Greetings from a newbie. Questions re an A grade Mauser in 8x60, type 1

[Hubertus36]

A friend has a Mauser A grade and wants me to find a rough value, for his insurance. Serial number is 1104xx & is chambered in 8x60 - I believe it to be an S bore as the proofs read 7,85 and 8,15, together with 210, Ch.15 & 156.14.
The bore is very good to perfect, as is the metal exterior. The solid red recoil pad is deforming, the checkering is dirty & gummed up and the wood has some dings & looks as if it has been varnished. It was carried a lot more than it was shot ! No 'scope screw holes.
Should he have the checkering freshened up and the stock re oil finished or should he just leave it alone ?

[sharps4590]

First off welcome to GGCA!! Clean it and leave it alone. A toothbrush works very well for cleaning out checkering. Value is impossible to say without pictures and a best guess with them.

[mike ford]

At this time, I believe they were prohibited from making "S" barrels. They, however, reamed the chambers so that the neck portion was large enough to release a "S bore bullet". Consequently 8x60 S ammo should be useable. To check, fire a round and see if the shank of a .323" bullet easily enters the neck of a fired case. As to the stock, I agree with sharps 4590.
Mike

[Hubertus36]

Thank you both for your input. I'll try & take some photos.

[Mauser9x57]

Hi,
Not wanting to step on any ones toes, but I would never recommend firing a loaded cartridge in a rifle whose chambering I wasn't sure of. I have owned two .318 groove diameter rifles. One was a 8x57R double rifle I no longer own, and the other an old Oberndorf Mauser converted from 8x57 to 8x60. In both cases the bore markings were 7.7. I always believed .323 rifles were marked 7.8, but I do not know that for a fact. My two .318 rifles would not chamber a round loaded with a .323 bullet.
My way of checking is to pull a bullet and powder from a round, put in ten grains of Bullseye, and stuff in some tissue paper. Put it in the rifle and touch it off. Then you can examine the empty case, make sure it hasn't changed shape compared to a new cartridge. Also like Mike said, check to see a .323 diameter bullet fits loosely in the case neck. I'm just the nervous type I guess. If the .323 bullet is tight in the empty case it could have been dangerous to fire a loaded round.
Dave