My initial take; the stock is a red herring, it is not original to the metal work, from the picture the receiver looks to be a legitimate FN proofed receiver, the 1930 NSK mark looks like a legitimate roll mark.

Will be interested to see a detailed breakdown when you get it!

 

I would guess that the action is from a small Yugo police or government agency contract. The stock would be a Yugo replacement. Why it has no siderail legend is a mystery. You know the rifle is an FN1924 intermediate action if it fits an M24 stock.

1932 Chinese FN1924

 

Saw this on GB and was curious about this one too. Nice find.

 

Interesting piece curious for what others say.
Never seen one like it

 

The the FN proofs on the receiver look legit but the blank side rail is very un-FN, which was pushing me toward the Chinese workshop Model 21, so maybe the rail was scrubbed? Or the proofs faked? I am sure I will be able to say more when the rifle arrives and I can take it apart.

 

Regardless, it's a good looking rifle!

 

I think we need to find a clue as to what NSK represents to make a guess as to how or when it may have ended up in its current configuration. I tend to lean towards Bubba assembled till some evidence otherwise.

 

On another note, I don't think the letters N and S are part of the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet. I would think it would be in Cyrillic if sent to Yugoslavia for some agency there, but who knows?

Serbian Cyrillic alphabet - Wikipedia

en.wikipediam.org

 

I think all three letters are in the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet (https://omniglot.com/writing/serbian.htm) but your point is well taken Stan61: Since most Serbain rifles have Cyrillic language wording on them, especially the M24s, why would they stamp Latin alphabet NSK on a rifle unless it was for export? Did the Serbians export M24s in the 1930s? I know zip about that sort of thing, maybe somebody else can speak to Serbian exports?

Ignoring Bubba manufacturing for the moment, I am currently leaning toward an FN Chinese contract for the barrel and action with a later addition of a surplus Yugo King Peter II stock. That's today, 8:15 AM......tomorrow - who knows?!

 

have a closer look: none of these 3 letters is from the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet. So, it doesn't look early Serbian to me.

I've checked Vanderlinden's, and Branko's book, but i didn't find any reference to N.S.K. I'll agree with you that the '1930' looks the same as on FN-made Chinese rifles - especially the font of the '3' is significant. So it looks like FN.
Vanderlinden mentiones some small contracts of FN 1930 rifles, w/o having details: Liberia, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Yemen.

lets wait for the good pics,
Chris

 

I know that they have used a mix of Latin and Cyrillic alphabets, so who knows? The lack of any side rail marking is a mystery, as I would expect that on any Yugoslav, or FN made M1924. Does it look scrubbed or just blank? To my knowledge, Yugoslavia did not export any M1924 rifles prior to WW2, as I believe they were mostly trying to equip their own army at that time.

 

Maybe I am being obtuse here but the Latin letters N, S and K all have Serbian Cyrillic equivalents. But if it was Serbian made, why not use those Serbian alphabet letters rather than the Latin NSK? So yes, agree, looks like FN and looks to be pointing away from Serbian/Yugo manufacturing right now.

Curious: I have seen only one other post on one for this variant, from 2016 on an AR-focused site. Same 1930 and N.S.K stamp but only one pic of the crest remains on the site. Does anyone else own one of these things?


Serbian Cyrillic alphabet From Wikipedia

Cyrillic ​ Latin ​ IPA value ​ А а A a /ä/ Б б B b /b/ В в V v /v/ Г г G g /ɡ/ Д д D d /d/ Ђ ђ Đ đ /dʑ/ Е е E e /e/ Ж ж Ž ž /ʐ/ З з Z z /z/ И и I i /i/ Ј ј J j /j/ К к K k /k/ Л л L l /l/ Љ љ Lj lj /ʎ/ М м M m /m/

Cyrillic ​ Latin ​ IPA value ​ Н н N n /n/ Њ њ Nj nj /ɲ/ О о O o /ɔ/ П п P p /p/ Р р R r /ɾ/ С с S s /s/ Т т T t /t/ Ћ ћ Ć ć /tɕ/ У у U u /u/ Ф ф F f /f/ Х х H h /x/ Ц ц C c /ts/ Ч ч Č č /ʈʂ/ Џ џ Dž dž /ɖʐ/ Ш ш Š š /ʂ/

 

Maybe I am being obtuse here but the Latin letters N, S and K all have Serbian Cyrillic equivalents. But if it was Serbian made, why not use those Serbian alphabet letters rather than the Latin NSK? So yes, agree, looks like FN and looks to be pointing away from Serbian/Yugo manufacturing right now.

Curious: I have seen only one other post on one for this variant, from 2016 on an AR-focused site. Same 1930 and N.S.K stamp but only one pic of the crest remains on the site. Does anyone else own one of these things?
...

