Want a rare Chinese rifle for $35?
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Harry Paget Flashman
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Went to the range today with S-i-L and 8 year old Grandson.
Took the M48BO 8mm Mauser, 1891 Argentine Mauser, T53 Nagant, 1895 Nagant revolver, Polish Gward .38 Revolver, Armscor Model 200 .38 revolver, two old Iver-Johnson revolvers in .22 and .38S&W, Glock 17, KelTec Sub2000 9mm, Sig 229 .40S&W, Marlin single shot .22, Springfield single shot .22, Ruger SP101, and Walther P38.
The new Bulgarian heavy ball 7.62X54R has a nice "Thump" and awesome muzzle flash in the Nagant carbine.
My 2 extra Chinese T53's came in today. (Total of 5.)
Took the M48BO 8mm Mauser, 1891 Argentine Mauser, T53 Nagant, 1895 Nagant revolver, Polish Gward .38 Revolver, Armscor Model 200 .38 revolver, two old Iver-Johnson revolvers in .22 and .38S&W, Glock 17, KelTec Sub2000 9mm, Sig 229 .40S&W, Marlin single shot .22, Springfield single shot .22, Ruger SP101, and Walther P38.
The new Bulgarian heavy ball 7.62X54R has a nice "Thump" and awesome muzzle flash in the Nagant carbine.
My 2 extra Chinese T53's came in today. (Total of 5.)
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offthepaper
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Harry
Thats a lot of cleaning.
Cool pics with the Grandson.
Thats a lot of cleaning.
Cool pics with the Grandson.
silverlance
Member
egtads.. now i know why retirement is nice... your guns actually get cleaned within say, a month?
dstorm1911
Member
O.K Well here is an update on the T53s, the cleaning rods have run out and there are now a total of 150 left available, so anyone who's been waiting........ times pretty much up on em, There will be nomore ever imported after these last ones are gone, to prevent a thousand calls asking if there are any left..... IT WILL BE POSTED ON HIS WEBSITE when they have run out......... Which will most likally be in the next couple weeks.........its just so strange seein that container empty after so many years........
I will really be lookin forward to the pics and I can tell ya'll while Don doesn't have time to respond he has seen the pics of these cleaned up rifles and is VERY impressed and even happier to see folks bringin em back to life and usin em....... We were talkin bout that this morning and he had a big smile goin while he told me bout all the pictures he's seen from folks sendin him links to em etc.... That makes me feel really good that ya'll share what ya've done to clean these rifles up He has had them sitting there for almost 20 years and never really thought he'd ever see them all actually out in the hands of shooters and collectors I'm glad ya'll have given him the chance to see just that! We are already talking about what to bring out in the next month or so, I'm pretty swamped right now with building AKs and other toys for folks but we will be openin up a few of the other containers that been sitting to see what we find soon as I get some free time.......
Again I want to say THANK YOU to all of you who have helped share with the old guy what ya'v done to bring these rifles back into use it really does mean alot to him!!
I will really be lookin forward to the pics and I can tell ya'll while Don doesn't have time to respond he has seen the pics of these cleaned up rifles and is VERY impressed and even happier to see folks bringin em back to life and usin em....... We were talkin bout that this morning and he had a big smile goin while he told me bout all the pictures he's seen from folks sendin him links to em etc.... That makes me feel really good that ya'll share what ya've done to clean these rifles up He has had them sitting there for almost 20 years and never really thought he'd ever see them all actually out in the hands of shooters and collectors I'm glad ya'll have given him the chance to see just that! We are already talking about what to bring out in the next month or so, I'm pretty swamped right now with building AKs and other toys for folks but we will be openin up a few of the other containers that been sitting to see what we find soon as I get some free time.......
Again I want to say THANK YOU to all of you who have helped share with the old guy what ya'v done to bring these rifles back into use it really does mean alot to him!!
Dstorm:
I had a great time working on my rifle and I have a few more I have to spend some time with. I really appreciate what you folks have done and Hoppy and I are on the same wavelength -- make sure you let us know when you folks start rooting around your storage containers.
