# 14162 - Springfield Musket Dated 1833
10/29/2011
Edward, Littlestown PA.

The make is Spring Field 1833 on three separate lines. US on hammer side and U on the other. Top of barrel is P F V 17. S on bottom of butt. 1833 on barrel and hammer side with Springfield. Has 2 engravings (script) on the stock on the left side each in a circle one is Et the other is OWO from the best I can tell. Total length of rifle is 57'' It is not a flintlock. This came down through Family would like to know a little about where it might have been used and what it might be worth. Has ram rod and it is in good condition no cracks or marks in stock. Barrel is not rusty. Thank You Ed Spencer EW55Spencer@hotmail.com

Answer:
Edward- Your excellent description confirms that you have a U.S. Model 1816 .69 caliber musket that started out as a smoothbore flintlock. Most were converted to percussion ignition by late 1861, and a few were rifled at the same time. The M1816 musket saw wide use in the Mexican War of 1846, and then again in the Civil War. Many were still in the hands of militia units at the end of the Civil War. John Spangler

# 14281 - Pieper Shotgun
10/29/2011
James, Chatham, VA

Made in Belgium Has 2 hammers on the outside, double triggers Have you ever heard of such a shotgun? I bought one today and it's obviously very old. Still works -SC- needs cleaning. Can't find anything in the Blue Book or on the Internet.

Answer:
James, our main focus at FineOldGuns.com (OldGuns.net) is military firearms, we don't do much with shotguns. Suggest that you try shotgunworld.com. Good luck - Marc

# 14260 - Identify An Old 12 Gauge
10/25/2011
Brad, Morgantown, WV, US

Receiver has the word Special on left hand side and top of barrel says 12 gauge choke. This was my grandfather's gun that I now have. It is missing a forearm and I have no idea where or how to find one being I can not identify the manufacturer or model. I was told he purchased the gun new from Sears & Roebuck about 1910 - 915. The serial number on the gun is the only identification I have to work with. I would like to find out the Manufacturer and model in order to restore this gun back to it's original condition. Thanks, Brad

Answer:
Brad, try taking the shotgun to a gunshow and show it to some of the dealers who have tables there. You should be able to find someone there who can identify it. Good luck, Marc

# 14160 - Mauser Over - Under “Cape Gun?”
10/25/2011
Germany

Claw mounted 4 or 6 X German rifle scope. Over & Under barrels swing out, locking latch on the left side. Nicely engraved rifle -- looks like an early custom made Mauser 98K ( bolt turned down ) hand engraved, Mannlicher full length type carbine stock . May be a Treaty of Versailles Gun of the early 1920`s Condition is '' as new '' -- 99% . I can attach photos for you to see. I have yet to figure out who or what this gun really is. It resembles an over and under ''Cape Gun'' -- but is built on a Mauser rifle action - full mannlicher Stock. Can you help??

Answer:
Huber- I regret that I cannot visualize what this might be. Sounds like a very fine gun of some sort, and German craftsmen made some really clever designs. There is a German Gun Collectors Association which might be able to help you out. Google is your friend. John Spangler

# 14276 - Head Stamp Info
10/22/2011
Sarge

What are the head stamps for non-corrosive U.S. military ball ammo ie. RA 52./ SL/TW, etc. thank you so much

Answer:
Here is the accurate information, taken straight from Army sources:

http://www.cartridgecollectors.org/30-06intro/ammo-nctable.htm

Hope that helps. John Spangler

# 14259 - Paramount 25
10/22/2011
Martin

CAL 6-35 .*. in circle on both sides of grips. I received this small pistol and don't know anything about it... Age? Manufactured by what company? How can I find parts, clip and new grips? Thank You !!!

Answer:
Martin, the paramount name was used circa 1920 to 1935 by Spanish firearms manufactures for several different models of 6.35mm and 7.65mm semi-automatic pistol. Most of the 6.35mm pistols were manufactured by Apaolozo Hermanos and Beistegui Hermanos, of Eibar and most of the 7.65mm pistols were manufactured by Retolaza Hermanos. Collector interest in these pistols is low or nonexistent, I would expect to see an example in fair condition offered for sale at a gunshow in the $50 or less range.

