The Curious Relic

View From The Porch: Calibers I keep on hand...

2011-06-09T06:49:00.000-06:00

View From The Porch: Calibers I keep on hand...: "In no particular order... .45ACP .44 Magnum .44 Special .44-40 .41 Magnum .357 Magnum .38 Special .22LR .32-20 .22 Remington Jet 9x19mm .32 ..."

I now have a goal. (Man oh man, someday I want to go shooting w/her!)

I hide my face in shame as I only keep the following:

7.62 x 54R

7.62 nato

,30-06

7.5 Swiss

6.5 Swedish

7mm Mauser

8mm Mauser

8x56R

.303 British

.22 LR

5.56 x 45

7.62x39

.38 S&W

9mm

9mm Mak

12 ga

.30 carbine

and I want to stock

.30-40 Krag

8mm J

As Crocodile Dundee said...

2011-05-25T20:10:00.000-06:00

"You call that a M1 Garand Video? That's not an M1 Garand Video, This is an M1 Garand Video "

Hat tip to Say Uncle ,who posted a link to this video at Traction control. Its very cool but, these two will show you how to shoot the rifle well and this one is a PDF copy of the companion book.

All genuine WWII Stuff!

Enjoy Your Memorial Day.

GRAB YOUR BOLTIES EVERYONE.

2007-10-01T06:35:00.000-06:00

The winter wars match was great last year. It was my first try at any type of match shooting. Looks like this fall the Doughboy Match will be a similar event. Anyone within driving distance to Kankakee should try to make it. I know that the Neander Blog People are close enough. Let's see if we can get a good blogger contingent. Read the flyer and mark the calendars. Sorry about short notice I just saw it myself.

2007-09-25T21:16:00.000-06:00

Your Top Match

You planned to vote for Fred Thompson. But based on your responses, your top candidate for 2008 is below.
California Representative Duncan Hunter (R)90.15% match

Your Other Top Matches
You will want to pay close attention to these candidates through election day.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (R) - 86.36% Colorado Representative Tom Tancredo (R) - 86.36% Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson (R) - 85.61%

So Hunter / Thompson or Thompson / Hunter would be fine with me. I wonder if Hunter S. Thompson would approve or if he would be spinning in his grave? It was fun, why not give it a whirl?

Polish WZ48 bolt disassembly slideshow

2007-09-24T22:13:00.000-06:00

I posted this for babysan over at russian mosian nagant forums. If you can use it feel free.

WHAT SHOULD BE MY NEXT RIFLE

2007-09-15T19:30:00.000-06:00

In the next few weeks I hope to rub a couple of hundys together to add a new arm to my collection. Below are some that I am pondering. I would like some feedback on what you would suggest and why. I'll post pix when I acquire said arm.

YUGO 24/47 - I HAVE A FEW MAUSERS AND ONE YUGO 48A
LOW END WWI GERMAN MAUSER RUSSIAN CAPTURE REWORK-MISMATCH ( I DON'T HAVE A GERMAN 98K)
A THIRD K-31' 'NUFF SAID
ANOTHER 91-30 (MAYBE A HEX RECEIVER OR A LAMINATED STOCK OR BOTH)
A SHOOTER YUGO SKS
AN ENFIELD NO 1 MK 3 - I HAVE AN NO4 MK1 AND AN ISHAPORE 2A
AN IZZY 98K IN 7.62 X 51 - WAY COOL LITTLE RIFLE
CZ-82 PISTOL - I AM MOSTLY INTO LONG ARMS BUT THIS ONE INTRIGUES ME
STEYR M95 - I DID GET A FEW ROUND OF GERMAN AMMO AFTER ALL

Please Vote in the sidebar poll.

