PP - Mauser mainly produced rifles for military use, Mauser rifles were used by majority of the armed forces around the world during the first half of the last century. Most good guns today are some kind of modified Mauser action including Win 70, Dakota, Ruger, H&H, Rigby etc. The Mauser factory did make some rifles in sporting configuration which are know as Original Oberndorf sporter and are valued by collectors. No more of these rifles will be made so the value and nostalgia to Mauser collectors. Many people convert military Mausers to sporters and these too are Mauser sporters but not one made originally by Mauser in a sporting configuration.
Below is the picture of one of my guns converted from a military mauser, and for hunting it will be as good as any other gun on the market but at end of the day it is just a modified military rifle and there are thousands of them around. Can you call it a duplicate? I don't know because this action is also made by Mauser.
It is entirely up to an individual what the value of a product is for him, an off the shelf new synthetic Remington costing $450 will be more accurate than a Type A and makes more sense as a hunting rifle, but there are people willing to pay $5000 for an Oberndorf sporter which in most case they will never even shoot once. It all depends on demand and supply and value for a any given purchaser.
For example my 6 year old sons $15 Casio is more accurate than my $4500 mechanical Omega Titanium Chrono. From just time keeping point of view the Casio makes more sense because quartz are inherently more accurate than mechanical movements and it can be argued that the Casio is a better watch as it is more accurate. The battery in the Casio has died and it will be thrown away but I will cherish the Omega and pass it on to my son when he grows up. If watches are just tools to keep time, $20 is too high to pay for the Omega when there is a Casio available for $15.
So it all depends, in India where a nice Remington is as scarce or rare as a Mauser Type A both are equally valuable or the Remington is better and it makes perfect sense for a buyer to pay more for a Remington or Win 70. In countries where every gun shop has at least 15 Remingtons on the shelf at any given time and it takes months or years before you see a good original Mauser sporter for sale, things are different and that too only if you are a Mauser collector. I have hunter friends who would any day take a plastic stocked Stevens over a Mauser Type A, but then for them gun is just a tool to bring the meat home.
Herb
