Cool find. :cool:

Nyles,

Love the -1907. I'm sure you know that the fledging USAAC (or maybe Air Service then, can't remember and the Armée de l'Air issued those before the rise of mounted, timing restricted machine guns.

Such a cool gun.

On a personal note, my Great-Grandpa carried a -1907 when he was the Sheriff of the neighboring county back in the early 30s.

Yup, as did the RAF and the Russian air corps - pretty much every allied nation purchased them as aircraft guns, though most never ended up using them as such because the synchroniser gear was introduced before the contracts were filled. The French were the only ones to get into them in a big way as trench weapons (in fact in 1917 they contracted for a bunch capable of full auto fire and mounting bayonets, but I've never seen evidence it was filled). I have heard reference to General Pershing's bodyguards carrying 1907s, though never any hard evidence.

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Picked up a neat little plinker, a Harrington & Richardson "Target" Model in .22LR, made between 1925 and 1934. One of their whole series of S&W top-break knock-offs, this is built on their small frame (7 shots in .22 or 5 in .32) with a 6" barrel and extended saw handle grips. I get a kick out of the quotations on the "Target" (right there on the gun!), since the trigger is "awful" and the sights are "borderline unusable" - the rear sight is so small, and the front so narrow, that you can't see either under anything but ideal conditions. No adjustment on either, or course. It's a cool vintage gun in great condition and makes a good plinker, but it was a cheap gun when it was new and sure doesn't eliminate my desire for a Woodsman like Jcordell's.

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Also picked up a nice British P53 bayonet with what looks to be a Canadian rack number on the scabbard. The blade has an interesting bend away from the barrel, which is intended to keep you from jabbing your hand when loading a muzzle-loader. Unfortunately 19th century tolerances being what they are it's slightly too tight to fit my Snider - at the time the quartermaster would just have swapped it out for one that did, and chances are it would have fit the next rifle.

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Finally I got an M38 Carcano short rifle bayonet - when the original M38 Short Rifle came out in 7.35mm, it was issued with a folding blade bayonet that could be folded on the rifle when not in use (it still came with a scabbard - the logic of the whole setup escapes me). However when they went back to the 6.5mm with the M91/38, they went to a normal fixed blade on the same type bayonet. It's very small, the smallest bayonet in my collection (about the size of a belt knife, which was probably more practical on the quite compact short Carcano anyways). Both are quite rare, as the short rifle was phased out of production entirely by the end of 1941, and the carbines still used the old M91 bayonet.

I just treat my H&R like it's single action; they sure do have atrocious DA triggers

Even the single on mine is pretty bad - long take up and heavy.

Like you said it is a neat vintage revolver though. They were considered to be pretty good revolvers back in the day. Hatcher devotes several pages to the H&R in his classic Textbook of Pistols and Revolvers (1935).

Personally I would like to get hold of a S&W 22-32 Bekeart Target revolver in .22LR. But those particular models are as scarce as Hen's teeth in 2014. But then I didn't expect to find a pre-war Woodsman in such good condition either. Part of the fun is the search.

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For those who are curious the Bekeart is named after San Francisco gun dealer Phil Bekeart. In 1908 he persuaded S&W to make a target 22 revolver large enough for the average sized shooter to use. Hence the unusual grip which was design to "fill the hand". S&W standardized the model in 1911. Production ceased in 1940 (approximately) and never resumed after the war. S&W never officially called the model after Bekeart. That's something the collectors did on their own. The company now adds his name to the model.

I actually bid on one of those in an auction last year, I didn't go very high as I was focused on an NWMP-marked Adams Mk.III (didn't get that either). Considering what the Bekeart actually sold for I should have just gotten it!

Actually did a bit more research on my Carcano bayonet and found out it's an interesting transitional model - they used the blade and hilt of a folding bayonet welded solid and not drilled for the blade lock. Still correct for a wartime 6.5mm, the work was done clean enough that I didn't notice at first.

A fun range game is trying to hit a glass bottle with a .22 H&R 929 snub, using only .22 Shorts and the DA trigger

Yeah the prices are pretty high on them. Astronomical actually.

That Harrington & Richardson "Target" Model, looks like the revolver that Paul Mantee took out of his suitcase in "Robinson Crusoe on Mars". I always wondered what firearm that was, thanks.

David.

