New member in need of help identifying some milsurp

Martini enfield, looks like a Mark IV short lever but I am not sure. The right side of the block should have the original date of manufacture along with the conversion date to .303 british. I think the "E" relates to an enlarged chamber and relates to British made ammo at the time.

Stock looks to have been refinished on your example, I am guessing this was done after being sold out of service and probably when the coin was put into the stock.

Yours was likely sold out of service after WW1 to the commercial market (BNP and .303 .2222"...etc markings on the left side of the barrel). There is a coin in place of the unit disc on the butt stock but it looks like a Queen Vic coin.

She looks to have a canvas sling that was covered in blanco mixture for drill purposes. I don't know if that is where your M.E. ended up but by WW1 I would imagine it was serving in some sort of reserve capacity.
 
Yep .303

That is a absolutly beautiful rifle. Martini Enfield full wood. Really hard to find with the full length wood and barrel. Alot of them were sporterised into hunting rifles. I used to have one sporterized .303 british but sold it a while back. Great old guns and super strong actions.
 
Martini enfield I think

With the jap rifle does the dust cover match the receiver?

Nice collection, each rifle seems to be worth more than the next .
 
COIN is a Canadian one-cent piece. They made them this size (size of a qurter or an English halfpenny) from 1858 through to 1920. Composition is Bronze: 90% copper, 5% each Tin and Zinc. Expensive stuff. That's a nice one. Interesting to know what date (it's on the back). It is replacing, likely, a later Butt Marking Disc which has been removed.

The RIFLE it is on is a Martini-Enfield in calibre .303. The thing that looks like a star is 2 Broad Arrows nose-to-nose: Sale Mark. It has been legally Sold Out of Service. The "E" on the barrel flat identifies the rifling inside the barrel as ENFIELD rifling: 5 lands and grooves, equal width and deep grooves: lasts about 5/8 of forever if you're careful with it. A Martini has the quickest lock time of anything ever built: that`s why they are still being made up as Match rifles and used in the Olympics. This one originally had a barrel with HENRY rifling and so was called a Martini-HENRY, but it is called a Martini-ENFIELD now because of te barrel change.

The Jap carbine is a Type 38 (says so on top: they stole their numbers from China) which means that it is well-made and it takes 6.5x50.5 SR ammo, also called 6.5 Jap. Norma makes it or you can make your own brass by sizing and trimming .220 Swift. The rifle was designed by a fellow named Arisaka, who really knew what he was doing. The rifle is basically a Mauser with some very real improvements. The split stock was made that way: they didn`t have much big wood for making stocks, so they built them up, all of them, several million of them. These can be scary accurate.

The straight-pull is a von Mannlicher design, model of 1895. This was the official rifle of the Habsburg Empire, also called the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It took in modern Austria, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, part of Ukraine, Bosnia, Herzegovina, a bit of Italy, bits and pieces of much of the rest of the map of Europe. It was BIG and it was ruled by Kaiser Franz Josef I, who actually was a very good Emperor and very much an expert on military weapons. He personally tested any weapon that his Army was thinking about using. The open-sided CLIP was in Service BEFORE World War One: it is pictured in the 1909 edition of the TEXT BOOK OF SMALL ARMS, which was the British Army`s guide to world small-arms and what makes them tick. The closed-sided clip was issued with the 1886-series rifles, I believe. I have an open-sided clip here with a crowned double-eagle on the back, so it is definitely Imperial.

Your semi-auto rifle is definitely an AG-42B. It s gas-operated, throws the brass half a mile, likely is the most accurate semi-auto ever built anywhere. You CAN slow the brass down so that it doesn`t wreck the empties. I DO HOPE the mag has been pinned to 5 rounds: this is a FREE COUNTRY where you can`t have the rifle as it was built, Comrade. By the way, the `SS` on the left side of the receiver does NOT mean that it saw service with the Nazi SS: instead, it is the initials of the man who inspected the rifle when it was built: Sten Stenmo.

You have the start there of a GREAT collection.

BTW, likely you will want to load your own shells for all of them. It`s fun, it`s a LOT cheaper than buying factory ammo AND you end up with better ammo becaus you can suit the load to the individual rifles.

Have fun!

Hope this helps.
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I meant the Japanese Type 38 carbine:) but that video will be helpful to me as well.

Yep the bolt dust cover is a PITA on those Type 38s. I took a bolt out of a friends to check the bore one day and I had lots of trouble getting the dust cover lined up with the grooves on the action again. It was one nice rifle with lots of history attached.

This PDF document should help you take the bolt apart for that T38: Surplus rifle PDF: Type 38 bolt disassembly.
 
Martini enfield I think

With the jap rifle does the dust cover match the receiver?

Nice collection, each rifle seems to be worth more than the next .

Thanks for the compliment, I'm not sure what you mean about the dust cover matching the receiver. It seems to fit though...

OK last one for today, another mauser









 
By the date on the receiver that is a Swedish M96/38 or an M96 long rifle converted to short rifle length and configuration in the 1930s. It was quite successful so Husqvarna was tasked with making new Swedish m38s afterwards. They are damn fine short rifles and are just as accurate as they taller and older sister rifles.

The disc screw is missing for your stock disc but that can be replaced easily. The stock has very nice tiger stripping as well. Simply beautiful.
 
Thanks for the compliment, I'm not sure what you mean about the dust cover matching the receiver. It seems to fit though...

OK last one for today, another mauser










Look like an swedish M96 rifle converted to M38, judging by the bent bolt. The date on receiver is possibly an indication of a former M96 mauser.
Jocelyn
 
This site is great! I can tell I'm going to like spending time here learning and sharing knowledge. Smellie, thanks for the huge and informative post, and thanks to the rest of you as well for your helpful responses.

