Another Travesty!

[Mustang51]

I know this is going to drive some collectors up the wall, but here goes...

Last year I glommed a beautiful Persian Mauser that someone had drilled and tapped. I knew it had no collector value, but it was priced accordingly and I was interested in using in the "open" class at a military silhouette match that my sons and I shoot in.




Understand that I couldn't do this to a unmolested mil surp myself. Since someone else had already done the dirty work, I could not restrain myself. I finally used it in a couple of the matches and the Persian did pretty well.

Ever since I found this one, I've wanted an Argentine Mauser in the same condition. Well, today I glommed the Ayotollah's South American cousin at an on-line gun auction...Argentine Modelo 1909




Hoping that this is as good a shooter as the Persian. Better pics when it arrives.

 

[stan rose]

Beautiful rifles. Good luck with it.

 

[303tom]

I like it...............

 

[akv3g4n]

Both are nice looking rifles but I do hate when people alter a historical piece like that. Anyway, as you said you didn't do it and they are your rifles to enjoy. Might as well make the best of it. Hope the new one shoots as well as it's cousin.

 

[Liberty1776]

doesn't bother me at all - I'd love to find one like it, for a fun shooter. (I won't despoil a pristine one...)

 

[threefortyduster]

What's the travesty? Shooting a gun? I think some people need to rediscover the reason guns are produced...

 

[rszwieg]

I have Persian like that. The sights are getting harder to see as time goes on.

 

[Mustang51]

What's the travesty? Shooting a gun? I think some people need to rediscover the reason guns are produced...

A lot of collectors, myself included, do not like to see a nice military rifle modified.

As I said, I wouldn't do it myself and luckily I found one that had already been modified.

I love shooting these rifles in the silhouette matches, along with my unmolested ones. Here is a picture of the silhouette range where my sons and I shoot them.

 

[jim243]

That is a beautiful rifle, you lucky dog. Just remove the rail, insert blued tap screws and reinstall the rear sight.

Many people would give their right arm for something that nice.

Jim

 

[Black Butte]

The previous owner should be drilled and tapped.

 

[Mustang51]

These came from estate sales...I'm afraid the previous owners are beyond any earthly justice

 

[Shadow 7D]

Remember back 'in the day' these were sold out of barrels to people who couldn't afford a remchester hunting rifle or a 1903.....

But be glad they weren't bubba'd (got a 1894/16 swede Mauser in a cut down stock... you don't want to guess what it would cost to restore (metal is 100%) the complete stock alone will set you back most of what a remchester costs....

 

[josiewales]

The previous owner should be drilled and tapped.

I agree to a certain extent. I would not drill and tap a wonderful rifle like that, but if I bought it already drilled ant tapped I might put a scope on it. It is already altered from the original firearm so the scope would be just one more, relatively small, alteration. One thing I will NEVER do ( exept maybe to a mosin) is sporterize or put a laminate stock on a milsurp. NOT happening.

 

[Mustang51]

I'm no fan of D&T'ing a nice surplus rifle, and would never do that myself, but I do have a use for these.

I've attached the match results from last month's vintage military rifle match. If you scroll down to the "open prone" class, you can see the Persian ran with the best of the other military rifles...beating a number of K31's, Swedish Mausers, and M39's, all of which were also scoped. These are the cream of the crop in accuracy in surplus rifles and the Persian bested them. Ultimately I lost in a shoot off with a buddy who was shooting a scout-scoped Swedish M38, but only after each of us shot 10 rounds. And only then, when the match director had us start shooting off hand.

Ultimately both my buddy and I were beaten by a scoped Finnish 28/76 target rifle.

I hope the Argentine does as well.

 

[JTW Jr.]

The way I see it , someone pays for it with their money , its theirs to do whatever they want with , doesn't matter how rare or historical it is , for anyone else to tell you what you can do with it is ridiculous.

What's the travesty? Shooting a gun? I think some people need to rediscover the reason guns are produced...

agreed 100%. I would rather seeing them being used, than sitting in a safe.

 

[Mustang51]

The scoped '09 Argentine arrived at my FFL today and I got a chance to look at it before it went into his safe for the 10 day "cooling off" period.

In great condition, very nice bolt turn down and stock cut out for the bolt handle, Bore is sharp and shiny, bluing is excellent. Everything matches down to the cleaning rod.

I hate to say it, but it looks like someone took an "unissued" 09 Argentine and drilled and tapped it.

Better pics when it gets out of jail.

 

[303tom]

The scoped '09 Argentine arrived at my FFL today and I got a chance to look at it before it went into his safe for the 10 day "cooling off" period.

In great condition, very nice bolt turn down and stock cut out for the bolt handle, Bore is sharp and shiny, bluing is excellent. Everything matches down to the cleaning rod.

I hate to say it, but it looks like someone took an "unissued" 09 Argentine and drilled and tapped it.

Better pics when it gets out of jail.

Were looking forward to it...............

 

[mgmorden]

Both are nice looking rifles but I do hate when people alter a historical piece like that.

I once thought like that. Then I realized that most of these are anything but rare. Its actually more of a travesty to alter an actual sporting rifle from the same period as those generally are a lot less common.

Unless it is a particularly rare model of note, there's no shortage of them - modify as one wishes.

 

[meanmrmustard]

The way I see it , someone pays for it with their money , its theirs to do whatever they want with , doesn't matter how rare or historical it is , for anyone else to tell you what you can do with it is ridiculous.


agreed 100%. I would rather seeing them being used, than sitting in a safe.

I'd rather they be in a safe than being tampered with, molested, and ultimately devalued by someone trying to scope a milsurp.

Plenty of 91/30s to deface, no really good reason to do it to the finer specimen of the world other than "its mine". Sheesh.

 

[Jason_W]

I see nothing wrong with using an old military surplus rifle as a base for a custom rifle as long as the work is done by someone competent.

Unless there is something about a particular rifle that makes it exceptionally rare and valuable, it's still just a utilitarian tool that was mass produced during a time of war.

 

[doubleh]

I've always felt that when I purchase something it's mine to with as I please. It's not that I would alter something that is rare but if I wished to it would be my business alone because I own it.

 

[Mustang51]

Frankly, I'm not sure what was in the mind of the people who drilled and tapped either of these rifles.

They are still in their military stocks with handguard, which is unusual for a sporting rifle. The barrels are over 29" long, which doesn't make much sense for a sporting rifle. The Persian is in 8 x 57 and the Argentine is in 7.65 x 53, neither one of which is a particularly popular sporting cartridge. Both of these rifles started out on the expensive end of the military Mauser spectrum and sold to me for not much more than the gunsmithing must have cost.

Unless the previous owners wanted a scoped military rifle for competition in the "open" class, like I do, then these rifles really don't make much sense.

But they serve my purposes splendidly

 

[JTW Jr.]

I'd rather they be in a safe than being tampered with, molested, and ultimately devalued by someone trying to scope a milsurp.

Plenty of 91/30s to deface, no really good reason to do it to the finer specimen of the world other than "its mine". Sheesh.

When someone plunks down their own cash to buy something , nobody else has a right to tell them what they SHOULD or SHOULD NOT do to it. They buy it , they can do what they want.

 

[meanmrmustard]

When someone plunks down their own cash to buy something , nobody else has a right to tell them what they SHOULD or SHOULD NOT do to it. They buy it , they can do what they want.

If folks want to polish turds, deface history, make silk purses, or devalue rifles that have seen wars, traveled thousands of miles in the hands of a brave soldier, or traversed decades or even centuries of time in shooting condition...who am I to say no?

 

[DMK]

At least the stocks, barrels and hardware are unmolested. Still pretty rifles.