Bought some new guns

[Nyles]

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.

[Nyles]

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).

[Excalibur]

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.

[Nyles]

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!

[Nyles]

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!



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!

[Jcordell]

I like that knuckle duster. Great.

[Nyles]

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?

[Jcordell]

Originally Posted by Nyles

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).

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