My WWII US small arms collection.

I know, "all original parts" - stuff is virtually non-existant over here.

 

Over here, except the expensive Janssen, is nothing good to find. Sometimes at egun is a good deal to make, or much better, you have some good friends at its homeland.

 

I have a 1903A3 coming from him lying in my gunshop, we're just waiting for two Thompsons an M1 and an M1A1 to arrive in about ten days and then I will file the paperwork for them. They are expensive but top quality, unfortunately they have no collectors value at all. I can't understand why they had to renew the finish, they should just have changed the barrel and left them with their original finish.

 

Keep a eye to the stocks. He sold Rifles with new stocks but the wood had not a long enough dry phase which caused twisted and cracked stocks. Maybe that this was only a series of stocks!

 

I have an original NIB stock on order, apparently you also have to rework his stocks after shooting the rifle for the first time. Did the ones Frankonia had also come from the same source?

 

As far as i know: No!

 

WOW! You have an awesome collection my friend!

 

Thanks Major, it is a small collection, but it's growing fast ;-)
The biggest part of my collection is post WW2 smallarms.

 

I finally found an M1A1 Carbine. Unfortunately it is demilled, but as the price was very good I couldn't resist, alltough I had sworn myself never to buy a demilled gun.
My plan was to take the stock for another, still functional, Inland carbine I have, but as this one seems to be an original "first production run" M1A1 I'm hesitating on what to do.

It makes your heart bleed to see that such a fine and hard to find weapon was castrated just because someone had to have an original one....because in the end it isn't original anymore, it had it's soul ripped out! But as I said, I couldn't pass on.

 

What does the demilling process consist of on this rifle?

 

Over here they milled out a longer piece of the barrel, most the underside, as broad as the caliber of the rifle is. This makes it sure that you won´t fire a life round out of it except you have suicidal thoughts.

 

What Ulrich said, plus they welded a rod into the chamber and the barrel. It's beyond repair, but I paid considerably less then the stock and the salvageable parts would bring me if I sold them...still it makes me wanna cry when I see the messed up gun!

 

At the risk of jamming up this thread: Do you have anypics of the process?

 

I can take pics of the result and post them.

 

I got some new stuff this afternoon:

Ithaca M1911A1








Colt / Remington Rand Mixmaster M1911A1

 

Auto Ordnance M1A1. This one is an original M1A1, not a transformed M1 like the one I already had.

 

Classic examples - you do indeed have a magnificent collection !