a while since I was in that part of the business, but that's how I remember it.

They're called blue pills, because at one time at least, the rounds were loaded with blue colored bullets.

Blue pill rounds should NEVER be fired from the shoulder or off-hand. They should only be fired remotely from a rest.
"Youth and skill are no match for age and treachery." Unknown

“A fear of weapons is a sign of retarded sexual and emotional maturity.” Sigmund Freud

"Oderint dum metuant." ("Let them hate, so long as they fear.") Accius
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Whirlibird
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Re: Fabrica de Armas 1946 La Coruna

Post by Whirlibird »

SeekHer wrote: Historical tidbit: The Springfield Model 1903A1 bolt action rifle chambered in .30/06 had taken so many parts from the original, captured weapons, to make their rifle that they had to pay royalties to Mauser for years...The British changed it a slight bit to make the Lee-Enfield SMLE .303 British rifle and basically told them to go to Hell!
I'm afraid the Remington-Lee 1879 & 1882 predates the Mauser products just a bit.
And the Lee's were an American design that the British went and tweaked with Lee's help at Enfield.

Changed it a slight bit? The original design predates the "88" Commission rifle let alone the '90's series Mausers.
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Vonz90
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Re: Fabrica de Armas 1946 La Coruna

Post by Vonz90 »

Whirlibird wrote:
SeekHer wrote: Historical tidbit: The Springfield Model 1903A1 bolt action rifle chambered in .30/06 had taken so many parts from the original, captured weapons, to make their rifle that they had to pay royalties to Mauser for years...The British changed it a slight bit to make the Lee-Enfield SMLE .303 British rifle and basically told them to go to Hell!
I'm afraid the Remington-Lee 1879 & 1882 predates the Mauser products just a bit.
And the Lee's were an American design that the British went and tweaked with Lee's help at Enfield.

Changed it a slight bit? The original design predates the "88" Commission rifle let alone the '90's series Mausers.
A couple of corrections here. The Springfield was a copy of the G98 and we did pay a license for the design until we entered the war. That is a simple historical fact.

The first bolt action actually predate the use of metal Cartridges, it was the Von Dreyse needle gun that was adopted by the Prussian army in 1841.

The first bolt action that could fire metal cartridges was the French Chassepot. It was introduced firing paper cartridges in the 1860's and then modified to fire metal ones in the 1870's.

Mauser's first successful military bolt action was the model 1871. The 1888 Commission rifle was not a Mauser. As its name implies, it was designed by a commission.

The Lee-Enfield was not a Mauser derivative. The P14 and P17 Enfields were Mauser derivatives.

Mauser was certainly not the inventor of the bolt action, but his design of double lugs at the front of the bolt and a claw extractor, as well as stripper clips, staggered magazines and design features to allow venting of gasses from ruptured cartridges, were all Mauser innovations. The cock on open or cock on close question is moot relative to Mausers, they made models either way depending on what the customer wanted.

The Spanish Mausers are all based on the 1893 action. Not as strong of an action as the 98, but plenty strong none the less. As long as it is in good mechanical shape, your rifle should be good to go.
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