Frontier Partisans

The Adventurers, Rangers and Scouts Who Fought the Battles of Empire

Firearms Of The Frontier Partisans — The Mighty Mauser

May 13, 2021, by JimC

What comes to mind when you think of the classic Frontier Partisan rifle? The “Kentucky” Long Rifle, surely. The Hawken, without a doubt. The Sharps Big .50 Buffalo Rifle, of course. The Winchester ’73 — the “Gun That Won The West.” I’d have to include the Springfield Trapdoor .45-70 that Geronimo used to scourge Mexican vaqueros, vigilantes and soldiers.

I’m guessing that few of us would include the bolt-action Mauser Rifle in the pantheon — but it certainly belongs there.

Consider that one of the great frontier tribes treated the Mauser as a kind of cultural talisman. Speaking of the Boers, of course. When tensions between the Boer Republics of South Africa and the British Empire stretched to the snapping point at the very end of the 19th Century, General Ben Viljoen said it was time to resort to:

“Vertroue in God en die Mauser” (faith in God and the Mauser rifle).

The Boers had plenty of the flat-shooting, quick-loading, highly accurate German-made rifles on hand to put their faith in.

 

From Shooting Times:

In 1896 the Boers ordered 70,000 Mauser rifles and carbines from Ludwig Loewe, later known as Deutsche Waffen-und Munitionfabriken (DWM), about 55,000 of which were delivered. Despite being called the “Model 1895” by most sources, the vast majority of these used the earlier 1893-style receiver and bolt, and in official documents they are often referred to as “Model 93/95 Mausers.” They differed from the Spanish model primarily in the style of the rear sight.

Rifles ordered by the Orange Free State were marked “O.V.S” above the serial number and directly below it on the stock, while those delivered by the Transvaal had an A, B, or C letter prefix preceding their serial number. Because of manufacturing dates stamped on their receivers, South African sources often refer to them as “Model 1896” or “Model 1897” Mausers.

Some of the last Mauser rifles delivered to the Boers were equipped with turned-down bolt handles to make them more suitable for use by mounted men. DWM remarked many undelivered rifles and sold them to Chile.

Many Boers personalized their rifles with carvings on the buttstocks. These might include the owner’s initials, full name, dates, home district, wives’ or girlfriends’ names, or decorative patterns.

The Boer governments sold Mausers at slightly above cost to anyone who wished to purchase one. The Boer governments and private dealers also imported sporting rifles, known in Afrikaans “Plezier Mausers.” These 7×57 sporters, which varied in style and ornamentation, were quite popular with the more affluent Boers.

I LOVE the Plezier Mauser. Like the Rigby, I find it elegant and downright sexy…

Plezier Mauser awarded to Hendrik Prinsloo in recognition for his action at Spion Kop. Hat tip to Ian Hayter, The Anglo Boer War and Related History Facebook Group.

It just says “Gentleman Adventurer.” Or, in some cases, “Lady Adventurer.”

One of my favorite Boer War era photos is of Mrs. Otto Krant, wife of a professional hunter, who was reportedly granted official clearance to join a Boer Commando with her husband. She is armed with a Plezier Mauser.

This Forgotten Weapons segment on the Boer Mauser will give you as much information as you are ever likely to need on the subject.

*

The Mauser was the most ubiquitous military rifle of the first half of the 20th Century. It was a primary weapon for the various factions in the Mexican Revolution.

Legendary New Mexico lawman Elfego Baca allegedly stole a Mauser carbine from Pancho Villa, prompting that cowboy revolutionary to put a $30,000 bounty on Baca’s head. Well… I dunno. The tale smacks of folklore to me — I’ve seen the theft depicted as that of a pistol as well. But in any case, it’s a fine Mexican Mauser Baca’s holding there.

 

*

We don’t associate the Mauser with Wild West bandits, but Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid apparently armed up with Mauser carbines when they hit South America. Stands to reason — virtually every country in Latin America had a Mauser contract. Argentinian and Chilean Mausers are highly-regarded.