Ammo Day Jr. A few days Late

2007-09-02T20:07:00.000-06:00

Since I am into C&R I had to wait till the next gun show, and for funds availability, to make my ammo day Jr. purchase. Here it is. 3- 10rd boxes of Nazi 8x56R (I can already feel the pain and I don't actually own the Steyr m95 yet. 2 32rd boxes of Pakistani .303, 3-20rd Boxes of Greek .30-06 and a Brick of Aquila .22lr Super Colibre to see how quiet my Polish 22 Mosin Trainer is.

Oh yeah, and an M5a1 Bayonet for the Garand just to send Fienstein over the edge.

I really need to getout more if I intend to keep up my rating

2007-07-04T22:12:00.000-06:00

I'm Back

2007-06-19T20:04:00.000-06:00

OK I've been gone for a while and a lot has happened. I thought the worst thing that happened was that my digital camera got destroyed last summer. This slowed me down on Blogging but what really set back ( and reset my priorities) was having a heart attack in September. Now things are starting to return to normal and I will start blogging again. For Fathers' Day I received among other things a St Marie Graphics Clamp On Scope mount. I am going to select an appropriate scope and try it out. I'll be posting shortly about participating In last years "Winter Wars" at the ISRA Range in Bonfeild, IL as well as my acquisitions in the last year or so. So TTFN I will be posting shortly.

Try this one!

2006-03-03T21:26:00.000-06:00

You are 93% of a gun nut!
You are a true gun nut. The number of guns in your house is probably over five. All of them are truly effective in your hands.
My test tracked 1 variable. How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 94% on knowledge

My first k-31s

2006-02-06T22:38:00.002-06:00

My first two K31s have arrived. I ended up Purchasing them from AIM. They are walnut stocked from 1934 and 1935. They have 90% bluing. they both have bluing worn off the left rear of the receiver. All of the Swiss serial numbers match but the importer (Century Arms) has renumbered the guns to comply with current federal regs. Neither of these rifles has been cleaned up yet. This is how they came out of the box. The bores were wiped with a patch on the end of a cleaning rod and brush to reveal the mirror bright bores associated with swiss rifles. Both stocks show some handling dents and dings, especially near the butt. From what I have read the hobnail boots worn by the swiss may have been the culprit there. Barely visible in the pictures is the wonderful grain in these walnut stocks. One of the rifles had a tag identifying the original owner I may try and track the gentleman down. He was born in 1925 and his name was Ernst. This is my first attempt to post some pictures on the blog. If anyone can point me to helpful suggestions for photographing firearms I would appreciate all the help I can get. Enjoy the pictures of these Swiss Twins. I will add an update when weather allows a trip to the range. Also pictured are two Swiss Bayonets. The top one is a 1914 pioneer bayonet. It has a sawback edge and is scary just looking at. It was intended to be used as a saw. The lower bayonet is a 1918 bayonet (From AIM) They are both correct bayonets for the k31 and fit perfectly.

Finally Hit the Range.

2006-01-23T21:02:00.000-06:00

On Tuesday my check goes in the mail to FGS. The K-31 countdown clock has started ticking. I will keep you updated. On last Monday I went to a local range just over the border in Indiana. It was only open another hour when My friend and I arrived so we only brought out a few guns from the trunk load I had taken. The three that I had decided to bring out were:

1, DCM M1 Garand. It is a pristine rifle from back when the DCM was run and managed by the Army and the cost was about $250.

2, M1 Carbine that I purchased from a co-worker for about $275 nearly a decade ago.

3, 91/30 Finish marked rifle that was the second mosin nagant that I purchased. This is the rifle that infected me with Mosinitis. It remains one of my favorite rifles.

My friend brought a S&W 44 magnum and a Savage lefty bolt gun in .300 Win Mag.

Every time I shoot the carbine, I am reminded that is the most fun rifle in the whole entire world. I may have to buy one of the new auto-ordnance ones so that I don't feel guilty about shooting this sweet little rifle. We didn't have enough time to really do more than fire for functionality and put a few holes in paper. But MLK day was a beautiful January day at about 60 which was fantastic for Chicago. The smell of cordite made me really want to spend a full Saturday at the range and spend some time really wringing out the M1s and documenting their accuracy. I can't wait until we get another great day in Chicagoland.

