Bought some new guns

[funkychinaman]

I didn't know S&W had unsupported ejector rods. If I ever get around to that revolver guide I've been putting off, I'll have to remember that.

[Nyles]

Only the 1899 .38, 1896 .32 and 1st model .22 Ladysmith (1902) did. The 1902 .38, 1903 .32 and 2nd model Ladysmith (1906) all went to supported rods, so they only did for 10 years across 3 models, none of which are commonly seen today.

[Jcordell]

Some great pieces there Nyles. As always I'm very impressed with some of the items that you find.I also have a S&W Model of 1899 M&P with the 4" barrel. Mine was manufactured in 1902 and is chambered in .38 Spl. As you can see somewhere in the 109 years before I purchased it (2011) the original ejector rod end cap went missing and was replaced. I've toyed with the idea of replacing it, but so far I haven't.

[Nyles]

Thanks! That's a nice 1899 you have yourself, definitely in better shape than mine. I do prefer the 6 1/2" barrel though!

[Jcordell]

Yes the 6.5" bl does somehow seem more period correct with the 1899. It just looks more Victorian Era. You can picture a British officer using it in South Africa during the Boer War for example.

[SPEMack618]

Or a wealthy officer in the American Volunteers purchasing one before he set sail to Cuba or the Philippines.

[Nyles]

I just picked up this Chinese Type Zhongzheng Mauser in 8mm Mauser, more commonly known as a Chiang Kai Shek rifle. Chiang Kai Shek changed his name to Zhongzheng around 1920 but it's not widely used in the West or Communist China. The Chiang Kai Shek is essentially a Chinese made copy of the German Standard Modell, which had been supplied to some divisions of the Kuomintang army, and was the predecessor of the 98K. This one was made at the Hanyang arsenal in June 1944 at the tail end of WW2 and would have seen use in the Chinese civil war afterwards. The characters on the butt indicate it was issued to local village militias after the Communist takeover, which partially accounts for it's rough condition. It's generally pretty beat up, and poorly made to the point that I wouldn't shoot it, but it gives me a new respect for the Chinese soldiers that carried weapons like this into battle.



I also picked up a 1943 Ishevsk Mosin-Nagant M38 carbine. The M38 was the first widely produced Mosin carbine, intended mainly to arm the crews of heavy weapons like mortars and machine guns. Unlike alot of refurb M38s, which were put it into M44 stocks with a cutout to accomodate the bayonet, this is in a proper wartime M38 stock, and as a bonus it's the rarer laminated wood stock. It's in pretty typical refurbished Mosin condition, but I was pretty happy to track it down as M38s have become pretty tough to come by in Canada.



Also got a Dutch M1895 Karabijn Marin carbine in 6.5 x 53mm Mannlicher, made at Hembrug in 1940 on a 1917 dated WW1-surplus receiver. The Dutch came out with a bewildering variety of carbines, and I originally purchased it thinking it was a No.5 Anti-Aircraft Troops carbine. A little research turned up that it's actually one of about 2500 carbines made for the Dutch Marines in the East Indies shortly before the German conquest of the Netherlands. Based on the condition, I think it's likely one of the ones which were diverted for the defense of the Netherlands before making it there.



Finally, I also picked up a bayonet for my French Berthier M1892 Artillery Carbine, an early model with the hooked quillon (blade breaker), but with WW1-era replacement wood grips instead of the original black rubber ones.