Firearm and knife collectors

[Fatbob Frank]

Noob question, is that an M14?

Sort of. The M14 was the military rifle.
Springfield Armory calls the civilian variants M1As
This one is the short SOCOM 16 vesion.

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[Fatbob Frank]

I like matching pistols and carbines that take the same ammo...

.357magnums

 

[Fatbob Frank]

.45Colt

 

[Fatbob Frank]

7.62x39R

 

[GRAK]

Just stumbled across this thread. Anyone out there able to shed some light on this piece? It just showed up one day and I know absolutely nothing about it.

that looks like one of those old british/belgian bulldog guns, 1880-1920s or something. Shot president garfield with one

 

[Wabujitsu]

Just stumbled across this thread. Anyone out there able to shed some light on this piece? It just showed up one day and I know absolutely nothing about it.

It appears to be a Belgian Bulldog, a knockoff of the American Frontier Bulldog. The “R” with crown over it is a Belgian proof mark.

 

[roaniecowpony]

Great job on identifying the revolver. I figured a European make. My vintage shotgun dabbling has led me to make friends with some very knowledgeable antique gun people. This website has some Belgian gun books that would help ID that gun to the maker and likely year of mfr. But the books themselves are likely more costly than the value of the revolver. The European gun industry had many small "cottage" makers. Many were one man or several man shops. My little Italian Ferlib is a more modern example of such a shop, which had maybe 4-6 men. There are still small makers like this but they are drying up. There were also makers known as "guilds", which were formed by skilled individuals, each with their own little shops (home or otherwise) that may each specialize in a type of gun part, such as barrels or lockworks, frames, stockmakers, etc. The guns made by guilds were collaborations. Guilds also made parts/assemblies for better known name makers. A name maker may have bought barrels or lockwork from a guild or individual supplier. All of these were often one man suppliers. That's why much of the vintage european (and British) guns with few markings are so hard to ID. Makers and guilds came and went. Laws on marking firearms in some countries were weak. Even in the U.S., putting a serial number on a gun was optional well into the 20th century, in the late 60s Gun Control Act, IIRC. Nevertheless, here's a starting point.
https://www.hlebooks.com/daubres/li01.htm


This video also has some leads.


Also, google "proof marks" and you go down some deep rabbit holes. That "U" with the flame on top seems to be a second proof from a German proof house.

Keep in mind, guns of this era that don't have specific nitro proof marks are likely intended for black powder cartridges.

 

[Sean L]

Just stumbled across this thread. Anyone out there able to shed some light on this piece? It just showed up one day and I know absolutely nothing about it.

That might be the gun that Shot Teddy Roosevelt....

 

[WranglerMan]

Here is a Smith Corona 1903A3 that I restored, I acquired it thru an Estate Auction and it has all matching numbers

 

[Phrank]

Awesome info - thank you everyone!

 

[roaniecowpony]

Here is a Smith Corona 1903A3 that I restored, I acquired it thru an Estate Auction and it has all matching numbers

A3 would be late production. The made some changes to enhance production. The triggerguard and floorplate on the A3 were made by metal stamping and the rifling went from 6 groove to 2 groove. Springfield 1903 rifles were the go-to bolt action gun for sporterizing in the post war era. My father bought one of the A1 rifles, made in the Springfield Arsenal at Rock Island, that look very similar, from a Gambles Drug store in Glasgow MT in around 1962. A few years later, we were stationed (USAF) in Yokota Japan, where he found a really old school gunsmith that sporterized it. That gunsmith used a Philipine mohogany that was so prevalent in the day/area. I restocked that gun myself in the late 70s, with a nice feather California Black Walnut blank and replaced the cheap scope and rings with Redfield base/rings and a Leupold scope. It's still in the safe. I hunted with it for a few years. With my handloads it could put 5 shots into about 1 1/4". So, those old guns could shoot.

Great to see one still in original configuration. So many were modified over the decades that there are fewer and fewer around

 

[WranglerMan]

A3 would be late production. The made some changes to enhance production. The triggerguard and floorplate on the A3 were made by metal stamping and the rifling went from 6 groove to 2 groove. Springfield 1903 rifles were the go-to bolt action gun for sporterizing in the post war era. My father bought one of the A1 rifles, made in the Springfield Arsenal at Rock Island, that look very similar, from a Gambles Drug store in Glasgow MT in around 1962. A few years later, we were stationed (USAF) in Yokota Japan, where he found a really old school gunsmith that sporterized it. That gunsmith used a Philipine mohogany that was so prevalent in the day/area. I restocked that gun myself in the late 70s, with a nice feather California Black Walnut blank and replaced the cheap scope and rings with Redfield base/rings and a Leupold scope. It's still in the safe. I hunted with it for a few years. With my handloads it could put 5 shots into about 1 1/4". So, those old guns could shoot.

Great to see one still in original configuration. So many were modified over the decades that there are fewer and fewer around

From me looking up the serial # its from 1944, I was told by the husbands wife from the estate her husband purchased it thru mail order from some magazine back in the 60’s-70’s

 

[Fatbob Frank]

My new Mini 14 in .300 Blackout is really fun to shoot...

Not the cheapest plinker, but still less than feeding my M1A...

 

[Fatbob Frank]

Broke out my Savage '99 for some range time...

 

[Fatbob Frank]

Did some comparison shooting between my Springfield SA-35 and this old 1980s vintage FEG I snagged...

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