[Olle]

This one will make Alvin cringe... A buddy of mine picked up this Broomhandle in a trade, and now we are both curious to know what it is. It’s an obvious train wreck, but it would still be interesting to know more about it.

It’s rough beyond restoration, has lots of pitting and it has obviously seen a ham handed polish and reblue that wiped out the stamps on the right side of the frame. The bore is full of scattered small pits, but it doesn’t look shot out and the rifling is still sharp. I believe the safety is the 2nd type (safe in the up position, raises the hammer a bit but doesn’t lock it).

One thing that really stands out is the sloppy fit, everything is rattling around and the gun sounds like maracas when you shake it. The internal parts seem to fit very well though, and the action works as intended. It doesn’t really give me the impression that it’s worn out, it’s almost like it was made with loose tolerances from the factory. Even the mag bottom has a lot of slop, you can’t really wear it out so it must have been loose to begin with. Another thing that I noticed is the crude appearance of the rear sight, especially the checkering on the button.

So what do we have here? An abused, mismatched Mauser, or a sloppily made Chinese copy?