Carlos Pero, the payroll manager at the Aramayo Francke & Company, describe the two bandits after they robbed a payroll near Dead Cow Hill (from True West Magazine):

“The two Yankees wore new, dark-red thin-wale corduroy suits with narrow, soft-brimmed hats, the brims turned down in such a way that with the bandannas tied behind their ears, only their eyes could be seen…both of them carried new carbines, which appeared to be of the Mauser-type…but they were completely new…The bandits also carried Colt revolvers, and I believe they also had very small Browning revolvers outside their cartridge belts, which were filled with rifle ammunition.”

Art by Bob Boze Bell.

 

 

*

The Mauser would attain its greatest fame, of course, as the battle rifle of the German Army across two world wars. Millions of the rifles were produced for those titanic conflicts.

*

Between World War I and World War II, Mauser made some rifles specifically for the South African hunting market. This here is an 8mm beauty…

The auction house Doreleac & Doreleac describes it thus:

That rare Original Mauser “African Modell” hunting rifle built at Oberndorf in 1932 on a commercial 98′ action was specially designed before the WW2 for the South African market; it’s probably the most unique and seldom encountered of the Original Oberndorf Mauser sporting rifles.

This rifle, chambered for the 8×60(S) cartridge bears a long 28″ full octagonal barrel whose the machined rib carries a tangential rear sight graduated to 1000m regulated on a fine silver bead under its original sliding protector.

The perfect bore mikes .321″, a traditional Mauser dimension enabling shooting .318″ 8×60 Norm. and .323″ 8x60S with equal accuracy.

The action is a perfectly marked commercial Mauser 98′ with single-stage trigger and elongated firing pin, fitted with a key opening five cartridges magazine and of course all the rifle parts match the serial number.

The … stock displays the elongated forend typical of the “African Modell” with the front sling swivel fitted through the wood just behind the subtle ending schnabel and retains its Mauser monogrammed black horn original butt plate. The wood is a very attractive well-figured European walnut, perfectly finished and checkered.

*

Mauser is still in the rifle business,  now primarily known for their sporting rifles rather than for military workhorses. I’m much taken with their Model 12, which seems to be everything anyone could want in a bolt action hunting rifle (and let us pause to salute the Germans who have the class and dignity to continue to put iron sights on a hunting rifle).

From the wild Chihuahuan Desert to the South African veld — function and deadly beauty, with a fine Frontier Partisans pedigree. Hats off to The Mighty Mauser.

 

Filed Under: Chapters

Previous Post: « Kaintuck Cocaine — Done Got Outta Hand
Next Post: Working The Trapline — Lift. Run. Shoot. »

Comments

  1. Thom Eley says

    May 13, 2021 at 11:07 am

    The forerunner of the .275 Rigby as I recall.

    Reply
    • Matte Blk says

      May 15, 2021 at 2:08 pm

      You donta gotta no guns in Seventh-Heaven, kapiche?
      ♡ en.gravatar.com/MatteBlk ♡
      -GBY

      Reply
  2. Quixotic Mainer says

    May 13, 2021 at 1:20 pm

    I owned a Spanish Mauser carbine for a while, it was a neat weapon, but the bore was coal black and the stock advertised it’s previous employment as a fencepost. That got swapped for a brand new muzzleloader, and I think we both feel we robbed the other.

    CZ’s bolt action rifles are modernized or “micro” Mauser actions. I would definitely bring my CZ afield on any trek.

    Reply
    • JimC says

      May 13, 2021 at 1:32 pm

      I love CZ.

      Reply
  3. CodyL says

    May 13, 2021 at 5:06 pm

    Your post about weapons are some of my favorite. Discovered your site from the Alan quartermain guns post

    Reply
    • JimC says

      May 13, 2021 at 6:39 pm

      Well that’s cool. I enjoyed doing that Quatermain post. Thank you.

