My newly refinished M69 Danish target rifle ("Otterup Mauser")... PHOTO HEAVY!

The Kurgan

The Kurgan

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My newly refinished M69 Danish target rifle ("Otterup Mauser")... PHOTO HEAVY!

I purchased this gem from weimajack (Tradeex import) about 8 months ago. The bore is excellent and the European Bechwood is particularly nicely grained! Because I wanted a functional, low-maintenance, range toy, I decided to get all the metal parts (except bolt) bead blasted, parkerized and Arma-coated (and oven baked) by murdoc (aka Barret Arms). Barret did a truly excellent job! My gunsmith refinished the stock in 20 coats of satin Polyurethane. My crappy photos don't do the stock justice. It's gorgeous. I had the base of the barrel cut down by ~ 1 inch and freshly re-chambered (keeping it at 6.5x55, of course), and the crown re-cut to 11 degrees. The action was carefully glass bedded. The bolt and bolt handle were polished and the extractor nicely jeweled. All the exposed metal parts on the Danish dioptor sight were re-polished, and any area that was originally blued on the diopter was left alone. The sights work perfectly. I also had my gunsmith install a convential sling stud so that I can attach my Harris bipod. The original swivels were left in place as I have a nice original Swedish Mauser sling to attach, which is proper for this rifle. It sports a new Timney trigger set at 2 lbs. Nice and crisp! :) Overall, this rifle is just stunning, extremely well finished (Devil's in the details), and I can hardly wait to drive a few rounds down range. I am one happy camper.

I will take some better photos when I have a chance. These phone photos will have to do...

***(Update: photos on page 2)

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Just a point of clarification...Tradeex sells M52, M58, and M69 rifles.

If the rifles have M1 Garand style sights and a cut/refinished military Mauser stock, they're "M52". Most have S&L medium heavy contour barrels. Some still sport a military stepped barrel.

If the rifles have Danish diopter/aperature sights*** with OR without an S&L target style stock, they're "M58". Target stocks were added on later M58's as an update. Most, but not all, have S&L medium heavy contour barrels.
Note: *** front globe sight is attached by means of a dovetail joint.

If the rifles have Danish diopter/aperature sights***, S&L target stocks, and with OR without S&L adjustable triggers, they're "M69".
Note: ***front globe sight is press fitted.

Most are mismatched, but some bolts match the receivers. Most have unaltered German military markings, which makes them interesting from an historical perspective.

Many of these rifles were rebuilt over the years, and it's hard to tell what they are. Some of the M52's and M58's, for example, got target stocks later in life. Some of the M58's were upgraded with adjustable triggers, effectively turning them into M69's.

They're not collector pieces in my eyes, and are worthy of refinishing and upgrades. They're excellent shooters.
 
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It may not be collectible but well worth the effort and money spent to have a potentially great shooting iron!
Thanks for showing it to us. Now lets see how well its shoots.

RC
 
If you look at the latest batch of "M69's" on the Tradeex site, it is interesting to see the types of actions employed by the soon-to-be-retreating German forces: all manner of years and factories of German actions, FN actions, Radom (Polish) actions, early GEW 98 actions, Czech actions, Brazilian (DWM) actions... and so on.

BTW, these may very well be very collectible to others, and I hope I didn't offend the purists :)
I also happen to be a purist of sorts.

I got a number of PM's asking where to find these rifles...

look here:
http://www.tradeexcanada.com/produits/109

7 sold in the last 24 hours. Tradeex just added this batch of rifles. The first (and only) batch of M69's are mostly gone, so these are new. Most need a bit of cleaning and polishing with 0000 steel wool... but there's great potential with a little elbow grease.
 
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very nice, Considering picking one of these up. problem Is i want to scope it so i cn have the option of iron sights or scope for longer range. Have to figure out if these a sporting rifles, or collectable military ones. I would want it as a shooter and kinda entry level precision rifle.
 
LeeEnfieldNo.4_mk1 said:
very nice, Considering picking one of these up. problem Is i want to scope it so i cn have the option of iron sights or scope for longer range. Have to figure out if these a sporting rifles, or collectable military ones. I would want it as a shooter and kinda entry level precision rifle.
Click to expand...

The money I spent, it is far from entry level. I will be taking it through it's paces next week, I expect it to perform. If you want to go to the bother of drilling and tapping and adding bases, you might be better off with a modern rifle that shoots well out-of-the-box. In order to achieve comparable results, most of these rifles could also use a fresh crown. You'll be getting into the money. Of course, on their own, they are probably "good enough", but not necessarily competitive.
 
Here are some better photos taken outside. I have not shot her since refinishing, but I hope to get to the range tomorrow...

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I tried to capture the bore. Not an easy task, but you can see the sharp rifling. Lots of life left!
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Just an FYI, there's a beautiful M69 posted on EE right now for $600. It needs no restoration... and sports a very nicely grained Beechwood target stock. I think it may also sport an S&L adjustable trigger as an added bonus!
 
Consider yourself lucky, I talked my busy smith into taking on your M69. I also rarely reveal the full extent of my modifications.
 
The Kurgan said:
Consider yourself lucky, I talked my busy smith into taking on your M69. I also rarely reveal the full extent of my modifications.
Click to expand...

Cool your like one of those guys with one of those sleeper cars at the drag strip, keep the hood closed don't let anyone see what your packing.
 
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