I'm currently in the process of locating parts for a Turk Mauser action I have.
Whilst the action was chambered to 8mm when it arrived in Australia it did not begin that way.
It was part of an order of Mausers built in Germany in 1903 that were chambered to 7.65x53.
As a result it is not the standard action designed for 8x57 or 7x57 or 30-06.
It is the "k" (kurz = short) action and as a result in 1938 the armory in Ankara, Turkey, had to mill a notch in the front ring of the action so it would accept 8x57 stripper clips.
Basically, the distance between the rings standard is to short to accept an 8x57 military round.
The mag is fine and I suspect it would even fit a 9.3x62 so long as the bullet isn't seated right out.
Problem is I'm missing the magazine follower, spring and floorplate.
Can some Mauser knowledgable members give some specs about the different models and let me know how long the floorplate and mag follower and floor plate should be for this model?

G,day Andy, i'm willing to bet the actions on my Turk and yours came from the same order of 200,000 rifles.
I got a length measurement of 70mm for the follower and an overall measurement of 220mm for the floorplate assembly.

Well, here are a few pics of the action so you can compare.
Here's an overhead shot of the action....note the semicircular notch in the front receiver ring that was necessary to make it possible to use 8x57 stripper clips in the action.

 
Here's a closer look at that.....sorry about the poor quality:

 

 
It's a little pitted along the RHS and the end of trigger is also broken.....you can see it in the pic above.
But hey, I got it for $50 and I'll replace the trigger with a Timney or the like.
I can't complain about that.
Here are some measurements.
The inside of the low side of the receiver (RHS) from front ring to back ring is 2.85".
The internal dimensions of the magazine well in the floorplate is 3.407.

Identical to mine, i've seen some interesting customs made with these actions at various sites on the net.
I actually got mine to the range the other day after i had 6mm lopped off the end of the barrel and a recrown done, and am very happy with how it's shooting now, however the sights on them are atrocious and very hard to line up, so i might see if i can get a peep sight for it somewhere.

Try Harry's Mauser in Brisbane he'll be able to help you.  Get him on (03) 3266 9634.
 
Cheers
 
Jorge

Turns out it was an 07 number, Jorge, but thanks for the heads up.
Gave Harry a call and he had the follower, spring and floorplate.
So he organised to send it down tomorrow morning.
So I hung up mighty pleased.
Then it struck me I should ask if he sees many ex-mil 7x57 bbls about that would suit the Turk.
So I called him back and quizzed him about it.
He raved about a Turk Mauser he's spun a Chilean bbl onto that shoots smaller groups than his super slick 7mm-08 Remington.
Then he went back and had a look around in his stock and wouldn't you know it, he has another 26" Chilean bbl in excellent condition, better even than the bbl he put on his own turk action, with a sporting sight on the front and the old military rear sight base still on it.
So now I'll have a bbl and the action parts in the mail tomorrow.
Gotta love service like that.
Just one problem - gotta think up a cover story for the missus......

Sounds like you are set! I believe all those 1903 actions were made at Oberndorf and when the Turks converted them to the 1938 version, they should take a standard 8MM follower, spring and floorplate. They made thousands of the 7.65-53 versions for Argentina, Belgium, Turkey and other Latin American countries. The 7.65 is actually a 53.4 length. Being a large ring Mauser, Turkey standardized all their 7.5's to 8MM-57 in the 1930's. Chamber pressures are pretty much the same for both calibers so action strength is not an issue. If the action is marked Kale, these were made in Turkey and I have heard these actions are not up to par with the German made ones, however, I have no proof this is true. I have a 7.65-53 Peruvian carbine that shoots better than I can!

Kombi, the 7.65-53 is not a short action rather it was an intermediate one. I believe the K (Kurtz) refers to the barrel length not the action.  Regards, Rick.

I certainly am set and quite chuffed about it.
And the action isn't a "Kale" action.
It has the letters:
 

It's clearly an Obendorf 03/38 because it has the notch milled out of the front ring.
I didn't realise it was the intermediate.
I knew there were a lot of 7.65s made for Sth America.
Funnily enough running at the standard max of 49,000 CUP they're no more powerful than a 303 Brit, of which they have the same bore size.
I don't think a standard k98 follower would fit though.
They're 3.16" and the 03/38 is 2.76"
 
BTW, bit of news on the homefront.
I got home and the missus was in a good mood so after listening politely to her news I said "I'm bad at lying and it always comes out anyway, and I'm too dumb to spin it so I'll tell you straight."
When I told her the story and the cost she looked a little bemused and said "So it's that much, eh?"
I nodded hopefully but hesitantly and she said "And you're going to make me a cup of tea and look after the kids while I go and meet up with one of my friends, right?"
"I would anyway," I replied with my most winning smile.
So everything is sweet.
Gotta love my missus.....she's a keeper.

