March Purchases
- Thread starter stencollector
- Start date
Nepali Martini
Needing a project I got a "Untouched" Napali Cache 1878 Francotte pattern
Martini. I have been at it with WD40 and a wire brush. Here is the before:
The wood was rotten underneath one band almost through and was in very bad condition around the stock bolt, so I order replacement wood. (I did try doing a splice without success but did discover that you really bleed when you cut your finger with a wood chisel) One nice thing was that there was a cleaning rod lodged in the barrel.
Needing a project I got a "Untouched" Napali Cache 1878 Francotte pattern
Martini. I have been at it with WD40 and a wire brush. Here is the before:
The wood was rotten underneath one band almost through and was in very bad condition around the stock bolt, so I order replacement wood. (I did try doing a splice without success but did discover that you really bleed when you cut your finger with a wood chisel) One nice thing was that there was a cleaning rod lodged in the barrel.
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Actually got this a couple of weeks ago, but haven't had a chance to get a decent picture until now. Thanks to Jean Plamondon I filled a hole in my collection I've been looking for for 10 years.... an original Russian Mosin-Nagant 1891. That's it, nothing all that special about it - I can't believe it took this long either.
The rifle is an 1896 Tula with the 1910 upgrades, but still has it's original magazine sling swivel. It's actually not in great shape - "sewer pipe" might actually be a generous description of the bore, it's not really shootable, but I've got Finns for that. The handguard is a replacement that's just a little too long for the front band to fit properly, the buttplate sticks out and the crossbolt is pretty rotted - but frankly, when you consider how much history this rifle has seen, it's understandable. I'm just excited to finally have one.
This rifle was around for the Russo-Japanese War, World War One, the Russian Revolution / Civil War, the Polish / Soviet War, the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian Indepence Wars and probably the Spanish Civil War (explains how it made it to Canada without being converted recycled or Finned). Interestingly, it has a fairly crude cross stamped onto the receiver, I think with a bullet tip, which I think I can be fairly confident was not done in Red or Spanish Republican service. Possibly Imperial Russian but my first thought is the Whites. Might also explain how it escaped having it's Czarist eagles defaced.
The rifle is an 1896 Tula with the 1910 upgrades, but still has it's original magazine sling swivel. It's actually not in great shape - "sewer pipe" might actually be a generous description of the bore, it's not really shootable, but I've got Finns for that. The handguard is a replacement that's just a little too long for the front band to fit properly, the buttplate sticks out and the crossbolt is pretty rotted - but frankly, when you consider how much history this rifle has seen, it's understandable. I'm just excited to finally have one.
This rifle was around for the Russo-Japanese War, World War One, the Russian Revolution / Civil War, the Polish / Soviet War, the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian Indepence Wars and probably the Spanish Civil War (explains how it made it to Canada without being converted recycled or Finned). Interestingly, it has a fairly crude cross stamped onto the receiver, I think with a bullet tip, which I think I can be fairly confident was not done in Red or Spanish Republican service. Possibly Imperial Russian but my first thought is the Whites. Might also explain how it escaped having it's Czarist eagles defaced.
Nyles you may be right about your M91 being used in the Spanish Civil War. Some collectors think that the 'dice mark' punch dots represents a SCW rifle.
Plus the handguard not fitting properly has been reported as a feature of a SCW M91 that had its handguard replaced in Spain. Does it have any brass end caps? Hard to tell from the pics.
Here's a web site on SCW Mosins: http://scwmosin.weebly.com/index.html
Plus the handguard not fitting properly has been reported as a feature of a SCW M91 that had its handguard replaced in Spain. Does it have any brass end caps? Hard to tell from the pics.
Here's a web site on SCW Mosins: http://scwmosin.weebly.com/index.html
A couple new purchases for this month, both made at Waffenfabrik Steyr, Austria prior to WW1:
1) a Chilean Modelo 1912 from P&S. This is one of the nicer hand-select rifles. Bolt matches itself but is mis-matched to the rifle. Cleaning rod is mis-matched, but everything else matches and apart from a few handling marks, the rifle is nearly unissued like a brazilian 1908 or Argentine 1909.
2) 1890 Steyr Gewehr 88/05 Commission Rifle. This one is a non-refurb, receiver still in the white, but was converted in Germany to the 1905 pattern. All the original imperial parts match except for the serrated button on the rear sight slide and the bolt. The bolt is a Czech-made replacement fitted to the rifle in Turkey during the inter-war period. Rifle has a Czech property mark on the receiver and the rear sight ladder has been re-numbered in arabic script. Otherwise a very fine example of a pre-WW1 German rifle and marked to the 10th Bavarian Infantry Regiment (Ernst Rohm's old unit). Actually, this is the nicest Gew88 I've ever seen in person condition-wise and the nicest I've ever even seen pics of with a Turkish ownership stamp - usually they are beat. I'm glad to have it
(It was a Collector's Source gun)
1) a Chilean Modelo 1912 from P&S. This is one of the nicer hand-select rifles. Bolt matches itself but is mis-matched to the rifle. Cleaning rod is mis-matched, but everything else matches and apart from a few handling marks, the rifle is nearly unissued like a brazilian 1908 or Argentine 1909.
2) 1890 Steyr Gewehr 88/05 Commission Rifle. This one is a non-refurb, receiver still in the white, but was converted in Germany to the 1905 pattern. All the original imperial parts match except for the serrated button on the rear sight slide and the bolt. The bolt is a Czech-made replacement fitted to the rifle in Turkey during the inter-war period. Rifle has a Czech property mark on the receiver and the rear sight ladder has been re-numbered in arabic script. Otherwise a very fine example of a pre-WW1 German rifle and marked to the 10th Bavarian Infantry Regiment (Ernst Rohm's old unit). Actually, this is the nicest Gew88 I've ever seen in person condition-wise and the nicest I've ever even seen pics of with a Turkish ownership stamp - usually they are beat. I'm glad to have it
(It was a Collector's Source gun)
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No, the "S" indicates the leave of the rifling was verified with a gauge in 1905 to ensure the new 8x57JS spitzer-patronen would fit in the chamber. The older M1888 8x57J round had a smaller diameter bullet (.318") compared to the M1905 round (.321" 154gn), despite this, most rifles gauge fine and got the "S" stamp. Those that did not got a light pass with a reamer to slightly enlarge the leave before the S was stamped on.
These rifles were made under contract for Germany and served in the Imperial German Army - they were't actually used by or issued to the Austrian Army.
Apples and oranges, my friend
That is a nice clean Mexican 1936.
Mine has most of the blue worn off.
Thankfully the internals are clean and the bore is bright and sharp.
Mexican Mausers are some of the nicer rifles out there, when you can find them in decent condition.
They are well made and accurate.
Sadly, most Mexican Mausers have been ridden hard and put away wet.
Mine has most of the blue worn off.
Thankfully the internals are clean and the bore is bright and sharp.
Mexican Mausers are some of the nicer rifles out there, when you can find them in decent condition.
They are well made and accurate.
Sadly, most Mexican Mausers have been ridden hard and put away wet.
