Author Topic: Battalion Universitario Argentine Mauser  (Read 4296 times)

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Offline Greasemonkey

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Battalion Universitario Argentine Mauser
« on: July 28, 2017, 02:00:33 PM »
I had a friend tell me his buddy had a Argentine Mauser for a little bit of nothing.. so I went and looked on Wed.. I knew it was an 1891 and was sporterized, but the crest, I had never seen.. So, I bought it for the crest and drug it home, and little did I know.... what I had drug home.

Near as I can figure.. it's from The National Military College is the institution in charge of the undergraduate education of officers of the Argentine Army in Buenos Aires. There are 3 small lots of these rifles that exist, for Military School (125 rifles), Naval School (75 rifles) and University Battalion of the Federal Capital (University Battalion - 200 Rifles). Each has the schools respective crest stamped on their barrels. These guns will also have school serial numbers, the school serial prefix is different for each, and they usually will also have the standard serial intact as well. The military gave these schools rifles, and the schools, I'm guessing marked and serialized each rifle as such.

So...going off the schools serial B.U.18, this should be rifle 18 of 200, the school serials match, the originals don't. There is no import stamps, so either it predates import stamps, which is possible or the stamp was on the barrel stub that was hacked off. The receiver Argentine crest stamp was scrubbed, much like the very early imports of Argentine Mausers.

This is one, while I hate sporters, I was glad I got, I never knew Argentina had such a thing as officer cadet training schools, much less rifles dedicated to such training. Looking through numerous sources, info is few and far between on these, even photos of them are pretty scarce. 







I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse......

Leave the gun, take the cannoli.

I said I was an addict........I didn't say I had a problem

Offline spongemonkey

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Re: Battalion Universitario Argentine Mauser
« Reply #1 on: July 28, 2017, 02:31:29 PM »
Interesting and neat!   thumb1

Offline Phosphorus32

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Re: Battalion Universitario Argentine Mauser
« Reply #2 on: July 28, 2017, 04:44:34 PM »
One of the rarest Mauser variants. It is too bad it's sporterized but I have not seen a photo of an intact one and I wouldn't have hesitated for a heartbeat to snatch up that one (and I never buy sporters)  thumb1

If anyone has Colin Webster's book on the Argentine Mausers (unfortunately, I don't) there's supposed to be a picture of one inside. Reportedly, you can count the number of these in the public record in the US using just the digits on one hand of a railroad brakeman  :)) I've seen the number 2 used on Gunboards, so this would make 3  :o

Offline newchi

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Re: Battalion Universitario Argentine Mauser
« Reply #3 on: July 28, 2017, 08:08:10 PM »
Mauser crests in general are fascinating, this one even more so.
I really should start investigating the idea of adding some to my collection, but then i would need another cabinet

Offline martin08

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Re: Battalion Universitario Argentine Mauser
« Reply #4 on: July 28, 2017, 09:48:00 PM »
Glad you didn't pass on the sporter.  It's a keeper.

Just curious, does it have the early rear sight leaf?




Offline Direct Connection

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Re: Battalion Universitario Argentine Mauser
« Reply #5 on: July 28, 2017, 11:45:25 PM »
Everytime I buy something before I know what Im getting there's is never a surprise. Maybe I should start dragging them home too.. Ha ha ha .. Nice story, History, Pics, GM   thumb1

Offline Greasemonkey

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Re: Battalion Universitario Argentine Mauser
« Reply #6 on: July 30, 2017, 01:47:00 PM »
Everytime I buy something before I know what Im getting there's is never a surprise. Maybe I should start dragging them home too.. Ha ha ha .. Nice story, History, Pics, GM   thumb1
Sometimes you just gotta go in to it blind, remember even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once and a awhile. chuckles1


Glad you didn't pass on the sporter.  It's a keeper.

Just curious, does it have the early rear sight leaf?



M08, it seems to have the same rear sight as my conventional 1891 Argentine, also the magazine is the later 1891 style magazine with the front lock screw







As a side note... someone put some effort in to the sporter job.. I would guess it was done many years ago, possibly in a shop. It not your usual fly by night sporter done in moms basement. The cleaning rod hole is plugged, eh.. nothing new, but to machine the barrel for that style of front sight, that may have took a little work.


I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse......

Leave the gun, take the cannoli.

I said I was an addict........I didn't say I had a problem

Offline martin08

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Re: Battalion Universitario Argentine Mauser
« Reply #7 on: August 03, 2017, 10:23:26 AM »
The rear sights were redesigned in 1909 with the introduction of the Spitzer projectile.

So the school rifles were either built after 1909, or they received upgrades along with the rest of the Argentine military rifles.