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That device is very interesting and appears to be meant to hold the bolt closed when the rifle is cocked and the safety off.
Which can be a help when stalking close to game. American gunsmith Barney Worthen built sporterized 1903 Springfield rifles in the early 1900 and he added a spring loaded detent in the front of the rear safety lug that snapped into the back of the extractor. It did the same thing.
And a few of the last Mauser sporters had a detent powered by the trigger spring that protruded through the bottom of the action and fit a notch in the rear safety lug that also held the bolt closed

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Just saw this thread.....

I'll add a specific reason to .458's comment here...

The owner may have been a Lefty.

As one myself I have had some bad experiences with Mauser bolts catching on my coat edge where the buttons are and ever-so-slightly...or completely...opening the bolt while covering steep and uneven ground or working my way thru brush or just walking about. VERY frustrating and in fact I had a plan to do this very thing {not exactly, but same concept} on a favored rifle some years ago.

The problem is the rifle when carried close to the body places the bolt handle against the torso and any gear/clothing there can snag the handle and if the rifle is then lowered, voila! There is no real resistance so you don't even notice it.

So anyway, the little gizmo looks like just the ticket for stalling this type of a malfunction.

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