Have been meaning to post this one for awhile. From a little research I've been able to determine this one was made in 1941. As with a lot of these, it's seen it's fair share of use. Tons of history in these old Chinese war horses!
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Have been meaning to post this one for awhile. From a little research I've been able to determine this one was made in 1941. As with a lot of these, it's seen it's fair share of use. Tons of history in these old Chinese war horses!
I just got the hanyang bug myself. The one I bought is in rough shape with some broken parts (mainly the front sling swivel band) but unfortunately there is a bar inside the barrel preventing me from firing it. Shame but what makes up for it is the red markings on the buttstock either indicating the soldier it was issued to or the province it served in. I still couldn't figure out when it was made. There is only a big dotted H on top of the receiver.
Most of these shouldn't be fired anyway. The bore is so worn on mine that a bullet would just drop though. The trigger pull is by far the lightest of any rifle I have due to all the parts being worn and it fails the drop test 1/4 of the time, firing with an 8 inch drop onto carpeted floor.
It just amazes me to think about how many times it had to have been fired to have gotten into that position and most of those shots were probably not practice.
Good looking rifle you have there. I also own one and will never fire it (only surplus I own that I will not fire) I hear stories about the dangers of the weak steel. Don't know if its true but I am taking no chances.
I don't think they have weak steel. They are just worn out. The trigger assembly on mine is worn, the barrel is worn. I don't think it would blow as it couldn't build up much pressure in what is now basically a smoothbore barrel. I can't even imagine how many times they had to be fired to be in the condition they are in now. If it were going to blow, I think it would have long before the rifling was worn away.
Good point.Quote:
Originally Posted by Aragorn243