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What can be done about fakes? (posted July 29, 2010) M1 Rifle Final Inspection Stamps (posted June 28, 2010) There are some widespread misconceptions regarding the markings found on the stocks of World War II production M1 rifles. This posting is prompted by an American Rifleman “Q&A” inquiry I recently received. The gentleman had just acquired a WWII Winchester M1 Garand rifle and noticed the “WRA/GHD” stamp on the left side of the stock. He was told that these were the initials of the rifle’s inspector and wanted to know if I could identify “GHD” as he thought it would be cool to know the name of the guy who actually inspected his rifle during the war. I told him that I could identify “GHD” but he may be disappointed learn that he did not actually inspect the rifle. I related that “GHD” was Colonel (later Brig. Gen.) Guy Humphrey Drewry who was appointed Deputy District Chief of the Springfield Ordnance District in June 1942. I went on to explain that in this capacity, Drewry did not actually inspect the weapons but, rather, they were inspected by ordnance inspectors operating under his authority. As I also mentioned, Col. Drewry was preceded in this position by Col. Robert Sears (“RS”) followed by Col. Waldemar Broberg (“WB”). None of these officers were actually inspectors but were Ordnance Department bureaucrats (no disrespect intended) even if they did wear a spread eagle or a star on their collars who had the significant responsibility of monitoring the manufacture and inspection of the small arms produced under government contract by commercial firms in their Ordnance District. My Q&A answer also briefly mentioned that WWII Springfield Armory Garands were also marked in a similar manner but with the initials of the Commanding Officers of the Armory at the time the rifles were manufactured. This incident got me thinking (which can be a dangerous thing!) about the entire subject of inspection markings. Some of the misconceptions mentioned about are, as the inquirer was told, that such initials were of the actual inspector of the weapons As shown, in the case of the M1 Garand Final Inspection Stamps, this was simply not the case. To some extent, the same was true for other weapons such as Springfield Armory and Rock Island Arsenal M1903 rifles that had also initials stamped on the left side of the stock. For example, WWI and pre-WWI M1903 rifles may be observed with several differed initials. One common one was “JSA” which signified John Sumnar Adams. He was Springfield’s “Master Armorer” during this period and, while Adams may have inspected a few arms himself, he was actually more of a supervisor than an inspector. Likewise, a well-known final inspection stamp found on pre-WWI M1903 rifles manufactured by Rock Island Arsenal is “CN” (over the date of assembly). Once again, Conrad Nelson was the foreman of small arms inspection at the Arsenal and his stamp found on an ’03 does not, by any means, indicate that he actually inspected the weapon. In summary, while it is technically correct to call such markings “inspection stamps,” in the case of WWII M1 rifles, this should be not construed to mean that the individual represented by the initials on the stock actually inspected, or even saw, the rifle in question. They didn’t. This was done by the ordnance inspectors who labored daily diligently checking the rifles as they came off Springfield's or Winchester’s assembly line. At least for now, these unsung but dedicated workers will remain anonymous. Any collector of U.S. martial arms that has been at it for more than a couple of days should be quite familiar with many of the various unofficial terms and jargon that make up a collector’s lexicon. To list all of these would take up several reams of cyber paper but some of more common are: Trapdoor Springfield Rod Bayonet ‘03 Gas Trap Garand Gap Letter International Harvester M1 M1 carbine flip sight Cartouche Paratrooper carbine Low number Springfield ‘03 High wood M1 carbine stock I could go on, but you get the idea. One such term that falls into the category is the use of “Modified” to identify WWII Remington M1903 rifles manufactured between the earliest rifles and the later M1903A3 variant. Even though some Remington factory documents from this period use the term “Modified,” it almost certainly does not refer to these, in effect, transitional rifles. However, years ago, many collectors adopted (“hi-jacked”) this term to differentiate the early production, finely crafted Remington M1903 rifles that were very similar to the ’03s made by Rock Island late in the First World War from the mid-WWII roughly-hewn ‘03A3 variant. I was one of the many collectors who found this to be a handy term although I knew early on it was not official nomenclature. When I began my writing “career,” I used this term to denote such rifles in several of my books and articles but always took pains to make it clear this was collector jargon and not any sort of official terminology. Apparently, some guys who read my stuff skipped over this disclaimer and got bent out of shape about my (paraphrase quote) “continuing to perpetuate the myth about M1903 “Modified” rifles” or words to that effect. Maybe I should have used bolder print in my disclaimer! The use of the term “Modified” by many of today’s collectors to denote such rifles is not a myth, it is reality. On the other hand, if anyone suggests the term was official Remington or Ordnance Department nomenclature, then that would be in the mythical category. Some of the guys who are into ‘03s and who get all upset about my use of the term “Modified” in this context have no problem talking about “high hump” ’03 handguards or “no bolt” stocks which have exactly the same degree of “official-ness” (I made up that word!) as the dreaded “m” word in question. Obviously the aversion to the term “Modified” in this context is a case of selective indignation. Perhaps “Transitional” Remington M1903 would be a better descriptive term for these rifles but “Modified” is so ingrained in the collector lexicon today that any change is rather unlikely. While I have discontinued use of the term “cartouche” for a variety of reasons, I don’t get my knickers in a twist if someone uses the word as it is such a prevalent term that it will always be among us. I’m certainly not going to berate them for “perpetuating the myth” of the word that originally meant something else but has been high-jacked by collectors to describe any and every marking on a military rifle. Let’s just agree to add Remington M1903 “Modified” to the lengthy list of unofficial collector-jargon terms. If anyone should insist it was an official term to denote such rifles, then all bets are off and the self-appointed internet gurus can consider such individuals fair game. Otherwise, the complainers should read the text of a book very closely before complaining. Report Card – “The Pacific” HBO Series (Posted 5-18-10) I recently posted some thoughts regarding my impressions about the first few episodes of the HBO series “The Pacific.” I had been eagerly anticipating the program as I thought the previous Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks productions of “Saving Private Ryan” and the HBO series “Band of Brothers” were head and shoulders above most television or movie offerings. I had hoped “The Pacific” would be in the same mold. After viewing all episodes, I have mixed feelings. Perhaps part of my problem was that “Band of Brothers” set the bar very high and, clearly, “The Pacific” was not able to vault over it. The series wasn’t bad at all, and parts of it were excellent, but in toto, it didn’t meet my (perhaps too lofty) expectations. The following is my totally subjective “Report Card” on the series and, admittedly, I’m a tough grader! “B” Historical Accuracy. Comments: There were several minor historical inaccuracies such as a face-to-face meeting between John Basilone and one of the other real-life characters, but this can be forgiven as a case of literary license. Also, the episode on Okinawa showed Basilone being killed by a bullet when it was actually a mortar round that took him out. While not inaccuracy per se, a couple of important Pacific battles were essentially ignored such as Tarawa and, especially, Iwo Jima. There were several instances throughout the series that I thought were a bit too "New Age-y" for the 1942-1945 period.
“B+“ Accurate Depiction of Weapons
Comments: As stated in my previous posting here, the only really egregious faux pas regarding the weapons depicted was the use of ‘03A3 rifles on Guadalcanal. ‘03s were used but the ‘A3 variant did not get into circulation until well after the Marines departed Guadalcanal. I’m not even sure the Marines acquired any ‘A3s anyway. While BARs were shown in the background a few times, I don’t recall seeing any of these key weapons (which the Marines loved) actually being fired. The M1 carbines all seemed to have the proper features for the era depicted (including the right slings) and, for the most part, so did the M1 Garand rifles. There was even a (correct) Reising Model 50 submachine gun shown on the Guadalcanal segment. The Model 97 trench gun being used in night perimeter defense was actually pretty cool. I almost gave this part an A- but, as I said, I'm a tough grader. “B” General “View-ability”
