randysrifles

[randysrifles]

Long overdue, but promised nonetheless. A customer sent in his SKS for us to rebarrel in 6.5 Grendel. It’s a bubba, but I don’t feel like I can call it a bubba since it’s actually pretty good. The whole job went quite smoothly. It cycled like a champ after the first gas port hole was drilled. Most pictures don’t show it but we installed a birdcage flash hider/compensator. We also left the front sight off at the customers request - he’ll be installing a scout mount and scope on the rear sight base. Stainless steel 18" barrel, stainless gas valve, trigger tune, and a spring loaded firing pin. And as a bonus, since 7.62x39 is the 6.5 Grendel Parent Case, standard magazines and stripper clips work perfectly. @coffeeandspentbrass

[randysrifles]

Chauchat-Sutter Machine Rifle

In 1914-15 French airmen, desperate for an effective weapon against enemy planes, began equipping their aircraft with a forebearer of the famous M1915 CSRG ‘Chauchat’ automatic rifle. 

Between 1903 and 1909 Louis Chauchat (image #1) and Charles Sutter (image #2) developed a series of seven autoloading prototypes at the Puteaux Arsenal (APX). Chauchat and Sutter focused their efforts on on the long recoil principle using the system in both self-loading rifles and Fusils Mitrailleurs (machine rifles). 

Chauchat and Sutter’s machine rifle went through six iterations between 1903 and 1909 culminating in the Chauchat-Sutter (CS) Model of 1911 (see images #1 & #2). Some of their earlier designs were chambered in a 7x59mm cartridge designed by Chauchat himself. The Model of 1911, however, chambered France’s standard 8x50R Lebel round. The CS M1911 had a curved magazine which continued to be used in Chauchat and Sutter’s future designs including the CSRG M1915 ‘Chauchat’. The M1911’s 20-round magazine was top-mounted, unlike the later Chauchat M1915 which moved it beneath the receiver, and the charging handle was below the centre of the magazine (rather than on the right as in the CSRG).

During official trials of the M1911, in November 1911, the weapon was officially designated the Fusil-Mitrailleurs C7 de Puteaux Systeme CS. The prototype’s locking lugs broke during the first trial but further tests were carried out in April 1912. During the second trial a further 1,500 rounds were fired which damaged several more parts and led to an out of battery detonation. While the trials showed the M1911 was not ready for service Chauchat and Sutter continued refining the design.

In June 1912, Colonel Chauchat transferred to the MAS arsenal as Assistant General Manager. While at MAS he reinforced the machine rifle’s bolt and readied it for further trials, the result was the Model of 1913. Two prototype M1913s were tested in January 1913, both firing 2,500 rounds “at a strenuous pace” with no major failures. Sutter corrected some problems with the angle of the feed ramp on the spot and the designers considered the testing a great success. The CS machine rifle could fire 50 rounds per minute in semi-automatic and a steady 100 rounds per minute in fully automatic. Single shot and burst fire accuracy out to 600m was found to be acceptable and the only real complaint was about deformation to the thin sheet metal magazines which caused failures to feed. This would be a continuing problem with the M1915 CSRG.

M1915 CSRG (source)

The trials report suggested that problems with magazine deformation would not be a serious problem for the machine rifle as it would be used for fortress duty. A year before the outbreak of war the French Army saw the CS machine rifle not as an infantry light support weapon but as a light machine gun to be deployed within fixed fortifications. Following the successful January 1913 trials expanded troop trials were ordered in february with 100 CS machine rifle requested.

With the outbreak of war in August 1914, the trials of the CS machine rifle had not yet begun. It quickly became obvious that the machine gun and rapid fire artillery had ended the war of movement and the French army needed new weapons to break the stalemate. Following a demonstration of Chauchat and Sutter’s machine rifle General Joseph Joffre, the French commander-in-chief, requested the purchase of 50,000 machine rifles in April 1915. What would become the M1915 CSRG was recommended for adoption in late July 1915 and a production contract was signed in October.

