Just thought I'd give an update on the Type 24. I had it pored over by a gunsmith that I've known for some years and is a certified Mauser nut. He headspaced it and informed me that it was as solid as any European Mauser he'd dealt with. With that info I took a goodly amount of Romanian 8mm to the range Saturday to put it through it's paces. I am pleased to report it functioned flawlessly. Accuracy was a bit affected due to the somewhat worn bore, but I had a ball shooting it.
I'm not going to sit here and say that all these weapons are safe to shoot, I happened to find an apparent diamond in the rough. Which leads me to this question. My 'smith, who I mentioned is a Mauser junkie, confessed to me that he was not all that familiar with the history of the Chinese variants, although mine was the first one he had seen with a '33 date and the Hanyang banner by itself on the receiver (minus the bow and arrow inside the gearwheel) He speculates this is one of the earlier quality made examples. I have to agree, in that I understand the Type 24 supposedly started production in '35.
Any Type 24 experts out there that can confirm this? I have looked all over the net trying to find a '33 dated Hanyang with the solo banner, to no avail. All examples I find include the bow and arrow/ gearwheel stamp along with the banner. Any thoughts would be appreciated!
