I thought I’d throw up a post real quick, since I’ve been in Waco at the TGCA show the past few days and radio silent.
I thought this was rather neat, and it gave me a chance to tweak the Saturday Movie Group. If you can’t read the tag, this is an original Winchester Model of 1873 “One of One Thousand”. Like you might have seen in “Winchester ’73”. You don’t see many of these in the wild, for a good reason: Winchester didn’t make a whole bunch of them.
(This is a really neat book on the subject. I was lucky to get my copy before prices went out of control, and I absolutely would not recommend paying that price.)
Mauser Model of 1918 Tankgewehr anti-tank single shot rifle chambered in 13X92SR. The photos are with the bolt in and out.
Ammo pouch that comes with the gun, along with about 22 rounds of ammo.
This is what one of the rounds looks like. I should have included something for scale, but I didn’t have anything handy and didn’t want to impose on the seller.
If you’re interested, this is going to be in an upcoming Poulin Auction: the pre-sale estimate is $12,000 to $18,000.
And it is classified by BATFE as a “curio and relic”, so it is exempt from registration (and the tax stamp) as a “destructive device”.
I’ve been holding off on book posting until I get other stuff done, but I did want to post this for two reasons:
Vintage catalog from holster maker S.D. Myres Saddle Company, Inc. Judging by the postmark and price list inside, I believe this dates from around 1966.
The first reason for posting this is for great and good FotB (and El Paso native) RoadRich. Apple Maps seems to show 5018 Alameda as being a Family Dollar store, but I can’t tell what (if anything) is at 5030 Alameda. One of these days, I’d like to go back to El Paso and spend a few days there…
The second reason for posting this is: this was actually a kind and generous gift from my good friend David Carroll, purveyor of fine firearms to a grateful nation. If you are so inclined, why not wander over to his website, or check out his auctions on GunBroker?
I show 5030 Alameda to be the former home of Code Brew. It was in operation sometime in the last few years because a reviewer commented “Very large clean bar. So social distancing is not a problem there.” However, I also show that it has been marked permanently closed by another hopeful visitor. The most recent positive review I saw was seven months ago.
The buildings look to be 90s or double-aught construction, long past the time of that postmark.
I hoped “Code” Brew meant that there was a connection to the S.D. Myres Saddle Company whose specialty was police equipment on their publication, but no hint of that is in the reviews, save for the prominent display of an American flag in a photo.
The Mauser anti-tank rifle looks to be quite the shoulder fired mind bender. Like it would hopefully do the job on the first round, because the shooter would likely have his mind changed about firing it a second time, at least until he ( or she) had enough time and or alcohol to convince their minds that it was not all that bad, and they should fire it again.
Of course, this comes from someone who was married and divorced, and yet married again. Fortunately my present wife and I will be married for 31 years this fall, and are closer than ever. I also have been burned by molten steel, and kept working there for over 35 years. A normal person would have quit after the first time.
In all seriousness though the rifle is actually impressive, in that someone was able to make something that could handle such a beast in that good old reliable Mauser design. And the cartridge is also impressive.
I think it was intended to be fired prone from the bipod, not from the shoulder. But I don’t know if there’s enough vodak to make me willing to fire it even that way, let alone from the shoulder.
“The weapon had a pistol grip and bipod, but no method of reducing recoil, such as a soft buttpad or muzzle brake. This could cause problems for the shooter with repeated firing.”
Ya think?
Wikipedia gives a loaded weight of 41 pounds with the bipod. For comparison, the Barrett M82A1 is 32.7 pounds loaded.
I like how you called that Mauser a mind-bender. The Barrett rattled my teeth… which is why I was mind-set on firing it a second time, with full knowledge of what I was setting myself up for. Great way to knock the dust off the corrugated awning above the operator, by the way.