Just received this pretty awesome SMLE I figured was worth an extra long post. It's a 1905 Enfield SMLE Mk.I***, which in June 1922 was sent to the Irish Free State Army just as the fighting in Dublin broke out which began the Irish Civil War. I bought it off Gunbroker and imported it through IRunGuns, and had a very positive experience with them once again.

For those unfamiliar with Irish history, after the truce of 1921 following the Irish War of Independence, the Irish Free State was created as a self-governing dominion of the British Empire, much like Canada at the time. This treaty had a 2/3 support of the Irish population, but only 1/3 of the IRA supported it. The remaining 2/3rds began arming themselves in opposition to the treaty, while the pro-treaty 3rd formed the nucleus of the new Irish Free State Army. The new Free State Army began receiving arms from the British under the terms of the treaty, however the British were understandably wary of them and turned over a lot of fairly hastily refurbished obsolete Lee-Enfield Mk.I***s. After the initial shipment the British became suspicious that the Free State might arm the IRA in the still-British North, and began renumbering all the rifles sent so they'd be instantly identifiable if found up there. Michael Collins, now commander of the Free State Army, did so anyways, by trading the FSA's marked rifles for the unmarked rifles possessed by Anti Treaty IRA (who by now had seized key buildings around Dublin), and shipping up the unmarked rifles instead.

Fighting finally broke in Dublin out at the end of June 1922, which the much more heavily armed (including artillery allegedly crewed by British advisors) Free State Army won inside of a week. This lead to an ugly year long civil war, mainly in Cork and Kerry, in which much of the old pre-independence IRA leadership on both sides was killed (including Michael Collins) and several massacres and reprisals took place on both sides.

This is one of the refurbished Mk.I***s, which represented about 1/3rd of the rifles supplied by the British (the balance being Mk.IIIs and Mk.III*s). It has the distinct large sans serif fonted Irish serial number stamped on receiver, bolt and nosecap. It's had a Mk.III rear handguard swapped in, probably due to parts shortages, which leaves it with no rear sight protectors, and I replaced the missing magazine cutoff with one from a Mk.III, but is otherwise all-correct as a Mk.I***, including the original barrel. It does not have the well-known Irish FF stamp on the barrel, nor should it. The FF stamp was only applied to Mk.IIIs rebarelled at Enfield in the late 20s after the Civil War, it's actually a refurbishment mark and not a property mark. Enfield at this point had no more Mk.I barrels, nor was the Irish Army particularly inclined to continue using the Mk.I***s as they had enough Mk.IIIs for peacetime.

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Shown here with a 1917 SSA Mk.III* to illustrate the differences between the two models.

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The distinct renumbered serial indicating a Civil War-era Irish rifle.

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Mk.I action, note the lack of charger bridge and the bolt-head mounted charger guide - a stupid system, the bridge was a major improvement.

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Another view of the charger guide, note that it slides back and forth as the bolt opens and closes.

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Volley sights!

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Distinct straight sided sight protectors on the Mk.I nosecaps. Also note the piling swivel omitted on post-WW1 SMLEs.

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Windage adjustable Mk.I rear sights, calibrated for Mk.VII .303 ammo making it a MK.I***. The Mk.I series had the rear sight protectors on the rear handguard, instead of attached to the barrel as in the Mk.III. The Mk.III handguard and Mk.I barrel on this one leaving it without a protector.

A couple of interesting pictures of Free State Army troops with Mk.I***s:

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Third enlisted man from the left. Interesting to also note the officer wearing the old-style Irish Volunteers uniform with the tie and puttees and carrying two revolvers.

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Kerry command, 1923. All three troops have Mk.I***s. Using P1907 bayonets and not the P1903 originally issued with the Mk.I series.

Volley sights AND a magazine cut-off. Old school.

Very nice. Just think, for all you know, the very rifle you own could actually be in one of those pictures. Unlikely, I know, but it's still a cool possibility to consider. ;)

I have an old well-used Ka-Bar MK1 that, for all I know, could have spilled blood in any number of conflicts.

Yes, a very cool possibility! The odds actually aren't bad for a military rifle, either.

After the Irish Enfield I had every intention of not buying guns for awhile - I'm putting an addition on my house and staying in a friend's spare room during construction, so I can't afford to be spending money on guns for awhile (in the meantime I'm indulging my much less expensive interest in WW2 Commonwealth cap badges).