Comments: Unlike some of the television shows or movies which I feel compelled from time to time to sit and watch with my lovely wife, none of these episodes were mind-numbingly dull. While some of the home front or “R&R” episodes were a bit slow, they really weren’t bad. A cynic might conclude that the rather frequent depictions of undraped feminine pulchritude were thrown in to persuade the guys to sit through these episodes but I’m sure that didn’t cross the producers’ minds! J “B” Overall Grade Comments: All in all, a fairly good series that I wouldn’t mind watching again. I’ve recorded all of them on my trusty DV-R and some evening when I don’t feel like working on my latest book project, I may look at some of the episodes again. This would be worthwhile viewing for anyone with even a passing interest in World War II. It may not be “Band of Brothers,” but it is still worth viewing if you haven’t seen it.
Interest in U.S. military weaponry continues to grow with corresponding increases in price and shortages of many types of collector-grade specimens. A number of long-time collectors have expressed some concern that new (and younger) collectors are not coming into the field due to the astronomical prices that some weapons are now fetching. While some specific types of weapons are beginning to be priced out of the reach of many collectors, I am seeing quite a few younger collectors coming into the hobby. Part of the reason is the availability of the CMP M1 rifles and other weapons. Many people can afford a $700 CMP Garand and this has seemed to whet the appetites of many persons with a passing interest in U.S. martial arms. As most of us can testify, a passing interest in collecting U.S. martial arms can easily become something of an addiction if we’re not careful. There are still a number of military long arms, handguns and edged weapons available at reasonable prices today. Sure, they’re quite a bit higher than they were ten years ago but what’s not? We sometimes focus too much on the weapons costing thousands of dollars each when there are interesting items that can be had for much less. Keeping new collectors coming into the field every year is vital if this hobby is going to continue to grow. Always do your part to encourage fledging collectors. While this is the right thing to do for several reasons, there are also some less altruistic motives for this. Most of us in our 40s, 50s or 60s have given some thought to the possibility of disposing of our collections at some future date. The reasons for doing so can range from a hedge against inflation, to supplementing our retirement income to a change in interests and/or lifestyles. We may decide some day that we’d rather travel the world and spend our kids’ inheritances than continue to pursue our hobby of collecting U.S. military weapons. When (and if) that time comes, we probably assume there will be a bunch of eager collectors with handfuls of cash jumping up and down to buy our weapons. While this might be the case now (or will be when the economy rebounds), what about fifteen, twenty or thirty years from now? If there aren’t any new (and younger) collectors coming into the field today, who will be these future buyers? Few 22-year-old beginning collectors can afford several thousand dollars for a collector-grade trench gun or Spencer carbine today. However, when these same gentlemen are in their 40s and 50s, many will then have the disposable incomes to purchase non-essential “big ticket” items such as martial collectibles. The big question is “will they choose to do so and will there be enough of them around to constitute a reliable source of buyers?” Thirty years from now, we won’t have much luck trying to sell our collections to other old geezers who will be having the same thoughts we do about the subject. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not yet in the geezer category (but I sure will be in 30 years if I’m still around!) and have no intention of selling my collection. My point is, however, that I would like to have that option in the future. Without a new generation of dedicated and committed collectors, this option might not be available to us. Hopefully, this will give you something to think about and another reason to encourage young collectors to pursue the hobby.
Refinish it or Leave it Alone? (Posted 2-3-10) Every collector will eventually be faced with a decision as what to do with a weapon he encounters that is not in the condition he desires. When does it make sense to refinish the wood or metal or both? The answer depends on several factors, the most important is the personal preference of the owner. Before we talk about when refinishing may be an option, we should discuss when refinishing would unquestionably be an unwise course of action. I can think of several scenarios when refinishing would not be recommended under any circumstances. First, a weapon with historical importance should be left in its present state of preservation, regardless of how it may look. For example, suppose someone bought George Armstrong Custer’s personal .50-70 rifle (it did sell a number of years ago). Since the approximately 130 year old gun saw field use, it shows the nicks and dings of such usage as well as some wear to the finish. However, the rifle remains essentially in the same condition as carried by Custer. Does anyone think the rifle should be refinished? I think any rational person would agree that the weapon should be left alone. What about other less historic weapons? A good example would be the M1941 Johnson rifle that is confirmed to have been “carried home” by a former member of the USMC’s First Parachute Regiment. The rifle was used in combat in the Solomons and the gentleman surreptitiously carried the rifle home after being ordered to bury all of the unit’s Johnson rifles on a beach on Bougainville. He took the rifle down and slipped it into a jump bag and sent it home. He kept the rifle undisturbed for the past 55 years and only parted with it a few years ago. The rifle remained exactly as he carried in on Vella Lavella and Bougainville. Fortunately, the rifle is in amazingly good condition considering it is a combat veteran. Even if it wasn’t in such good shape, however, I do not think a reasonable case could be made for subjecting it to any sort of refinishing. The rifle survived for over a half century without anybody messing with it and it would be a disservice to posterity to monkey with it now. The rifle is historic as one of the few known Johnson rifles with a Marine Corps provenance and combat duty to its credit. I don’t think any sort of refinishing, regardless of the condition, would be warranted for a weapon of this type. We can all probably agree that weapons with demonstrable historical backgrounds should not be subjected to refinishing. How about “run of the mill” weapons that have no historical connection? This is where the subject can get really tricky. I think the main determining factor is the condition of the weapon. In other words, is the condition so bad that refinishing makes sense from an aesthetic and economic standpoint? This is really something everyone will have to decide for himself. I know of some people who have refinished guns that were in very nice condition because they exhibited a bit of wear on the high places of the metal from being put in a holster or a scabbard. To me, this is very unfortunate as the guns were truly nice condition and refinishing was not only unnecessary but extremely damaging to the value. However, the owners were apparently pleased so it can be argued that it’s nobody’s business. This may be true but it is also true that future generations have been deprived of the opportunity to own an original weapon because of such ill-advised refinishing. On the other end of the spectrum, I have seen collectors with guns that are brown with rust and/or have no original finish remaining with stocks that are one step above firewood. The owners are reluctant to do anything to these guns because they don’t want to alter their originality. I understand this sentiment but guns of this sort are in such bad condition that they have marginal value anyway. It is my opinion that careful and appropriate refinishing might enhance the appearance and, perhaps, the value of such weapons. The difficult decisions lie between these two extremes. We are essentially back to the original question….. How bad does a gun have to be before refinishing begins to make sense? I wish there were some perfect guidelines that we could all agree on but, unfortunately, there’s not. It becomes simply a matter of degree and opinion. I think the decision whether or not to refinish a gun is similar to the decision whether or not to get married! That is, if you have any doubts, DON’T DO IT!! A gun can always be refinished later but once it’s done, it can’t be undone. Refinishing is a permanent alteration