I believe when they converted them they had new magazines installed....but I may be wrong. Regards, Rick.

Slick, boy, slick!

Glad I could help Andy sorry about the prefix. I'm moving back to Melbourne so I'm already putting the Victorian prefixes on my numbers.
 
He's an honest fellow, has posted me stuff before i have even paid him. Very good to deal with. He has a Portuguese Mauser barrel I wan to buy off him, its pristine and they are not stepped.
 
Your hypnosis or Jedi mind tricks on the missus are enviable. :D
 
Cheers
 
Jorge

Not trying to talk anyone into anything, but the CIP on the 8x57 is 56,565 PSI, and the Turk actions, whether they be "Kale" or not are fully capable of 'taking' that pressure. I regularly run my Turk (Kale) actions at 54,000 PSI and I check the bolt set-back periodically. No movement.

49,000 PSI is fine, in fact, that pressure often produces excellent precision. But... there isn't a "Mauser" action made in the 20th century - INCLUDING THE LOW-NUMBERED O3s! - that can't handle 56,000 PSI. Again, I'm not say anyone SHOULD run pressure up there, but rather that there is NO reason not to.

Glad you found the parts you needed including the barrel. Whaduya gonna put on it for a stock?

Paul

No worries about the prefix, Jorge. Harry is one of the last true gents in the gun business. He reminds me of Tom Turton actually. Clearly he does it because he loves it and he does not grumble or act like he's doing you a favour when you call and ask about something. Instead it seems each chat is an opportunity for him to spread his passion. Personally I really admire that.
 
For the record I used no hypnosis or Jedi mind tricks. I'm just a firecracker in the sack.......darn it, the secret is out! :angry: Of course if you ask my wife to confirm it she'll deny it on confidentiality grounds.
 
I'm of the same opinion about Turk actions, Paul. The Spanish FR-8s I'm a little suspect about and I wouldn't be keen on using one but any German made Mausers in particular are quite tough. They're of the same grade as the k98s that were converted to 7.62 NATO for the Israelis.
 
I did find something fascinating when looking at the loads for 7x57 on the Hodgdon site. Since a number of the Hodgdon powders are identical to ADI powders it's good to look at their pressure figures. Since my intention is to use either the Sierra GameKing 140gr SBT or Hornady 139gr SST I checked out the most efficient powders for it. Hodgdon lists that 46.5gr of H4350 (ADI AR2209) pushes a 140gr at 2682fps. Alternatively a 49.5gr compressed load of H4831(ADI AR2213SC) pushes at 140gr at 2719fps. Thing is, according to the Hodgdon site, both loads are only 46,000 CUP.
 
Now, all of us would agree that both the Obendorf made 03/38 action and the 7x57 case design are up to +50k CUP. Clearly I can't use H4831 as it's already a compressed load at 46,000 CUP. But it would be fascinating to find out exactly how fast a 140gr can be pushed with H4350 at around 49,000 to 50,000 CUP if the OAL is 3.12". Could you run those figures through QuikLOAD, Paul?
 
The stock question is a good one. The biggest issue is whether it'll fit in a standard M98 stock or needs special inletting. You've build Twedes before, Paul. Do Turks fit into a standard M98 stock like those Boyds make or am I going to have to get it custom inletted?

Cleavers up here in Brissie have a very nice walnut stock to suit a Mauser 98 action for $250, looks like a Bavarian style with checkering, it's on usedguns.com under gun parts, would it fit?, have to go close you'd reckon.

The quest gets even stranger. The barrel, follower, spring and floorplate arrived here today, much to my delight. Here's the bbl:

 
As you can see it has a sporting front sight base and I suspect the muzzle was shortened slightly when it was fitted as it's about 25.5" long. The bore is lovely. Not shiney but zero pitting and very good. Even the bluing is pretty good. Here's a closer look at the tag and the military rear sight base:

 
The Turk floorplate, follower and spring also appeared.
 

 
They fitted perfectly......except for the floorplate. :huh:
It was too short by about 3mm.
It didn't really make a great deal of sense so I rang Harry again to chat with him about the problem.
That brought us to the real issue.
Here's a pic of the box mag/trigger guard from underneath:

 
Note the arrows.........provide any clues for those Mauser-knowledgeable readers?
If not I'll fill in the blanks.
The arrow on the left pointing to the hole by the front action screw is for a locking screw.
Turk mausers don't generally have lock screws.
That isn't a problem in itself but the right hand arrow seals it.
That edge sticking out into the box is the feed ramp.
Try using that box and rounds willl hang up in the mag.
Clearly the mag is from a Columbian carbine or the like.
After ironing this out with Harry through a convoluted question-&-answer session he said he'd send down a Turk box mag complete with matching floorplate.
The bottom line is I reckon I'll name this rifle Frank.......short for Frankenstein!!