Wandering through pawn shops a while back, I stumbled across an interesting gun. What stuck out immediately for me as it sat on the rack was a barrel shaped lug on the bolt handle. It looked just like this picture shamelessly stolen from The Arms Room:
I hadn't actually seen a Schmidt Rubin in person until now, but I was fairly sure that I recognized the gun. Several years back, before I bought my first centerfire rifle, the first gunsmith that I met (Emerson at Custom Cartridge in Las Cruces, NM, which is to this day my favorite gun store) had recommended this weapon if I'd like a cheaper shooter that was a tack driver. I read up a little on the guns at the time, and haven't looked at them since. For a better review than I could write, take a look at what Tam has to say.
I asked the guy behind the counter to let me take a closer look, and he pulled the gun off the rack and handed it over. It looked like someone had sporterized the stock, and the forward hand guard was missing, leaving the barrel bare from receiver to muzzle.
I took a peek at the label for the gun, and noticed that they had it labeled as a Mauser, in .303. Now... I'm sure that this isn't the biggest failure in gun identification I've ever seen (the media seems to have a talent for it), but labeling a Swiss rifle as a German Mauser, and claiming that it's chambered in a British caliber (that as far as I know, neither the Swiss or Germans ever really used), is definitely a step toward that direction.
I should have snapped a few more pictures, and maybe tried to get a better idea of what model of Schmidt Rubin I was looking at. All I ended up taking photos of were the proof marks on the receiver, so that I could at some future date have a better idea of what I had in my hands.
They're asking $300 for it. If I could get it for a century note, I might think about it. I know that 7.5 X 55 Swiss has dropped a lot in price (comparitively) since I was first looking, but it's still not a Wal-mart caliber, so I'd have to figure that into the decision.
Anyways, maybe I could offer to identify and price their guns, either for a little cash, or in trade. Who knows?
I hadn't actually seen a Schmidt Rubin in person until now, but I was fairly sure that I recognized the gun. Several years back, before I bought my first centerfire rifle, the first gunsmith that I met (Emerson at Custom Cartridge in Las Cruces, NM, which is to this day my favorite gun store) had recommended this weapon if I'd like a cheaper shooter that was a tack driver. I read up a little on the guns at the time, and haven't looked at them since. For a better review than I could write, take a look at what Tam has to say.
I took a peek at the label for the gun, and noticed that they had it labeled as a Mauser, in .303. Now... I'm sure that this isn't the biggest failure in gun identification I've ever seen (the media seems to have a talent for it), but labeling a Swiss rifle as a German Mauser, and claiming that it's chambered in a British caliber (that as far as I know, neither the Swiss or Germans ever really used), is definitely a step toward that direction.I should have snapped a few more pictures, and maybe tried to get a better idea of what model of Schmidt Rubin I was looking at. All I ended up taking photos of were the proof marks on the receiver, so that I could at some future date have a better idea of what I had in my hands.
They're asking $300 for it. If I could get it for a century note, I might think about it. I know that 7.5 X 55 Swiss has dropped a lot in price (comparitively) since I was first looking, but it's still not a Wal-mart caliber, so I'd have to figure that into the decision.
Anyways, maybe I could offer to identify and price their guns, either for a little cash, or in trade. Who knows?
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