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Help ID a mauser
- Thread starter BoogieMan
- Start date
Turkish M38, "large ring/small shank" 8x57 rifle.
Decent actions, even if the steel is a tad soft.
http://www.turkmauser.com/1938/
Jimro
Decent actions, even if the steel is a tad soft.
http://www.turkmauser.com/1938/
Jimro
kilimanjaro
New member
In original condition, matching numbers, these run about $250 and up. If you reload for them, realize it's Turkish steel, not German steel, and do not make up hot loads. They were made on German tooling by the Turks.
As long as you keep reloads to commercial strength you'll be fine.
I've always thought the Turks were pretty smart to keep out of WWII. Both sides were giving them money and goods to tempt an alliance, but the Turks seemed to be well aware that their military would have lasted about 3 weeks facing either the Wehrmacht, the British in the Middle East, or the Russians.
As long as you keep reloads to commercial strength you'll be fine.
I've always thought the Turks were pretty smart to keep out of WWII. Both sides were giving them money and goods to tempt an alliance, but the Turks seemed to be well aware that their military would have lasted about 3 weeks facing either the Wehrmacht, the British in the Middle East, or the Russians.
The Turks never actually made rifle receivers in those days. But in 1938 and the following years, they upgraded their mixed bag of old rifles to have the general look of the German K.98k. The dubbed the result as the "Model 1938", even though the actions ranged from WWI era G.98's to old 1889's. I assume the idea was to give the appearance, from a distance, of troops uniformly armed with the latest rifles.
The original markings were removed from the revamped rifles and replaced with the Turkish "TC" and the arsenal, along with the date.
Jim
The original markings were removed from the revamped rifles and replaced with the Turkish "TC" and the arsenal, along with the date.
Jim
I know the bolt and receiver are non-matching numbers and im told that the barrel is shot out. My guess is that it wasnt properly cleaned and shot mostly corrosive ammo. At any point, I did not know what the cartouches on the receiver indicated. Judging from the workmanship on the rifle I didnt think that it had any value beyond the fact that it was left to her from her father. Still it looked decent and IMO all mil-surps are cool.
Thanks for the info gentlemen.
Thanks for the info gentlemen.
FWIW, the TC stands for Turkiye Cumhuriyet, or Turkish Republic; ASFA is the abbreviation for Askari Fabrika or Military Factory. Ankara is, of course, the capital of Turkey and the city where the military headquarters is located. KKALE is a shortening of Kirikkale, a city about 80 miles west of Ankara and the location of the arsenal where the work was actually done.
Jim
Jim