~The Things Military Surplus Tell Us~

[koginam]

I have a Mosin Nugant rifle I was shot with in Nam, I was walking point watching the ground for trip wires when I was shot in the crotch, My LT brought it to me as they were getting ready to medavac me out. It still had the empty case in the chamber I had the base cut off and made into a earring and the rest of the case made into a ring.

 

[tinygnat219]

The CZ-24 and Radom Vis 35 that my grandfather brought back from WWII. He was in Patton's army, and his unit was part of the 88 "Golden Acorns". That Radom went with my father to Vietnam, where it saved his life. The CZ 24 went with my uncle to Vietnam, where it was never needed.

My collection is interesting. I have a K-31 made in 1934, and a Swedish Mauser M96 that have probably never seen combat, but were ready for the mission.

I have a 1937 marked Mauser K98 that has Russian Capture markings.

Then there is the 1895 Nagant revolver dated 1898 that is NOT chambered for the 7.62 Nagant cartridge, in fact the cylinder seems to be more for a 9MM sized base. I am thinking I have a cylinder for the Tokarev round. If that's the case, then this one is never going to be fired.

I have a Webley MK IV with Israeli proof marks.

I have a Smith and Wesson "Victory" Revolver that has a nice DEEP bluing to it and not a parkerized finish.

 

[jonmerritt]

I tend to think it is the connection, the connection with the warrior that carried the weapon in combat. Enemy or friend, we were all brothers in arms. We still respected each other, to a point, even in combat.

 

[45Guy]

Very well said jonmerritt, I don't think anyone could've put it better than what you just did.

 

[ultramag44]

[/QUOTE]"I believe that mechanical objects, especially older ones, have a personality and a story to tell. I'm glad someone wrote one down".

Colin, you are 100% correct.

 

[chefman]

My dad has a K98 with a bullet strike on the right side just under the rear sight. It appeared to come from the lower right, took out a half-moon shaped chunk of the stock and left a round wrinkle in the mount that attaches the rear sight to the barrel. I have wondered many times what the reaction of the person holding the rifle must have been. Wet drawers maybe?

 

[chefman]

ultramag, just went to the link you posted about the Jap rifle, good story. Reminded of my dad's 6.5 Arisaka that was supposedly taken from the Japanese soldier sniping American troops in the Phillipine jungle. Still has the mum intact. Everytime I handle it I think about the man that was issued that weapon and wonder what he was like.

 

[ultramag44]

ultramag, just went to the link you posted about the Jap rifle, good story. Reminded of my dad's 6.5 Arisaka that was supposedly taken from the Japanese soldier sniping American troops in the Phillipine jungle. Still has the mum intact. Everytime I handle it I think about the man that was issued that weapon and wonder what he was like.

Yes, I have a P-38 w/ both mags and the holster. NOT import marked, vet bring back, about 99%.

I often wondered, was that German officer that carried the P-38 a true believer in the Nazi cause, and ashamed @ the surender? Or, was he just another draftee happy to go home?

Questions without answers. But we do have many of the arms and acrutriements if nothing else to remind us of that era.

http://www.surplusrifle.com/articles2008/adayinthelife/index.asp

 

[230RN]

I wondered what "mum" meant.

"Chrysanthemum."

See

http://www.surplusrifle.com/arisaka/index.asp

Darn! Up until now I thought I knew everything.

And now I do, woo-hoo! woo-hoo!

Fascinating tale.

This pic Copyright 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 © TENNESSEE GUN PARTS:

 

[42]

When I move to a free place in terms of handguns I would love a webley police revolver or a browning hp to honour my family in the mil and from police respectivly.

 

[RockyMtnTactical]

Interesting topic to say the least.

 

[Ivy Mike]

My grandfather brought back a few things from his time in the Pacific theatre during WWII. One is a mum-intact last ditch Arisaka chambered in 7.7mm. Not really any interesting story behind it that I ever heard. He did inscribe his first initial and last name into the stylish, nailed-on wood buttplate.

The other one that I found interesting though was the FN Model 1910 he brought back as well. While I later learned that Japanese officers often purchased their own sidearms (were required to?) to avoid carrying the garbage pistols the Imperial Japanese army was turning out, he didn't know this.
When asked about how a Belgian gun turned up in some Pacific island somewhere, he simply grinned and answered "the nip officer probably got it the same way I did."

 

[Brad Johnson]

All I have found on/in any of my surplus stuff is the common tag under the K31 buttstock, and there is a soldiers name and grade stenciled in typical military fashion on the surplus canvas USGI half shelter I bought. Feel sorry for the poor bastadge that had to lug that thing around.

Ever thought about trying to locate the person? Might be interesting.

Brad

 

[ultramag44]

Another short story about what could be behind a used gun.

http://www.surplusrifle.com/articles2008/spirit/index.asp

 

[Trebor]

Here's the pics of my Finn Mosin 28/30.

Notice the gouges in the stock. There are little BB sized pieces of shrapneal embedded in the stock. You can see some of them when you handle the rifle and others you can feel when you run your hands over the stock.

I fear for the Finnish soldier who carried this rifle.

 

[Ian]

My most interesting rifle in this context isn't at all morbid. I have a 1964 Romanian AK with the name "Emilia" roughly carved in the pistol grip. Hopefully she and the rifle's previous owner had a long and happy life after he left the military!

