A friend of mine told me of a Mauser that he had that his grandfather supposedly brought home after the battle for the Rhine. He wanted to know what type it was, I told him that if it was indeed a Mauser, it was more than likely a k98. He said he thought that's what it was, but it had markings on it that he wanted to know what they meant. So, not being able to resist looking at and researching old military firearms, I told him to bring it to me the next day and I would take a look at it.
The following day he brings me a gun case with the rifle within. I open the case, see the buttplate, instantly know this is no k98. I pull the rifle out, and it an extremely short Mauser. I mean really short. And then I see the crappy aftermarket scope on it, and the PAINTED BROWN cut down wood on it. 'A typical cut down Mauser', I start to say to myself. Then I see the carbine sight, and then I see the Cyrillic script on the left of the receiver. 'Do you mind if I remove this scope and the mounts?' I ask. 'Go ahead', he says. I remove them, and there it is on top of the receiver, the Serbian crest, and Model 1908. This was a Serbian Model of 1908 carbine built by Steyr that had been brought back from the war only to have the wood cut back and painted, the receiver drilled and tapped, and the bolt handle surface ground down to keep from hitting the aforementioned crappy aftermarket scope. I almost cried. The worst part was that the metal on this was flawless, absolutely beautiful bluing, didn't look as if it had ever been fired. It is my understanding that these little carbines are as rare as hen's teeth, and here was one chopped up. I realize that folks didn't give these rifles much thought back in the day, and 'sporterizing' one to obtain a low buck hunting rifle was the norm, but geez..
Anyway, it made me wince. Now I'm somewhat obsessed with finding an original example.
I would love to know how this carbine ended up at the Rhine, and who was carrying it. Another chapter in the 'we'll probably never know' stories.
Information
Warning: This is a relatively older thread
This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.