Mauser M59

Kongsberg M59
Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk M59
Type	Bolt Action Repeating Sniper Rifle Target rifle
Place of origin	Norway
Service history
In service	1959 - ca. 2000
Used by	Norway
Production history
Designer	Kongsberg Small Arms
Designed	1959
No. built	N/A
Variants	M59 and M59F1
Specifications
Cartridge	.30-06 (M59) 7.62 × 51 mm NATO (M59F1)
Action	Bolt action
Rate of fire	N/A
Muzzle velocity	860-880 m/s
Effective firing range	800 m
Feed system	5-round magazine
Sights	Target aperture sight

The Mauser M59 and Mauser M67 were rifles produced by Kongsberg Arms of Norway and were not licensed products of Mauser. Although they were produced by Kongsberg it was always called a "Mauser" in Norway, hence its listing under Mauser.

After WW2, large numbers of German Mauser 98k were confiscated by Norwegian forces. Most of the rifles were re-barrelled to .30-06, later to 7.62 NATO, and used as normal service rifles, but a number of Mauser 98 actions were used as the basis for building both military sniper and civilian target rifles at Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk. Target shooting is very popular in Norway, and stocks of the Krag–Jørgensen M1894 were scarce after the end of the war. The Mauser rifles were available and very well suited to conversion into target rifles for use by the Norwegian DFS. The M59, M67 and the Krag–Jørgensen were the official target rifles of the Norwegian DFS until the adoption of the Sauer 200 STR in the 90's.

Kongsberg Våpenfabrikk introduced the M59 (also denoted KV59) in 1959, first chambered in .30-06, but shortly afterwards production was changed to accommodate the new 7.62 NATO round, and M59 rifles chambered for the 7.62 NATO were denoted M59F1. The M59F1 served first as a sniper rifle for the regular armed forces. After the NM149 was introduced, the M59F1 served with the Norwegian Home Guard (Heimevernet) until the 1990s. It was also used as a civilian target rifle, having the advantage over the Krag–Jørgensen M1894 that it did not suffer from changing point of impact in rainy weather. Thus, many shooters had a Krag–Jørgensen for the sunny days and one Mauser for rainy days.