Why I want to get a K-31

2006-01-14T08:41:00.000-06:00

I tend to like things that are a little different than the majority of people want. It is probably a conscious choice on my part. Most people like Chevy cars so I adopted AMC and MOPAR as my favorite marks. Most VW enthusiasts love beetles I want a squareback or a thing. I could go on but you get the idea. The whole idea of a country where every able bodied man is expected to be a rifleman is incredibly cool. The fact that they bucked the trend of turn bolt guns at the time makes them a little different. The fact that they are incredibly accurate and well made arms make them desirable. The fact that they are cheap (at the moment) is encouraging me to to scrape some cash together. The fat that this is a reasonably small country means they wont last forever and means I have to act now. I am going to order from either AIM, FGS, SOG, Allan's Armory, or Simpsons. If any of you have experience with these guys please leave a comment. If you are interested in learning more the best site I have found is the Swiss rifles they have great discussion forums and lots of history. They also have a copy of the K-31 manual translated into English. There is also a site called Swiss Rifle Website that has some similar features. As far as ammo I know they surplus stuff is near match quality. I understand that Wolf (Russian Company) will be importing some PRVI Partisan (Yugoslavian Company) ammo under their name. I am looking forward to your feedback on the vendors and will update with pictures of my K-31 when I get it. I will also post pictures of my two bayonets. a fairly standard 1918 that I purchased from AIM and a 1914 Sawback that a co-worker gave me. He had it in his basement for 40 years hanging on a nail. He bought it for $5 for a college costume party in the 50's and had no real use for it. He said he was glad that someone who appreciated it would have it. This guy is way cool. I look forward to your comments.

How I got into Curios Etc

2006-01-07T20:08:00.000-06:00

Shortly after graduating college my best friend asked me if I wanted to go with him to shoot his new Handgun. I was a total jerk. I ripped him about owning an evil handgun and why would he have a handgun was he going to rob a liquor store. Later he told me he started to feel so bad he almost returned the gun. But, fortunately for me I went to the range with him. He had a brand new stainless S&W .44 Magnum with 8" barrel for deer hunting. Once I tried it I was hooked and the pablum that I had been fed my entire life about the evil of firearms was rapidly losing credibility. In the next few weeks we attended a gun show together and we each bought a Chinese SKS and split an 1100 round case of ammo. I was hooked. Later I Purchased a Norinco 1911A1, a S&W 422 .22lr Handgun, A Witness 9 mm, and a Russian Makarov but my true interest was long guns. I learned about the Civilian Marksmanship Program when it was still run by the Department of the Army. I received at pristine Winchester M1 Garand with 100% Parkerization and unfired barrel. At the time I was upset because it cost about $250 and only a few years earlier they were going for $180. I started regularly attending gun shows and bought the long arms that I could afford. These were almost always surplus military rifles. After acquiring an Enfield, a few Mausers, a couple of Mosin Nagant Rifles, and a few other pieces, I learned about C&R had boy did I have fun. I was red hot for several years then funds got tight and my interest turned to sailing fairly exclusively. I let my C&R lapse and made no acquisition for several years. Over the last year I got the bug and got a new C&R and my Mosinitis came on full strength. Right now I will be looking to get a few more Mosin Nagants but my interest is totally peaked by Swiss Schmidt-Rubin K-31 rifles. In the future I will be posting some pictures of my collection and maybe reviews of various books etc. If there is anything you would like to know about please leave a comment.

The Curious Relic

2006-01-07T17:31:00.000-06:00

Hello,

This is my first blog post. This blog will be about interest in firearms. Predominantly about my interest in Curios and Relic Firearms. I haven't thought this through yet so I will update this description as I go.