Taking a Mauser Apart

From the mail bag:

 Dear Mr. Poole:

 Recenlty I purchased a Swedish Mauser Model 96 (1914)in excellent condition. However the stock needs to be improved upon.

I have not shot it nor am I familiar with the rifle outside of the fact mausers are incredibly accurate. Can you give me any information on how this rifle disassembles and any information you can giv eme in regards to making the weapon look brand new.

Thank you for your consideration.

I passed this onto my friend Justin who says:

First make sure the thing is unloaded

Remove the bolt by using the side lever on the receiver

The rifles tend to have grease/cosmoline preservative below the woodline. You can make your life easier at this point by turning the rifle upside down and

putting a drop or two of penetrating oil on the action screws and leaving it sit for few hours.

push the button on the bottom of the floorplate with something softer than the steel (a fmj spitzer bullet is ideal) then with the button depressed jiggle the floorplate back and forth until it comes out taking the follower and follower spring with it.

Unscrew the screws at the back of the trigger guard and in front of the floorplate. Use a properly fitting screwdriver and preferably use one with "hollow ground tips" this keeps the screwdriver from galling those beautifully blued action screws. If you like to take your guns apart a set of these "gunsmith" screwdrivers is the best $20 you can spend. You can use your Swiss Army knife if you wish, but you will get what you deserve. Especially if the rifle has not been disasembled since 1914.

The front and mid bands are removed by depressing the metal insets that run parallel to the stock at the bottom surface. These are spring loaded hinges

which snap into the bands. You don't want to scratch these up during disassembly - I cover them with masking tape before pushing on them. Using something soft (like a block of walnut or a cloth or leather padded piece of metal) depress the metal insets just behind the bands, they will hinge into the stock. Slide the bands forward while holding the springs out of engagement.

Be careful not to scratch the top surface of the barrel with the mid-band as you slide it forward. A strip of masking tape on the top of the barrel is good insurance.

To remove the handguard drift the pin holding the sight leaf out of the sight (The leaf is spring loaded so be prepared when the pin lets it loose, you might want to use masking tape and hold it down to the barrel) With the pin out of place the handguard should lift off. I plan to shorten the pin on mine so that it does not protrude beyond the edge of the sights so I don't have to disassemble the sight to remove the handguard.

The bolt can be disassembled by turning the rear shroud. It will screw off.

If the bolt is clean I wouldn't reccomend it because getting the safety to work properly is a bit of a trick. I'm still not sure how I did it. If you close the bolt and the safety is on and starts to pull out of the bolt you have done something wrong.

Disassembly should go relatively easy. DON'T force ANYTHING!!. Always THINK about what you are doing especially when you bring metal surfaces into contact. The time expenditure to aquire and use the right tools is well worth it when it comes to preserving the finish.

Some things to note when you get it apart:

1. Front of the floorplate screw channel contacts the screw boss on the receiver and there is a metal liner around the triggerguard screw - The gun is pillar bedded!
2. Even the handguards are numbered.
3. If you think the finish on the outside is nice, wait until you see what is under the wood.

• first remove all the metal
• Scrub the stock with soap and water
• I use paint stripper to pull all of the old finish. You may need a whole can and 5 applications for a military stock.
• If there are any dents in the stock place a soaking wet towel over the dent and let it sit for a few hours. Then re-wet the towel and place it over the soaked dent. Touch it with a hot iron and it will steam up some of the dent. Some people like to take the whole stock and throw it in the bathtub overnight but this will also start to swell out the cartouches and nubmers in the stock. You want to keep those.
• Dry the stock thoroughly - Here in AZ it is easy - put the stripped stock on the roof for the entire month of June.
• I generally do not sand stocks but if you want to, use a sanding block, not your fingers to hold the paper. Your fingers will conform to different hardnesses in the wood and you will get a wavy surface.

1. I prefer using multiple coats of raw linseed oil. It gives a real looking military finish.
2. Some people use multiple coats of danish oil finish and then wax the finished stock with carnuba furniture wax. It makes for a super looking rifle but to my eyes it looks kind of fake on a military gun.

last modified by Bill Poole on 2-Mar-99.
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