that can have a drastic impact on the desirability and value of a weapon. The impact can sometimes be positive but, more often, the impact is negative. As stated, there are several factors to consider regarding whether or not a gun should be refinished including any historical association and the overall condition of the piece. Once the decision to refinish has been made, be sure that the person you select knows what he is doing. Almost any “shade tree gunsmith” can reblue a gun but precious few can even come close to duplicating the original factory rust bluing found on many older weapons. Likewise, a lot of people today advertise parkerizing services but only a fraction can get close to the greenish-gray parkerizing of WWII vintage weapons. The wrong tint and texture of refinished metal is worse than an original blotchy finish or even no finish at all. The same is true for wood. Any idiot can sand the imperfections out of a stock but the result is usually a disappointment at best and a tragedy at worst. There are a few craftsmen who can make a rough piece of wood look surprisingly good while maintaining the original contours and markings. A properly refinished stock is not as good as a nice original but can often be an improvement over a dented and dinged original. While on this subject do not, under any circumstances, allow someone to “refresh” or re-stamp an inspection stamp on a stock. This practice is getting to be very prevalent and is never a good idea. No inspection stamp is infinitely preferable to a fake inspection stamp. In summation, unless a weapon is in such bad condition that properly refinished metal or wood will not detract from the value, it should be left alone. However, if a weapon falls into this category, a professional and properly done refinish might be worthwhile. Just be sure that the person doing the work knows his stuff and doesn’t overdo it. A bright new finish on an otherwise well-worn weapon can be as off-putting as splotchy brown metal or badly banged up wood. Before any decision to refinish a weapon is made, be sure you’ve considered every angle. The final question to ask yourself is whether the rifle will be more desirable and more valuable if you leave it alone or if you have the metal and/or wood properly refinished. Many decent original weapons have been ruined by thoughtless or inept refinishing. As mentioned previously, if you have even the slightest doubt, leave it alone. Remember, a gun in marginal condition may have 5% or 10% original finish but a refinished gun has 0% original finish. ID of Weapons on Home Page (posted 1-8-10) I recently had a reader of this site inquire if there was a listing of the identities of the various weapons depicted on the home page. I really hadn’t thought about that but for those of you who are interested, why don’t you try to identify all of the weapons and see how you did? Below are the identities of the weapons starting from left to right in the (roughly) five different columns: WWII Winchester Model 12 trench gun WWII Springfield M1 Garand rifle USMC Remington M870 Mark I shotgun with M7 bayonet WWI M1903 Springfield rifle WWI M1903 “Air Service” rifle M1870 .50-70 Springfield Armory “rolling block” trial rifle M1870 .50-70 Springfield/Sharps trial rifle WWI Remington Model 10 trench gun M1903 Springfield .30-03 “rod bayonet” rifle M1941 Johnson rifle Johnson “Auto Carbine” (prototype weapon) WWII M1 carbine (unaltered) WWI M1917 .30-06 Lewis Machine gun WWII Colt M1911A1 pistol & WWII .45 ACP “Liberator” pistol WWI Winchester Model 1897 trench gun with M1917 bayonet WWII Stevens M520-30 trench gun with M1917 bayonet WWII Ithaca M37 trench gun with M1917 bayonet WWI Model 1918 BAR WWII Reising Model 50 submachine gun WWII M1A1 carbine (unaltered) M1928A1 Thompson submachine gun M3 Guide Lamp submachine gun (“grease gun”) V-42 Stiletto M3 trench knife with M6 scabbard M1917 bayonet – M1917 bayonet scabbard – M1905 bayonet Model 1941 Johnson Light Machine Gun Boys .55 caliber anti-tank rifle M1870 .50-70 Trapdoor Springfield trial rifle M1871 .50-70 Ward-Burton trial rifle M1870 .50-70 Trapdoor Springfield trial carbine M1871 .50-70 Ward-Burton trial carbine Remington M870 riot gun with M9 bayonet Mossberg M590 riot gun with M9 bayonet Mossberg M500 riot gun So, how did you do? I figuratively scratched my head and tried to see the complainant’s point but, frankly, I had no sympathy whatsoever for his plight. Very basically, the potential buyer wanted to purchase something at a price less than the seller was willing to accept. OK, I’m sure we’ve all been in that situation many times before. In such cases, we normally go our merry way and seek out other sellers who may have item we’re looking for a price we’re willing to pay. If we can’t find anyone agreeing to sell this item for the price we want to pay, it should be assumed that we have an unrealistically low expectation of what the true market value is for said item. This is the beauty of Capitalism. Maybe we should keep this on the hush-hush as capitalism is a dirty word in high political circles these days… but I digress. In any event, if the demand for an item exceeds the supply, the price will go up. If the supply exceeds the demand, the price will drop. This isn’t rocket science. To apply this to the issue mentioned above, if the seller has an absurdly high price on his primers (or whatever he was trying to sell), he won’t sell much, if any, of his stuff and will go home empty-handed (especially if he bought some of the typically atrocious “food” at the gun show). If he is asking an absurdly low price, and assuming there was even a modicum of demand, he would quickly sell out and probably kick himself for leaving a lot of money on the table. Again, basic Economics 101. Was this seller “price gouging?” I think not. Price gouging is when a seller has a product that the buyer absolutely must have and then jacks the price up well beyond its normal market value. Note I said “absolutely must have,” not “would like to have.” There is a huge difference. A good example is when fuel supplies or basic food and water needs are disrupted because of a pending hurricane or other potential calamity and the sellers of this stuff mark it up substantially higher than normal because, in this instance, the buyers have no choice if the seller is the “only game in town.” After the perceived dire situation passes, the price returns to normal. That is “price gouging” and is reprehensible. Personally, I would be hard-pressed to ever again be a patron of an establishment that acted in such a manner. This is entirely different than the person who fancies something but wants to buy it at a lower price than the seller is willing to take. This might be primers, automobiles, houses or a myriad of other things. In a normal world, a seller wishes to maximize his profit and a buyer wishes to minimize his spending. That’s how it should be. Just because a seller doesn’t want to lose money on a transaction doesn’t mean he’s evil. The tables can be reversed and one might say that the whiny buyer who complains about “price gouging” is actually too cheap or too spoiled to pay a fair market value and believes he is being taken advantage of or that society in general and the seller in particular “owe” him something. Gee, that sounds like a typical liberal democrat. In conclusion, let’s try an experiment. Let’s all walk into our local BMW dealer’s showroom and offer to buy a brand-new Z4 Roadster for $1,000. When the salesman looks at you like you just fell out of a tree, holler and accuse him of price gouging. If you raise too much of a ruckus, you can complain about the dealer’s “price gouging” to the policeman who comes to arrest you for disturbing the peace I’m sure he’ll be totally sympathetic. After all, the evil capitalist dealer shouldn’t be denying you the pleasure of driving an automobile that you really, really want at a price you want to pay. What this country coming to? Oh wait, with the current administration in Washington and their lackeys in Congress, that question may be answering itself. Along with martial arms collecting, one of my favorite hobbies is writing. My 11th book is currently in production at Mowbray Publishing and I’ve started work on my 12th book. In addition to writing books, I have been fortunate to have numerous articles (over 100) on martial arms collecting published in several national magazines, primarily American Rifleman, The Gun Report and Man at Arms as well as several foreign publications (Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Japan). I initially began my writing endeavors when an article of mine on U.S. WWI trench guns was published in Man at Arms magazine back in 1983. That eventually resulted in a great working relationship with Andy Mowbray, the founder of Man at Arms magazine and Mowbray Publishing. Andy regrettably passed away a few years ago and his son, Stuart, assumed control of the company and has done a great job. I can’t imagine an author having a better working relationship with a publisher than the one that Stuart and I enjoy. These endeavors also led to my association with