Can anyone ID this prewar Mauser sporter?

[MK20]

I bought this today and can tell it is pre war I think, but all the markings are gone as far as the receiver goes.

Here is what I can find on the gun.

The marking on the barrel is
"B. Haeussner
Magdeburg"

It is chambered for the 8x57 heavy ball.

Also, does anyone know how to fix off axis drilled holes in the receiver? Someone messed with a nice old survivor and mounted a damn Tasco on it and drilled the holes slightly off center.

@sirhrmechanic and @buffalowinter for their unmatched expertise.

 

[sirhrmechanic]

As the finish on that rifle is pretty much kaput… I would consider it a good candidate for full refinish.

So you can plug the holes with properly-fitted screws and file flush and the holes will disappear. I’d the holes are hogged out or wonky, use a split die and turn some threaded rod to be oversize on the threads. That way it will go in with little or no line/evidence.

You can put a nice period mount and scope on it and have a gorgeous rifle.

I would have it cold rust blued. Finish the stock in oil like Tru-oil. Maybe recut checkering.

Beautiful rifle!!

Sirhr

 

[MK20]

Thanks. For 400 I got this and a perfect BYF 44 barreled action with matching bolt, so I wasn't too disappointed.

I did some digging on the proof marks, and they are East German, strangely enough.

So my fascist rifle became a commie and is now just a certified redneck and will shoot deer and elk from now on.

 

[MK20]

The rifle is also stamped Bayard on the bottom of the action. No serial or other intelligible marks.

 

[buffalowinter]

Magdeburg became part of the DDR (East Germany) after WWII. The Haeussner Gunshop in Magdeburg was founded by a A. Haeussner in 1860. By 1900 it was run by son Bruno Haeussner. Addresses changed over the years, Alte Ulrichstr.8, then Kantstr.5 in 1910, 1935 Goethestr.3. He was quite a prolific gunmaker/seller as his guns are easy to find on the internet. He made lots of drillings.

 

[MK20]

Thanks. I found that reference but I saw mostly shotguns, and few rifles. Other markings are strange,, such as the "bayard" marking which is a trademark of Nicholas Pieper out of Liege Belgium.

Regardless, it will be fun to shoot deer or elk with a rifle that was likely made prior to WWII, although I am sure the vintage of the arm will be of little consequence to the ungulate.

 

[sirhrmechanic]

And as a bonus, East German sporting rifles are actually pretty rare. The East Germans weren’t all that big on having their citizens armed… Commies and all.

So to have or buy or receive a rifle in East Germany, you had to “be” somebody. Or you had to be a professional hunter or gamekeeper or similar. Or guns would be made for export or as presentation pieces by the DDR government.

So fascinating piece.

As for Bayard, the European gun industry had a lot more “craft” gun makers than the US did, at least post industrial-revolution. So people could take diverse high-quality (or salvage!) parts and make nice guns out of them. Also during the war, the National Socialists “ran” every major gun manufacturer in Europe. So everyone in Liege or Herstal or Brno was put to work making rifles for the 1000 year Reich. So suddenly you had Nazi Hi Powers, Nazi MAB’s, Nazi Brno’s… and as those Germans loved their stamps… they stamped everything. Papers please. Rifles, please.

So cool bit of history! Clean up and keep researching! I bet that gun has an interesting story.

Sirhr

 

[Foul Mike]

First thing I would do is measure the bore and see if is .318 or .323.
My Big Brother had a rifle almost identical to it with double set trigger that we shot on occasion. Kicked like a mule.
He loaded only light cast soft lead gas check bullets with light loads and it still knocked the snot out of you.
I did some research and measured the bore and found it was .318, the early size, and we were swaging down the larger diameter soft lead bullets when we shot it. It's a wonder we didn't blow it up!!!
I ordered the right bullets from Herter's and it then shot like a dream.
This was many years ago and I don't remember the markings but it seems like J and JS or something like that came in there.
I loved that rifle and wanted to buy it but being a poor Yute with no money it never happened. It was destroyed in a house fire. RIP David V. Trunde, he was a wonderful Big Brother and probably saved my life.