However, sometimes something comes up you just can't say no to. I went to work on Saturday ended up processing a two month backlog on used gun purchases, since the normal guy was away. Imagine my surprise when I found out he'd priced a very early Savage 1899B at $250! I certainly wasn't going to pass that out.

Sorry for the poor picture, but as I said I'm uprooted at the moment and only had my cell phone camera. There are two different serial number tables available for Savage 1895 / 1899 / 99 rifles, but this one is a very early 1899 by either, either 1901 or 1903 production. Based on the fact that it still has some model 1895 features on it, I'm guessing 1901 is correct. Unlike the pretty strict model differentiation on military firearms, older commercial firearms tend to have a much more gradual transition.

Being an 1899B it has the 26" heavy octagon barrel with the old-style crescent buttplate, exactly the configuration I've always wanted in a Savage. It's got the pre-WW2 style rotary magazine with brass cartridge counter, and is chambered in the original Savage .303 round - slightly more powerful than a .30-30, it originally used a .311 bullet (hence .303) down a .308 bore, under the theory that the higher pressures would increase muzzle velocity! It's in fairly rough shape - the butt has the typical cracks at the wrist (I've not seen many old 99s without them, and I see a lot of them in my job - it was a very popular firearm in Canada), and the forend has split at the tip and been cleaned up, losing the schnable in the process. But the metal is still all good, and the bore is decent, so it'll make a shooter!

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Are you putting in the addition to house more guns?

I like the Savage 99.I was twelve when my dad started teaching me how to shoot (1980). He was an Idaho State Trooper and among the firearms issued to him by ISP was the Savage 99C in .308. I fired that and at the time the recoil felt like the Hammer of Thor. Instead of the rotary magazine it had the detachable magazine. Fond memories.

Although my renos are ongoing (contractors are f***king criminals and don't let anyone tell you different), I saw this for sale and had to give myself an early Christmas present. It's a French Berthier M1890 cavalry carbine in 8mm Lebel, made at Chatellerault in 1891. The M1892 artillery carbine is pretty common, but original cavalry carbines are very rare. Although the French army had a large cavalry force in 1914, they realised pretty early on that La Grande Guerre wasn't going to be a cavalry war and dismounted most of their cavalry.

Although they retained their carbines in the trenches (a 37" Berthier beats the hell out of a 51" Lebel in a trench that's 4' wide), most of the M1890s were rebuilt into M1892s when they passed through the armourers for maintenance - the only real difference is the bayonet and stacking hook, both of which were considered useful when dismounted. In 13 years of collecting I've never seen an original 1890 outside of the French army museum until this one.

However, this one has the extremely rare (and often discarded) sheet metal dust cover on the bolt introduced in WW1, so it's pretty much certain this spent time in the trenches - most likely with a Hussar or Chasseur light cavalry regiment, as the Cuirassier heavies had their own (especially rare) carbine model, and the Dragoons were early adopters of the M1892. It's unfortunately missing it's side-mounted cleaning rod, but I think I can source one out from another collector.

Either way, it's a super rare original WW1 carbine, in really nice shape, and definitely worth breaking my gun fast! Excuse the cell phone pictures, my camera is still at home.

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Don't tell anybody this, but I actually rather like the Berthier and the Lebel. There is just something about them that appeals to me. Like the English bulldog. so ugly it's good looking.

The French blood flowing through my veins cries for a Lebel or MAS 36

The Lebel and the Berthier do have a certain Gallic flair, espescially with 20 inches of Rosalie bayonet on the end of them! And the MAS I think is a wonderfully practical little battle rifle - I had a postwar one for awhile and I'm very much in the market for a WW2-era example.

I'm getting closer and closer to buying that British Contract Official Police (38/200) with 5" barrel (mfd. 1941). It's been almost eight years since I first saw that sucker. It's finally been released from the evidence locker the case has been adjudicated and the suspect is in prison so the gun can be released. I figure you can appreciate this one Nyles. It's been a long haul. But it's worth it. They aren't very common.

Absolutely they're not! Post pictures if you do!

So, speak of the devil, I just bought a 1939 production MAS-36. Pictures when it arrives.

On a non firearms related note, I just started a pretty cool (and higher paying) job as a fraud investigator with a major insurance company. So goodbye Cabelas, hello Great West Life!