American Rifleman magazine. When Mark Keefe took over the helm of the Rifleman several years ago, he improved the quality of the magazine tremendously and I am pleased to count him as a great friend. I occasionally get inquires from individuals who would like to “get published” and ask for advice. Some are interested in having a book published and others are looking to get a magazine article in print. My first bit of advice is usually the hoary, but nevertheless true, cliché of “write what you know” coupled with the admonition that an author should have a demonstrable interest in whatever subject he decides to write about. In addition, the subject must be of sufficient interest to enough individuals to warrant publication. Publishers are businessmen. They will not invest time and capital in a project that they do not think will result in a reasonable return on their investment. For example, I’ve seen a number of manuscripts from individuals who simply write about their life experiences, often in the military. With due respect, the vast majority of such efforts are of interest only to the writer and, perhaps, his immediate family. Occasionally a writer will have sufficient talent to craft an interesting narrative of his experiences in the military that might appeal to a broad segment of potential readers but such efforts are very much in the minority. Of course, the above applies only to non-fiction work as fiction is another matter and requires an entirely different skill-set (which I do not possess). The type of writing I typically engage in is not related to my personal experiences (which would be extremely boring to 99.9999% of potential readers) but, rather, to U.S. military weapons, their historical application, or both. Such writing requires adequate research and sufficient writing ability to make what might be a rather “dry” subject to some readers palatably interesting to the majority. Also, the subject must have broad enough appeal to make it a viable topic in the eyes of a publisher. For example, even though a number have been written, a book on the M1 rifle or M1 carbine would potentially appeal to an infinitely larger market than a book on chromed-plated French pocket revolvers made in the 1920s which would be of interest only to the two or three guys in the country who collect such guns. If an individual is convinced that he has a viable topic, has done sufficient research and presented the material in an interesting and cogent manner, then his next task is to find someone to publish it. This is true for both magazine articles and books although, as might be expected, it is normally much easier to have an article published than a book because of the capital expenditure required for the latter as compared to the former. In the case of a book, there are only a handful of publishers who specialize in books on U.S. military weapons-related topics. A “generic” publishing house almost certainly would have little interest in such topics because, relatively speaking, it is a “fringe” market with limited appeal to the population as a whole. We collectors and gun enthusiasts are avid buyers of books on our pet weapons but the vast majority of individuals do not share our interests in such things. Some fledging authors may decide to self-publish their work or, perhaps, engage the services of a “vanity press” publisher who will produce and print books on a contract basis with the author paying for their services. Any method of publishing will have pros and cons. If a book is published by an established publishing company, the author will have the luxury of professionals handling the layout, printing and marketing of his book with little effort (after submitting the manuscript) and no financial risk on his part. He will also, typically, receive a percentage of the sale proceeds as royalties. The primary “con” is that he will only receive this royalty percentage and the publisher will obtain the lion’s share of the revenue from the sale of the book. Of course, the publisher bears all the risk and much of the effort as well so it would seem to be a fair trade-off. Probably the biggest hurdle is finding a publisher who is willing to risk his time and capital on an unknown or untested author. If someone chooses to self-publish, he will have to do the layout of the book himself (which is more involved than one might contemplate), pay for the printing (after finding a suitable printer which may not be as easy as it sounds) and associated costs out of his pocket and market the book (with the attendant expenses of advertising, shipping, etc.). The major “upside” is that he will receive all the revenue from sale of the book. Many times, however, an author unhappily discovers that the revenue is far less than the expenses and the book project is a money-losing proposition. Still, sometimes the pleasure of seeing one’s efforts in print is worth the financial burden involved. Likewise, engaging the services of a “vanity” publisher is a mixed bag. The author will have a professional (hopefully) handling the layout, etc. of the book and not have to search for the services of a printing firm. Otherwise, that’s about it. The publisher’s fee will include the costs of putting together the book, having it printed and then adding a (usually) rather hefty profit. The publisher will normally ship the books to the author and, from that point on, it’s up to him to find buyers. Such arrangements very rarely result in anything remotely resembling a profit accruing to the author. None of the above is intended to dissuade anyone from attempting to write a book as it can be a rewarding experience, albeit not always financially. Keeping with the subject of this website, if one does manage to have a book published on U.S. military weapons or a related topic, he will quickly find out that a thick skin is a necessity. Collectors and enthusiasts of the hobby are generally nice guys but some can become extremely critical of anyone’s efforts in publishing a book on their pet subject. Admittedly, some of the books that have been offered over the years are not very good and reasonable criticism is justified. However, there is not, and never will be, a perfect book on the genre as all contain errors and questionable information or statements. It’s a matter of degree. If there are errors on every other page, then the book is, at best, marginally useful. If there are only a handful of questionable or erroneous statements, that’s a pretty good effort. Regardless, some guys get pathological in the tone and tenor of their complaints. After doing this for over two decades, I can testify first-hand. Sometimes criticism is valid but other times it borders on the absurd. As one example of the latter, in one of my early books, the publisher had a typo regarding the length of the M1905 bayonet’s blade and stated it was 16’ long rather than 16” long. Of course, a writer will routinely get blamed for publisher typos, etc. but that comes with the territory. Anyway, one guy (who apparently was off his meds) wrote an extremely nasty letter to the publisher and to the NRA (since they were selling this book in their museum’s book store at the time) stating that someone who thought that a bayonet was 16 feet long was obviously too incompetent to write a book and that the book should be immediately withdrawn. I’m not making this up! My publisher and the guys at the NRA thought this was hysterically funny. Of course, this is an extreme example but you get the idea. Whenever a book is published, all the errors and shortcomings are “out there” in perpetuity as there is no way to fix problems after publication. With the possible exception of politics, book authors are among the most vociferously criticized individuals and should learn to have a thick skin and good sense of humor. One should learn from the valid criticisms and forget the others. Writing magazine articles for national publications is, in some ways, similar to writing a book. However, writing a magazine article has its own inherent challenges. One of the most difficult things to do is to write a cogent and interesting article using a finite number of words. With a book, a few extra pages are not a big deal. Magazines, on the other hand, have a limited amount of space available for an article and anything longer will either not be printed or will be severely edited. Sometimes such edits can result in leaving out the “meat” of the article so it behooves a writer to limit his manuscript to the available space. The editor will let a potential author know beforehand how much space is available and in such cases the “word count” feature of most word processing software can be your friend. After writing scores of articles for the American Rifleman and other publications, I’ve honed the ability to write what I need to say within the space available. Sometimes, however, this also leads to complaints. For example, I recently wrote an article on the “other” trench gun of the First World War, the Remington Model 10. Sure enough, a week or so later I saw a complaint on an internet discussion forum that the article didn’t cover the Vietnam