Rare OVS Boer War / Chilean M1893 DWM Mauser 7×57 Rifle in Very Nice Condition

A rare Orange Free State (O.V.S.) Boer War contract and Chilean contract Model 1893 DWM full-length 7×57 Mauser rifle. 28″ barrel. Near excellent overall condition with 98%+ original arsenal blue–except on the butplate. Made in late 1897 or early 1898. No import mark. Bolt serial numbers mismatched to receiver—typical of early rifles that went back to the Chilean for arsenal re-build. This rifle likely started out with a straight bolt, but was retrofitted with a cavalry-syle bolt. Chilean crest is intact on receiver ring. Cleaning rod is present and number-matching! Bore is bright, with sharp rifling.  The rifle’s wood and metal show only light service wear. (See photos.) The stock shows a faint cartouche. The bolt stop and follower still show some brilliant electric blue color. A later-style russet leather sling is included. Serial number 812X. Matching number on cleaning rod, triggerguard, and floorplate, but not the bolt. The no-prefix Model 1893s were some of the first produced after Ludwig Loewe was merged into DWM in 1897. Often mistakenly called “Model 1895”, these are mechanically the Model 1893, because they have a square-bottom bolt and don’t have the Chilean Model 1895-style third locking lug. This rifle was initially slated for delivery to the Orange Free State in South Africa during the Second Boer War. But this is one of the last batch of O.V.S.-marked rifles that were intercepted by the British in 1899. They were returned to DWM, and subsequently marked with the Chilean crest for inclusion in one of the Chilean contract orders. (For some great historical background, see the video by firearms historian Ian McCollum: Boer Mausers. And this from the NRA: Boer Mauser Rifle.) The Model 1893s like this with “O.V.S.” (“Oranje Vrystaat”) Boer contract markings on the receiver are very rarely seen, and this one is in particularly good condition.(EMIL-082)