      Reply
  4. Matthew says

    May 16, 2021 at 2:22 pm

    Off topic, but there is an Art of Manliness podcast about the comfort crises: how we are too comfortable for our own good nowadays. He talks about the month he spent in Alaska hunting caribou

    https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/podcast-708-overcoming-the-comfort-crisis/

    It’s interesting to listen to sitting in my room in comfort;)

    Reply
  5. Queequeg says

    May 17, 2021 at 6:04 am

    The lines on that “Modell” are breathtaking. Rifle’s nice too. I’ve got a couple of Swedes in 6.5 x 55. Flat shooters, still used for most anything on European continent.

    Reply
    • JimC says

      May 17, 2021 at 6:06 am

      Quite so. On all counts.

      Reply
      • Jameson says

        May 24, 2021 at 1:14 pm

        I spent the weekend reading thought your most interesting site. I’ve been collecting and reading books for nearly six decades about many of the subjects that you and your followers are focusing on, especially Frederick Russell Burnham and Harry Harbord Morant. I’ve been interested in the Mexican Revolution and Pancho Villa since my father took me to Chihuahua as a young lad and we visited the mansion Villa stole from my father’s friend’s family at gunpoint as a gift from the people of Mexico. Pancho’s last wife was sitting in a wheelchair in the courtyard selling postcards of her very late husband’s heroic image to make ends meet.

        About twenty years ago, I spent five days in Archer City, Texas going through every bookcase of Larry McMurtry’s huge used book inventory. He had just acquired hundreds of books from two African collections, and I bought most of them. Included in these volumes were many early accounts of the conquest of Rhodesia and the Mashona and Matabele Rebellions. Most of the early historical accounts of the Boer War and the South African Diamond and Gold Rushes were also included in these two collections. Among the many books that I believe all of you should be familiar with is Craig Boddington’s “America — The Men and Their Guns That Made Her Great.” It has chapters on the firearms belonging to Burnham, Roosevelt, and both Pershing and Patton during the 1916 Mexican Expedition and the exploits that made them famous. Thanks for a very enjoyable weekend.

        Reply
        • JimC says

          May 24, 2021 at 2:38 pm

          Thanks very much for the kind word. Glad we connected. I distinctly remember picking up Craig Boddington’s “America — The Men and Their Guns That Made Her Great” at Brand Books, a magnificent (now gone) used book store in Glendale, CA. It was in the window and I was walking out — musta been maybe 12 or 13. Ran back in and snapped it up. I was most drawn to the chapter on Timothy Murphy and Saratoga, but it was my first exposure to Burnham, and it really set me off on the African frontier. I replaced my long-lost copy a few years ago. It holds up well. Hard to beat for an igniter of young boys’ dreams…

          Reply
  6. Joe says

    May 25, 2022 at 1:32 pm

    Fantastic images and breakdown of a forgotten frontier gun. Butch Cassidy represents that era in the late 19th and early 20th century when the modern world and the frontier collided.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Frontier Partisans

  • Introduction
  • Jim Cornelius
  • Trading Post
  • The Muster (Links)
  • Search this Site

Podcast Campfire Sparked

Introduction to the Podcast,
or head on over to listen:
Frontier Partisans Podcast

The Trading Post is OPEN

Frontier Partisan t-shirt: Balen-Powell's illustration of Frederick Burnham on front; "The only partisanship we tolerate in these parts is Frontier Partisanship" on back.

Trading Post Cart

Cart is empty $0

Support Frontier Partisans

What I’m Aiming For

Go Fund Me

go fund me frontier partisans

Receive Frontier Partisans Posts Via Email

Categories

  • Chapters
  • Frontier Partisan Bookshelf
  • On Your Own Hook
  • The War Chest

Recent Posts

  • A Tale Of Two Jamies
  • Working The Trapline — Montana Mayhem; Scottish Slaughter
  • Rangers & Wardens
  • A Storyteller Makes His Final Journey
  • Working The Trapline — Baptized & Buried On The Terminal List
  • Chasing Horse Bust
  • Working the Trapline — Bayou, Bullet Garden & Big Ponderoo
  • Warriors Of The Dawn

fp@frontierpartisans.com

© 2023 FRONTIER PARTISANS, Jim Cornelius