A Gun Collectors Nightmare...

[BoltActionHero]

I've been around to several gun shops out in the Attleboro, Mass area to scope out the merch and see if anything decent and/or new has come in. There is a trend I've been seeing more and more of recently, particularly on Japanese Arisakas, but I've seen it on Mosins and Mausers too. The seal/arsenal marking on the barrel of the gun appears to have been scrapped off. Thus making it impossible to ID where the rifle was made and date the Rifle without doing additional research. Why on earth would anyone do this?

 

[KMM696]

The Arisaka markings were ground off by Japanese troops before surrendering. Arisaka rifles.

I haven't seen Mosins with removed markings before. The only German Mauser I've seen with that done to it was last owned by the Israelis, and I assumed they took the Waffenamt markings off when they got them. Just guessing, though. I had a couple of Czech VZ24 Mausers that had a more professional job of removing the markings done, probably as part of a trip through the rearsenal process. Ground off (mostly), polished and reblued at some point. The condition of the bluing over the former marking matched the rest of the rifle.

 

[BoltActionHero]

The Arisaka markings were ground off by Japanese troops before surrendering. Arisaka rifles.

I haven't seen Mosins with removed markings before. The only German Mauser I've seen with that done to it was last owned by the Israelis, and I assumed they took the Waffenamt markings off when they got them. Just guessing, though. I had a couple of Czech VZ24 Mausers that had a more professional job of removing the markings done, probably as part of a trip through the rearsenal process. Ground off (mostly), polished and reblued at some point. The condition of the bluing over the former marking matched the rest of the rifle.

... which explains why the ones with the markings are a greater value. Well I appreciate that, thanks a bunch!

 

[Soxfan9]

The Soviets also removed the markings from some captured German weapons.

 

[Carguy]

Double post

Sorry

 

[Carguy]

The Mausers were struck with chisels and they called it "peening" like with a ball peen hammer. They peened the nazi swastika, as shooterrs these rifles are a bargin as nothing else is supposedly different. As collectibles they are a value as an example but the nazi marked rifles are the real value. The Mosins...I haven't a clue. Never heard or seen any markings removed. There is actually a distributor that has (maybe had by now) some of these as well as mausers with the nazi markings obviously for more money.

 

[BoltActionHero]

The Mausers were struck with chisels and they called it "peening" like with a ball peen hammer. They peened the nazi swastika, as shooterrs these rifles are a bargin as nothing else is supposedly different. As collectibles they are a value as an example but the nazi marked rifles are the real value. The Mosins...I haven't a clue. Never heard or seen any markings removed.

Yeah mine still has the markings on it. I wouldn't have it any other way!

 

[WILDCATT]

isreal mausers

the isreal mausers are chec and were done to hide the fact of where they came from.
the jap was an honor thing.
if the jap has the seal it was a captured bring back.out of 7 I have 4.

 

[BoltActionHero]

the isreal mausers are chec and were done to hide the fact of where they came from.
the jap was an honor thing.
if the jap has the seal it was a captured bring back.out of 7 I have 4.

Well I can certainly understand why they did it. It appears the 2 Nagants I saw with that are to remain a mystery.

 

[m44]

Well I can certainly understand why they did it. It appears the 2 Nagants I saw with that are to remain a mystery.

Were they m91s, because if so I remember somebody saying that on some rifles the czarist crest was ground off by the communists when they took over. I am not positive but somebody told me that (does anybody know whether or not this is true).

 

[Hikes]

The only thing that should be ground on Arisaka's is the mum on the top of the receiver. Ive never seen an Arisaka with the arsenal markings removed (not to say they arent out there)

 

[jpattersonnh]

M91's that were sent to Spain for the revolution had markings removed. Most rifles in the Spanish Revolution were this way, M91's, Mausers.