Pete123

I shopped around and that was close to the best price.  Maybe the good times have come to a close.  $100 a few months ago, $140 two months ago, $200 now?

The K98 Mauser I written about has now shared her story: A US soldier on the western front came into possession of a K98. I’m guessing the GI got it close to the end of the war. The reason being that the norm was to separate the bolt from the gun so that it couldn’t be used as a weapon. This is why it’s so hard to find K98s where the serial numbers on the bolt match the rest of the gun. Unfortunately, the K98 stocks were just a little too long to fit in a GI duffle, so they often cut about three inches off the end so it would fit, which happened to this gun. So, the GI comes home and starts a family. He has a son who we’ll call “Dummy”. Bubba isn’t the right term as we have a Bubba on TGO that is smarter than all of the rest of us put together - Yes, he really is a rocket scientist. Back to the story. Dummy decides this gun needs some work. The end of the stock was cut off, so he gets a turkish band and hand guard as well as a big tub of some kind of skanky glue and a drill with a wire brush attachment. Oh, he also gets a can of the cheapest wood stain/finish that money can buy. He applies the wood finish to the gun, actually thinking it looked better. Of course the metal needs a good cleaning. That’s where the drill with a wire brush attachment comes in. He uses about two gallons of glue on the gun and somehow gets the Turkish hand guard and band onto the the gun. So, you may ask, why do I think the original GI had a son named Dummy. The reason is that any GI that was able to survive on the western front couldn’t possibly be dense enough to abuse such a nice weapon. So, time goes on and somehow I get lucky and found the gun. I got the bolt taken apart and saw that all numbers match except the safety lever. Based on the limited history of the gun I suspected that it was fully matching, though Dummy had covered the serial number with the Turkish hand guard. I was able to carefully use a Dremel to get the hand guard off and saw that the numbers matched. I have a friend who is a great guy that has done right by me. His father collected WW2 Mausers and my friend inherited his passion. He’s late 50s and has collected Mausers all his life, but never had one where the bolt matched the gun. I knew that I wanted him to have the gun. I had already planned to go to his house the next day. It turned out that the glue was soluble with acetone. It took a lot of work with bronze wool, but we got it off. Gratefully, the bore of the gun is perfect. The cheap wood finish used also came off with acetone. Now to the exciting part. Dummy hadn’t done nearly as much damage as would have been expected based on how the gun looked before. We were able to see all the stamps, proof marks, etc… to confirm that the gun, including stock, is a completely matching Early edition BCD 4. The only parts that don’t match are the safety lever. I don’t think the hand guard or band at the end have marks, though we know they aren’t original. As mentioned earlier, the GI had to cut a few inches off the end to get it in his duffle bag. So, my friend and I made a trade that we both feel good about. The K98 will probably need some counseling due to the abuse, though we have a happy ending. She now has a Dad who will love and care for her forever. The End. Now for pics. The first one shows Dummy's finesse with glue and how well he polished the barrel with the rotating wire brush: Below you can see what the stock would have looked like, following by a pic of Dummy's work. Note that you can see the beautiful read through Dummy's work.

Wow, glad that you have been able to hook up with it!

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

I got a couple at the end of August for $140 each from AIM, but they are now sold out.

  I'm with hipower here.  I have a Sig P226 SAO that is my choice.  I just haven't been able to forgive them for the mag release safety.  While I believe that safety is great for LEOs, its a target gun for me and I want a good trigger.   I'll have to say though, nothing feels as good in my hand as a Hi-Power.

I appreciate all the input.  I don't think I'll fire it.  At the very least it risks ruining a gun that can history enthusiasts pleasure of trying to figure out its story for generations after I'm gone.   There were a couple of questions above.  I came into possession of this and some other nice guns by luck.  I was chatting with a friend and mentioned that I love guns.  He told me about a friend of his that had guns from an elderly family members estate.  I asked for an intro.   Wound up at his house, saw what he had, took a risk and bought the lot.  It was a good bet on my part.  There are guns that aren't worth much and two very nice guns that have been abused. See the threads about K98 and the Marlin 336.     My current interest is vintage military guns.  The lot included some nice ones - an M1 as well as a Springfield 1903.  It also included an Enfield No. 5 Jungle gun.  It also included a Russian SKS that is currently my favorite gun.  (Not trying to be a traitor here, once I figure out how to aim with the sights on the M1 it will become the favorite.  I've never shot a gun with a circle for the rear sight.)   Those of you who followed the epoxy abuse threads can get ready to cry.  I got the K98 stock of of it yesterday.  The metal parts of the gun are a fully matched bcd 4.  The only metal part I have identified that doesn't match is the safety tab.  Unfortunately, the abuse on the gun has been severe - lots of epoxy permanently attached to the barrel and some of the Nazi cartouches removed.  The abuser also to a wire brush attached to a drill and took off much of the finish.     The lot also included a few civil war guns.  I'll share more about them as I work through them and have questions or a story to tell.    The gem of the lot from a civil war perspective is a Colt Army model 1860 with belt, holster and cartridge pouch.  I've already learned a lot about the civil war.  Previously, I thought the war was fought with muzzle loaders.  I've learned that they had lever action repeaters and breech loading single shot rifles

