The mauser experts always win - always
It's actually much better balanced than you'd think. The Mauser does the same damage almost no matter what, which makes it really easy to score a non-lethal hit, then move in and finish 'em off with a single bash. I just finished a 2v2 rifles tournament, and my team always did better when the Mausers were in our hands.
Cheers,
Panzerman