I've met a few insurance investigators over the years. Pretty sharp folks who don't have to deal with the politics and social issues of police work. Better paid also. Stay safe.

Have been reading "Devil's Guard", and it makes me want one more. Would be on the list if I had any clue how to get ammo for it or find one to handle

Prvi Partizan loads 7.5 x 54mm MAS (interestingly, it was 7.5 x 58mm until someone accidentally loaded an 8mm Mauser round into a Chatellerault LMG in trials...). It's pretty widely available online here, I'd assume the States as well.

I picked up my MAS-36 from the post office today. It's in just OK shape (forget that "never fired, dropped once" BS) but very shootable, and most importantly its a real WW2-era example. There are only minor differences, like having front sight ears instead of a hood, different rear sight, and different barrel band, but I wanted one actually use in the Battle of France.

I think the MAS, sort of like the Carcano M91/38, is a wonderfully practical battle rifle that gets a bad reputation because it's judged too much from a civilian shooter perspective. It's short (4" shorter than a 98K) and handy, though not light with that big steel box of a receiver. The sights are very quick to adjust and use - they're large, so they pick up well and you can see them in low light, but not great for fine precision shooting. I personally think being able to hit a man sized target at 50 yards in low light is a lot more important than at 400 yards in good light in a battle rifle - that's what machine guns are for.

The weird swept forward bolt handle makes sense when you realise it was intended to put it in the same position it had been on every other French rifle since 1866 - easier to retrain. The stock is short, because most soldiers would be wearing a heavy uniform coat when shooting it. The reversible bayonet under the barrel is a super clever design and is one less thing the soldier had to carry. It doesn't have a safety, because if you're not in combat, why have a round in the chamber? And if you are, why have the safety on?

Really, the only thing I can criticise about it is that the two piece stock and forend aren't as secure as the ones on the Lee-Enfield or even the Lebel. Most of the MAS-36s have I've handled over the years have had a slight wobble in one or the other, this one being no exception. However, they've all had over 60 years of shrinkage in the wood, and no armorer attention since at least the 60s, so I wonder how much this would have been an issue in service.

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Picked this up on a whim at Cabela's yesterday - not an especially valuable or collectible gun, but it's a great example of what used to be a very popular gun and priced very right at $80. It's an old Belgian import side by side, with dual triggers, external hammers and no ejectors. Pretty much your stereotypical working man's farm or duck gun from the late 19th / early 20th century. This one was made between 1893 and WW1 by the proofs, and marked "The Interchangable" with no maker - pretty typical of what you might have ordered out of the Sears or Eatons catalogue around the turn of the last century. It's in great external shape, unmessed with as so few of these are, and actually has a fluid steel barrel so it's safe to shoot with modern ammo. That said its a little loose, so I'm going to be sticking to light target loads, but should make a fun vintage skeet gun. Also fits nicely into my Irish War of Independence collection, as it's pretty typical of the shotguns many IRA local battalions were largely armed with (captured British rifles being reserved largely for the active service Flying Columns).

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Here it is guys. I am picking a red dot for it as well as waiting for the 30 round magazines to get in the mail. To be clear. That is not a stock attached. It's legally a cheek brace. But if this were to be shouldered, the length of pull on the KAK tube is actually a bit longer than I thought. I might get a shorter one since this came with the buffer tube kit.

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I like it. Don't forget to wear a tweed jacket when shooting it.

Thanks! I've already got a tweed cap, I'll try to pick up a jacket next time I'm at the second hand shop!

I picked this up last week - it's a Hi Standard Model B in .22 LR, made in the late 30s. I've wanted a first generation Colt Woodsman for years but this came up at half the price so I jumped on it! It's beautifully made (not quite a prewar Colt but way nicer than anything you'll buy at Cabelas) and actually comes apart easier than a Woodsman, and seems to be just as accurate. My first shot, using fairly cheap Remington Target ammo, took out the center of a playing card at 25 feet, and it generally holds twonie sized groups at that distance if I do my part. Didn't jam at all in the two boxes of ammo I put through it, which is a hell of a lot more than I can say for the various 1911-22s and Sig Mosquitos I used to sell! The short grip feels compared to what I'm used to - if I ever come across a Model A or early HD with the long grip I might jump on it, but I'm still really happy with this one!