  I'm with you on that.  Why they has to mess up the good ones?  Those Marlins are in demand.  The bolt on that K98 has matching numbers expect for one piece.

I'm not a Hi Power guy and really can't say regarding the value.  I remembered what some folks on TGO said and was merely passing along info.   Bud's has better customer service than SOG based on my experience.

I bought a batch of guns from an estate. What I’m seeing is that I’m going to have a lot of fun, learn a lot about Civil War guns and make new friends - what's not to love? You may remember my introduction to Bubba via a K98 Mauser. In case you missed it, here are a couple of highlights. I'm not sure whether removing the Nazi stamps or the very thick epoxy attaching the stock is worse. I can only hope that he didn’t file off the lip right behind the epoxy. Well, Bubba has returned, this time with a Marlin 336. The pics tell the story. Interestingly, it feels like the gun action and trigger have been worked on. Smoothest lever action I’ve ever felt. Best trigger on a lever action by far. Not sure if Bubba did that work, though feeling grateful that the gun isn’t a semi auto that he could have turned into a fully automatic weapon. We now know that Bubba believes that epoxy is the answer, no matter the problem. Any suggestions on how to salvage this vintage 336 would be appreciated.

One time there was a thread on TGO about Hi Power's.  A couple of enthusiasts said mentioned that it's hard to find a blued one and you just have to suck it up, buy immediately and pay a lot of money.   I was cruising the net last night and came across this one on SOG, thought I would post for one of the BHP fans.   http://www.southernohiogun.com/browning-hi-power-9mm.html    

Whether to shoot it is an interesting question.  It is actually loaded, with a lead ball halfway down the barrel.  Even if I could get the nipple removed I'm not sure the hole is big enough to put something in that could dislodge the ball, though I could get the powder out.   Shooting it with a reduced black powder charge would be one way to get the ball out.     I'm not sure whether the gun has value.  There is always risk of damaging the gun, or worse yet, blowing it up.     Any Civil War weapons enthusiasts here?  Input could help with that decision.

I bought it from an estate. 

This is a Springfield 1863. I feel sure that it saw action in the civil war. Muzzle loaders were obsolete by the end of the war. Many were destroyed. Many were fitted with a trap door option. Many were taken by poor soldiers to hunt with, either as a rifle or shotgun conversion. The first pic shows the gun as a whole. The next one shows where the owner carved his initials in the gun, which I've seen in other period guns. The final one is the interesting one. There are three notches carved into the underside of the stock right in front of the butt plate. Of course, there is no way to say for sure what they represent, though it caught my attention and imagination.

  TNWNGR makes a great point on the issue of changing the trigger.  I won't make any changes to a gun I use for defense.  It has become an issue from a litigation point of view.

What it made me think of is the anti gun nuts and their focus on guns rather than violence.   That kid could charge into a class with those axes and do a lot of serious damage before anyone realized what was happening.

Can't speak to the 45C, though I have two M&P 9's and really like them.   I'm left handed.  The M&P has been great for me as a left hander.  It's easy to reverse the magazine release.   Now, if they would just remove that dumb safety warning from the frame which makes me aware that it doesn't have a magazine release safety.... :)

According to the story, hundreds of guns sold through this shop were found at crime scenes, leading me to suspect that the gun shop was trying to keep guns out of the wrong hands.     I'm good with the outcome.  The anti gun nuts make me as crazy as anyone else on this forum.  I also think that those of us with guns have responsibility to try and make good decisions when selling them.

I'm guessing that 6 months in the pokey is not a felony.

