I just got one of those calls... from a friend who was cleaning out her grandmother's estate, and found an old rifle or shotgun her grandfather brought back from WW2.
I first got this call thinking "old WW2 rifle" ala 1903A3. Maybe Carbine? Maybe Garand? Mauser? (Her grandfather brought back a TON of stuff like field phones and binos and lord knows what else "a room full of stuff")
The woman who called me knows NOTHING about guns... it might be a shotgun, it might be a rifle, it MIGHT be from Czechoslovakia, she had said shotgun and/or rifle several times.
If I hadn't said YES this would have gone to a pawn shop or gun buy back program. the family has no interest in firearms and really was considering throwing it in the trash--but realized you can't just throw a gun away. So they called me.
What it appears to be is a Czech Mauser, caliber unknown (8mm?) made between WW1 and WW2 at BRNO, with a winter trigger guard 'bubba-ized' into a sporter.
The bore is very dark and there is evidence of pitting on the stepped barrel... however it looks like all the rust was scrubbed off before the rifle was put into storage some 40+ years ago. Now for the kicker.
This rifle came from China. The Sarge who brought it back (I don't have all his details yet) served his entire WW2 service in mainland China.
This old beater may have been originally cut down for someone of smaller stature (it looks like the stock was cut and put back together upside down and topped with an American made buttplate later), the pitting could have happened on the long march, or served under Chiang Kai Shek: before becoming a sporter--who knows? I do know that during the 'warlords' period of the early 20th centuy that there was an arms embargo in China (preventing the import of rifles), and gun running was very popular. Arms from all over the world ended up in China--this could even be a black marketeer's saddlegun.
There appear to be no Chinese markings, just the Ser. No. (Matching the Bolt) 6771 over the letter C, JH off set on the breech, two small crown proofmarks and the rear sight marked to 2000 yards. One the receiver is printed CSEKOSLOVENSKA ZBROJOVKA, A.S. BRNO. The reciever looks like markings were removed (ground off) from the top, so it's not a 'capture' gun.
It's probably not worth much, I'd guess $200 at most but its strange journey to the US was a long one. A cleaning will follow but here are some pics.
Any idea what year it was made?
I'm calling it "The Grasshopper" for now.
I first got this call thinking "old WW2 rifle" ala 1903A3. Maybe Carbine? Maybe Garand? Mauser? (Her grandfather brought back a TON of stuff like field phones and binos and lord knows what else "a room full of stuff")
The woman who called me knows NOTHING about guns... it might be a shotgun, it might be a rifle, it MIGHT be from Czechoslovakia, she had said shotgun and/or rifle several times.
If I hadn't said YES this would have gone to a pawn shop or gun buy back program. the family has no interest in firearms and really was considering throwing it in the trash--but realized you can't just throw a gun away. So they called me.
What it appears to be is a Czech Mauser, caliber unknown (8mm?) made between WW1 and WW2 at BRNO, with a winter trigger guard 'bubba-ized' into a sporter.
The bore is very dark and there is evidence of pitting on the stepped barrel... however it looks like all the rust was scrubbed off before the rifle was put into storage some 40+ years ago. Now for the kicker.
This rifle came from China. The Sarge who brought it back (I don't have all his details yet) served his entire WW2 service in mainland China.
This old beater may have been originally cut down for someone of smaller stature (it looks like the stock was cut and put back together upside down and topped with an American made buttplate later), the pitting could have happened on the long march, or served under Chiang Kai Shek: before becoming a sporter--who knows? I do know that during the 'warlords' period of the early 20th centuy that there was an arms embargo in China (preventing the import of rifles), and gun running was very popular. Arms from all over the world ended up in China--this could even be a black marketeer's saddlegun.
There appear to be no Chinese markings, just the Ser. No. (Matching the Bolt) 6771 over the letter C, JH off set on the breech, two small crown proofmarks and the rear sight marked to 2000 yards. One the receiver is printed CSEKOSLOVENSKA ZBROJOVKA, A.S. BRNO. The reciever looks like markings were removed (ground off) from the top, so it's not a 'capture' gun.
It's probably not worth much, I'd guess $200 at most but its strange journey to the US was a long one. A cleaning will follow but here are some pics.
Any idea what year it was made?
I'm calling it "The Grasshopper" for now.
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