Picked up a couple more unexpectedly today - excuse the poor photography.
This one I'm particularly excited about, this is a Belgian Mauser M1889 Carbine, used in WW1. Belgian army Mausers are ridiculously hard to find, and nobody seems to know why. It's not like they didnt make many. Best theory I've heard is sometime after 1940 they were loaded onto a train bound for Germany for re-issue, and it ended up getting bombed en route. The Belgians were actually the first country to use Mausers, other than the black powder models, and so the action is very different compared to the Mauser 98 everyone is used to. They also incorporate a steel barrel jacket like the German Gewehr 88 Commission rifle, which is a cool, if useless feature.
This is a Browning Hi Power, of course, but its a Nazi-marked Hi Power, known in German service as the P.35(B). They kept them in production after conquering Belgium and issued them mainly to the Waffen SS, who were on the bottom of the list for German-made kit. I'd happily keep it, but a Nazi Hi Power is a holy grail for a friend on mine so I'll probably sell it to him for what I paid and shipping.
06-30-2009, 09:40 PM
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