Siamese Type 46/66 Mauser Rifle
Condition: Good
Mostly Matching Serial Numbers
The Siamese Mauser-style rifles were made in response to Western powers expanding throughout Southeast Asia in the late 19th century. King Rama V of Siam wanted to modernize his kingdom’s arsenal. The Siamese tested out a variety of rifles and like the Gewehr 98 design the best for a service rifle. This style of Mauser used the Gew98s bolt and cock on op action but removed the recoil lug. These rifles were developed in the Japanese arsenals and because of this, they had similar features as the Japanese type 35 rifles which were undergoing development at the same time. The big one is that the wooden stock was done in two pieces and sealed together which gives the appearance of a crack. This is because the machines were not big enough to do the stocks in one piece. The Siamese Mauser uniquely adapted a sliding dust cover along with a wrist tang. Although the design was licensed by Mauser, none of the components are interchangeable with any Mauser rifle made. In 1923, the Siamese military decided to upgrade their ammunition with a spitzer bullet. The new cartridge was adopted as the Type 66. Existing Type 46 and Type 47 rifles were rechambered for the 8x52mm rimmed Type 66 round. The rear sight ramps were also ground down to reflect the flatter trajectory of the new ammunition. As a result, many of the Thai numbers inscribed on rear sight ramps are partially cut off. After WWII these rifles were shortened and converted to .30-06
The condition of this Siamese Mauser T46/66 is good. The stock is in good condition but has some blemishes. We noticed some light chipping above the trigger guard under the bolt knob. The right-side of the rear stock has a series of scratches. The bluing is in good condition there is a bit of finish wear on the gun along with some patina forming on the metal. The bolt and bolt face look good and the action feels very smooth. The dust cover is operational. The barrel is in fair condition rifling is still present but the bore is pretty worn.