So now that you guys know what I've got sitting in the gun safe, if you were me what would you take out to the range first? What is going to be the most cost effective firearm in the group to shoot? Any advice on certain types of ammo to put through these old girls? I will get the hand loading gear when i get the money but for now I have to buy my bullets off the shelf.

Any other comments about my collection are also appreciated very much! Thanks and keep up the good work guys!
 
Well, friend, you can't buy modern ammo for the Mannlicher, ammo for the Arisaka is expensive and hard to find..... and the AG-42B is plain and fancy murder on empties.

That leaves you with the Martini, which handles plain, ordinary .303 British, or with the little Mauser Artillery Carbine (it looks to me a good bit shorter than a Short Rifle: BUFFDOG will be on here an he'll straighten me out)..... which eats 6.5x55 and does NOT beat up the empties.

Either of those will keep you happy for a while, should make fun shooting, ought to make good targets..... and it will get you into the habit of saving your empties...... which saves you HALF A BUCK A SHOT when you reload the things.

Most important of all: have fun!

When half o' your bullets fly wide in the ditch
Don't call your Martini a cross-eyed old #####.
She's as human as you are; you treat her as sitch
And she'll fight for the Young British Soldier!
. Kipling, of course (who else?)

Enjoy!
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The Martini is probably the easiest as you can buy .303 British at just about any gun shop (even Canadian tire stocks it but they won't stock my 8mm Mauser...:bsFlag:).

As George mentioned, the Type 38 will be difficult to shoot as you may have to trim and re-form your own cases from another caliber. I think he may have a solution for this as well.

I would bring the Martini out to the range so you can get that "What the **** IS that ?!?!" look and feel damn proud when you tell everyone what she is and where she came from.

Oh and this site is very addictive, it is, simply, the facebook for us firearm owners :D.
 
If you're willing to get into reloading, brass and Hornady .329 cal bullets are available for the M95 rivle. If you are willing to cast bullets for your milsurps, Lee produces a .329 mold that's serve me well with my Mannlicher carbine and rifle.

I have made some reloads for the my Swedish Mauser and have had decent results shooting her with open sights at both 100 and 200 yards. You'll love yours for sure. I've picked up a Lee Mold in 6.5mm but haven't cast any bullets yet. From what I've read online, it might take some experimenting to make up a good load. I haven't taken out my AG42b yet, so I cannot say what they're like other than concur that I've also heard about them being hard on brass if you want to reload.

The Martini would be another good candidate for reloading, whether jacketed bullets or cast. I've don both for my Enfields and have been happy with the results. It might be fitting to shoot cast if only to minimize wear on your rifle, which is a fine specimen.

No experience with Arisakas, much less reloading for them, though I'm sure that's the way to go.

Good luck and enjoy your rifles!
 
The RIFLE it is on is a Martini-Enfield in calibre .303. The thing that looks like a star is 2 Broad Arrows nose-to-nose: Sale Mark. It has been legally Sold Out of Service. The "E" on the barrel flat identifies the rifling inside the barrel as ENFIELD rifling: 5 lands and grooves, equal width and deep grooves: lasts about 5/8 of forever if you're careful with it. A Martini has the quickest lock time of anything ever built: that`s why they are still being made up as Match rifles and used in the Olympics. This one originally had a barrel with HENRY rifling and so was called a Martini-HENRY, but it is called a Martini-ENFIELD now because of te barrel change.

Are the Martinis being made up for match and Oly recycling old actions or are they new builds?
 
Yep the bolt dust cover is a PITA on those Type 38s. I took a bolt out of a friends to check the bore one day and I had lots of trouble getting the dust cover lined up with the grooves on the action again. It was one nice rifle with lots of history attached.

This PDF document should help you take the bolt apart for that T38: Surplus rifle PDF: Type 38 bolt disassembly.

Thanks for that, now I know that the type 38 is missing a spring and the bolt end piece. I suppose that could be a tough piece to acquire... At least now I know I'm looking for it.
 
Easy to find jap rifle parts in the states but here is going to be the most difficult.

The swede bolt action and the martini will be the easiest to shoot and load for. The ljungman can get a gas adjustment screw put into it. It will save your brass.
 
Rifles

You really need a Carbine version of your M95 Hungarian. Oddly enough, they are easier to find than the full rifle models. Probably because people who have fired them with full power loads have been awed by the blast and noise, and relegated them to the EE.

And if you think the M1 Garand can smack your thumb, (known as M1 thumb, and a source of amusement to your shooting buddies,) then with the AG-42B, you will think "instant amputation."

The "E" on the barrel of your Martini means that it has a barrel with Enfield rifling, rather than Metford type. That is good.

A good start on your collection.
 
You can fireform 7.62 Russian brass to 8x56R. I use 6 gr of unique at the base and fill the rest of the case with corn meal with a bit of TP to keep the contents from falling out.Keep the case upright so the powder remains at the base. Load, pull trigger, Instant 8x56R. One thing before you do that, the rim must be reduced a tad. Russian rim 5.70 Manlicher rim 5.54. Western Bullet Company for the bullets.
A friend who's father was in the Austrian Army in WW1 said they used captured russian ammo when they ran short.
Oh by the way, this will beas LOUD as a blank!
 
On your AG42B. there should be a rubber bumper on the bolt carrier. Otherwise the case will smack the metal parts. If they still have them, I got one from Gunpartsinc. Be sure to pack a lunch when you go out to pick up the fired cases;) Getting ones finger caught closing the bolt makes M1 Thumb look pathetic in comparison.:eek:
 
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