[John Wall]

Got this last week in an online auction, and expect it to arrive this week. Fingers crossed that it's in decent condition and all there. I've been looking for one of these for years, The siderail is marked "Steyr 1914".
Regards,
John

 

[JPS]

Hi John,

Great find Bud! While I'm certain that the 1914 date tells the whole story, the easiest way to spot the Austro-Hungarian conversions to 8x50mmR is the groove cut in the top handguard between the receiver and the rear sight. Due to the change in ballistics it was necessary provide a lower line of sight to access the lower battle-sight on the converted rifles, so they cut a groove in the handguard. The barrel will be acceptance mark, but can't be seen with the handguard in place.

Well done! And if you don't mind my asking?????

$$$$ ???? ;>)

Always a pleasure John!

Warmest regards,

John

 

[Ike27]

Very nice John.. you keep busy....

 

[John Wall]

Hi John and John,
Thanks for this information. The indicator that I used to tell if it was an Austro-Hungarian-modified rifle was a combination of the "1914" date and the special reinforcing bar (for the larger 8x50 m/m round) on the magazine wall which runs parallel to the stock line. (See red box on pic below). Although the auctioneer did not show the rear sight assembly in his pictures, I expect them to be the A/H Steyr M95 long rifle sights. I'll email you about the price. I have the bill but its mixed up with six other rifles, includng a heavily glued and battered "Dutch M.95 parts rifle" which upon close examination turned out to be the Dutch No. 2 police carbine with the long folding bayonet...but without the bayonet.

Keeping busy? Yes, it seems like I may spend my whole retirement in the basement surrounded by epoxy, gun potions and Q-tips!
Regards,
John

 

[Nick]

Jealousy! Green envy!

 

[geladen]

Yes, there was something 'wrong' with the magazine - and it was not Romanian.

Glad you got it!

Retirement should be spent doing what you enjoy.

Regards,
Bill

 

[Ike27]

Funny.. your like the Oracle at Delphi.. Inhaling your potions and discovering hidden treasures..

 

[John Wall]

Jealousy! Green envy!

Friends,
Many thanks for your generous remarks. However, I want to wait until I (we!) see this close-up before I start limping around the track in a victory lap.
The devil is in the details...whatever they may be when I open the box.
Regards,
John

 

[tater134]

I have the bill but its mixed up with six other rifles, includng a heavily glued and battered "Dutch M.95 parts rifle" which upon close examination turned out to be the Dutch No. 2 police carbine with the long folding bayonet...but without the bayonet.

John,

Does the carbine you purchased have the mount for the bayonet still attached? If it is missing I have a spare mount but unfortunately no bayonet to go with it.

 

[Devo]

John,

Looks like it has the large M95-style rear swivel, which I take as a hopeful sign. Fingers crossed!

-Devo

 

[bullseye]

John,

You are going to need more than Q-tips to clean those guns up. Stock up on some Kroll oil, brass brushes and steel wool.

 

[John Wall]

John,

You are going to need more than Q-tips to clean those guns up. Stock up on some Kroll oil, brass brushes and steel wool.

Hi Bullseye,
Thanks for the warning. They were pretty unclean, weren't they? Fortunately, I seem to be a magnet for corroded guns with rusted action screws lately, so I have a decent stock of those items...I hope! I still don't have any shipping details from the auctioneer, so they may not arrive until next week. The snow storms across the country don't help either. I think I'll use the extra time to find a local Kroil dealer.

Were you at the auction in person by any chance?
Regards,
John

 

[bullseye]

Yea, I was. You had to wash your hands every time you picked one of the guns up. It's a shame, most of the guns were in real nice condition until the roof leak and salt water air got to them.
I think the online bids would have been a lot lower if the pics would have shown the extent of the corrosion.

 

[John Wall]

Yea, I was. You had to wash your hands every time you picked one of the guns up. It's a shame, most of the guns were in real nice condition until the roof leak and salt water air got to them.
I think the online bids would have been a lot lower if the pics would have shown the extent of the corrosion.

Caramba! I could tell from the auctioneer's online photos that there were major issues with a lot of the rifles, plus the fact that many sold below market value.

So I should warm up my industrial belt sander, wire wheel, and bluing tanks?

 

[bullseye]

So whats the trick of getting a rusted action screw out? I got one stuck on the Mexican carbine I picked up.

 

[John Wall]

The solutions range from the easy and low cost, like soaking the scew loose, to using heat applied to the screw, to somewhat riskier involving the use of an an impact scewdriver, and then to the more costly (and riskier), drilling out the screw. A lot depends on the quality of the screw head and whether you have a good machinist or gunsmith who can do the drill-out work.

I'm sure that other folks can weigh in here!
Regards,
John

 

[runner]

The solutions range from the easy and low cost, like soaking the scew loose, to using heat applied to the screw, to somewhat riskier involving the use of an an impact scewdriver, and then to the more costly (and riskier), drilling out the screw. A lot depends on the quality of the screw head and whether you have a good machinist or gunsmith who can do the drill-out work.

I'm sure that other folks can weigh in here!
Regards,
John

I got a lot of practice with this several years ago when I purchased several mausers out of China. Most had the action screws rusted tight. I was able to remove every one with a single exception by soaking with penetrating oil, and the use of an impact screwdriver. The key was to do it over a period of time. Let it soak overnight, a couple raps with the impact driver, if it does not move, soak again, repeat. I did ruin some action screws, but no other parts,,,,, except that one, don't ask how I got that one out.