era trench guns! If the guy was interested in Vietnam trench guns, he either needs to look for an article on that subject (I’ve done several in the past) or a book on the subject (ditto). Likewise, some guys who are really into a collecting theme will complain if an article is too “superficial” and doesn’t contain any “new” or “useful “ information. What such guys seem to forget is that probably 90% of the readers of a magazine have, at best, only a passing interest in a particular topic (such as the M1 carbine or whatever). While much of the information presented in such articles may be "old hat" to the long-time collectors, it is often unknown to novices on the subject (who usually comprise the majority of readers). Interestingly, an editor of a magazine can sometimes receive two letters on a particular article on the same day, one complaining that the piece was too superficial and the other unhappy because it was too detailed! Again, a good sense of humor is an attribute that every writer should possess. I didn’t initially intended for this posting to be so verbose but, as you might imagine, I find this to be an interesting topic. Of course, I’ll probably receive e-mails that it was too lengthy and e-mails that I should have gone into more detail. In such cases, the delete button can come in handy! Some thoughts on the ‘03A4 Rifle (Posted 11-2-09) As discussed here previously, demand, and consequently prices, for quality U.S. military weapons have increased at a rate seemingly unimaginable a decade ago and still remain relatively strong even in the current economic climate. While prices for all of these arms have gone up significantly in the past few years, several have raced ahead of the pack. Among these are M1A1 carbines, M1941 Johnson rifles (not necessarily a U.S. military weapon but very popular nonetheless) M1911/M1911A1 .45 pistol and M1904A4 sniper rifles. Portions of this article were previously posted on “Canfield’s Corner” but the continuing popularity of the M1903A4 rifle warrants something of a repeat. As most of you probably know, the M1903A4 rifle was the primary U.S. Army sniper rifle of the Second World War. It was a slightly modified M1903A3 and was only made by Remington Arms Company. There are basically five differences between the M1903A3 and the M1903A4. (1) The markings on the receiver ring are offset in order to be read with the scope mount in place. (2) The front sight assembly is not mounted (although the milling cuts are present). (3) The bolt was concavely forged to clear the scope body. (4) The stock is inletted to make room for the curved bolt. (5) A Redfield “Junior” scope mount is attached to the receiver. That’s about it. Unlike most other For the past four or five years, M1903A4 prices stayed fairly constant (relative to inflation) but the weapon is now among the hottest collectibles of the genre. I’m not sure what caused the ‘03A4 to take off but I suspect there were several factors including the fact that the majority of other Regardless of the reason(s), the M1903A4 has become a poster child for many In any event, the fact that almost all of the ‘A4s that came on the market were sans telescopes, meant that collectors had to find the correct type of their rifle because, after all, a sniper rifle isn’t much good without a scope, especially the ‘A4 which didn’t have any iron sights! It has been pretty well known that the Weaver 330C and M73B1 telescopes were the primary scopes supplied with the ‘A4 during WWII. I won’t go into extreme detail here, but early examples used “off the shelf” 330C scopes and this same telescope made under government contract was designated as the “M73B1” (and was so marked). Most of the 330C and M73B1 scopes mounted on ‘A4 rifles at the Remington plant had serial numbers (not related to the rifle) hand-etched on the tube. Since these scopes have been rather scarce on the collector market for the past couple of decades (partially due to the fact many were destroyed), collectors have been looking for alternatives. The commercial Weaver 330 scope was a popular item on sporting rifles since the 1930s and are still pretty common today. These scopes differed from the 330C in the fact that the latter had knobs that could be hand-turned for windage and elevation adjustment while the former required a screwdriver for such adjustments. Some guys have fantasized that any type of Weaver 330 series was used with the ‘A4 rifles because “it was wartime and they used anything they could get.” Sounds good but it’s wrong. The military specifications specifically stated which scope(s) were authorized and those, and only those, were used. While the Lyman Alaskan, designated as the “M73” was authorized for use with the M1903A4 rifle, none were procured by the government for the ‘A4 production program and the Weaver (330C and M73B1) were THE telescopes used with the rifle in WWII, with one possible exception. The only exception would be the Weaver 330-M8. This scope is very similar to the M73B1 except it does not have the same type of adjustment knobs and most have a tapered post reticle rather than the cross-hairs of the 330C/M73B1. Few, if any, have been noted with added serial numbers. There is some question whether the 330-M8 scopes were actually used with the ‘A4 and I understand why some may doubt it. I believe the scopes to be correct, based in large measure on a letter that the late sniper historian Peter Senich obtained from Weaver many years ago which stated that the M8 was, in fact, used on the ‘A4 to a limited extent during WWII. Unless something else comes to light that proves this to be incorrect, it’s good enough for me. Therefore, it can be said with a high degree of certainty, that the only types of telescopes that would be correct for a M1903A4 rifle remaining in its WWII configuration would be the Weaver 330C (with added serial number), M73B1 and, probably, the 330-M8, wishful thinking to the contrary. If I had to select only one scope to put on a WWII M1903A4, it would clearly be the M73B1 as its “correctness” cannot be questioned. The picture gets a bit less clear for ‘03A4s that made it into the post-war period. The ‘A4 actually remained in military service until at least the early days of the Vietnam War and, like most WWII military weapons that remained in service, the majority were overhauled one or more times in the post-war period. The Weaver was not a great scope and most of them were replaced during overhaul. By the mid 1950s, the M84 was the standard Army sniper scope and most of the rebuilt ‘A4s had this scope mounted. Some of the WWII vintage M81 and M82 scopes (originally made for the M1C rifle) were also used on some post-war overhauled ‘A4s, but not nearly to the same extent as the M84. Again, some collectors have maintained that commercial Lyman Alaskan scopes (which are still pretty common) were used on ‘A4s after WWII but there is no evidence to suggest this was the case, although a few such scopes were used on M1Cs during the Korean era. It has also been claimed that the Weaver K-4 scopes were on A4s used during the In summary, the “correct” scopes for the M1903A4 rifle are: WWII ……………………. Weaver 330C (with added serial numbers), M73B1 and, probably the 330 M-8. Post-WWII………………. M84 and to a limited extent, M81 and M82 during the early to mid 1950s. Any other scope found on a M1903A4 rifle today is almost certainly incorrect, protestations to the contrary notwithstanding. That takes care of the scopes, so let’s look at a few other things that should be considered when evaluating a M1903A4. Since most of the rifles were overhauled after WWII, certain features will be found on such rifles including arsenal rebuild stamps on the left side of the stock and parkerized components, including furniture. As originally made, the M1903A4, like the ‘A3, had some blued parts including barrel bands, band springs and a few other small components. As production continued some of these parts began to be parkerized, including the front band and, perhaps, the magazine/buttplate assembly. Regardless, an original M1903A4 will still contain some blued parts and an example with all parkerized components has definitely been refinished, likely as part of a post-war arsenal overhaul. Such rifles are still fine collectibles but don’t have the value of an example remaining in its WWII factory configuration. The same is true for all other weapons of this era including Garands and carbines. If a ‘A4 has been determined to have been overhauled, a collector should not go to the trouble to look for one of the scarce (and generally very expensive) WWII Weavers since few of these were retained on the rifles after the war. The best choice for such a rifle would be a M84 which, fortunately, are still pretty available and certainly less expensive than the genuine WWII Weavers and the M81/M82 scopes. The majority of the M1903A4 rifles left the Remington with WWII production “Type C” (full pistol grip) stocks although some of the later production rifles had the scant (“wart hog”) stock. This was the only example of the scant stock being used on new production rifles and any seen today