advice on broomhandle mauser

[alanint]

agreed. A factory converted broom should have a 500 meter sight.
Are there any Chinese Characters on the gun anywhere?
Thousands of Broomhandles came into the US in the late 80s and early 90s from China. These were almost all refurbished and converted to 9mm. Do the Red 9 grips look fairly new? Does the stock fit snuggly and look like it belongs with the gun? Does the leather look appropriately old?
Any tiny import marks on it anywhere?
I still have one you would swear is original but I only paid $600 for it from one of the original China importers.
What are they asking for this ri?

[ybz]

Originally Posted by alanint

agreed. A factory converted broom should have a 500 meter sight.
Are there any Chinese Characters on the gun anywhere?
Thousands of Broomhandles came into the US in the late 80s and early 90s from China. These were almost all refurbished and converted to 9mm. Do the Red 9 grips look fairly new? Does the stock fit snuggly and look like it belongs with the gun? Does the leather look appropriately old?
Any tiny import marks on it anywhere?
I still have one you would swear is original but I only paid $600 for it from one of the original China importers.
What are they asking for this ri?

Thanks for all the responses everyone.
I did notice that the sites should be up to 500 not 1000, but this one is 1000... the grips look in very good condition, but then again , the whole gun looks in very good condition... i didn't see any import marks (no chineese characters), but frankly i wouldn't know what to look for and i didnt have the handle removed; i did notice the U with the crown on top, and the three letters under the barrel as i mentioned in the posting; the stock numbers do not match the gun, and i didn't try it on, so i'm not sure of the fit. they are aking $2500... the store owner says the stock alone is valued at $1000... i am concerned with the discrpencies i see with the serial numbers, grips, caliber, site markings, etc., but i dont know if that's normal for these guns... is the price too high? can i buy an investement quality gun for that price?
any additional info would be appriciated...
thanks,
ybz

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by ybz

can i buy an investement quality gun for that price?

Yep.

Here's where the Chinese characters are on my M30. This is not a Chinese copy; it's made by Mauser for export to China. The characters, on the bottom of the magwell, loosely translated, mean "Made in Germany".

The importers markings can also be seen in the relief above the trigger -

KFS ATL GA
C 96 7.63 GER

They stand for Keng's Firearms Specialties, Atlanta GA, rest is self explanatory...

[sheepherder]

Here's a quick pic of a Bolo on top and a M1896 on the bottom (for want of better terms). IMHO, the Bolo is not worth anything near what your gunshop is asking...and unless it's an M1896 (or M1930) with 90%+ blue and excellent bore and all matching w/excellent shoulder stock, not worth the price either...

There's lots of nice ones for that money on GB...

Bolo has shorter barrel and smaller grip...rest of pistol is the same as M1896...

[sheepherder]

Originally Posted by ybz

...they are aking $2500... the store owner says the stock alone is valued at $1000...

Balderdash!!!

Here's one on GB now, BIN $2250...If the one your gunshop has is better than this, then it *may* be worth $2500...

If not, here's one to watch and see what it goes for...

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/Vie...Item=128891731

(Not my auction)