Mauser?

Question
I have a rifle and am not sure what it is, I have photos I can send if you tell me where to send them. The rifle is old, bolt action, has 107. imprinted in the  left end of the bolt and on the back of the safty (which is a flip style). it also has a 6164 imprinted at the left of the  breach also L8107 on the bolt handle. I think its a 7mm but I don't know if it is Mauser or Mag. I don't know enough about guns to even know if there's a difference in the two. Can you please help me?

Thank you,
David

Answer
Hi David.

The numbers that you provided sound like part numbers or serial numbers. Check the barrel, receiver, and trigger guard for any other text, numbers, or symbols and let me know what you find. Sometimes the markings can be hidden by the stock or forearm, or by rust/grease so you might need to do a bit of basic disassembly and cleaning to see them. If you send me more info then I will try to help. You can email your photos to [email address removed] and I will check them out.

Reply with a follow-up question once you have more info.

Thanks!

Bob
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UPDATE:

I just received your photos David.

Your rifle is definitely a Mauser but there are not enough markings visible in the photos for me to say for sure which type.

Someone has obviously replaced the original stock and they may have done some other repair work on it as well, such as swapping parts like the bolt and trigger from other rifles. Hopefully they did not remove any of the original markings. There may be more markings on it which are not visible until you remove the stock, particularly under the barrel where it joins the receiver. Once you have removed the stock and identified all of the markings then you will need an accurate reference book to lookup the markings and confirm the origin of the rifle. Here is a book that is perfect for your needs:

http://www.amazon.com/Mauser-Military-Rifle-Markings-2nd/dp/0967689635/

It probably isn抰 a German model unless you can find some German symbols such as lightning bolts, swastikas, eagles, etc. So it might be a Spanish model or even Belgian. You won抰 know for sure until you can look it up in the book noted above but here is a link to a good article which describes many of the different models and how they changed over the years:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauser

With a rifle that old (and one that has been worked on by somebody else) I wouldn抰 shoot it until you can confirm the caliber and have it inspected by a gunsmith for safety. It may be just fine for shooting purposes but you don抰 want to take any chances. Value is probably very low (under $50-$100) unless you find special markings and the parts are all original except for the stock. If you don抰 want to purchase the book above then try finding it in a large public library or visit a local gunsmith and they might be able to identify it for you with one of their books.

Good luck!

Bob