We have one of my grandfathers old rifles he brought home from his travels. I all i know is its an 8mm mauser that has been sporterized and he hand checkered the stock. I'm curious to know the county of origin and its age, but there are no markings or symbols on it other than a serial number on the side "2039"

That's pretty sweet!

thanks! it actually shoots decently, about 8" groups at 100 with open sights, would probably be better if i could actually see that far

I'm willing to bet that there are proof marks under the barrel which would establish the country. If it doesn't have proofs, the work was done here, but the spoon handled bolt looks like European work to me.

Love the spoon bolt handle.

While I am far from an expert on Pre WW II european rifles, several things jump out at me from your description & pics's. I agree with some disassembly to look for other ID'ing proof marks or SR#'s. The lack of any ID'ing marks or other info will make this difficult at best.

IMO this is a +/- WW I era mil surp rifle from the thumb cut ammo feeding port on the left side of the receiver.

Your pics don't give enough info about the bolt to see if it has a 3rd locking lug on the bottom just in front of the handle to confirm that it is indeed a '98 Mauser receiver instead of a '94 or '96 Mauser....while the 8x57 caliber is not as common on the '94 receivers it can be very common on '96 receivers in non German mfg'ed licensed production rifles.

The flip flop safety is common on all 3 receivers.

IMO the spoon handle on the bolt says Austrian roots of some sort to me, but could be an aftermarket aresenal rehab conversion of a WW I mil surp. Do the bolt SR#'s match the receiver?

The caliber of 8x57 comes in 2 different bore diameter variants that only a gunsmith can confirm and make a huge difference in the shootability and safety of the rifle. A 8x57J is a .318 bore and is the original version of the cartridge from 1898 hence the term "'98 Mauser" and was replaced before WW I...and the more common 8x57JS aka "Super" .323 diameter ammunition should NEVER be shot in a .318 diameter barrel.

I's find an Old Timer gunsmith and start asking questions there 1st before doing anything but a good cleaning and turning it into a wall hanger.
Stay Safe & Good Luck
JMHO & YMMV
Ron

Just talked to my dad about it, he said it's actually the stock bolt handle just flattened and reworked into the spoon shape. We're thinking it might be an m48bo which would explain the lack of markings. I'm gonna measure the action when I have some free time later to see if it's the m48 length.

Merry Christmas everyone

It's definitely the 8x57js, when we got it from my grandmother it came with a couple boxes of ammo which were all marked js. We've taken it to the range several times in the past year

So it cocks on lifting the bolt handle to open the receiver...or while pushing the bolt closed before the bolt handle is locked into place??Every even the most innocuous tidbit of info helps...
Ron

You beat me to it.

Good stuff Wiley

I love antiques. Especially antique firearms.

cocks when you lift the bolt handle

Even the latest of military Mausers (probably the most notable is the Yugo M-48's) had the thumb cut in the receiver.