In late 1914 - early 1915 the French Armée de l'Air was in desperate need of weapons to arm their aircraft. Pilots and observers had little success firing standard service rifles and pistols at their adversaries. It was quickly realised by both sides that machine guns were the best weapon available. In their search for suitable lightweight machine guns the French took the small run of CS Model of 1913 machine rifles made before the war for planned infantry trials and fitted them to aircraft (see images #3 & #4). Of the 188 Model of 1913 CS machine rifles made 65 were given to two Armée de l'Air squadrons. They were fitted to Morane-Saulnier and Maurice Farman biplanes and were in service until late 1916 when the Lewis guns replaced them.

The CS Machine Rifles are a fascinating part of the better known M1915 Chauchat’s history, not only were they important steps in the weapon’s development but they also played a small but important role in France’s early air war.

Sources:

Ribeyrolles Automatic Weapons and Chauchat-Ribeyrolles Machine Pistols, Small Arms Review, J. Huon, (source)

Honour Bound - The Chauchat Machine Rifle, G. Demaison & Y. Buffetaut, (1995)

Proud Promise: French Autoloading Rifles 1898-1979, J. Huon, (1995)

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In 1948 Nikolay Makarov designed this blowback pistol and year later it went into production. It entered service in 1951 to replace the Tokarev and Nagant pistols and is still issued today. All USSR issued Makarovs were made at the Izhevsk factory in Russia. East Germany, Bulgaria, and China were not a part of the USSR, so they made theirs at their own factories. This Makarov was produced in Baikal specifically for import to the US in the 1990s. The unique round that this firearm is chambered for is the 9mm Makarov. It was designed with the intention that operators could use captured .380 ammo but NATO troops couldn't use captured Makarov ammo. .380 and 9mm Mak are the same length so running it in a Mak would work fine, but since the Makarov round is shorter than the NATO standard 9mm Western troops would have to abandon using the ammo in their guns. -R

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As far as a shooters go, counterboring can make the gun more accurate; but it does devalue the rifle to collectors.

We have had a Finnish M39, Izzy 91/30, two Izzy M44s, a Polish M44, and a Romanian M44 and none were counterbored. So in reference as to how common it is we are unsure, but would love to get some notes if you know more. -R

The M44 Mosin-Nagant was produced by Russia and several satellite countries during and after WWII. The majority of these rifles were manufactured in Izhevsk from 1944 to 1948 and a small number at Tula in 1944 alone. Mine was produced in 1944 at the Izhevsk plant. This model is very similar to the M38 which was produced exclusively by Russia for non-combative personell. They added a permanent side folding cruciform bayonet and a slot was removed on the stock to allow the spike to close completely. Many that were imported were fitted with M38 stocks that were modified, which is less desirable by collectors. -R

[randysrifles]

The M44 Mosin-Nagant was produced by Russia and several satellite countries during and after WWII. The majority of these rifles were manufactured in Izhevsk from 1944 to 1948 and a small number at Tula in 1944 alone. Mine was produced in 1944 at the Izhevsk plant. This model is very similar to the M38 which was produced exclusively by Russia for non-combative personell. They added a permanent side folding cruciform bayonet and a slot was removed on the stock to allow the spike to close completely. Many that were imported were fitted with M38 stocks that were modified, which is less desirable by collectors. -R

[randysrifles]

My newest addition- the legendary Springfield M1 Garand in .30-06. The M1 was the primary rifle used by American forces in the Second World War and over 5 million examples were produced from 1934-1956. The serial number on mine tells me the rifle was built in August, 1941, four months before the US entered the war. -A

[randysrifles]

During the course of the AK-47s lifetime, there were constant improvements to the design of the magazines. In the 1960s they developed a new kind of glass reinforced polymer called AG4. They used this new plastic to create the newest magazine for their standard issue rifles. Created by injection molding, the two halves were joined with epoxy. The magazines include steel lugs on the front and back to strengthen the connection when inserted into the rifle, and later versions were manufactured with steel feed lips. The vast majority were made at the Izhevsk plant while a relatively small number were made at the Tula factory. Today many people call these Bakelite mags, even though this is technically incorrect. -R

