Mauser is the common name of a German arms manufacturer, maker of a line of bolt-action rifles from the 1870s to present. Their designs were built for the German armed forces, and have been exported and licensed to a number of countries in the later 19th and early 20th century, as well as being a popular civilian firearm.
In the late 20th century Mauser continued making sporting and hunting rifles. In the 1990s it became a subsidiary of Rheinmetall. Mauser Jagdwaffen GmbH was split off and continues making rifles, while the Rheinmetal subsidiary, called Mauser-Werke Oberndorf Waffensysteme GmbH made other products for a time before being merged into Rheinmetall Waffe Munition GmbH. The Mauser name has also sometimes been licensed by other companies.