 

[Ohio Gun Guy]

My first rifle larger than a .22 was a yugo capture /rework 98k. It was a mail order, so I didnt get to pick it out, but I did pay for the had select; it has the "Dirty Bird" on the stock and the proofs intact. Even though it was reworked, I always wondered about the history of the gun/s. You have to immagine, as with the russian capture rifles. The German soldier carrying it was killed, captured, or dropped it and retreated; only to go through it all again. I know some of the yugo reworks were bought from the russians after the war, so this may have happened on the Eastern front or in the balkans, but its all the same.

This is why I like Military surplus guns, the history, and you get to shoot them.

During college, I took German as an elective. It caused me to get to talk to some older "German" people in the area. One was a mechanic at the dealership I worked at was named Hans. I asked him if he spoke German. He told me, he grew up in Germany. After talking to him many times, he told me that he had 3 older brothers in the German army. Their family never knew their fate. He knew at least 1 was at Stalin Grad (6th Army). These were not Nazis, just boys who got drafted. Although I wouldn't change history, but you have to realize that they were not all evil, and more than likely were farm boys, drafted like so many here were. So, yes, its natural to wonder what personal history is attached to the guns we now own. If I saw a battle damaged rifle, I would but it, and preserve it.

 

[CYANIDEGENOCIDE]

I don't know how much truth there is to it, but at a gun show a few months back a dealer was selling a BHP with a swastika stamped into it. The front of the slide and the left side of the pisol was devoid of finish and pitted. The story: this was a WWII bring back recovered from a german who shot himself in the head the pistol was found lying in a pool of blood hence that is why the finish is missing on only one side. I would have been the 4th owner, 1st the german, 2nd the GI, 3rd the dealer. Seemed suspect so I passed

 

[Fireball]

More than 35 years ago when the Texas Army National Guard paid us extra to jump out of various aircraft, I had more than once drawn a T-10 parachute that had dried blood on the deployment bag(outside cover). Kinda increased the pucker factor a little, but never a problem with the chute itself.

Fireball

 

[myrockfight]

When you pick up a rifle, or any other object that has seen many previous owners, you wonder about the events and people it has seen. A large part of the draw for historical objects are the stories behind them. This is why, when the history of the object being sold is known and documented, the value can multiply by 100x.

When you are talking about guns, you wonder what the soldier carrying it experienced. When you find blood, shrapnel marks, bullet holes, etc., you know the previous owner went through something heroic, tragic, and life changing. You run through the various stories you have heard, both fiction and real, that might fit the scenario which would have forever changed the gun which you now own.

It is neither morbid nor disrespectful. Rather, it is an appreciation for what that soldier went through. No matter what flag a soldier fights under, every soldier fights for one thing in the end - that is his life. No matter where you are from, you, as a person, can appreciate the thoughts and feelings a soldier has as he carried his weapon while trying to survive the most dramatic ordeal of his life. Those gouges, shrapnel marks, and rust from spilt blood simply mark a moment in time, no doubt the most dramatic in the life of the firearm and possibly the soldier carrying it.

If you cannot appreciate the struggle for which it signifies, I do think you need to live a more fulfilling life.

 

[leadcounsel]

I own a lot, but not enough, C&R guns. There are few things in this world that have the historic value as weapons of war just as others have articulated.

There are fewer things yet that are not obsolete.

Couple that with fine working firearms that have stories to tell at a significant price savings and it truly is amazing.

 

[NG VI]

That said, I--personally--really wouldn't feel bad about owning a notched Garand

I would love to have a notched M1. Protect it from being ditched into the ocean or melted down by some charlatans.

 

[.455_Hunter]

Lebel Revolver

My 8 mm M1892 Lebel Revolver (made in 1897 at St. Etienne) has multiple fragment hits on the side of the frame and cylinder. One of the hits on the cylinder actually dented the outside wall to the point of requiring a reamer to restore the roundness of the chamber (done before my ownership). The gun still shoots great, both with 8 mm Lebel from Fiocchi and .32 S&W Long. I bet the gun could tell some stories of life in the trenches during the "Great War".

 

[Halo]

I have a late war Arisaka 99 that my grandfather brought back, but there's nothing personalized on that one. My aunt has a lot more of his stuff, including a blood stained Rising Sun flag. He was in the Navy and piloted landing craft carrying Marines ashore all over the South Pacific.

Some of the most interesting stock carving is found on the Yugo SKSes. A few years ago on another forum a guy posted a picture of his Yugo SKS, and whoever it was issued to had taken a picture of David Hasselhof from a Baywatch booklet, glued it to the buttstock and then sealed it with varnish! It's amusing how Europeans on the one hand say America is boorish and devoid of culture, yet on the other hand they absolutely eat up the cheesiest TV and pop music we export.

 

[Cosmoline]

What they tell me is to avoid war. It is better to fill a freezer or shoot at marks.

The most banged up ones I've seen have been pre-war Finns that saw the brunt of the Winter War. I've had some with serious shrapnel damage to the stock. The stock was repaired, but I can't imagine the rifle's owner survived the hit. It's a pretty horrible thing to contemplate.