New used rifle -- not sure what I've got here

[duxnbux64]

Hoping someone can help me out or point me in the right direction here. I bought some older rifles from a friend who just wanted to get rid of them because his wife was nagging him. He got them from his grandfather many years ago. One of them is a modern appearing bolt action rifle that he believed was a 30.06 but it has nothing on the barrel. No caliber, no manufacturer, just a serial number on the R side of the receiver (C3519), and several small stamps on the left. The stamps are from top (muzzle) down a "R" with a tiny star above it, a stamp that I swear looks like a stick figure dancing, a single horizontal line then "PV" and then what looks like an arrow pointing down. The bolt arm also has a rearing lion and "PV". There's no front sight on the barrel, the wood stock has some nice checkering, the bolt and bolt arm are silver in color. The bolt also has a pre-'64-esque Win Mod 70 extractor claw. I haven't taken the stock off to see if there's any marking under there. Any ideas??

[remington600]

A picture would help out a bunch.

[duxnbux64]

OK, I'll attempt to attach some photos. I forgot to mention above the rifle has a thumb safety. Trap door magazine with release on front of trigger guard. The last part of the "V" is worn down on the bolt. Let me know if you need any more specific photos.

[duxnbux64]

3 more photos

[duxnbux64]

last photo

[duxnbux64]

The scope is a Weaver K3 60-B. Power?

[W7ACT]

From the photo's posted my guess is it' a custom built '98 Mauser Action. It would be nice if you had posted a photo of both the floor plate/trigger group and of the left side of the action.

A couple of questions where is the bolt release on the rifle is it on the left side and is it a spring loaded or is it down in the floor plate inside the trigger guard in front of the trigger. If the Bolt release is inside the trigger guard it's a Remington. If' it's at the left rear side of the action it could either be a Mauser Action or one of the other variants of the Mauser action.

The proof marks pictured also lead me to believe that the rifle is of European Mfr. so it looks as though it could be from one of the European Arsenals that has been sporterized and has been well taken care of. The only way I know of to determine the caliber is take the rifle to a gunsmith and have him do cast of the chamber and mic the barrel.

[The Rifleman]

I will try to help you here,

I am inclined to believe that it is either a Mauser 98 or a 1917 Enfield that was converted to a sporting arm - with an aftermarket stock and a lot of work.

Quite a few WW II vets brought home or bought at military surplus stores these fine guns 50 to 60 years ago and made them into their own custom arms.

I would hope that who ever did the work spent the time and money to have the steel proof checked before they did any work to that firearm - since wartime production of German military weapons had more to do with quanity than of quality.

Furthermore, any responsible gunsmith would have stamped the caliber of ammunition - to be fired from this firearm.

Under no circumstances should you fire this gun until you take it to a qualified gunsmith and have the action checked and find out what ammo this gun was intended to shoot.

I'm pretty confident that who ever did the work - did a good enough job that it will still work for you. But I wouldn't stake my reputation on it.

Take it to a GUNSMITH!

[duxnbux64]

Gentlemen,

Thanks for your input. I've posted a couple more pictures as requested.

W7ACT: Definitely NOT a Remington; I have several to include 721s and 700s. This is nothing like them action-wise. My guess is the bolt release is the screw head on the left but danged if it will depress when the bolt is in any position. I haven't tried turning the screw yet.

Rifleman: Good advise. Age-wise you're a little off though. I'm 44 and an active duty U.S. Marine with 18 yrs in. My friend's grandfather passed away many years ago as did his dad so researching the origin of this rifle has been tough and my friend just doesn't know. I own several 1917s and if this rifle originated like any of those someone put a lot of work into this. I mean A LOT -- almost too much to believe. My guess, based on appearance, is that this is a little more modern than that. Either that or this thing has never seen the light of day since it was built.

[W7ACT]

It's definitely a Mauser Action the last two photo's show tne Mauser Bolt release to release the bolt pull on the front of the tab on the left side of the action while pulling the bolt rearward and the bolt come out of the action.

In any case you scored big time as you have acquired a fine firearm as all the markings on the rifle are it's components are matching, but definitely take it to a reputable gunsimith in your area and have him check it over to determine the caliber before you try to fire it. My guess is that it is probably chambered for 7x57, but I can't be sure as I haven't handled the rifle, but that was a common chambering for a lot of the Western European Mausers.

[Tbury]

The magazine plate looks like it may be a commercial model Mauser, since most military ones had a hole to access the release with a sharp pointed bullet nose. Also there is no C notch on the left side of the receiver in front of the bolt release. I cannot tell if it is a "large ring" or "small ring" Mauser. A gunsmith should have the resources to identify which model it is. The lack of markings on the barrel may indicate that a custom barrel was put on it so caliber determination may require a chamber cast.

[shot1too]

I got out my NRA Fact Book and looked for the the proofmarks in the photo. I din't find the star and the R but did find everything else. The marks are Belgian. The figure over P.V means Hard-tempered pieces, and the collum and base marking means Action parts. Still don't know who made the gun but I would say it is a very well done custom rifle with a belgian made mauser action.

[duxnbux64]

W7ACT, you were right about the bolt release; it came right out when I followed your instructions. Now I can get a good look at the rifling. The lands and grooves look perfect, like brand new. Thanks.

[W7ACT]

duxnbux64, you're welcome like I said earlier you've found yourself an fine weapon there. It should give years of good service now get it to your local gunsmith and get it checked out. I very seriously doubt he'll find anything wrong with it, but he can determine what the chambering is and when he does make sure he stamps the caliber on the barrel.

My guess is that it's in a Fajan straight grained Walnut Stock.

Keep us informed as to what he comes up with.