I went to the range yesterday and took my Yugoslavian Mauser. Alas, I spent the first fifteen minutes clearing a jam caused by my too-hurried loading, and using my cell phone to research (again) how to get the safety unstuck after removing the bolt from the rifle and accidentally bumping the safety into the off position. Anyhow, having taken care of that business, I commenced shooting. The rifle is chambered in 8mm (American designation; the European's insist on more precision in the description, I suppose, and label it the 7.92 x 57mm) and makes a most satisfying "Blam-yow!"
The rifle is quite heavy, but still managed to buck quite a bit on the bench rest. I was just shooting at 50 yards (too lazy to carry a target down to the 100-yard mark), so, for what it's worth, I managed to get groups of about two inches, which is better than I can do with my lever action rifles, as a rule (I do have a Cimarron replica of an 1873 Winchester, chambered in .45 Colt, that is almost as accurate at the same distance).
I also spent some time shooting my EAA Witness semi-auto pistol, chambered in .38 Super. Heavy gun, all steel, full size; the weight does a great job absorbing the recoil.
Sadly, the man who established and owned the range - retired Marine Corps Sgt. Chuck Bannister - passed away a few weeks ago and his heirs are trying to sell the 33-acre property. Their preference is to find a buyer who will continue to operate the shooting range, but I have no idea whether they'll be successful or not. Who knows? I might wind up having to buy a parcel of raw land out in the country somewhere and set up my own private range.
Sunny day, mild temperature, nobody else there at the time, the smell of gunpowder - I find shooting very therapeutic.
17 comments:
GofFundMe, perhaps? Raise the price among the users?
I may have mentioned this before, but I have an 8MM Turkish Mauser. Basically, the same gun as yours, with minor differences. Mine has a straight bolt handle, yours probably has a downward curved bolt handle. A LGS in town got a bunch of'em, and was selling them for $75. I didn't know anything about them, but I couldn't pass up a fully functioning gun for $75, so I took one home with me. Found some 8MM ammo online, so it wasn't just something to look at. It has some kick, but it's relatively heavy, so it's not so bad if you don't shoot too many rounds per shooting session. I need to take it apart and refinish it someday. Maybe a project for this winter.
Ye Old Gun Club. Sounds like a place frequented by Fedora wearing collectors of fine old handguns and vintage military long guns...oh, wait...it is. :-)
Gregory: Hmmm. That beats my original idea of raising the money by robbing liquor stores.
R-man: That's the place to a 'T', old fellow!
I've got a Model 91 Argentine Mauser that's a beautiful old rifle, but shoots about half a foot high at 50 yards. I read on a couple of forums that this is a fairly common problem for many old bolt action rifles. I need to find a way to increase the height of the front sight, or maybe see if I can find a complete replacement.
Yeah, the Yugo Mauser has a turned down handle. I like it, but damned if I'd want to lug that thing around on a long march.
When Old Paco gave me a G98/40 he had acquired, it came with 500 rounds of 8mm Mauser ammo (Portuguese manufacture, from, I believe, the 1960s; it has always worked fine).
Sounds like you got a deal - or rather, a steal - on that Turkish Mauser.
Well, that was around 25 years ago, and the owner of the gun shop sold them "as is". He said he had looked them all over, and they seemed okay, but he wouldn't guarantee it wouldn't blow up in my face. So, being the cautious sort, after I got the ammo and took it out to the bench to shoot it the first time, I actually strapped it down to the bench and reached up from under the side of the bench to pull the trigger, figuring if it was going to blow up the most I would lose was my hand. Of course, it didn't blow up, and actually functioned quite nicely. I'm not much of a shot with iron sights, and I think the best I could do at 100 yds was something less than a one foot group. Not sniper quality, but I figure if the enemy was out there, I could at least make'em duck.
Question time.
I just had a look online for pics of Rindardman's Turkish Mauser. It seems quite big. It fits my idea of a long barrelled gun.
One of the charges against Kyle Rittenhouse was illegal possession of a dangerous weapon. This was dropped because the judge decided that the AR-15 was not a short barrelled weapon. Compared to the old Mauser, though, its barrel hardly seems long.
So, where is the line drawn between short and long barrels?
I got a Yugo Mauser from Mitchell's Mausers about 15 years ago.
It's in pristine shape, very tight.
It spent 60 years in cosmoline.
All numbers match, including the bayonet.
MM said it was built in '46 on German machines. I'd assume in case we decided Russia didn't need Yugoslavia.
The barrel on my Mauser is around 28". I think most ARs are 16" or 18"? I'm not an expert on them, but that seems to be what I remember. So, I guess the judge was speaking about relative length, because compared to a Mauser, the AR barrel is short.
A Mauser this ain’t, but it does look like fun!
Might be problem in some places, though.
Dang, bad HTML on my part! Use this:
https://palmettostatearmory.com/exothermic-technologies-pulsefire-lrt-flamethrower-od-green-pf-lrt.html?utm_medium=email&utm_source=daily_deals&utm_campaign=20211203&utm_term=morning&utm_content=51655115488
I grew up near Numrich Arms, just outsude Woodstock, NY.
For 20 or more years they had a billboard on Rt 28, it had their name, how many miles ahead, and a flame-throwing cannon that shot flames every few seconds.
It didn't go far, maybe a couple feet out of the barrel, but it was cool.
Back when NY wasn't full of gun-fearing pusillanimousifusses.
Gregory: A Short Barreled Rifle (SBR) is a special category of firearm which requires the payment of a $200 tax, and has to be registered with the BATF (or BATFE, I think they're calling it these days: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - the outfit my father worked for before it picked up the "F" and "E"). An SBR has a barrel length of less than 16 inches, or an overall length of less than 26 inches. It is legal in most states to possess such firearms, if you do the proper paperwork (and pay the tax, of course). Rittenhouse, as far as I know, was carrying a regular, commercially available AR-15-type rifle, which has a barrel length of at least 16", so it's not an SBR and doesn't require federal registration or a $200 tax. Had he been in possession of an SBR without the proper paperwork, he would have been in clear violation of the law.
Here's a question for whoever wants to answer it: can you use one of those flame throwers to melt the ice and snow off your driveway? I don't have to worry about that these days, but I often wondered about it when I lived in Northern Virginia.
V: I looked up Numrich and am pleased to see the company is still in existence. And it's still located in New York (they might want to contemplate moving to a friendlier environment).
I'm sure a flame thrower could be used, but I doubt it would it be an economical solution for snow removal. I have a gravel drive, and have wondered about using one on it, as it would remove all the snow without disturbing the gravel. But, when I consider what it would cost, I conclude that leaving an inch or two of snow isn't much of a problem for my car or truck. Plus, I have a set winter tires for my car, which makes it a four wheel snow mobile.
Paco,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPWMluZdB4M
Kentucky man using flamethrower for snow removal, and he didn't even have to have someone else hold his beer!
Numrich is still there but you can't go in anymore, you go to a window and ask for the stuff you want.
They do pretty much all their business online.
It's pretty much just a huge warehouse stuffed full of old gun parts, it was a cool place to wander around.
V: Man, I wish I had owned one of those when I lived in Northern Virginia! Beats the hell out of (a) actually shoveling snow, and (b) looking kind of feeble and lame in order to encourage some charity shoveling by my much younger neighbors.
Thanks Paco and Rindardman for the info.
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