71/84 Parts Rifle

[Aragorn243]

I picked up a 71/84 rifle today with a cut and cracked stock, no magazine spring, cap or end cap and no bolt. It has the trigger assembly, the life and the cutoff which is the main reason I bought it. I paid more for a reproduction cutoff than I did for this rifle, $21. The bore looks very good but there is an anomaly in it about 6 inches in from the receiver. It looks like there is a square cut out of it. It is really bizarre. The seller said he took it apart and it does not come through the outside. I can't say I believed him but the barrel wasn't the reason I was interested in it so I bought it anyway. I took it apart when I got home and it does not come all the way through. I don't understand how it could have gotten in there. It is a definite cut, bottom of the barrel, about a quarter inch or so wide, depth I can't tell. I didn't dig out my other one to see if it has one but I can't imagine what this might be.

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[Calif-Steve]

I have 2-3?? 71/84 barreled receivers upstairs. Lots of small parts still there, no bolts, but good bores. Let me know if interested.

[Aragorn243]

I'm not looking to restore, just bought it in case something on mine breaks. The barrel just has me confused. I believe that someone inserted a drill bit of some type at an angle and drilled into the barrel from the inside. It's about 12 inches in. I would assume this would make the barrel useless for shooting, perhaps dangerous. I don't know.

[Patrick Chadwick]

I am also totally puzzled. But is this odd hole perhaps underneath the backsight block? If so, fold up or remove the backsight leaf and inspect.
Look for a hole or evidence of a hole having been plugged. You want to be able to look underneath the leaf spring!

There used to be so-called "salute" rifles produced over here, where the barrel was blocked off, and the gas from blank firing vented through a hole, usually hidden within the backsight block, underneath the leaf spring (or rather, where the spring had been). The chamber also had to be altered so that it could not chamber the original ammo, only (typically) 9mm gas cartridges. They don't make them like that any more, as the potential for misuse by removing the blockage in the barrel and fudging up special ammo was all too obvious.

The barrel is, of course, FUBAR for shooting!

Can you manage a couple of pics?

[Aragorn243]

Patrick,

I unfortunately can't manage a decent bore photo let alone of a hole near the chamber end. I will try investigating the rear sight. The screw which holds the spring in place is missing to perhaps this is what you mention with the gas venting through the screw hole. I can't see anything coming through the top of the barrel however, that looks good. I also estimate it is about9 1/4 inches in. which places it about an inch and a half in front of the rear sight base. It does appear as there is a groove going into the hole that it was drilled out from the chamber end. There is also some damage at the very end of the chamber, not sure what caused it. It is minor but might be enough to keep a round from chambering. Its a real shame as it has beautifully clear Danzig marks, crowns and proofs. Again, I just bought if for the lifter, cut off, etc so I'm not out anything, just hate seeing something go to waste so to speak.

[Patrick Chadwick]

The screw which holds the spring in place is missing to perhaps this is what you mention with the gas venting through the screw hole.

Not quite. The usual method was to remove the spring, and make the vent hole through the middle of the sight base. The screw hole would be too small. So you need to remove the backsight slider and push out the spring to see if the center of the base has been messed about. However, you say the visible hole inside the barrel is "about an inch and a half in front of the rear sight base". This would match up with the "salute mod." theory, as the barrel plug needed to be in front of the vent hole (which was hidden in the sight base).

Thought: inspect the outside of the bottom of the barrel under a magnifying glass. Is that a hole that has been filled and then filed flush on the outside? The inside being inaccessible, of course. At present, I can think of no other explanation than that it was a "salute" (i.e. blank-firing) rifle that someone tried to disguise by filling in the hole in the bottom of the barrel.