FrankenMauser
New member
I thought some of you might like to see this.
This is a photo of the bore of the hand-made Chinese Belgian FN Mauser Browning () that my great-uncle brought back from China, after flying over The Hump as a radio operator on C-46s in WWII.
Chamber: 7.65 Browning (Or at least as close as you can get with a rock and a screwdriver for chamber reaming. )
Rifled barrel length: 3.9"
6 lands; 7 grooves
Rifling revolutions: 1.92 (best estimate)
Calculated twist rate: 1:2.02"
I've done the math and can't even come up with a metric thread that makes sense. But, being hand made by someone in a back alley, that knows nothing about firearms, how they work, or the reason for design elements; using whatever tools they can cobble together from scrap metal... that's not a surprise.
My grandfather claims that it shot "about" four-foot groups at 100 yards, and wasn't terrible up close. So... possibly not as horrendous as it appears.
I fired it at least once as a child. ...But may never do so again. This pistol is absolute garbage, and scares me, now that I know what I'm looking at.
Said Belgian FN Mauser Browning:
(Not as large as your brain wants to think. That grip is only big enough for two fingers.)
Also note the hinge pin on top of the slide for the elevation-adjustable rear sight. That's comical for many reasons. The two most obvious are: 1. The sight is pinned in place. 2. The hinge is taller than the sight notch.
The adjustable sight can't move, and doesn't work as-pinned!
One of these days, I'll break this bad boy down and give everyone here the full run-down. It's pure comedy for anyone with knowledge of firearms, and especially theory of operation.
It works. Yet absolutely nothing makes sense.
This is a photo of the bore of the hand-made Chinese Belgian FN Mauser Browning () that my great-uncle brought back from China, after flying over The Hump as a radio operator on C-46s in WWII.
Chamber: 7.65 Browning (Or at least as close as you can get with a rock and a screwdriver for chamber reaming. )
Rifled barrel length: 3.9"
6 lands; 7 grooves
Rifling revolutions: 1.92 (best estimate)
Calculated twist rate: 1:2.02"
I've done the math and can't even come up with a metric thread that makes sense. But, being hand made by someone in a back alley, that knows nothing about firearms, how they work, or the reason for design elements; using whatever tools they can cobble together from scrap metal... that's not a surprise.
My grandfather claims that it shot "about" four-foot groups at 100 yards, and wasn't terrible up close. So... possibly not as horrendous as it appears.
I fired it at least once as a child. ...But may never do so again. This pistol is absolute garbage, and scares me, now that I know what I'm looking at.
Said Belgian FN Mauser Browning:
(Not as large as your brain wants to think. That grip is only big enough for two fingers.)
Also note the hinge pin on top of the slide for the elevation-adjustable rear sight. That's comical for many reasons. The two most obvious are: 1. The sight is pinned in place. 2. The hinge is taller than the sight notch.
The adjustable sight can't move, and doesn't work as-pinned!
One of these days, I'll break this bad boy down and give everyone here the full run-down. It's pure comedy for anyone with knowledge of firearms, and especially theory of operation.
It works. Yet absolutely nothing makes sense.