Choosing a Mauser M03 or two

When Joel from Miall's Gun Shop told me that he had one of the Mauser M03 140th Anniversary edition rifles on display I looked up all I could find on these online. The Mauser site has a page with some good pics. Once I was in the shop I saw the display model in its glass cabinet, nicely lit and slowly revolving, with a pair of high grade Blaser R8s for company. It was a good look. Handling that particular M03 left me thinking, "Oh yes, I could enjoy one of these." Joel passed across a couple of very nice R8s for me to shoulder and again I thought how well put together the Blasers are. They do come up and point very well. But for me it was the Mauser M03 that ticked the technical boxes and made me smile with the way it looks and feels. My deliberately slow selection process had allowed time for head and heart to meet up.

Miall's had a handful of the 140th Anniversary of Mauser rifles in stock. I took a quick iPhone photo of the ones I liked best. 140 were made, using Grade 4 walnut, with special engraving on the bolt, trigger guard and magazine. After a kitchen conference back home we were agreed that my son and I would be able to make good use of number 52 and 48. The fact that they were in 30-06 and 270 Win was a bonus, though of course selecting other calibers from stock would have been possible, such is the flexibility of the Mauser M03 system.

I asked Joel to pull out a Mauser M03 Basic, which is pictured below. The tiger striping on this rifle was striking, so much so that other customers and salesmen commented on it. The stock number is shown in the photo if someone wants to be quick. Note that the light was warm and there is more colour in these pics than our eyes see. The background colour of the walnut is a touch lighter and cooler in reality.