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.