I have visited many people in jail and have been in jails and prisons extensively with volunteer work I used to do.   A general comment is that it seems to me that you envision this as being much worse than it will be   I think your and your daughter visiting your wife is a good idea.  It isn't that hard.  You and she go to the facility and sit in a waiting room.  The waiting room will be filled with families with children.  I've never seen negative behavior in a jail waiting room. They will take a group of you back. Normally, you speak on a phone through glass.  Yes, your wife will be in jail clothing, but other than that it won't seem different.   I don't see that sticking by her for a mistake or visiting her in jail is enabling her in any way - as you say, she is taking responsibility for her actions.   Your daughters comment about her being in jail sounds like teen rebellion rather than an ugly comment.     My thinking in speaking with your daughter, as well as your wife, is to say that she made a mistake and has to face the consequences of that mistake.  The good thing is that she recognizes that her behavior was negative.   I know many people who feel like getting sent to jail is the best thing that ever happened to them.  Also, 6 months isn't much time.  It is fortunate that he crime was relatively small.  The sentencing on financial crimes has a lot to do with how much money was involved.   As far as helping your wife prepare, google 'preparing to go to jail' and you will find good suggestions.   Everyone I knew in jail was male.  The basic suggestions for them:   Stay to yourself. Stay out of the common areas when possible.  Don't try to influence what is watched on TV - lot's of fights over that. Don't act like a victim - the Google links will probably talk about that.   VERY IMPORTANT:  She shouldn't let anyone give her anything.  A common way that folks are turned into sex toys is that they are given things - food, cigarettes, etc... and come to learn that when they can't pay back they have to submit to sex.

It's not much.  If you click on the 'TGO Store' at the top left of the page you can see your options

ReeferMac,   You mentioned dislocating your right shoulder.  Is that the one you shoot with?  My comment will be general because there are different kinds of shoulder dislocation and the same type can cause less or more damage.   Recoil from a 308 gives me trouble after 10-20 shots, and that is with me using a fancy schmanzy recoil pad.  I haven't shot a 300WM, though I suspect you are getting into real recoil with that.   The more experienced folks may need to correct me, though I don't think you need a 300 WM unless you are moving past 500 yards.  I would imagine that shooting a white tail deer with one would ruin a lot of the meat.

  ReeferMac,   Sharing info like the post I'm quoting is beyond my knowledge level.  Having said that, I have input that should be really valuable, in large part due to my lack of knowledge.   I got back into shooting about a year ago after a 25 year break.     Here are some things I found:   It isn't possible to really know what you want without a lot of experience.  I've purchased and sold a lot of firearms which I thought were just what I wanted when I bought them.  Buying and selling guns is expensive and time consuming.   In light of that, my thought would be to go toward the less expensive side while you figure out what is important.   Some great choices that are less expensive are the Ruger American, Savage bolt actions.  I believe that Remington has a lower priced bold action.   I went with a Savage because they are well thought of and you can get an adjustable trigger for a fairly small price increase.  I really like good triggers.  I also went with 308.  At the time 308 seemed perfect.  What I didn't realize is that I have a partially torn rotator cuff on my shooting shoulder and the recoil from the 308 has become an issue.     I'll leave it to the experts to share about what they know about.   Best of luck.  I've found that deciding and researching what to buy is half the fun.

Kevin,   Can you let us know a budget for the gun?  Also, I'm not clear from your post.  You talk about long range shooting, then reference 200 yards.   By long range shooting, did you mean 200 yards?  If not, how far?     Getting a gun and scope that will be accurate at 400-500 yards would probably be best with a 308 bolt.  Past that you start talking real money and a strong commitment to training and practice.   If your goal is 200 yards with a round that would good for hunting out to 150 yards, then you have some less expensive options.

The 308 would be a great choice.     Also, you mentioned wanting to reach out to 200 yards.  The 7.62 x 39 is less expensive than the 308.  It won't be accurate at 400-500 yards, though I think you would be fine at 200 yards and with deer type game at 150 hards.  The SKS and the AK 47s shoot this round.  I just got an unissued SKS for $430.  The round used by the SKS is very similar in ballistics to the 3030 t   You didn't mention a budget,  on the lower end, the SKS would be a good choice for the 7.62x39 for a lower budget.     For the 308 another great rifle that costs less is the Savage 110 or 111 series - awesome trigger, very accurate and priced well.  I bought one that came with a scope mounted. Semi auto 308s start becoming expensive very quickly.