Hi Cleo45,
this might be a misunderstanding. You're absolutely right that all these letters have Serbian Cyrillic equivalents.
My point was: None of these letters have the same shape in the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet:
N --> would be letter Н in Cyrillic (Serbian, Russian)
S --> С
K --> К : looks pretty similar, but has small difference

By that, the 'N.S.K. ' stamp looks to be in Latin script. But Serbia and Yugo rifles didn't use Latin script until 1944: the first use of Latin letters on Yugo rifles seem to be the 'TRZ' marks from 1944/45 --> Branko's book.
By that my impression, that she isn't an old (pre-1944) Serbian conversion.

For better understanding: i've travelled through Yugoslavia during the Yugo times (in 1989), and i saw always a mixture of Latin and Cyrillic letters in that country. The Yugo states of Croatia and Slovenia were 100% Latin script. Serbia and Montenegro were 50/50 bilingual street signs. The car number pates were still Latin (i've even seen the Mercedes of the Montenegro State President: car plate was TG 01-01 - TG means Titograd, the that-time name of the Montenegrin capital of Podgorica)...
I've got a ticket for speeding in Pristina (Kosovo; that time Serbia), which was bilingual in Albanian and Serbian (Cyrillic) language.
And nowhere any sign of a state border! Only Macedonia was different: kind of border control (police check), and 100% Cyrillic language.
And the money: 4 languages: Serbian, Macedonian (Cyrillic), Croatian, Slovenian (Latin)

By that: no idea up to now, what she is. But i'm curious...😀

Chris

 

the stock seems to have some CHINESE TYPE OF BRANDING on it?

 

Yes, I think your looking at photos of Bill's (Geladen) rifle, which is definitely Chinese used. The OP's rifle has the Yugoslavian Peter II cartouche.

 

I was watching this one too and am glad that someone here got it, so that we may analyse it. My thoughts are, if it is an FN action, why is there no legend? According to Vanderlinden's FN Mauser book, FN would engrave/stamp whatever over the chamber, but they mandated that either the chamber or side rail had FN's information on it, no ifs or buts about it. I looked at the side rail on this one closely, and it appears that there was never anything stamped there. Thus, if what Vanderlinden said is true, then this cannot be an FN action.

 

Got you now Chris and agree 100%. If this rifle was made or refurbed in Serbia, I would expect true Cyrillic characters on the crest. As somebody said early on, the Yugo stock, while original, is a bit of a red herring that suggests Yugo involvement that may not have happened. Put another way, I have a true Yugo M24 that I could drop this NSK action into.

And as my opening thread mentions, the lack of FN name on the side rail is problematic - makes you think of Chinese M21 knock-offs that were made to look like FN rifles to give local troops comfort that the rifles were reliable and safe to shoot (not always true in artisanal rifles built in China).

When this rifle arrives I want to inspect and measure the side rail to see if it has been scrubbed. I have other FN stamped rifles of that era so I should be able to determine if it was stamped and scrubbed or never stamped at all.

I also need to inspect the FN proof marks and inspector stamps on barrel, bolt and receiver to see if they make sense or are in fact fakes themselves.

 

I wonder if it is a Chinese barreled action that came in with all of the imports from China? It could have been assembled into a stock either by the importer or sold as a barreled action and assembled by the buyer. I think 1930 was the first year that FN had a contract with China for rifles & carbines, all of which were intermediate length actions. Could it have been for one of the law enforcement agencies in the International Settelment at Shanghai?
Dan

 

All possible for sure! Sometimes trying to figure out the exact origins of these things is an impossible task. Throw in reworks, importer fabrications and Bubba into the equation can muddy it all up. Finding out what NSK is would be the big clue!

 

The Chinese connection seems to be the most likely Dan, although if memory serves (not always my best friend!), Vandelinden indicates that the oldest documented Chinese contract M24s were 1931 dated? I am away from my refs so I am by no means certain of that date. Regardless, the font used on the "1930" stamp is identical in size and font to the later Chinese dated M24s. And Vanderlinden definitely mentions that FN built small lots of M24s for police/paramilitary organizations.

 

Correct the first Chinese contract was in 1931 for Model 1924 rifles. However I was thinking of security forces supplies by the various European powers that inhabited the International Settlement in Shanghai. Also I think the custom force at the port were led by European officers. Those contracts would probably have been funneled through the FN agent there and could have been earlier. I had initially thought it might be Estonian or Lithuanian but their orders were later and for Model 1930 rifles. The only other country I can think of that ordered Model 1924 rifles other than the Serbs, Croates, & Slovens was Abyssinia and it has no "Lion of Juda" inspection mark that I can see. I would be curious to know if it is import marked on the barrel. I guess we need to wait until the OP receives the rifle and we can get better pictures and more detail. It's an interesting rifle for sure.
Dan

 

Very possible this went to China before the larger 1931 and later shipments. Just got to find out what NSK means now!

The barrel is import stamps (8mm M98 Germany and CAI St Alb Vt so Century was imported this rifle at some point.

 

Not 100% correct, but import mark suggests there is possibility it came out of China.

 

Just made contact with the guy who runs the mausercn blogspot you linked above (is that you FIB48?) and he made a good point: the rifle appears to be in far better shape than most rifles that went to China and returned, particularly given the early date of manufacture and what would have been a long residence in China.