on a M1903 or M1903A3 has been added, possibly during and arsenal overhaul. In such cases, the stock should have the appropriate rebuild stamps on the left side. One other thing to look for is to determine that the barrel is an original ‘A4 barrel and the rifle hasn’t been rebarrelled with a M1903A3 barrel that had the front sight assembly removed. In such cases, the area of the barrel under the front sight band will be smooth and devoid of finish whereas it would be the same texture and color as the rest of the barrel on genuine M903A4s. Of course, an added ‘A3 barrel could be reparkerized, thus making it difficult to determine its originality as an ‘A4 barrel. Even with the current woeful national economy, I don’t see any signs that demand or prices for quality M1903A4 rifles are noticeably falling. Any genuine example with a correct telescope, especially one still in WWII trim, is a great find and such rifles are avidly sought by collectors. If you should ever run across a genuine Weaver M73B1 scope at a reasonable price, you might want to consider grabbing it even if you don’t need it. There are many collectors out there who would pay a substantial amount of money for such an item to complete their treasured ‘03A4. I wish I’d had the foresight to buy several dozen M73B1 scopes at $25 each back in the early 1960s but I was a kid in junior high school then and didn’t have the money or the clairvoyance to engage in such an enterprise. If I had done so, it would make the performance of my 401K look anemic today by comparison!
We are all familiar with “collector shorthand” words or phrases that are used to describe certain types of weapons and/or components but which aren’t, and never were, “official” terminology. Examples are myriad and include such well-known terms as “Trapdoor Springfield,” “gas trap Garand,” “M1 “locking bar” rear sight and “low wood” M1 carbine stocks, to name just a few. While these words and phrases can be useful as descriptive terms, others have devolved into all but meaningless terms. A good example of this is the word “cartouche” which typically meant the final inspection stamp on the stock of a martial firearm but is now often used to denote any and every marking on a weapon. For this reason, I’ve ceased using the term “cartouche” in favor of the actual term such as “final inspection stamp, “Ordnance Department escutcheon,” firing proof stamp,” etc. We touched on this before, but another type of collector terminology that has really gotten out of hand is the use of “Types” to differentiate variations of martial arms. The following was posted here previously and I think it may be helpful to repeat it. An acquaintance recently asked me about a M1A1 carbine which he was contemplating purchasing. He said the seller indicated it was a “Type 2” and wanted to know what things he should look for. My first question was, “What is a ‘Type 2” carbine?” He said he didn’t know, hence the inquiry. I gave him a brief synopsis on the key points to observe on a M1A1 carbine but the episode got me thinking about the prevalent use of various “Types” by In the interest of full disclosure, I have used informal “type” designations in several of my books. However, this was almost always done to distinguish variations in parts and not for complete weapon “types.” For example, keeping with the M1 carbine theme, I routinely use the terms “Type 1,” “Type 2,” and “Type 3” to identify the three variants of M1 carbine bands. The first was the narrow band without bayonet lug, the second the wider band without bayonet lug and the third the wider band with bayonet lug. The terms are also sometimes used to denote the three distinct types of rear sights (non-adjustable, milled adjustable and stamped adjustable). Regardless, even though these terms have been in widespread use by carbine collectors for 25 or 30 years, I always try to take pains to make it clear that such terminology is informal and also generally enclose the term in quotation marks to reinforce the point. If there is any doubt as to the variant of part being discussed, then it would be better to use a bit lengthier, but much clearer, description such as “milled adjustable rear sight.” Some collectors, and even some writers, take this several steps further by using the term “Type” to describe variants of weapons. This may have been intended to simplify identification but, to my mind, it only confuses the issue. Still staying with the M1 carbine theme, let’s try to figure out what constitutes the three “types” of M1 (or M1A1) carbines. It certainly can’t refer simply to the type of barrel band on the carbine in question. If so, how does one distinguish a post-WWII rebuilt carbine with a “Type 3” (wide band with bayonet lug) from a late WWII example still in its factory configuration with the same pattern band? Does a “Type 2” carbine have a “Type 1,” “Type 2,” or “Type 3” rear sight? Does it have a “high wood” (“Type 1?”) or “low wood” (“Type 2”) stock? How about a “Type 1,” “Type 2,” “Type 3,” or “Type 4” magazine catch? Does it have a “flat top” or “round top” bolt? Are those two bolts classified as “Type 1” and “Type 2?” I could go on, but you probably get the idea. This is not restricted to carbines as I’ve seen “Type 1," "Type 2,” or “Type 3,” etc. used for other weapons such as M1903 rifles and Krags (just to name two) by collectors and some writers. I recently heard of a “Type 4-C” Krag carbine being offered for sale. I’ve got a fair number of Krag rifles and carbines and am pretty familiar with the different variants, but I couldn’t tell you what a “Type 4-C” Krag carbine is if you held a gun to my head (regardless of the “type classification” of said gun!). While the informal use by collectors of different “Types” to identify variations of parts is pretty well established, the same is not true of complete weapons as, in many cases, there are just too many variables involved to categorize them in such neat and tidy packages. Throwing about made-up “type” terms, especially when it comes to denoting variants of weapons, can be utterly confusing. If you want to make it clear to someone exactly what type of weapon to which you’re referring, I think it would be better to take a bit more time and clarify exactly what you mean. Rather than ask what to look for on a “Type 2” M1A1 carbine, the better question would be what to look for on an early 1944 production M1A1 carbine purportedly remaining in its original factory configuration (if that is indeed what a “Type 2” is). Likewise, if someone is trying to describe a Model 1896 Krag carbine that has been restocked with a Model 1899 stock and fitted with another pattern rear sight, then they should go ahead and say that without resorting to some made-up arbitrary and possibly misleading term. By the way, I just saw a post-war rebuilt M1 Garand rifle. It looked like a “Type 6” but had some features of a “Type 3” and some of a “Type 7.” I’m going to call it a “Type 5.33” (add the three types and divide by 3). Anyone interested? OK, you’re probably asking, that’s fine, but what does it have to do with collecting martial arms? As collectors, most of us have likely acquired an item that had one or more seemingly “incorrect’ features but, for one reason or another, which we fancied it nevertheless. Sometimes we may have been aware of these questionable features before we bought it. All too often, however, we didn’t notice, or didn’t realize, that something might be amiss until we got the item home and starting examining it more closely. If it didn’t look “right” after comparing it to a genuine item in a reference book or other source, we usually became rather chagrined at ourselves or, perhaps, the lying sack of scum that sold it to us and assured us it was 100% legit. This usually is followed by a full-blown case of PPCD as used guns (or whatever we bought) don’t come with a manufacturers’ “feel good” insert nor do we always have the option of going back to the gun show or flea market to return the item and get our money back. What often follows is our trying to rationalize or “explain away” the incorrect or questionable features that gave us such heartburn in the first place. I have seen this happen numerous times and have even fallen victim to it myself more than once. Our minds get busy to come up with one or more explanations as to why the item that appears to be “incorrect” is actually okay after all. A recent inquiry from a young collector reminded me of this common situation. The gentleman had just purchased a Winchester Model 12 riot gun that was manufactured circa 1942. As a fledging collector of U.S. martial arms, he was anxious to acquire a military shotgun for his collection. His reason for contacting me, however, was the fact that the gun had no martial markings whatsoever. The Winchester shotguns made under government contract in WWII had several types of martial markings, including a “US” and “flaming bomb” on the receiver, a “flaming bomb” on top of the barrel and an inspection stamp on the left side of the stock. The young man in question was perplexed because the gun was apparently made early in WWII and reasoned