I had a great time working on my rifle and I have a few more I have to spend some time with. I really appreciate what you folks have done and Hoppy and I are on the same wavelength -- make sure you let us know when you folks start rooting around your storage containers.
silverlance
Member
Of all my rifles, my T53 is the most personal to me, for many reasons. A big thank you to both you and don.
now i need to go to your website to shop...
now i need to go to your website to shop...
range report
Took my T53 out to the range yesterday. Put about 50 rounds through it and didn't have any problems. I fired most of the rounds without the bayonet extended -- most of the rounds seemed to go left. After I put the bayonet out the rounds tended to group where I wanted them.
All in all, not the most accurate shooting in the world but in my defense most of the rounds were fired standing or sitting, unsupported at 50 yards. Next time I'll wear my glasses, too.
The trigger was exceptionally smooth with a light pull. I tried my son's Ruger 10/22 afterward and there was a noticeable difference. I'll take the T53 trigger any day. Good, clean breaks, good bolt action (well, it got stuck a couple of times then it behaved itself after it was hit with a block of wood) and the barrel was bright with good lands and grooves.
One of the good ones.
Took my T53 out to the range yesterday. Put about 50 rounds through it and didn't have any problems. I fired most of the rounds without the bayonet extended -- most of the rounds seemed to go left. After I put the bayonet out the rounds tended to group where I wanted them.
All in all, not the most accurate shooting in the world but in my defense most of the rounds were fired standing or sitting, unsupported at 50 yards. Next time I'll wear my glasses, too.
The trigger was exceptionally smooth with a light pull. I tried my son's Ruger 10/22 afterward and there was a noticeable difference. I'll take the T53 trigger any day. Good, clean breaks, good bolt action (well, it got stuck a couple of times then it behaved itself after it was hit with a block of wood) and the barrel was bright with good lands and grooves.
One of the good ones.
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Harry Paget Flashman
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My S-i-L took apart one of the Chinese Mauser's I got from Omega Weapons Systems. I kept one and gave him the one with the cracked stock. The metal was pitted underneath the wood but just a little worn where exposed. We put some WD-40 on the screws and let it sit for a half hour and surprisingly the screws backed out with very little effort. There was no rust on the screws where they made contact with the receiver.
The stock wasn't salvageable. At some time in its service it had been field repaired with nails to fix a severe crack behind the tang. My S-i-L ordered a black composite sporter stock for it. He wants to make it a shooter and hunt with it. He'll probably be the only one in Mississippi to take deer with a Chiang Kai-Shek 8mm Mauser 98.
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Hats off to Don Bell and Darrel Storm for the good deals. I ended up buying five of the T53's and four of the Chinese Mauser's. Whenever they open up the next container I'm not procrastinating. I'm going to dig up the coffee can of Krugerrands in the back yard and buy five each of whatever they have.
The stock wasn't salvageable. At some time in its service it had been field repaired with nails to fix a severe crack behind the tang. My S-i-L ordered a black composite sporter stock for it. He wants to make it a shooter and hunt with it. He'll probably be the only one in Mississippi to take deer with a Chiang Kai-Shek 8mm Mauser 98.
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Hats off to Don Bell and Darrel Storm for the good deals. I ended up buying five of the T53's and four of the Chinese Mauser's. Whenever they open up the next container I'm not procrastinating. I'm going to dig up the coffee can of Krugerrands in the back yard and buy five each of whatever they have.
just sent in my order for 3 more t53's. im affraid to order a mauser. while it is chinese, im afraid all the mosins in the safe will beat it up right not the M1917 is safe only cause of the protection of the K31. gotta love those swiss too.
right not the M1917 is safe only cause of the protection of the K31. gotta love those swiss too.BobCav
Member
Oh man, I want to buy a few of these babies and I'm just waiting for my C&R any day now...(it's been 33 days). I just hope there'll be some left!
I'd strongly recommend him to check if it shoots straight first before investing more money. Maybe it's just my luck, but I've already run through 3 CKS Mausers (from another source) without finding any shootable one. Hopefully, the one I got from Omega will shoot.
I'd be worried about the Mausers abusing the Mosins. The former were all made around WW2, and have been captured by and pressed into service with the PLA. Suffice to say, they got a lot of seniority over the Type 53.