[randysrifles]

7.62x38R/ 7.62 Nagant, a unique cartridge designed for the M1895 Nagant revolver. In the final two photos, the gas-seal process is visible with the cylinder being pushed against the barrel. When fired, the cartridge expands and completes the process. -A

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The Winchester Repeating Rifle is a name for a line of lever action rifles made by Winchester. The Model 1873 Winchester Repeater coined the term "The Gun that Won the West." It became one of the most widely used repeating rifles on the frontier along side the Henry Repeater off which it was based. Over 720,000 were produced between 1873 and 1923. As cartridges became more and more powerful the design of the Winchester Repeating Rifle had to be upgraded to withstand the greater pressures. The '73 was produced in .44-40, .38-40, and .32-20 -- which this example is chambered for. -R

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Mosin Nagant M91/30 dated 1942 and from the Izhevsk factory. The Imperial Russians and Soviets built close to 37 million Mosins of every variant from 1891-1965. The M91/30 was the primary rifle of Soviet troops during WW2. The rifle is chambered in 7.62x54R. -A

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The Mauser is often referred to as the pinnacle of the bolt action rifle. Elements are still used in most modern bolt actions today. An extremely wide variety of manufacturers made these amazing rifles in a wide variety of calibers. They can be chambered in the standard 8mm Mauser, 7mm Mauser, 6.5mm Swede, 7.65mm Argentine, .308, and even the odd sporter caliber 9mm Mauser. In order of appearance: Yugoslavia, Spain, Czechoslovakia, Mexico, and a Russian captured K98k (all prior are in our possession), Brazil, Argentina, Persia, and another Spanish, are just some of the countries that produced Mausers. Variants of these rifles have been used as recently as the Yugoslav wars and some have even seen use by insurgents in the Middle East. -R

[randysrifles]

6.5x55 wooden training ammunition. The Swedish military even developed a "blank firing adapter" for the M/96, which worked by shredding the wooden projectile. When the round was expended, the brass was kept and recycled. Opening my first box of ammo I saw casings from 1957-1979. -A

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Soviet Nagant M1895 revolver dated 1944 and from the Izhevsk factory. It is chambered in the unique 7.62x38R (7.62 Nagant). The Imperial Russians and Soviets produced as many as 2 million Nagant revolvers from 1895-1945. It wasn't completely replaced in the arsenals of the Russian military until the Makarov was adopted in 1952. One unique feature of the M1895 is the gas-seal system. The action is in two stages- step one to rotate the cylinder, and step two to push the round into the chamber. This feature meant that the Nagant is one of few revolvers capable of being suppressed. -A

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My Prized Possession -- The Männlicher M95 is a straight pull bolt action rifle. This M95 carbine is a 1919 receiver that went into storage for several years and is chambered for the newer, more powerful, 8x56mm Rimmed S-Patrone. Although these rifles were retired by Austria-Hungary in 1918, they saw use through the end of WWII by small numbers of the Nazi Ordnungspolizei, and by partisans in Eastern Europe. -R

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On 6 June 1944 156,000 troops from the United States, Great Britain, and Canada landed on five beaches and the surrounding areas. 15,500 of those troops were Airborne Paratroopers. Airborne troops were issued rifles like the M1 Carbine you see here. This one is made by the Inland Division of General Motors, produced sometime between May of 1942 and September of 1943. It was acquired from an aforementioned veteran who served during WWII. -R

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Gevär M/96 (Swedish Mauser) produced in 1926. The Swedish military adopted the M/96 in 1896. It was produced until 1944, with a total of 535,000 made. The rifle is chambered in 6.5x55. -A

EDIT: This is a converted Spanish Mauser. The lack of markings on the receiver makes it hard to determine the exact model; however, we believe it was an M93 since they are very similar to the M96 Swedish models. -R

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This Walther P38 was sold to us by a WWII and Korean War Veteran -- a bring back from his tour in Europe. This specific one was produced mid 1943 and is serial numbered "9931h." The Nazis produced over 135,000 of these in that year alone; starting at serial number "1", and ending in "9999n." -R