Brazilian 1952 R.Farmage 30.06 help needed

[m4a3sherman]

By the way, the buttplate is correct, and it is an 1898 action- the give away is the rear of the bolt housing; it is far more complex and has an additional lug which houses a spring and detent. The buttplates on many of the brazilians are pretty unique with their wavy pattern (

---------- Post added at 10:09 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:03 AM ----------

The rifle is an 1898 action; the give away is the bolt housing which is more complex than the 1896 in that is has a provision for the spring and detent that locks the bolt housing in place. The buttplate and its "ripples" are unique to the Brazilian rifles and are sort of interesting. More often than not, one sees them over-sized for the stock and I am beginning to thing that they might have been "cupped" slightly around the wood before time and shrinkage took their toll. Additionally, they appear to mostly be on on the rifles that were cut down and rechambered for 30.06.

[Bearclaw]

m4a3sherman Thanks that comfirms what I read about the action being a 98 action, which had me confussed because the gun shop i had to register the rifle at said it was a 96 action. I hope it cleans up well as the guy who gave it too me said he had only put around 20 rounds through it and he had it for 30 odd years and he claims it was new/refurbished when he got it back in the 70's. Using it once on a hunting trip before placing it on the top of his wardrobe only to be brought down to be attacked with the six inch paintbrush and varnish. Have you fired one of these in 30.06 I am told that they are sort after here as being a cheap wild pig gun that can take the punishment of being knocked around. Which surprises me as milsurplus firearms are drying up in Australia too many collectors.

Myles

[Bearclaw]

Where would I find more info about the "Brazilian" made ones, I can only find Columbian. And if this is a remodled/rebuilt one how can i identify the orginal model rifle.

Myles

[m4a3sherman]

The ultimate guide to mausers is typically in Robert Ball's "Mausers of the World" which contains the vast majority of known variants listed by country. It can be a little pricey but it is a superb reference and will be needed if you want to really let your collection of mausers blossom. Also, you want to shoot for the most recent edition, 4th I think, as it is vastly expanded over the previous versions. I have not shot one of those but I have fired comparable rifles and I have to say that most mausers aren't terribly uncomfortable to shoot. The vast majority seem to be in 8mm which is a stout cartridge but held properly, the shooter shouldn't be hurting at the end of the day.

Honestly, I don't see it being rediculous, and I would be surprised if it is worse than the No.5 Carbine- they are little beasts! But if you are concerned, purchase some lighter loads to feel her out a little. Be sure to post pictures as you restore her (or him) and definitely show us a grouping once you get out to the range. Also, speedy recovery of your wrist- that is a really inconvenient place to be broken.

[Bearclaw]

Got the front band off. Glued on with varnish. Now the barrel has been seperated from the stock barrel markings are +05 on the bottom of barrel underneath rear sight and a circle with a T in and 34-4728 on the knox form. Top of receiver scrubbed and new emblem stamped.

Myles

[m4a3sherman]

hmmm... post some pictures if you can- Often times stuff on the underside of a receiver or barrel is more or less nonesense to the collector; a series of random letters and numbers that meant something to the inspectors at a factory but little to anyone else. I am not familiar with how those are marked; my Brazilian rifle is one of the 15,000 that were made by Czechoslovakia for Brazil back in the 30s or so and is marked like a VZ24. I suspect that the markings won't mean much but post some pictures; there are a lot of guys who have been doing this a LOT longer than me; I am only 22! I would guess the circle T is perhaps a maker's mark for the barrel. I believe those rifles were simply rechambered for 30.06 and in which case that might the firm who converted them but they may have also been rebarreled altogether... Again, this is starting to stray out of my knowledge bank on Brazilian rifles.

[Bearclaw]

Will do, I will clean the grease off tomorrow and take a couple of pics in the sunlight.

Myles

[Bearclaw]

Update so far. Varnish is off and now cleaning the stock up, the stock is in a great condition but the guys who did the conversion in 1952 didn't believe in quality finish. The barrel and receiver came up great once the varnish was removed. I was starting to get excited until I cleaned the grease from the bore. Beautiful deep rifling all the way up to the last 2 - 3 inches from the muzzle where it seems no existent.
I will try and take some pictures. Now the search for a replacement barrel. Don't know if I will find one down here.

Myles

[m4a3sherman]

Honestly, if the rest of the bore is good, I would see about having it counter-bored (and then only if you plan to shoot it a lot for any sort of serious targeting) because finding a good barrel will be difficult in pretty much any location. It may be already counter-bored but you'll have to check. I am not sure about the refinishing process they did and how thorough it was.

[xa-coupe]

I haven't seen it myself but on another au shooting forum someone was cleaning a no1 mkIII* which apparently had no rifling near the barrel. I am lead to believe that after some serious cleaning it came up but before that the owner was ready to rebarrel. A half decent clean did not clean it up, a concerted effort rescued it. The crud was so bad it made it look worn.
Of course, your barrel may well be screwed but it's a thought and cheaper and easier if it works.