Why yes I am. The question is whether I will have a table or not. This business only launched Jan 3rd. Wasn't even sure at the time if I'd have any inventory. Still not sure how much I'll have. But I do have this gem:
Fresh from Afghanistan in "as found" condition. I'm waiting for my shipment from Kramers and also for some brass punches to come in so I have not been into the innards of this piece yet. Cleaning rod is broken off, possibly in the retainer as it won't quite fit all the way down, also the cleaning rod has been repaired. More pictures to follow once I clean this rifle up.
Matthew
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It's an 1891/30, stamped "1943." I was at my gun store yesterday, and they had a 1944 model carbine with the attached, hinged bayonet. I should have grabbed it. I called them this morning to ask them to stash it behind the counter for me, but someone else had already snagged it.
Dammit.
Well now you done gone and opened up all kinds of wormy cans. We need to know if it's Tula or Izhevsk, round or "hex" receiver (ie, the receiver was recycled from an old gun) refurbished or original. I have a 1942 and 1943 Izhevsk myself, both receivers match the barrel dates. No Hex's in my collection at this time. If your unclear about the markings the best place to look them up is the 7.62x54r.net website.
Matt
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The wartime diary of Kriegsmarine Oberleutnant z.S. Max von Zatorski.
https://www.facebook.com/SeeklarDiaries
Here's Jenny.. The Retro A4.. Cheers.. Ron
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Rapper standing on the corner, wrappers flying in the wind... And in my quiet reflection, I wonder why..
Wartime production MNs often have rough chambers which makes extraction difficult. A useful trick is to take a 20 gauge brass brush, wrap it in brass wool, dip it in acetone, hook the whole thing in a drill and scrub the snot out of the chamber. it made a world of difference on my 44.
Here's my updated contribution. This is the current arsenal.
My pride and joy is my .357 carbine. It's probably my favorite gun (even though I don't really have a favorite), just for the amount of work and customization I put into it.
It's a Rossi '92 (a Winchester clone, very popular in the CAS circles), from extremely early production. I looked up the serial no. at one point and I believe it was from '69 or '70.
I tore it apart and reworked the entire interior - rounding off the corners, polishing the surfaces, lightening the springs. When I got it it was smooth from use, but not super smooth. More like worn demin smooth. Now it is cashmere smooth.
I stripped, reshaped, and restained the wood furniture myself, using vintage Winchester stain. I added the Indian brass tacks, laced on the lever wrap, christened it "Huyana" (the falling rain) and there you have it. The final result is something that I really love. When I hold this gun I honestly feel like I am in the 1890's.
And this thing competes to modern standards, too.
I even got a saddle scabbard for it. But somehow I don't think my stables would take too kindly to me trotting around with a rifle.
This one will catch the eye of many a TFL'er, I'm sure. It's not vintage; it's a Mossberg 590A1 which I reworked into a M12 trench knockoff.
I got the wood furniture surplus from vintage Moss 500's and stained it using that same vintage Winchester stain. I threw a repro Garand sling on her (mounted with authentic 1908 Springfield swivels), and named her Irene. She's a fun one.
Originally I was just gouing to get a M12, but I ended up liking the 590A1 for a lot of reasons - it's parkerized, it has a double-thick barrel built for bludgeoning people with (no, seriously), it has an 8-round magazine and it takes an M7 Bayonet on the end.Yes, I have the bayonet. It's an original Vietnam produced, unissued. Payed $12 for it and it's literally spotless. I would swear it was parkerized yesterday.
Weird to think that this thing was your typical synthetic "tacticool" shotgun when I got it.
Oh yeah, that little white mark on the bolt is the phrase "Sic 'em!" painted on. I was going for a P-51 nose art type of thing...
The last one is the Mosin 91/30. Scope, bent bolt and synthetic stock - Katherine is her name.
The stock is obviously not my favorite thing in the world, but I just could NOT like this gun with the 2x4 furniture it had originally. I had to get something more comfortable.
Somewhere down the road I'll make a wood version.
My next step for the main "workhorse" collection is a 1917 Colt New Service.
After that, it's just novelty cowboy guns.
Last edited by Jerekson; 03-09-2012 at 10:28 PM.