 

I was trolling though old posts looking for something else when I ran across this post dealing with an FN 1924 with no side rail address but a 1930 date on the receiver with similair letters below the date. It's an interesting read and there are some comments by John Wall.

Unusual FN Model 1924 - Chinese?

I attach a series of pictures of a rifle I purchased at a gun show last summer. It is clearly an FN Model 1924 with lots of Belgian proof marks (including the B. Blindee, "PV" and Liege marks). However it lacks the usual "Fabrique Nationale" stamping on the left side of the action (it does not...

www.gunboards.com

Dan

 

Thanks Dan, great find! I had not thought of searching for MSK or HSK but will give that a try as well.

The fact that the thread you found suggests the first letter on the receiver might be a reversed "N" screams of Chinese fakery. Unfortunately, the 2009 thread no longer has the photos attached. Do you know of any way to get access to those photos, if they are archived at all? I might drop this question on the Site Help Forum to see if they still exist. I also dropped a PM with the link to this thread to ABMausers, who started the 2009 thread, to see if that person is still active on Gunboards.

Two steps forward, one back, but I think we are making some progress!

 

The NSK marked FN 24 has arrived and after taking a load of new pics, I have come to some conclusions (supported by some of the attached images):

Barrel: The barrel is a replacement as it does not share the corrosion seen on the receiver and its sports an unmatched serial number and Serbian Cyrillic stamp adjacent to the serial number (looks like a backwards 7 in pic below). It was FN proofed with an inspector whose stamp was * over P. Multiple sources state that Adolphe Delcommune, the * over P inspector who stamped it, only worked at FN from 1952 to 1960. Either there is another inspector that used the *P stamp in the 1920-1940 period (other examples of this have been documented), or the barrel was made during FN’s post-war M30 production and fitted to the NSK receiver at some later date. Question: will an FN M24 receiver accept a barrel made for a post-war FN M30 rifle?

Receiver: Receiver appears to be a genuine FN-built Model 24 receiver, properly proof stamped and built 1928 or later (see * over O stamp). No sign it was ever blued, corrosion below wood line is similar to other Chinese FN 24s I have seen, but note there is no such corrosion on the barrel. Lack of FN side rail stamp is unexplained but I see no indication it was scrubbed. The font used for the “1930” stamp on the receiver is identical to that used by FN on their Chinese contract Mausers. While Vanderlinden (FN Mauser Rifles, page 289) says the earliest observe Chinese contract rifles were dates 1931, Ball (Mauser Military Rifles of the World, page 86) indicates FN supplied 24,000 M24 and M30 Mausers to China from 1930 to 1934. So the 1930 date on this rifle could indicate it was part of the first year of Chinese production. Sadly, the N.S.K stamp remains a mystery but if the rifle was Chinese issue, it may have something to do with the Kuomintang (Nationalist) party, led by Chiang Kai-shek. Question: what other FN foreign contracts resulted in only the manufacture year being stamped on the receiver?

Bolt: The bolt looks to be a genuine FN M24 bolt, built in 1928 or later (see * over G stamp) and not matched to the receiver. The lack of Serbian Cyrillic letters on the bolt suggests the bolt was manufactured for a contract other than the one for the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

Trigger Guard Assembly: the trigger guard housing serial number matches the receiver serial number, suggesting the trigger guard housing was FN made and matched to the receiver on production. The trigger itself bears a Serbian Cyrillic stamp, suggesting derivation during the FN contract with the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes that started in the 1920s. Some other parts look to be FN stamped or possibly derived from post-War M48 production.

Stock: the stock is clearly a Yugoslavian stock dating from the reign of Serbian King Peter II (1934 to 1945). The stock, hand guard, barrel bands and butt plate are matched to themselves but nothing else. The rest of the stock furniture is of inconclusive origin.

Current Final Conclusion: The receiver and trigger guard assembly were part of a foreign M24 contract dated 1930. The condition of the N.S.K letters comapred to the 1930 stamp suggests they were done at the same time. The original barrel, bolt and stock on this 1930 dated rifle are long gone. At some point in time either before or after its original service, the barrel, stock and bolt were replaced with their current items. This refurb could have occurred before or after import to the US by CAI. Surviving CAI records may or may not be able to clarify what condition the rifle was in when it arrived.

I really need to hear from other NSK rifle owners to find out how their examples differ and what other pieces of evidence they might have that can answer the NSK question.

 

Interesting and thought provoking to say the least.
Dan

 

Just noticed another NSK carbine with FN markings is listed for auction at Rock Island (Three European Military Mauser Bolt Action Rifles | Rock Island Auction)

Missing some parts but is crested the same as my 1930 NSK carbine. Numbers match on the bolt, floor plate and triggerguard, other parts unnumbered. The bolt handle number was deformed when the handle was reshaped (ruined!). The entire rear sight assembly is absent allowing you to see the top of the barrel through the hole in hand guard. Also looks like it has been reblued at some point and the stock has been sanded and refinished.

But other than the period after the "K", the crest on the carbine on RIA looks like the same font and size as mine. No closer to answering who made these and for whom but we now know of at least three of them out there