I recently picked up a couple of small ring mausers in 9x57 to go with my large ring type C in that cartridge. I wanted something that I could take to the bush and modify to suit my aging eyes. Both have barrels that aren't bored out military wih similar German proof marks. I've only taken the stock off one, but on the underside of the barrel that one has a crown beside a crown over an N for nitro proof. There is also an 8.7 m/m over 6,28 and 316 below that. I assume the 316 is March of 1916. On the left side of the receiver ring there is St M G over 18.3 Gr.. The rifle with 316 on it has a more recent looking stamp on the left side of the barrel just ahead of the receiver ring that is 0600.02. That looks like it was stamped with individual number punches. The second rifle has the same St M G over 18.3 Gr. on the left of the receiver ring, but I haven't checked under the stock. One has double set triggers and the other a two stage trigger.

I did a search and the most recent reloading posts were a couple of years ago. I followed the advice in those posts and shot a factory Kynoch 245 grain in each new arrival to check the neck diameter. One of the brass allows a 225 grain Sierra .358 BTSP to fall into the case while barely touching the neck. The other the bullet has to be lined up very straight and a bit of a push to slide it into the neck. Does that mean this rifle needs swaged bullets? I'd rather not mess with the brass by turning the neck. Is the small ring mauser weaker to the point that loads have to be reduced?

I had a mis-step while duck hunting a couple of days ago and took a dip in the marsh with my camera in my pocket. I'll take some pictures of the new arrivals and post them when I replace it. Any info or comments in the meantime would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.