[GunGeek]

Hey all,

Not sure if anyone has had the opportunity to see the C&Rsenal video's on Youtube on the subject of the small arms of The Great War, but it is absolutely OUTSTANDING! It has also re-ignited my love of rifles from that era.

Now I have an Arisaka M38 long rifle, but recently I was shooting the M38 Carbine, and OMG!!! What a sweet little carbine.

American's have always turned their noses up to the Japanese rifles, but I'm here to tell you, the M38 Carbine just may be the best bolt action carbine ever made. The cartridge is a pussy cat, and so perfectly matched to the carbine. And the action is a big improvement over the standard 98 Mauser. And of course we all know about that legendary Japanese Arisaka metallurgy...that's one VERY tough rifle.

So what are some of your favorites?

 

[SpecialEd]

GunGeek,

My personal favorites are the:

1. The PRE-WWI SPANISH "SCORPION" long-rifle in 7x57,
(IF I could find another nice pre-1900 S-A War issue "Scorpion" to replace the one that I had stolen in the burglary of my house in 2010. it "would follow me home".)
Note: A "captured" Spanish Model of 1893 was the rifle that BG Leonard Wood wielded so well after The Battle of Santiago, when he took a Spanish sniper out of a tall palm tree at a range of over 250 yards & shooting offhand. = BG Wood said later, "I couldn't see the sniper at all in all the palm fronds, so I simply fired at the place where I would have sat if I was him & down he came."

2. The US RIFLE, Caliber .30, Model of 1917 (the so-called "P17") - ImVho, the BEST BA military rifle ever.
(It's NO coincidence that PVT Alvin C. York picked a Model of 1917 to fire his "perfect score", when he was "in training" for WWI.- His Regimental CDR told him, after seeing him fire for record, that he could CHOOSE any rifle that the regiment had. PVT York picked a REMINGTON 1917, after trying several NEW rifles.)
Note: That Model of 1917 went to France with (by then CPL) York & was the rifle that he used on the day that he performed the deeds that got him awarded the MoH & several foreign decorations. - After decades of being MISSING & "presumed lost forever", the rifle was found a few years ago & is now displayed in a glass display case at the 82d Airborne Division Museum, with the original "serial numbered" arms room card, which was signed by PVT Alvin C. York.

AND

3. The Pre-WWII ANZAC-made SMLE #1**.
(The ANZAC SMLE #1** rifles were essentially HANDMADE & are "smooth as glass".)


yours, sw

 

[threefeathers]

Today I thoroughly cleaned a Japanese M38 rifle with the Chrysanthemum still on. It has been well done to a Civilian mode but the person who did it knew what he was doing.
It replaces one an Uncle brought home from the war and he had a Sterling, Colorado smith convert it to a hunting carbine. I shot my first Mule Deer in AZ with it. My brother sold it when I was injured in the service, he got a couple of bags of dope. He told me when I got home that he thought I was dead.

 

[Diamondback]

Threefeathers, I hope he got a thorough smack upside the head for his dumbarsery. I woulda reported the weapon as Stolen since the sale was without your consent...

 

[Javlin]

I took out my Venezuelan FN Mauser 7X57 out a couple weeks ago along with the Argentine 1909 they were both sweet esp the 1909.The 7X57 was a gentle to shoot and the 1909 was too being it was only 50 yds(1909) and my first time shooting it three rounds in a thumbnail.I could not hit the paper at 100yds the rear site starts @300M I had to shoot 6" low @50yds to drop those 3 in the target.

 

[dfariswheel]

Back in the 70's and 80's I was "sort of" collecting Mauser military rifles.

A Guns & Ammo annual had an article about why custom gunsmiths preferred Mauser 98 rifles for building high end custom rifles.
He said that the Argentine DWM 1909 was the finest quality military rifle ever built.
It has commercial Mauser features like the hinged floor plate with the trigger guard release, and the pear-shaped bolt knob.
The author estimated that to build a replica to the same standards of quality would cost $3,000 in 1980's money.

I owned three DWM made South American Mauser's.
One was a Argentine 1909 rifle, and one was a 1909 Cavalry Carbine.
I hunted for years for a 1909 Engineer's carbine but in the pre-internet days never found one.
I did find a 1891 Argentine rifle in very high finish, but the crest was ground off.
This was done after Argentine rifles started turning up in a border war between two other Central American countries and one asked pointed questions of the Argentine's about how their rifles were showing up.
After that, for some years Argentine ground the crest off the 1891's to indicate they were no longer owned by them.

The DWM rifle was in 95%-plus condition and had incredible quality.
The bluing under the wood was better then most post-war pistols had on the outside.
Internally in even hidden areas there were virtually no machine marks.

The third DWM I had was a 1908 Brazilian rifle. It too was made with astounding quality but without the commercial features.

Other unusual Mauser's I had were a 1935 Peruvian FN rifle.
It was an unusual one-of-a-kind Mauser in that it was built as a prone rifle.
The rear sight leaf had deeply stamped range markings so the shooter could tilt the sight up and read the range without raising his head.
The safety worked the opposite all other Mauser's. To put the safety OFF, it flipped to the RIGHT.
This was so the shooter wouldn't get hit on the nose by the safety lever.

I had a FN made 17 3/4 inch Carbine with a receiver crest of "IOB" in a diamond border.
I even wrote to FN to try to identify it, with no luck.
I finally found the crest in the Olsen Mauser book.
It was an Indonesian plantation guard carbine. It was in rough shape due to the conditions it was used in.

