[Bandit.45]

I recently came into possession of a sporterized 7x57 Mauser by way of third hand. I did a friend a favor and he just gave it to me as he is not a shooter.

I do not know what type it is, only that it is a Mauser. It is a nice gun and has potential to be a nice hunting rifle, but I have a feeding problem.

I bought a box of Remingtons with the CoreLokt spitzers, and loaded the rifle when I first got it. Right off the bat, the cartridges would not enter the chamber straight. They slide up the feed ramp and come up at a sideways angle to the chamber, missing the chamber opening by a just a 1/8" or so.

I looked at the follower, inside the magazine, and looked for burs on the feed ramp and there does not appear to be anything amiss.

Since this was a project rifle owned by a prior owner, and since it was given to him by the guy who was doing the sporterizing, anything could have happened. I'm thinking the follower may be the problem. I think it may be a replacement made for a different cartridge and is not guiding the cartridges in straight. Or, the bolt face/extracter is bent or deformed.

Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[Sus Scrofa]

We are talking a ....what I call anyway ... a controlled feed Mauser action, where the cartridge is picked up by the bolt and ejector claw and fed into the chamber ...Yes ? No?

 

[Bandit.45]

We are talking a ....what I call anyway ... a controlled feed Mauser action, where the cartridge is picked up by the bolt and ejector claw and fed into the chamber ...Yes ? No?

Yes. My theory is that the cartridge rims are not sliding underneath the claws when they are pushed upwards by the folllwer. The cartridge is not engaging with the bolt face. I'm thinking the extractor is bent or smashed inwards, not allowing enough space for the rim to slide up underneath.

 

[Dollar Bill]

On mine, an FR8, the cartridge rim does not get engaged by the extractor until the cartidge is already started in the chamber.

The magazine bolts to the action. I've seen some sporterized actions improperly fitted so the magazine does not mate up correctly. Maybe try disassembling the rifle, forget the stock and bolt the mag on and try it then.

 

[Bandit.45]

On mine, an FR8, the cartridge rim does not get engaged by the extractor until the cartidge is already started in the chamber.

The magazine bolts to the action. I've seen some sporterized actions improperly fitted so the magazine does not mate up correctly. Maybe try disassembling the rifle, forget the stock and bolt the mag on and try it then.

So the stock may not be bedded correctly and is pinching the magazine?

 

[jimmyj]

Are you sure you have the correct caliber cartridges ?

 

[Dollar Bill]

So the stock may not be bedded correctly and is pinching the magazine?

I'm thinking some kind of misalignment. That's why I would put it together without that stock, just to eliminate that before you start replacing metalwork. I'm thinking more like a gap say, at the front of the mag, between the mag and the action. That would cause the bullet, as it's moved forward by the bolt, to hit the ramp at a greater angle leading to your problem. Does that make sense?

 

[Skipper]

Make sure the follower isn't in backwards.

 

[Bandit.45]

Make sure the follower isn't in backwards.

Whoa! I didn't think about this!

 

[Bandit.45]

Tell me what you guys think. Is this follower in correctly?

 

[Jack]

The follower appears to be in correctly.
Best I can tell from the pic, you have a commercial 98 Mauser actioned rifle. Interesting, there is no thumb slot like a military action would have, and yet there is the clip guide on the top of the rear bridge. I suspect one of the Mauser experts may be able to identify the action further.

 

[Sus Scrofa]

That looks the same as a number of 98 Mausers I have used. The bolt should pick the round up as you feed it forwards. I would look at this closely as you feed a round forward and check something has not been meddled with on the bolt face or extractor claw ..... do you have the correct bolt for the rifle ? I'm a suspicious old so and so, with this being a rifle someone has 'played' with in the past. Like the normal thumb hole/slot is missing as if that metal has been machined away. The clip feed slot is still there which indicates it was probably a military action originally. The claw pulls the head of the round fairly tightly to the face of the bolt and unless there is some damage or interference to the claw it should not be able to angle sideways as you describe. That is my experience anyway.

 

[Mainspring]

The missing thumb slot caught my eye also. Try and identify the rifle, it may be a commercial action that was originally chambered in something other than the 7x57. Feeding is greatly controlled by the action itself, rather than the mag box as in most commercial rifles manufactured today. The follower may not be suited for the 7x57.

 

[Bandit.45]

There is a 1/4" gap between the end of the follower and the feed ramp. Is this an issue?