that it had to be a military weapon. He was, of course, bothered by the lack of martial markings. He inquired if it was common practice for the military to purchase shotguns of this type having no martial markings (Yea, I know about the “Blanket Procurement" shotguns). He also theorized that since it was wartime, and guns were badly needed, the necessity to stamp these markings was dispensed with in order to deliver the guns faster. I tried to explain to him as gently as possible that the gun in question was not manufactured under government contract even though it was made circa late 1941 or early 1942 and that Winchester manufactured a number of such shotguns for non-military entities during this period such as weapons for plant guards, law enforcement agencies, etc. I’m sure he was disappointed but most collectors have been in a similar situation before (I certainly have). The young man’s theorizing about the rush of wartime production resulting in various anomalies is a very common practice among guys trying to come up with a reason why their “incorrect” gun is actually perfectly acceptable after all. In such cases, one often tries to explain away a missing marking by stating that the inspector “forgot” to stamp the gun or that there wasn’t time to apply the marking because the guns were badly needed by our soldiers and had to be rushed out of the factory as soon as possible. I’m certainly not going to tell you that there was never an occasion when a final inspection stamp on a stock was not applied, especially during wartime production. However, probably 99.9% of the time, a missing inspection stamp on a stock seen today is because the stock was refinished or replaced. However, in the case of the above Winchester Model 12 riot gun, the martial markings on the receiver and barrel were applied prior to the metal being heat-treated, thus the “overlooked inspection stamp” scenario doesn’t hold any water whatsoever. The various martial markings on military weapons had a specific purpose and weren’t applied to make the guns “sexier” for today’s collectors. For example the final acceptance stamp indicated that the weapon passed all requisite inspections and was accepted into government service and the manufacturer could get paid. The ordnance inspectors assigned to the factory took their duties seriously and if any “forgot” to apply the inspection stamps with any degree of regularity, they would probably find themselves at the local draft office or assigned to duty at the Fairbanks Ordnance Depot in the middle of January. Through the years, I’ve seen more creative, and normally much less plausible, explanations in an attempt to rationalize incorrect guns. Among the most common of these attempts are the “prototype” or “experimental” angle. For example, if a weapon has a different sight, different barrel length, different stock or whatever, it must be an “experimental” or “prototype” weapon intended to test the suitability of the different sight, different length barrel or different stock. The fact that the sight looked like it came from the neighborhood hardware store or that the workmanship of the shortened barrel and/or stock was on a par with a junior high school shop class was certainly no reason to doubt the “experimental” or “prototype” explanation. Probably the most amusing (and my personal favorite) of these attempts to justify a “problem” gun is the “clandestine” postulation. I’ve seen a number of military weapons which had some, or all, of the markings buffed out. Most still had the serial number as removing that could get you a visit from your friendly local BATF agent. Anyway, as most of the stories go, these markings were removed because the weapons were intended to be carried by “special ops” guys and, if caught, the guns couldn’t be traced back to Uncle Sam. Yea, I’m sure that the bad guys would be really perplexed if they encountered a M1 carbine or M1911A1 pistol with the name of the maker and the “U.S.” marking removed. There would be no way they would ever assume such a weapon came from the United States. Removing such incriminating markings to disguise a United States weapon would be a fool proof measure that would foil even the most astute foreign military intelligence types! I guess we all need to be on the lookout for a rare and valuable “experimental prototype clandestine” gun with no markings for our collections. Even if we may harbor any doubts, these could be quickly erased if the seller gave us a “certificate of authenticity” along with the gun. Such ironclad documentation would prevent us from getting a case of the dreaded “post-purchase cognitive dissonance” and allow us to enjoy that unique, rare and valuable weapon resting with the boring old unmodified standard issue guns in our collection. Just when we think we’ve run out of stuff to collect, another interesting field awaits us. What prompted this posting is the increasing popular practice of fabricating what appear to be desirable martial collectibles using more common (and less valuable) weapons. The reason for this practice becoming even more prevalent is the continuing interest in U.S. martial arms collecting combined with the paucity of genuine specimens and the typical hefty prices tags attached to such items. A recent example of this practice are the products of at least one commercial enterprise that uses a common 03A3 receiver and some newly made components (including stocks and telescopes) to assemble something that resembles a real M1903A4 sniper rifle. Purportedly, some of these receivers were salvaged from drill rifles but I don’t know if this is correct or not. In any event, these ersatz ‘03A4 sniper rifles are being offered for sale from several sources and some guys are buying them. For the record, the purveyors of these rifles (at least the ads I’ve seen) are not misrepresenting them as genuine sniper rifles. I must stop at this point and clearly state that anyone should be free to spend their money on anything that makes them happy. If someone wants to buy a fake…oops, pardon me… a “replica” M1903A4 rifle, that’s their prerogative. I must say that the non-original stuff isn’t my cup of tea but, as the cliché goes, “different strokes for different folks.” If that makes them happy, it certainly doesn’t give me any heartburn. None of the buyers of these rifles have to explain to anyone their motivation and it’s really nobody’s business. An exception to the latter, however, is if someone posts on an Internet discussion board requesting comments on their recent purchase. That act automatically turns it into anybody’s business who logs on to such websites. The comments range from “Wow, those are cool. I’ve been thinking about getting one of those really neat rifles also,” to “Why would anybody waste their money on such junk?” Most comments seem to be somewhere between these two extremes. As a writer, words are interesting things to me. With this in mind, I’ve compiled a brief list of some of my favorite euphemisms for the dreaded word in question. I’ll list them in inverse order with my favorite being last: Lame attempt “Excellent copy” “Authentic looking” Honorable Mention “Replica” “Reproduction” Runner-Up “Clone” ..and the winner is… “Rendered in the spirit of the original.” I didn’t make the winner up…I actually read it on a website. The guy who came up with this one should receive some sort of award. That term is so much more lyrical than the ugly word “fake.” Perhaps, someone will buy the item so creatively described and pay for it with currency that was also “rendered in the spirit of the original.” I’ll bet the Secret Service guys who would subsequently arrest him for counterfeiting would get a big laugh. Maybe I’ll reconsider my wanton use of the word “fake” after all. Actually, plastic surgeons long ago shunned the word “fake” to describe the results of a certain popular elective surgery for ladies in favor of the word “augmented” or, perhaps, “enhanced.” Euphemisms usually sound so much classier. Maybe the practice of substituting euphemisms for more common words or phrases will catch on and we’ll start reading in the newspaper about women who were arrested for being (pick your favorite): “Ladies of the evening” “Escorts” “Fallen angels” “Soiled Doves” “Happiness Consultants” Now don’t these terms sound so much nicer than crass words that are usually used to describe such ladies? Maybe it’s time for me to stop using the word “fake.” On second thought…forget it. While I don’t want to use a lot of recycled material, a number of readers have said that they enjoyed this posting when it appeared here a year or so ago so I’m making an exception. More thoughts on “tracing the history” of a Gun. I get a lot of inquiries from guys wanting to find out the “history” of a particular Some have wondered why records regarding a particular weapon’s subsequent disposition after it left the factory weren’t maintained and available today. They point out, correctly, that there was strict accountability for the weapons issued to a particular unit, thus those records should still be around. The primary reason why this is not the case is because such