I would advise you to not waste your time and or money on restoring a pistol that will be worth less than $50 even if were in perfect condition, but for parts, try checking with Gun Parts Corp (the old Numrich Arms people) at the following URL:

http://www.gunpartscorp.com/

Gun Parts Corp has just about everything. If that doesn't work, try posting it on our free "Wanted" page at the following URL:

http://oldguns.net/submitwn.htm

Hope this helps, Marc

# 14255 - Shiny 1894 Winchester
10/18/2011
William, Weatherford,Ok

Receiver looks like chrome plating. It also has the number 8 by the trigger. The family this gun was bought from said it was ordered new with the chrome or polished nickel, with a nickel steel barrel. I would like to know if there is any way to prove this and how rare it is. I think it was made in 1914 and has the leaf rear sight 0-20. Thanks.

Answer:
William the nickel steel barrel is not unusual, all Winchester firearms from that era had the nickel steel markings on their barrels. Nickel steel is an alloy that the barrel was made from, not the type of finish on the barrel.

The best way to find out if the finish on your rifle is original is to order a factory letter from the Cody Firearms Museum. You can find more information on obtaining a factory letter at the following link:

http://www.bbhc.org/site_media/uploads/documents/firearms_serials_winchester.pdf

Good luck, Marc

# 14275 - Oviedo 308
10/18/2011

to find info on 308 caliber rifle by the name oveido please help thanks alot if u do know where it orgin manufactors.

Answer:
Sir- So sorry to learn that your computer lacks any shift key to allow caps, and there are no punctuation marks either.

Oviedo was a Spanish military arsenal. The .308 bolt action rifles were originally made for the 7 x 57mm Mauser cartridge, and in my opinion they are only marginally safe when rechambered to .308. I have no documented proof of safety problems, but I am not impressed with the quality of the workmanship and prefer to err on the side of safety and would never fire one myself. John Spangler

# 14247 - Krag Rifle Info
10/15/2011
Dan, Masury, OH, USA

No Special Makings that I can find. Question: I would like to know the History of this Rifle. I asked the Springfield Armory about it and they were of no help. It is in Beautiful Condition but missing the Cleaning items and the Front Sight is loose. Somebody welded on the Front Sight and it had a Scope mounted on the side of it. Where can I get set screws for the Scope Holes and can you give me the History of this Rifle? Thanks

Answer:
Dan, if you are looking for the specific history of your rifle, I am afraid that I can not help, especially since you did not send me a serial number. I can give you some general history about the Krag rifle.

The U.S. Army was searching for a new rifle in the early 1890s to replace the Springfield Model 1873 "trapdoor" single-shot rifles that were in use at the time. A military trials competition was held in 1892 at Governors Island, New York where around 40 different designs of rifle were compared. A Norwegian-designed bolt action rifle, the Krag-Jorgensen won out. The Springfield Model 1892-99 Krag-Jørgensen rifle was adopted in 1892 as the standard United States Army military longarm. It was chambered in U.S. caliber .30-40 Krag and approximately 500,000 'Krags' were produced under license at the Springfield Armory in Massachusetts from 1894 to 1904. The Krag was the U.S. Army's primary rifle from 1894 to 1903 when it was replaced by the M1903 Springfield rifle.

The short service life of the Krag design has been attributed in part to it's complex mechanism which proved to be ill-suited for use in tropical climates such as Cuba and the Philippines, and the higher volume of fire that contemporary military rifles of the time could sustain because of their use of stripper clips.

The Krag was completely phased out of service in the Regular Army by 1907, as more M1903 Springfields became available, however, the Krag was used for many years with National Guard and the Army Reserve units, including service in World War I with rear-echelon U.S. troops in France and as training arms at various Stateside bases. Later, many Krags were issued to veterans' organizations such as the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars for use in military ceremonies. Still others were sold to civilians through the Civilian Marksmanship Program.

You have a very optimistic definition of the term 'Beautiful Condition'. I am afraid that most collectors will consider a Krag rifle with a welded on front sight and scope holes drilled into the receiver to be in very poor condition. Depending on what size they are, plug screws for the holes in the receiver should not be too hard to find. I would check at a local sporting goods store, at the next gunshow that they have in your area, or with a local gunsmith. If you know what size to ask for, you can probably even find some plug screws on the internet. Good luck, Marc

# 14196 - Mosin-Nagant Sniper Rifles- Real Or Repro
10/15/2011
Fred

Could you please educate me on how to tell if a Mosin-Nagant Sniper is authentic ? One of our local collectors died two years ago and his son is selling a few of his guns and has offered the Sniper to me. He stated that it is one of only 700 imported into the US. The PU scope and mount are stamped with the same serial number as the gun. I have looked around on the net but can find very little info. He is asking $1,200.