I had a Belgian Model 1950 in the original 30-06.
Apparently these were the only Mauser's ever made originally in caliber 30-06.
These were built by FN as a backup encase the Model 1950 FN semi-auto rifle didn't work out.
These were made for use by the Belgian Army and for use in the Belgian Congo. The Congo rifles were usually in poor condition, again due to the conditions where they were used.
Mine was a Belgian Army model used in Europe and was in very nice condition.
The crest was in both Flemish and French and had the marking of Belgian King Baudouin.

Strangely, my favorite foreign military rifle was the British #5 Jungle Carbine.
There's just "something" about the Jungle Carbine that appeals to me.
I owned several over the years, and rarely ever shot them.
They were rather painful to fire.
The last one I had was an incredible stroke of blind luck.

I was in a city gun shop and saw a Jungle Carbine on the rack. The owner told me that it had just been sold to him that morning and he'd put it on the rack less than 10 minutes before I came in.
It was a 1947 model in absolutely brand new condition.
Even the finish on the bolt was totally unworn.
After I cleaned the bore I got no trace at all of copper fouling and it was literally mirror shiny.

I instantly bought it and asked the owner if he could tell me anything about it.
H called the man who'd sold it and asked if he was willing to talk to me about it over the phone.
He told me that the rifle belonged to his father who was in Burma during WWII.
He'd seen the Jungle Carbine there and always wanted one.

In the 50's Interarms bought the British surplus Lee Enfield stock including the Jungle Carbine.
One of the vets friends from Burma later went to work for Sam Cummings, who'd started Interarms.
When they bought the British reserve that man was sent to England to supervise the shipment to America.
He found several racks of post-war Jungle Carbines in brand new, un-issued condition.
Most of them had "S" marked short stocks built for use by smaller Asian troops.

He told his buddy from Burma about this and send him one of them as a gift.
The vet hung it on the wall in his den and never fired or even handled it much.
When he died his son sold it to the gun shop where I found it.

Wish I still had it.

 

[Javlin]

I had a FN made 17 3/4 inch Carbine with a receiver crest of "IOB" in a diamond border.
I even wrote to FN to try to identify it, with no luck.
I finally found the crest in the Olsen Mauser book.
It was an Indonesian plantation guard carbine. It was in rough shape due to the conditions it was used in.

I did the same for my FN Mauser never heard back.I shot the the FN49 Venezuelan that same day it shot OK but I think the bullet was a bit hot for the rifle 174g they like the 139g.

 

[Mrblaster]

I love old war guns I have SVT40, Hakim, FN49, 2-Chinese, Russian, Romanian, Yugo SKS's, M44, M38, 91/30, even 1902 finn capture, Remington, Springfield, Rock island 1903's, Smith Corona, Remington 1903a3's, Winchester 1917, Remington/Enfield P-14, 3-Arisaka 99 two with mono pod and airplane sights, 2 M38 Arisaka, VZ52, Steyr m95, Polytech M-14S, Enfield/Savage #4 mk1 been captured by NAZI's and captured back swastika's on stock, CETME model'C', Inland and Rockolla M1 carbines, Springfield and H&R M1 Garands, Ishapore 410 shotgun (Original), Ishapore #1mk3, China T53, East german Lp1 flare pistol, Red Army Standard AK47, M81 Swiss Vetterli , Arisaka 38 Cavalry Carbine , Swiss K31 , Winchester 1894 , PSA AR15 Looking for reasonably priced rashid (Rasheed)

I took 73 war rifles to Rock Island in Illinois in July, They are going to sell them in February. Miss them daily

 

[Coolblue]

Tough to not choose the Mosin Nagant - what better way to arm ~20 million minimally-trained peasants to defend the motherland, without full industrialization ?

 

[threefeathers]

Hey all,

Not sure if anyone has had the opportunity to see the C&Rsenal video's on Youtube on the subject of the small arms of The Great War, but it is absolutely OUTSTANDING! It has also re-ignited my love of rifles from that era.

Now I have an Arisaka M38 long rifle, but recently I was shooting the M38 Carbine, and OMG!!! What a sweet little carbine.

American's have always turned their noses up to the Japanese rifles, but I'm here to tell you, the M38 Carbine just may be the best bolt action carbine ever made. The cartridge is a pussy cat, and so perfectly matched to the carbine. And the action is a big improvement over the standard 98 Mauser. And of course we all know about that legendary Japanese Arisaka metallurgy...that's one VERY tough rifle.

So what are some of your favorites?

I killed my first Whitetail with one. Mine was a rifle my grand dad had modified into a 'youth' carbine and used a penny for the front sight.

 

[DavidE]

GG: I have to wonder if 6.5 Japanese could find a renaissance in new-built rifles, as a softer shooting round with good power for game like deer or similarly sized animals. It could probably be loaded with lighter bullets for varmints in a pinch, too.

Ditto .30-40 Krag.

 

[GunGeek]

GG: I have to wonder if 6.5 Japanese could find a renaissance in new-built rifles, as a softer shooting round with good power for game like deer or similarly sized animals. It could probably be loaded with lighter bullets for varmints in a pinch, too.

Ditto .30-40 Krag.

6.5 Arisaka is pretty close to the 6.5 Creedmore.