All cleaned up 71/84

All cleaned up and ready for the ball, gents for your viewing pleasure!
It's an 1887 Spandau. From what I was told the markings on the buttplate mean it was issued to the King Franz guards 3rd Ersatz battalion, weapon 8. (Please correct me if I'm wrong, my knowledge is limited on markings.) When I got this the stock was dry as a bone and very pale, likely stored in an attic for a few decades. It soaked up numerous coats of ballistol and the acceptance marks on the wood seemed to popped out again. I was very pleased to say the least.
There was evidence of pitting that has been cleaned up in the past under the patina. The solid patina over the metal is artificial as far as I can tell. It is uniform in tone and covers every single part. It is under the wood line, on all the screws and in places it seems it wouldn't get to unless put there intentionally. Probably a Japanese brown solution and a heat gun treatment some time in the past but that is not a big deal to me.
The bore is excellent and shiny and every thing else seems tight. Other than having to fix the magazine tube, it was a pretty straight forward. My Gras on the other hand took a month and a half to fix but im pretty sure it was under water for a few years. The Gras was pretty crunchy
Enjoy!

Looks good now...I used a toothbrush and oil before on the acceptance marks to clean inside and they indeed come up. Looks like the wood shrunk over time of being dry. At least it didn't check... Are you going to be shooting this one at all?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Brewer

King Franz

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No such person.
It's (in German)Kaiser Franz Garde-Grenadier-Regiment, 3. Ersatz Kompanie, Waffe Nr. 8
(in English) Emperor Franz Grenadier Guards Regiment, 3rd Replacement/Reserve Company, Weapon No. 8

- and it looks pretty good. Personally, I'd want to have the treacle off it a.s.a.p.

Thank you Patrick for the info on the markings, if only it could talk the stories it could tell. I might be indulging in habit forming patterns because i am wanting another one or its older brother the 71.

Yes BAR i do intend to shoot it. I ordered the Lee kit and the Bertram brass for it and will start loading when i am able. I am going to slug the bore just to know how it comes out.

Brewer, if you want to shoot an M71/84 or an M71, then you should know that the sights settings mean that you can hardly get on target at 100 yards, even using a 6 o'clock hold. You will almost certainly need a taller foresight blade.

The amazing thing is that you can fit a foresight blade from a K98k. It seems that the foresight blade form and dovetail remined the same throughout the existence of the Mauser military rifles. K98k replacement blades are available in normal, tall, and extra tall versions. I strongly recommend that you get an extra tall one - if it is too tall, you can file it down a bit.

Thanks, I'll pick up a k98k blade and switch it out.
Patrick would you use the paper patched bullets or non paper patched in this?