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We just picked up this Mauser and are trying to get more info on it. Based on the flaming bomb proof mark on the stock, I belive it is Spanish. The SN is numbers only.

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On the rifle shown above, that is a French Army sling cut in the left side of the butt of the stock. Or so it appears. They made this modification on many captured German K.98 rifles after WW2.
 
On the rifle shown above, that is a French Army sling cut in the left side of the butt of the stock. Or so it appears. They made this modification on many captured German K.98 rifles after WW2.
Even with the Spanish proof mark? I guess it doesn't mean anything because every piece has different numbers on them. No serial number matches.
 
Even with the Spanish proof mark?
Without looking the rifle over more closely, I'm not sure what you've got there. It isn't exactly a Spanish M43, because it has a turned-down bolt handle which the stock is cut for. But it doesn't have a K.98 handguard. The stock has the round, metal fitting through the butt stock for firing pin take-down, which isn't seen on the Spanish M43, this is a typical German feature on the K.98. The bayonet fitting lacks the adapter that M43's were originally made with, although this was sometimes removed.

Here is a flight of fancy. The Spanish allowed volunteers to serve on the Russian front in WW2, the Blue Division. Is it possible that this piece of equipment was once used by such Spanish forces, and was captured by the French at the end of WW2? Makes for a good story. But the timeline might not favor this possibility, as most Spanish volunteers were ordered home about the time the M43 rifle came out. Although some stayed through the end of the war. I don't know if the Blue Division supplied its own equipment or if they simply used German issued stuff.
 
I don't know if the Blue Division supplied its own equipment or if they simply used German issued stuff.
As I understand it, they were equipped by the Germans, but also used captured weapons. From Blue Division Soldier, 1941-45: Spanish Volunteer on the Eastern Front, by C. Caballero Jurado: "Once in Germany, they were equipped, sworn in and were sent off to the front at the earliest opportunity." and "Although Spanish troops were impressed by the quality of arms with which the Germans equipped the Blue Division, they soon came to appreciate that Soviet weapons were often more reliable and hard-wearing."
 
Maybe a reworked Wz.29. Stock looks like a Wz.29 stock for sure. Handguard has dowel reinforcements. Is there a dowel reinforcement in the bolt cutout? Like this? Any circle Z stamps on the metal?

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Mauser 98k rifles have been around for a while now...and many countries have used 'em.
Parts were made to be interchangeable between rifles with little to no fitting work.
When the military does a rework / refurbish on a rifle...they just want a working rifle...and often any part will do...as long as it works.*

And lets not forget the garage gun smiths out there....( Myself included )
Parts for these rifles were cheap and easy to find at one time , not so long ago....
I have built / assembled more than a few military dress K98 rifles as well as a few '03 / 03A3 Springfields from parts and parts from junked / sporterized rifles....

I say all of the above just as something to consider when looking at a old Mauser...or almost any older firearm for that matter...
You gotta look at the firearm as a whole...and be careful making a call / ID or the like just based on one feature of the firearm.

Please note that I not saying that this Mauser ain't a Spanish Mauser...it could be...
But all we really know is that the stock has a Spanish proof mark....so the stock is Spanish...but that does not automatically mean the rest of the rifle is as well.
Andy

Edit to add :
Anything before the * can also apply to the many variations of the 98k and its derivatives....
 
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Another vote for Polish wz.29. From what I'd read a bunch of them were sent over during the Spanish civil war, many ended up re-worked in one way or another. The stock set almost 100%. When the Spanish adopted the M43, the army got priority. The Spanish Air Force needed rifles as well, but theirs (the M44) would be largely be made from wz.29's. This is why they tend to lack typical Spanish manufacturers' marks. So my guess this is just a wz.29 that saw some sort of 2nd line use in Spanish service and/or in a branch other than the army. It's hard to tell from those pics, but the bend in the bolt doesn't look factory.
 
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Its a Polish WZ29 mauser. Scrubbed of all polish markings and sent to spainish communists as military aid during their civil war in the 1930s, and later refuebished and exported to the US in the 50s.
Most were stripped and reworked into spanish m43s and fr-8s.
An uncommon mauser, and one of the best looking k98s in my opinion.
Unfortunately your stock has been heavily sanded.

SCW_WZ29.jpg

This is mine. Has the same cartouche on the stock, dowell reinforcements, Z marked parts, and "8MM" stamp on the barrel. Only serial numbers on the whole gun are on the receiver and bolt
 

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