The Mauser 105 .22 rifle
Written on November 19, 2013 By Tony in Repeaters, Rifles
The Mauser 105 was made in Germany in the 80’s. It’s production started shortly after Mauser bought the german portion of Voere. The design is based on the earlier Voere 2005 rifle, and differs in only small details, such as the threaded barrel, and variation in sights.
It’s a .22 caliber semi auto with a 24″ barrel. From the factory the receiver was grooved for a scope (11mm or 3/8″) and has tangent rear and hooded front sights. My rifle has had both sights removed. The rear was removed to give clearance for the scope, and the front to make it look better since the rear was gone. I placed the sights in a baggie marked with what gun they’re from and put them in the back of the safe.
The muzzle is factory threaded with the european standard 1/2″x20 TPI. I’ve added an adapter to mine to allow the use of a 1/2″x28 TPI suppressor. The stock is beech or something similar, and mine has seen better days, but is solid and serviceable. Don’t let the picture fool you, it’s got a lot more scratches and dings than you see.
The problem I had with the rifle when I got it, was that it came without a magazine, and there are no magazines readily available for it. I’ve heard that a H&K model 270 magazine could be modified to work, but with the prices on those climbing to $100 or more, I decided to see if I could do something else. In the end, I opened up the magazine well in the trigger housing some, and modifying a Bingham model 20 magazine to fit. It functions pretty well, but I wouldn’t recommend the same thing to someone else, instead find the magazine for a Jennings J-22 and modify that to fit (I have a second 105 that I’ve done this with, it keeps the gun original that way)
The gun has been reliable with just about anything I’ve tried in it. CCI SV has proven quite accurate as well, though I haven’t tested anything else very extensively.
Now let’s talk about what makes this gun very different from most of the .22 semi auto rifles you’ll find at the range or at the local gun shop. The method of operation of most semi auto .22’s is simple, when you pull the trigger, the hammer strikes the firing pin, crushing the primer and firing the round. The recoiling case pushes the bolt back, cocking the hammer again. As the bolt closes, it strips another round from the magazine feeding it into the chamber, leaving the gun ready to fire another round.
The Mauser 105 is an open bolt semi auto. What that means is that when you pull the trigger, the bolt closes, stripping a round and feeding it, a raised ridge on the bolt face fires the round when the round is fully chambered. Then the recoiling case pushes the bolt back where it locks in place, ready to start again. The Open bolt system is very simple. There’s no firing pin and no extractor, in fact, the entire bolt is just one solid piece of machined steel with a bolt handle that screws into the side.
I have found that the little Mauser is lightweight, easy to shoot well, and with a suppressor, very quiet (with subsonic ammo). If you can find one, I think you’ll be pleased. I like mine so much that I bought a second one when I had the chance. Im glad I did, as I haven’t seen another one since.
UPDATED:
I realized I forgot to add a picture of the rifle with the magazines I’ve fitted the rifle for. These are two 15 round magazines and a 25 round mag.
