1914 Erfurt wont chamber a round

The one photo you provided of the empty case you have been trying to chamber shows significant scratching or marring all around the case mouth. That may be from repeated attempts to chamber it or it may be indicative of some circular obstruction in the forward section of the chamber. As was stated above, take case that or a different case and color the case neck with a black sharpie before trying to chamber it. Wherever the black marking is removed or disturbed will let you know where the problem is and then you can focus on a solution.
 
That case was from one attempt to chamber. The marks on the end are the results of it hitting whatever is in there.

I will color with sharpie and re attempt.

Thank you all!
 
My first thought is that the circular obstruction may be the neck of a case that ruptured when fired and left the case neck in the chamber.
That possibilty was mentioned by previous posters, or it could be some heavy corrosion in that chamber area. If you don't have the tools or feel you don't have the expertise to use them, I recommend going to a gunsmith and have the rifle examined.
 
Cololab said:
My first thought is that the circular obstruction may be the neck of a case that ruptured when fired and left the case neck in the chamber.
That possibilty was mentioned by previous posters, or it could be some heavy corrosion in that chamber area. If you don't have the tools or feel you don't have the expertise to use them, I recommend going to a gunsmith and have the rifle examined.
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I looked at that ridge too...it would be a pretty clean break for a case rupture, but it doesnt look quite right. OP, are the sharpie scratches on the neck of the case or below the shoulder?
 
Cyrano4747 said:
You would be surprised how little chamber you really see looking into the barrel.

The bolt handle is bugging me. Can anyone ID what that is off? Not german, by the looks of it. Are you sure that's the bolt for a standard length 98 action?
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The bolt knob looks to have Romanian lion stamped on the top side. I cannot tell what is on the bottom side. If he is able to close the bolt on empty chamber I'd say it's for standard length.
 
The bottom half of case is fingerprints. It's a clear defined ring. Looks kinda jagged in a couple spots.
 

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Get yourself a cheap bore scope. You can answer this question for less than $50.

This isn't the one I own (these cheap electronics go in and out of production all the time so it's hard to just recommend a single model) but it's broadly comparable in terms of the features. Plug it into your computer or usbc-compatable phone and use the existing camera app that it certainly has.


That one is $30 with one day shipping. You could be answering this question tomorrow.

The key things you need to look for are the camera diameter (obviously you can't fit a .5 inch borescope in a .3 inch barrel) and the focal length. A lot of the ones meant for automotive or handyman use have focal lengths in the 1.5 - 10 inch range. What you want for a gun is a focal length of under 1cm, assuming that the scope comes with an angled mirror to look at the barrel wall directly (the one I linked does).

If you really, really want to know what's going on inside your chamber neck, this is the tool you need.
 
Chamber cast mate, that could help. Get some cerrosafe and try.

M71 example

So the bolt closes on empty, but not on a case.
Could it be that the bolt is for a smaller mauser caliber, is it possible to see a picture of the bolt face ?
I doubt its the receiver and barrel, but moreso blockage or an incompatible bolt. Looking at the photos I am leaning towards a blockage as it appears the cases are being crimped by something.

PXL_20240104_130819157.jpg
 
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