Harry Paget Flashman
Member
My S-i-L re-blued the steel on his Chinese Mauser earlier this week and today his Fajen composite stock came in via UPS. ($82) He had to do about 15 minutes worth of Dremeling to inlet the stock to get a good fit. We were anxious to test fire it so we hurried to the range before it closed. I also took along a Mauser 24/47 that came in today with two M44's.
We test fired his Chinese Mauser by lashing the rifle down to the bench and tying on a 20' pull string. It misfired with three different rounds. There were no hammer strikes on the primers. I put the same rounds in my 24/47 Mauser and had two misfires. Both rounds had decent hammer strikes on the primers with my Mauser. On the third and subsequent rounds all rounds fired in my rifle. I believe there was some crud in my bolt as I hadn't field stripped it yet. I have ~1000 rounds of Ecuadorian 8mm that I have had a few misfire problems with before. I have some better Serb and Egyptian ammo I wish I'd used for the test fires. Like I said...we were in a hurry to get to the range.
We took apart his bolt at the range and the firing pin tip was bent and maybe even some of it missing. His safety also doesn't work. It stays in the "fire" position (left) all the time, can only be put in the center position (sometimes) when the bolt is removed and cannot be put in the "safe" position (right) at all. I had the same problem recently with a Spanish Mauser and I replaced the whole bolt to fix the problem.
When we got home I swapped out the bolt from my Chinese Mauser (which I knew to work) to his and took it out in the woods behind the house and test fired it with a string using some Egyptian ammo. It fired the first time. I'm pretty sure the way to go is just to do a whole bolt replacement for his Mauser...considering the safety problem and the firing pin. Numrich has them for ~$82 and it may be quicker and cheaper than troubleshooting and piecemeal replacement.
No complaints about Omega's Mauser's...they were sold as wall hangers. But what fun getting them back in shooting condition!
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I'll post some pictures sometime but I took one of the MN M44's apart today that I'd gotten from Classic Arms and swapped the brand new stock to one of the T53's that I'd re-blued. The two M44's were 1944 builds and in pristine condition with just a light amount of cosmoline. The T53 with the new stock and bluing is beautiful. Of course, one of the "pristine" M44's looks like crap now.
We test fired his Chinese Mauser by lashing the rifle down to the bench and tying on a 20' pull string. It misfired with three different rounds. There were no hammer strikes on the primers. I put the same rounds in my 24/47 Mauser and had two misfires. Both rounds had decent hammer strikes on the primers with my Mauser. On the third and subsequent rounds all rounds fired in my rifle. I believe there was some crud in my bolt as I hadn't field stripped it yet. I have ~1000 rounds of Ecuadorian 8mm that I have had a few misfire problems with before. I have some better Serb and Egyptian ammo I wish I'd used for the test fires. Like I said...we were in a hurry to get to the range.
We took apart his bolt at the range and the firing pin tip was bent and maybe even some of it missing. His safety also doesn't work. It stays in the "fire" position (left) all the time, can only be put in the center position (sometimes) when the bolt is removed and cannot be put in the "safe" position (right) at all. I had the same problem recently with a Spanish Mauser and I replaced the whole bolt to fix the problem.
When we got home I swapped out the bolt from my Chinese Mauser (which I knew to work) to his and took it out in the woods behind the house and test fired it with a string using some Egyptian ammo. It fired the first time. I'm pretty sure the way to go is just to do a whole bolt replacement for his Mauser...considering the safety problem and the firing pin. Numrich has them for ~$82 and it may be quicker and cheaper than troubleshooting and piecemeal replacement.
No complaints about Omega's Mauser's...they were sold as wall hangers. But what fun getting them back in shooting condition!
