This rifle belonged to my uncle. He died over 25 years ago. This has been in my mothers closet since then.
I cannot find any information on this. I have no idea what type of ammo it takes. I would appreciate any help.
Yes, it is a Dominican Republic mauser in .30-06. Very collectible, not many of these are around today.
It looks to be a Dominican Republic M53 short rifle.
As to the value, I could not find anything on how much it would be worth. The only thing I would do to it is wipe it down with oil, do not refinish anything, that would destroy the collectors value.
If all the numbers match, it will be more valuable.
I would say it has a value of $550 plus, it could bring a lot more at auction like gunbroker or autionarms.
I found several long rifles, but none like this for sale.
I should say, that ORIGINALLY it was for the .30M2 which is of course a .30-06. It could be rechambered to anything, so a good gunsmith should be consulted to make sure it is safe, and in .30-06 chambering.
I have tried .30 06 and .308. .308 drops in and will not extract. .30 06 will not chamber. I gave up and took it to a gunsmith. I hope to have it back Monday. I will let you know.
with these old mausers, remember these have to be fed through the magazine. otherwise, the extractor will not slip over the rim of the shell, it will just lay on top and not close. it was originally a .30-06, but who knows for sure now... there might be an obstruction, such as a case head separation that left the front half of the case in the rifle, I found one 8mm like that once, got it cheap cause it didn't work, snapped in a broken shell extractor and presto, it worked then. Let us know what you find out.