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Couple of interesting ones today - just received a US Krag M1899 cavalry carbine, in .30-40 of course. Too late to have been in the Spanish-American War, but probably the Phillipine-American War. Has the correct carbine sight and handguard and is very usable condition. Like all Krags, the action is butter smooth, the magazine is bizarre, and the machining is top notch. Not in the best shape, but original Krags are rare enough that I can live with a worn bore! Looks good on the wall next to my M1898 rifle and Winchester 95 SRC!

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Haven't received this one yet, but I doubt I'm going to take any better pictures than the auction house so I'll use this. It's an Iver Johnson 2nd Model Safety Automatic Hammerless in .38 S&W with a 5" barrel and nickel finish, but more importantly it has the custom-order knuckleduster grip! Somewhere on the order of 1.5 million Safety Automatics were made, with and without external hammer, but only about 7000 with the knuckleduster. Ivers are really underappreciated revolvers - they were pretty well made (not a Smith but decent), and very technically advanced. They had a transfer bar safety, and the 3rd models used coil instead of flat springs - both of which were pretty big deals when Ruger came out with them in the 60s! And if you look close on this one you'll even see a Glock style trigger safety. Not bad for a budget gun from the 1890s!

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I like that knuckle duster. Great.

Thanks! Weirdest coincidence, I was hanging out with a collecting friend on Sunday and found, literally forgotten on a shelf behind some German webbing, an external-hammer IJ with a knuckle duster! Now my friend is a hardcore German collector (just as an example he has an MP44, MP18 and MP41 on the same shelf), doesn't care a whit about American revolvers and just happened to inherit it. Considering they made about 7000 knuckledusters out of about 1.5 million top breaks, what are the odds of us both having them?

Very very low.

This came in the mail today - got a really great deal on it because it was "missing the magazine" (IE he thought the ejection port for the enblock clip was a mag well).

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It's a WW1 Italian Vetterli-Vitali-Carcano M1870/87/15 (quite the mouthful!) in 6.5mm Carcano, originally made at Torino in 1880. It started life as a single-shot Vetterli M1870 rifle in 10.4mm, was upgraded to a 4-shot Vetterli-Vitali M1870/1887 sometime before the turn of the last century, and then converted to 6.5mm Carcano with a 6 shot Carcano mag during WW1. The Italians, like pretty much everyone else, had a serious shortage of rifles in WW1, no one having anticipated the scale of losses. Like several other countries, they converted their obsolete black powder cartridge rifles to the modern round for issue to rear-echelon troops - the Italians ending up with what was probably the most combat-worthy and least safe of the lot.

The Vetterli wasn't a super strong rifle when it came out and certainly isn't up to the pressures of a modern smokeless powder cartridge - it's a question of when and not if it fails. The Italians knew that, but also knew they'd last awhile and issued them to troops they didn't expect to see combat. That said they absolutely did, mainly when the Italian front collapsed after Caporetto in 1917. Needless to say I won't be shooting it without doing up some light loads - it's probably got some life left in it but why risk it?

It's quite interesting how they converted these - they bored out the barrel and soldered in a new sleeve in 6.5mm caliber, cut off the bolt face and soldered on a new one, and then took off the old Vitali magazine and attached a Carcano mag assembly with the trigger mechanism cut off, which required making some extra relief cuts in the receiver, as the old 10.4 x 47 round, and it's corresponding mag, was both shorter and fatter than the new 6.5. You can see where they attached wood inserts to fill the stock. Oddly enough they didn't touch the sights, which are still graduated for the old 10.4mm - I guess they didn't figure their rear-echelon troops would be doing a lot of long range shooting!

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Barrel sleeve

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Inserts in stock (and "missing magazine")

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Factory marks

Talk about a rifle that looks like it should be in an Opera set in the late 1800's. I always have liked the look of the original model. Especially that funky Vitali magazine.

They do have a rather baroque look to them, don't they? Sort of like something off the cover to an Edgar Rice Burroughs novel. I'd love to get my hands on an unmodified M1870/87 with the old mag, but it would cost more than $160!

Prices are going up. Just today in my monthly issue of "Gun Digest" there is an article detailing the rise in costs for even Lee-Enfields. Evidently they're going for between 300-400 dollars now. My first one (MkIII*) cost me $80 back in 1999.