Answer:
Fred- I can help on some stuff, but on the Mosin-Nagant snipers it is very hard to ID the originals from the ones assembled from parts. I believe that a bunch of the originals first came into the US in the late 1980s, but even those may just be Commie bloc rebuild work (fakes) for the American market.

The best info that I consider reliable are found at http://www.russian-mosin- nagant.com/sniper_9130.html and the other pages on his site.

Hope that helps. John Spangler

# 14246 - Marlin 39 Value
10/11/2011
James, Malcom, Iowa, U.S.A.

I would say it was in pretty good condition, but I think the front and rear sights may have been replaced. Could you tell me when this rifle was manufactured and it's value range.

Answer:
James, I do not have serial number records that would allow me to look up a date of manufacture for your Marlin. The best that I can tell you is that that Marlin first introduced the Model 39 in 1922 and they manufactured 40,000 to 50,000 Model 39 rifles from 1922 to 1938.

The Model 39 was a lever action design that could chamber .22 Short, Long, or Long Rifle cartridges. Model 39 rifles had 24-inch octagon blued barrels and color case hardened receivers and levers. The stocks had a distinctive S-shaped pistol grip and hard rubber buttplates. .

The Model 39A rifle, was manufactured from 1939 to the present, it was similar to the Model 39, but had a round barrel, and a heavier beavertail-type forend. Early 39A rifles (manufactured before 1945) had case hardened receivers, rifles manufactured after 1945 had a blue receiver. Butstocks with flutes and a comb were introduced in 1951 and Micro-Groove rifling was introduced in 1954.

There is good collector interest in Model 39 rifles and values can go as high as $3000 or more depending on condition. Early models with fancy wood will bring a considerable premium. Marc

# 14195 - Winchester Model 1892 (32 WCF) Ammunition
10/11/2011

I would like to purchase ammo for this rifle, what do I need and do you have it? Is this modern ammo or older, and if older, how old?

Answer:
Sir- “.32 Winchester Center Fire” or .32 WCF is the original name used by Winchester for the cartridge that is usually called just ".32-20" today. It may not be available at Wal-Mart but I am sure a number of dealers stock it and you can get it on line from places like MidwayUSA.com, or Cabelas or lots of others.

The .32-20 was introduced about 1882 for the Model 1873 rifle, but remains popular today in both pistols and rifles. One of its biggest features was that a person could get both a rifle and a pistol chambered for the same cartridge. John Spangler

# 14194 - Sleeve .50-70 To Shoot .45-70 Ammo?
10/8/2011
Al

Do you have any ammo for this rifle. My gunsmith suggested sleeving it down to 45 cal and using 45-70 ammo which is easy to obtain. Any thoughts. Thanks,

Answer:
Al- Your rifle is probably the Model 1868 or 1870 .50-70 trapdoor, both of which used salvaged Civil War dated locks and some other parts.

Value is probably about the same as a comparable condition .45-70 trapdoor. I would just swap it for a .45-70 rifle if you want to shoot a lot. If you just want to shoot a little, .50-70 ammo is available, but not cheap. They can be reloaded with hand tools if you want to shoot some more.

While I don't know what price the gunsmith is quoting for sleeving the barrel, that would destroy any collector value. Plus, the extractor would need to be modified to work as well, so it may turn out to be an expensive as well as unreliable conversion. You can sink several hundred dollars into this project and the finished product could shoot .45-70 ammunition, but it would be worth about half what the rifle is without investing any money to “fix” something that is not broken. Your rifle, your money, your choice. Hope that helps. John Spangler

# 14244 - Mystery Marlin
10/8/2011
Greg, Martinsville IN

Patents April 2, 1889 -SC- Sept. 11, 1894 -SC- Nov. 27, 1900 -SC- Nov. 29, 1904 Is this gun still safe to shoot? And what is the estimated value?

Answer:
Greg, I am afraid that I will not be able to be of much assistance. You did not indicate the model of your shotgun or even what type of action it has. Without that information and without knowing what kind of condition that the shotgun is in, I can not provide an estimate of value. All I can tell you is that there is not much collector interest or demand for most Marlin shotguns.

