In this episode of the Second Hand Showcase I am featuring a project gun. It appears functional but is missing a few parts and has some cracks.
All of which help keep the price down for a possible project gun.
What we have here is a 1916 Spanish Oviedo small ring Mauser that has been re-barreled to 7.62 NATO.
This last part is important. We don’t have a chamber conversion. We have a purpose built barrel designed to handle the 7.62×51 NATO round.
For those curious since it will come up:
SAAMI max pressure on a 308 load is 62,000 psi.
NATO max pressure on a 7.62×51 load is 60,191 psi.
Note those are MAX pressures in the charts. These Oviedo Mausers were destructive tested in excess of 98,000 psi before letting go.
Where this gets goofy is in the interest of playing it safe, some will assume it’s a chamber conversion from 7mm to 7.62. It is not. 7mm is longer than 7.62 NATO.
Also some will assume the 7.62 discussed is 7.62 CETME. Which is a weaker round. It is not. These are factory 7.62 NATO barrels.
The takeaway: if you shoot factory ammo, you will be fine. If you decide to only shoot MILSURP 7.62, you will be fine.
If you decide to shoot factory 308 ammo, you will be fine. At no point are you near destructive psi numbers.
If you are looking for a donor action to build your, “300-666 Satan” wildcat? Pick a different base gun.
Finally…as I type this I will count the minutes until Freeze calls the armory. Because he has literally been looking for one of these as a project gun for years.
A long while ago, he picked up a beater Spanish Mauser off of me, cleaned it up and made it look like a million bucks.
He has since traded it and regretted that move ever since. Why? Because at the end of the day, irrespective what the purist collectors think, shooters wants a 308 MILSURP they can run cheap, readily available, quality ammo in.
Tic-Toc, Freeze.
If you wish to contact this FFL about this pistol, click here:
john1911.com/second-hand-showcase-inquiry/
Marky
Www.john1911.com
“Shooting Guns & Having Fun”
Areas of focus: Defense and National Security, Modern Light Weapons, Small Arms, Weapons Training.
- Wilson Combat – Project 1 – Springs - December 21, 2024
- Wilson Project 1 – Muzzle Flash - December 20, 2024
- Wilson Combat – Project 1 Magazines - December 17, 2024
