Grandfather's Mauser (Photos for Dave)

[HardDrive]

I reached out to Dave about possibly getting my grandfathers Mauser refinished, and he wanted to see some photos. I figured I would share a bit of family history with fellow Pelicans.

My great uncle Sulo (a fine Finlander) fought in the battle of the bulge. They had a break as they were fighting towards Bastogne. My uncle picked up a Mauser from a dead German soldier. There were restrictions on how large of a package one could send home, so he got a saw from the motor pool mechanics, and sawed off the barrel and the stock. He then sent it home to my grandfather in Muskegon, MI.

My grandfather had a local gunsmith put on a new barrel and stock, and hunted with the gun for the next 40 years. It has killed many deer in the woods of western/northern Michigan. Now my dad and I take turns hunting with it. I was in Muskegon a few years ago, and was amazed that the sign for the gunsmith is still up at his home. He had passed, but his kids left his sign up in his memory.

Gun still functions perfectly, but its in need of some refinishing.

Cheers.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by HardDrive

I reached out to Dave about possibly getting my grandfathers Mauser refinished, and he wanted to see some photos. I figured I would share a bit of family history with fellow Pelicans.

Very well done. I am going to watch this thread.

Cool stuff.

[jwhcars]

My uncle sent home a Mauser that he liberated during his battle service. I was given the Mauser for my first rifle.
Years passed and it was time to go to the gun smith. The shop was robbed and the Mauser was one of the missing guns. What really is a bite in the butt is we know who did it. Proving it is another story.
Sorry for the rant ..... It still pisses me off !

[rfuerst911sc]

I inherited a 22 cal. Mauser it was my grandfathers he lived in Germany. Beautiful gun that my dad brought to the US when he came to the states. I will never get rid of it.

[steve185]

That is a great piece of family history. have you considered leaving the rifle as is? Just a thought but a future family member may look at the wear and tear and think of the people who used the rifle, including the dead German.
Steve

[BRPORSCHE]

Reminds me a lot of my grandpa's old deer gun that I inherited...I would love to send it to Dave one day to be freshened up.

[targa911S]

The wood looks pretty good on that, but I can refresh it for you with ease. The bluing although honest wear is done though. I would hot salt blue it. It will be black as coal then. we would do all the metal at one time. Tom anytime you like, although yours looks good as well. I would have to send you both copies of the shops license and you can ship it yourself to that address for repairs. USPS or UPS is fine. When it is done, because you are the owner, I can ship it direct to you. No FFL's other than our shops need to be involved in shipping either way.

[azasadny]

Nice rifle! I would either leave it as is or let David do his magic on it, he's the best there is!

[targa911S]

Thanks Art...