If you want to make sure your shotgun is safe to fire, it would be foolish to rely upon the opinion of someone like me who has never even seen it. I would advise you to take it to a competent gunsmith to have it checked for safety. Marc

# 14242 - Hawes Replica
10/4/2011
Jeannette M, East Bend, NC

It has another marking but can't tell what it is. Gun is in excellent condition. It has a PN XXV on the side. Would like an idea of the value or where I could get more information on the gun.

Answer:
Jeannette, Hawes Firearms of Los Angeles, California, distributed revolvers and automatic pistols that were made by several different manufacturers here in the USA under the Hawes brand name. If my memory serves me correctly, they operated in the 1970s and the 1980s but I was unable to find any references to verify that.

It sounds like your revolver is a Colt black powder replica that was manufactured in Italy. I wish that I could give you better news but values for this kind of item are usually pretty modest, I often see them selling at gunshows in the $100 to $150 range. Marc

# 14193 - 9 x 25mm Mauser Export ammo for Broomhandle
10/4/2011
Bob

Hi, I am looking for any ammo for Broomhandle that used the rare 9mm Mauser Export Ammo. If you get some in please email me. Thanks.

Answer:
Bob- I was not familiar with this cartridge, but the following from Wikipedia may be helpful, especially the final paragraph which indicates other options if you are looking for shootable stuff, not just a few rounds for collector display. John Spangler

[from Wikipedia] "The 9x25mm Mauser (or 9 mm Mauser Export) was a cartridge developed for the Mauser C96 service pistol. The cartridge was first produced by DWM in 1907 and later by German munitions makers Geco and RWS through World War II. Other manufacturers included Société Française des Munitions of Paris, France as well as various munitions factories in Austria and Hungary in the 1930s and 40s[1].

Mauser pistols in this relatively powerful caliber were primarily intended for export to Africa, Asia and South America. The 9 mm Mauser Export cartridge was produced from 1907 to 1914 and then later from approximately 1930 to 1945.

The basis of this cartridge was the 7.63x25mm Mauser. The case length is the same as the 7.63x25mm Mauser, but the case is straight and does not have a bottleneck shape. This cartridge headspaces on the mouth of the case.[2] The 9 mm Mauser should not be confused with the 9mm Parabellum (9x19mm Luger) or the 9x23mm Steyr.

In the 1930s a handful of Austrian, Hungarian and Swiss submachine guns and machine carbines were chambered for this caliber. Originally known as the Steyr-Solothurn S1-100, the Steyr MP30 and MP34 were adopted by the Austrian Army and police and manufactured until 1940[3]. SIG automatic carbine models MKMO, MKMS, MKPO and MKPS in this caliber were produced in Switzerland until the end of 1942. The Pál Király-designed Géppisztoly 39M and 43M in 9x25mm Mauser were produced by Danuvia in Hungary from 1939 through the end of World War II.

Reloadable cartridge cases can be produced easily by resizing and trimming 9mm Winchester Magnum brass. A reasonable starting point for load development would be .38 ACP (not .38 Super) load data."

# 14239 - Webley Collectors Item?
10/1/2011
Steve King, Modesto, CA

Is this a collectors item? Any idea of value

Answer:
Steve, Webleys are one of my favorite types of revolver. We have sold many Webley .38 revolvers and also many Webley .455 revolvers over the years and I can tell you from experience that there is good collector interest both types.

As I always say, the value of a firearm depends on the condition that it is in. Value for a ratty Webley revolver with little finish remaining and or broken or missing parts can be as low as $50. We usually sell .38 Webley revolvers that are in 90% or better condition in the $550 to $650 range. Marc

# 14159 - 1891 Mauser In .308 Safety Concerns
10/1/2011
Roger Evans Brookville, Ohio

sporterized, new barrel ,Williams sights, original action, excellent redo Is this gun safe to shoot? I've read articles saying the older 1891 action is not up to the pressures of the modern .308 ammo? Is it just a $150 wallhanger. Great piece to look at. I have shot 10 - 2 rounds thru it. shoots high at 50 yds. do not want to hurt myself or somebody else. Roger

Answer:
Roger- You do not say if this is one of the Argentine Modelo 1891 or if it is one of the German )possibly later abused by the Turks) Model 1888 Commission rifle. Regardless, I would never put my body parts close to one of those altered to .308 and try shooting it. There are too many newer, stronger actions out there for reasonable prices to risk this. Everyone has different levels of risk tolerance, but I think you would be very smart to no longer shoot this one. John Spangler