Counterfeit surplus arms

[Gil Martin]

One disturbing trend that I have encountered has been "put together" surplus arms that are not original. At a local gun shop someone reported seeing a 1909 Argentine Mauser in .30-06. That was never a standard caliber for that rifle. I came across a Kar98k made by Steyr also in .30-06. I asked the shop owner where he got that gem. He assured me that ..."they rebarreled a lot of them with surplus Springfield barrels"... Never found out who "they" were, but passed on the rifle.

Another example was a broomhandle Mauser reworked in China to be a mannlicher carbine. There was obvious pitting under the bluing and that was a candidate to avoid. Anyone else seeing this situation? All the best...
Gil

[BILLY D.]

HI GIL

GUNSMITHS WERE VERY BUSY AFTER WW2 CONVERTING EVERY KIND OF MAUSER, ARISAKA, ENFIELDS AND ETC. TO AMERICAN CALIBERS.

MANY COMPANIES, SEARS ROEBUCK AND MONTGOMERY WARDS SOLD CONVERTED MAUSERS IN THEIR CATALOGS IN THE EARLY 60'S AND POSSIBLY BEFORE THAT.

SPORTERIZED MAUSERS WERE THE MOST FAMOUS OF THE BUNCH. HOW DO I KNOW, MY WIFE PURCHASED TWO FOR SHE AND I AS A CHRISTMAS GIFT IN '65 FROM MONKEY WARDS. THEY WERE BEAUTIFULLY WORKED OVER, PRETTY BLUE JOBS, BARRELS TURNED DOWN, WILLIAMS RAMP SIGHTS AND FAIRLY NICE FURNITURE. DELIVERED TO YOUR FRONT DOOR THEY COST $39.95. TRY THAT NOWADAYS.

I GAVE THE WIFES MAUSER TO MY DAUGHTER WHO LIVES IN ALASKA AFTER MY WIFE PASSED AWAY. I STILL HAVE MINE AND IT CONTINUES TO TAKE GAME. THE ONLY THING I'VE DONE TO IT IS TO INSTALL A TIMNEY FEATHERWEIGHT TRIGGER.
I WOULD NEVER SELL IT. I TOOK IT BACK TO OHIO ONE TIME TO SHOW IT TO MY GRANDFATHER, I THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO CRY AS IT WAS ONE OF HIS BABIES. HE WAS A MACHINIST IN THE MAUSER FACTORY IN ERFURT. HE COULD NOT BELIEVE THE BEAUTIFUL WORK SOMEONE HAD PERFORMED ON THE CONVERSION.

AS THE OLD SAGE SAYS "THE 'O6 JUST WORKS". TO SAY MAUSERS ARE MY FAVORITE RIFLE WOULD BE A GROSS UNDERSTATEMENT. I HAVE A 6,5X55 SWEDE, AND 98'S IN 458 WIN MAG, 30:06, 6,5X68, 7X57 ARGENTINE,09 AND A .308 FCLASS RIFLE. CUSTOM BULIT BY ME. I'M PROUD OF THAT. ALSO HAVE TWO MAUSER ACTIONS FOR FUTURE PROJECTS.

TO SAY MAUSER ACTIONS ARE THE ONLY ACTIONS WOULD NOT BE TRUE, BUT THERE SURE ARE A LOT OF THEM FLOATING AROUND OUT THERE.

ALSO ALMOST ANY RIFLE ACTION NOWADAYS HAS SOME REFINEMENTS OF THE MAUSER. I HAVE READ THAT THE JAPANESE ARISAKA MAY HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE STRONGEST ACTIONS OF ALL AND IT WAS A MAUSER COPY "IMPROVED". THE MAUSER BOYS JUST GOT IT RIGHT.

IMPROVEMENTS ARE GOOD I GUESS. LOOK WHAT THE M-16 HAS TURNED INTO. I'M SURPRISED SOMEBODY HAS NOT TRIED TO SET IT UP WITH A 20MM SHELL YET.

I DO SHARE YOUR CONCERN ABOUT THE LACK OF ORIGINAL BATTLE ARMS THOUGH. ALTHOUGH THERE ARE STILL SOME LEFT THEY ARE BECOMING FEW AND FAR BETWEEN. AND THAT IS A SHAME.

BUT THAT MAKES MORE ACTIONS AVAILABLE TO GUYS LIKE ME. OOOPS!

WELL I HOPE I HAVEN'T BORED YOU TO SLEEP ON A RAINY SUNDAY AFTERNOON.

HOPE YOU THUOGHT ABOUT MOM. EVEN THOUGH THEY MAY NOT BE WITH US ANY MORE, THEY ARE NOT FORGOTEN.

HAVE A GOOD ONE.

[Gil Martin]

Good to hear from you. I agree that a lot of surplus arms were sporterized and converted in the 1950s and 1960s. We thought the supply of surplus arms would last a long time. All the best...
Gil

[Adam Helmer]

Gil,

There are a lot of "Parts" guns floating around every gun show I attend. Since there is demand for military surplus arms, they are being assembled. Original and complete arms are scarce and get a premium price when they come up for sale.

Adam