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I'll post some pictures sometime but I took one of the MN M44's apart today that I'd gotten from Classic Arms and swapped the brand new stock to one of the T53's that I'd re-blued. The two M44's were 1944 builds and in pristine condition with just a light amount of cosmoline. The T53 with the new stock and bluing is beautiful. Of course, one of the "pristine" M44's looks like crap now.
just got my 3 more t53's. wood is a little better than my first. but the metals not as nice. a 55 factory 26. a 56 factory 26 and a 54.11 296. one of the 3 had matching bolt& reciever. the wood on the matching one has got 2 huge gouges in it. and the magazine is... wierd. i cant figure out what it is. it just doesnt look right. the follower sits too high or something.
no cleaning rods. still down and dirty. pics when i can
no cleaning rods. still down and dirty. pics when i can
dstorm1911
Member
That is Don's surprise for folks ordering 3 or more, rather than sell the all matching rifles for more $$ he is simply including one with every order of 3 or more as they are gettin to the end of the supply, its taken him a few months to decide what to do with em as the all matching T53 is a very rare critter and in the end he decided to reward folks who have bought 3 or more with one in each order.... and yep as I said earlier there are nomore cleaning rods and only 100 rifles left as of yesterday....... VERY few all matchin and none will be sold seperatly they are just being included with orders etc...
We are thinking bout taking all the severally busted stocks and cutting them up for use as repair sections so if ya send some printed pics and call Don for a price (basically enough to cover shipping) he'll cutout the part of the stock ya need etc... thats why we need a picture to know what sections ya need as there are bins full of busted stocks from the rifles that got parted out etc... ya can do the repair sections same way the chinese did em..... at $35 per rifle it just doesn't pay to try and do any repairs at the shop but spare parts will always be included if damaged parts are spotted etc.....
We are thinking bout taking all the severally busted stocks and cutting them up for use as repair sections so if ya send some printed pics and call Don for a price (basically enough to cover shipping) he'll cutout the part of the stock ya need etc... thats why we need a picture to know what sections ya need as there are bins full of busted stocks from the rifles that got parted out etc... ya can do the repair sections same way the chinese did em..... at $35 per rifle it just doesn't pay to try and do any repairs at the shop but spare parts will always be included if damaged parts are spotted etc.....
Harry Paget Flashman
Member
I ordered a total of 7 T53's. 3 for me, 2 for a friend and 2 more for son-in-law's. I wasn't really paying much attention to serial numbers but just checked and 2 of the 5 I have in the safe have matching receivers, magazine-trigger guards/butt plates. No matching bolts. It was a nice surprise.
I reblued one on my T53's with the worst stock and switched a like-new M44 stock to it. It looks cherry.
I reblued one on my T53's with the worst stock and switched a like-new M44 stock to it. It looks cherry.
dstorm1911
Member
HPF, when did ya order em? He just started doing the matching rifle with 3 orders back when I alerted folks they were running out and cleaning rods were gone etc.. there are only a very few all matching rifles so that deal probably won't even last the whole 100 folks are orderin em from several forums etc... so.. he even caught me off gaurd as we had been discussing for weeks how he was gonna sell the all matching ones once the mis-matched ran out and how much etc... then he goes and just tells me he isn't going to sell em he is gonna put em in orders of 3 or more etc... I couldn't tell folks outright so just tried to give folks a hint
well my 3rd wasnt all matching. but the bolt and reciever matched, so that better than nothing i suppose! i think don may have replaced the stock & magazine assembly not realizing it was a matched part. still nice guns for 35$. the first one i got ( bottem of the pic in my last post) is definatly the best metal.
dstorm1911
Member
Hoppy, Don doesn't do anything at all to these rifles no parts are replaced or even touched they are taken out of the rack exactly as they came off the pallets from china, He looks at the bolt if it matches the reciever number then it goes into the matching rack as this is VERY rare. for $35 if they have damage requireing parts replacement like a stock them it just goes into the parts pile there are ZERO spare stocks for the T53s period if one is busted then they will need to find a russian M44 replacement as there are no Chinese stocks available at all only busted up pieces. If a sight is bent he cannot for $35 mess with trying to change it out etc... if someone sends one back for a problem he can only refund their $$ at $35 the shipping alone of a replacement puts him in the negative so...... No stocks are changed here no parts are replaced etc... they are shipped exactly as recieved 20 years ago
jimbob1911
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- Dec 3, 2005
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i just wanted to say that for $35 rifles these are great and dstorm your customer service and prompt answering of questions is excellent. Hell you cant even get this kind of service from anyone else. You can go buy a $40K car and when you have a question about it or a problem with it they act as if you are an annoyance. Once again thanks for the great service!
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