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I've got what I think is an early production post-WWII FN commercial mauser action, serial number 106XX. It has not letters or numerals in front of or behind the number which is found stamped just above the stock line on the right side of the receiver ring. Can anyone out there help me find out when this action was made?
Keith
If it is a post-war Belgian civilian Mauser, then it must have Belgian civilian proof marks and an inspector's mark. Furthermore, these marks should have been applied so that they are visible without dismantling the rifle in any way (e.g. removing the handguard).
The inspector's mark is a small star above a capital letter.
The proof mark will be some form of the well-known cartouche with a crown on top and E over LG within, standing for Épreuve Liege (= Liege Proof)
and there should also be a letter, which is a year code. In the likely time range for your rifle this would be a Greek letter, starting with alpha for 1948, through beta, gamma (1950), delta, zed, theta, lambda, mu, xi, pi, rho, sigma, tau to phi (1961). From 1962 on with lower case a, b...
If you cannot find any of these, then the rifle may not be what you think it is, and photos of all markings are a must!
Thanks Patrick.Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick Chadwick
I have the original barrel from that action mounted on another rifle. Upon very close examination I found two marks, both on the right side of the barrel, just above the stock line and just in front of the receiver ring. The closest to the receiver is a small oval mark, possibly a cartouche. I cannot discern the details within. Just to the right of the cartouche are the following: RT8 where the T is much taller than the R and the 8 which are the same size. There are no other marks on the barrel.
As to the receiver, the serial number is on the right side of the receiver ring, 106XX, without prefix or suffix. On the left side of the receiver are 4 marks, from front to back: an R with what appears to be a crown or a star above it; a rampant lion; FV; and the last what appears to be a book with some sort of object above it. To my old eyes it looks like a hand pointing down towards the book.
See belgian proof marks - Google Search
The black bomb like mark may be whats on the barrel. According to http://www.gundealersonline.com/firearmid_belgian.asp the R with the crown over it should stand for "Proof for Rifles"; the FV may be a badly stamped PV for Smokeless Powder Proof; and the odd mark that looked like the book/hand and the bomb like mark on the barrel may be the final proof marks. unfortunately there are no letters, Greek or otherwise that I can find anywhere on the barrel or receiver to denote the year it was made.
Keith
An example of whyQuote:
Originally Posted by cprher
If you are not familiar with the marks, then it is very difficult to iinterpret badly worn or stamoed marks. Better to post photos here and let a lot of other people have a look. This usually produces a consensus.Quote:
Originally Posted by Patrick Chadwick
---------- Post added at 06:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:59 PM ----------
That is a proof mark for a rifled barrel (R = rayé = rifled)Quote:
Originally Posted by cprher
The lion over PV is indeed the final barrel proof mark.