 

[Sus Scrofa]

I don't recollect my Mausers having such a gap but it is a fair few years now(been an Encore fanatic for the last twenty). If the bolt/claw is doing it's job properly I don't think that gap would come into play BUT if the follower isn't the correct one then it could be causing your problem. Usually gunsmiths have a box full of followers lying about
in their workshops. Worth making call with yours to compare. The profile might not be correct but that SHOULD not prevent the bolt picking the case up. I've had a number of different calibres, some switch barrels on Mauser 98 actions e.g. 458 Win and 7mm Rem Mag, same head size but very different cartridge profile/shape and they both fed in perfectly. In fact it was possible to take the bolt out, clip a round in the claw and then slide the bolt and cartridge back in and feed the round into the chamber without the cartridge dislodging. That is how firm it should be held. Try that and see if it works(IN A SAFE ENVIRONMENT !!!!). I still think this rifle has been messed about with and has a mixture of parts.

 

[Bandit.45]

I don't doubt this rifle is a Frankenstein.

The extractor claw is not grabbing the base of the cartridge at all. It's not guiding it he cartridge into the chamber. By like a previous poster said, his claws don't engage the cartridge until it's already halfway in the chamber.

So is the rim of the cartridge supposed to slide up under the claws as the follower exerts upwards pressure? Or does the bolt face just push the cartridge into the chamber and then the claws grab the rim? I'm confused.

 

[Dollar Bill]

I don't doubt this rifle is a Frankenstein.

The extractor claw is not grabbing the base of the cartridge at all. It's not guiding it he cartridge into the chamber. By like a previous poster said, his claws don't engage the cartridge until it's already halfway in the chamber.

So is the rim of the cartridge supposed to slide up under the claws as the follower exerts upwards pressure? Or does the bolt face just push the cartridge into the chamber and then the claws grab the rim? I'm confused.

The claw engages and holds the cartridge before it completely enters the chamber.

Gunsmithing - The Difference Between Controlled Round and Push Feed - YouTube

 

[Mainspring]

It's not guiding it he cartridge into the chamber.

So is the rim of the cartridge supposed to slide up under the claws as the follower exerts upwards pressure? Or does the bolt face just push the cartridge into the chamber and then the claws grab the rim?

The extractor does not guide the cartridge, the extractor prevents the cartridge from popping up-and-out of the receiver when you're running from something with sharp claws and pointy teeth.

~ The receiver itself points the cartridge towards the chamber.
~ The bolt pushes the cartridge forward.
~ The follower positions the cartridge/s in the mag well. The follower must be correct for the cartridge being used.

Original military extractors are designed so that the rim of the cartridge is behind the extractor claw. Extractors can be modified so that they will work as a 'push feed'.

 

[Carroll (Buck)]

I'm thinking that you have a M93 or M95 Mauser there. Does the bolt cock on closing? Is the barrel stepped, or tapered? I used to do a lot of Mausers, and most times there is insufficient clearance between the rear face of the extractor and the cartridge rim- if so you can open the clearance up with an old point (ignition) file. Most Mauser extractors are tempered to be "springy" but not hard. If that doesn't work, the problem might be in the receiver rails. Is the follower pushing up to, but not rising above the rails and nice and level in the receiver? If it isn't, get out the Dremel tool and very carefully by frequent trial and error remove some metal there. Hope this helps but, but i'll bet it is the clearance in the extractor.

 

[John Wallace]

I'm thinking that you have a M93 or M95 Mauser there. Does the bolt cock on closing? Is the barrel stepped, or tapered? I used to do a lot of Mausers, and most times there is insufficient clearance between the rear face of the extractor and the cartridge rim- if so you can open the clearance up with an old point (ignition) file. Most Mauser extractors are tempered to be "springy" but not hard. If that doesn't work, the problem might be in the receiver rails. Is the follower pushing up to, but not rising above the rails and nice and level in the receiver? If it isn't, get out the Dremel tool and very carefully by frequent trial and error remove some metal there. Hope this helps but, but i'll bet it is the clearance in the extractor.

Yes, my guess would be the extractor, simply because that is the only cause I can think of that is likely to arise in use. Maybe the bottom corner is burred over, preventing the rim from entering. The alternative would be a substituted follower, since that gap, which would let debris into the magazine, does sound odd. The reason for its causing trouble wouldn't be so much the shape of the top, since most Mausers had the same head diameter and very similar shoulders, as the spring pushing in the wrong place, permitting the follower to tilt.

You could also look to see whether the bottom of the magazine rails appears to have been milled or filed for a different cartridge after the action was blued. Removing the floor plate may enable to so see this without removing the stock.

It was quite common for commercial rifles to be built on actions, supplied by Mauser, which had the clip slot but no thumb slot. It encourages me to think that this is likely to be a quality rifle, although very possibly the same applied to some foreign military contracts.