accountability only existed while the weapons were in the possession of the unit to which they were issued. During peacetime, such records were maintained until the weapons were transferred to another entity or turned in for some other reason. After the guns were “off the books” of the unit, the records were destroyed as there would have been no reason to keep them. Pity they weren’t thinking of us collectors today! When a unit deployed overseas, all bets were off regarding accountability of weapons as it would have been impossible to account for guns lost, destroyed, abandoned (yes, it happened), “carried home” (yes, that also happened on some occasions), captured, traded for another weapon, etc. Theoretically, the weapons were all supposed to have been accounted for when a unit was withdrawn from a theater of operations but the realities of the situation usually meant that any gun that was missing was simply shown as “lost in action.” Even these incomplete records were destroyed when the weapons were turned in upon the unit’s return stateside. To the average supply clerk or weapon’s room sergeant, a rifle was simply something else to account for along with blankets, overcoats and socks and not the treasured and valuable collectible as we view it today. In a perfect world, we would be able to have complete documentation on a particular weapon consisting of when it was made, every soldier to whom it was issued and when, where and how it was used. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. Ideally, I would love to be able to respond to such an inquiry as follows: “Q. Can you give me the history of my M1 rifle, serial number 123456? A. Your rifle was assembled on March 16, 1943 beginning at 1:03 PM by Springfield Armory employee Robert Charles Wilson. The weather was unseasonably warm for mid-March in Massachusetts and Wilson wished he could have taken the day off. When he started assembling the rifle, Mr. Wilson had just finished lunch at the Springfield Armory cafeteria where he dined on broiled chicken (which was a bit overdone) and green beans that were too salty for his taste. Wilson was the youngest of four siblings (two boys and a girl). He got along with his mother but he and his father has issues that he never talked about. He tried to enlist in the Army but was flat-footed and near-sighted, thus took a job at Springfield. He was dating Cynthia Morgenstern, a rather plain-looking young lady but with a great personality who he met at a church picnic a year earlier. They talked about marriage but she insisted that he have a “paying job,” hence his employment at the Armory. After cutting his finger on a screwdriver and smashing his thumb with an assembly mallet, Wilson completed assembly of the rifle at 3:47 PM. He would have finished it earlier but the overdone chicken resulted in some intestinal distress which resulted in several “delays.” The rifle was then passed to Bob G. Willett, an employee of the Ordnance Department for inspection. It was found to be satisfactory and he applied the proof firing mark and the final inspection stamp. He always found it curious that the stamp was “GAW” when his initials were “BGW” but he never asked anyone as he didn’t want to appear dense. The rifle was packed in a wooden crate with nine other rifles and shipped out via truck express the following day (March 17) at 9:10 am en route to the Springfield Ordnance District receiving facility. It remained in storage there until March 23 when it was sent to Camp Beauregard (near Alexandria, Louisiana) and arrived on March 31 at 4:14 PM. On April 3, 1943, the rifle was unpacked and logged into the arms room records by supply sergeant Timothy “Tiny Tim” (don’t ask how he got the nickname) Jones. Jones was a recent draftee from Skunkworks, New Hampshire and was not at all happy about being assigned to Camp Beauregard. He wanted to do his job, “keep his nose clean,” and get out of the Army as soon as possible. The rifles in the shipment were eventually issued to Company B, 3rd Infantry and your particular weapon was assigned to 19 year old Pvt. Millard Duckworth, (ID #5589689878) who had just joined the unit the previous month after volunteering at the recruiting center in his hometown of Ames, Iowa. He often thought about what on earth possessed him to volunteer. Duckworth played baseball in high school (left hand pitcher) and imagined himself going to the big leagues after his stint in the Army. However, he wasn’t nearly as good as he thought himself to be as his fastball was actually pretty lame and his control wasn’t up to pro standards, however he was a decent hitter (for a pitcher). Pvt. Duckworth qualified with the rifle at Camp Beauregard but thought it was too heavy and recoiled too much and he much preferred his Marlin .30-30 lever action that he used back home for deer hunting. On the evening of June 2, 1943 Duckworth and his squad had detailed-stripped their M1 rifles and he accidentally got the trigger assembly mixed up with the one of the rifle belonging to PFC George Wray (rifle serial # 222098) which had different drawing numbers on the housing and hammer. It worked fine and neither soldier was aware of the switch even though the rifle became “non-original” at that point. On November 17, 1943, Duckworth and three other members of his unit were transferred to the Camp Sludge motor pool at Bayonne, New Jersey. It may not be coincidental that all four were given poor fitness reports by their first sergeant. Pvt. Duckworth dutifully turned in his rifle and the supply sergeant commented that he didn’t take very good care of the weapon and made him clean it again before he would accept it. The rifle remained in the arms room as newer Garands had been received just before the unit shipped out to Great Britain to train for the rumored cross-channel invasion. Rifle #123456 along with three other rifles (serial numbers 345681, 199098, and 333598) were shipped to the Hartford Ordnance District depot on February 12, 1944 for storage and subsequent disposition and arrived at the facility on March 3, 1944. Your rifle was cleaned by a part-time worker, Phil Hendershot (middle name not known) and put back into storage where it remained until after the war. On March 7, 1946, your rifle, along with several hundred others in storage at the Hartford OD, were sent to Raritan Arsenal for inspection and overhaul where they arrived on March 15. In an amazing coincidence, Pvt. Duckworth was discharged from the Army from the Army the same day in the same state (New Jersey). The rifle was logged into Raritan’s records the following day and on March 17, it was one of the rifles assigned to Armory worker Ralph Waldo Fosdick for inspection and refurbishment. Fosdick, a native of Troy, New York, had worked at the Raritan for about a year and a half was glad he was able to miss getting drafted. As Fosdick looked at the rifle he muttered, “Gee, what idiot had this rifle? The stock looks like a fencepost and the barrel a sewer pipe.” Fosdick rebarrelled the rifle and replaced the stock along with some worn springs. He stamped the stock with a “RA-P” inspection stamp. He had always been curious about the letters and guessed that the “RA” meant Raritan Arsenal but couldn’t figure out what the “P” mean until somebody told him it was the initial of his boss, Harry Petersen. When preparing to send the rifle to the warehouse for storage, he accidentally bumped it on the side of the rack which is why you see that 2 ¼ “ ding on the left side, below the stock ferrule (assuming you haven’t sanded it out yet). Fosdick looked around to make sure no one else saw what happened and the rifle was sent to the “cosmoline room” (Fosdick pitied the poor schmucks who worked there) before being sent to the warehouse where it remained until May 5, 1951. This rifle, and 671 other M1s, were shipped to Benicia Arsenal for possible use in Korea. The rifles, including yours, arrived in California on June 1, 1951 where they were sent to the storage facility there after being logged in by Arsenal employee Selma Frump. As events transpired, the rifles were never issued and remained in storage at Benicia until August 15, 1961 when they were ordered to be transferred to Anniston Army Depot. As these rifles, including #123456, had been unused since being overhauled at Raritan they didn’t require any work and were logged into Anniston upon arrival in Alabama by Depot employee Lester F. Myers who dutifully checked the serial number and general condition of the rifle. Since it was covered with cosmoline and was slippery, Myers accidentally dropped the rifle on the concrete floor which is why the buttplate is indented a bit . He shrugged and then picked up the rifle and placed it in a wooden crate along with hundreds of others for long-term storage. The rifle remained in storage at Anniston until January 18, 1999 when it was acquired by the Civilian Marksmanship Program for sale to qualified purchasers. CMP armorer Wesley G. Rogers cleaned and degreased the rifle and inspected it for functioning, etc. and it was placed in the “sale rack.” The rifle selected to fill an order by Clark W. Griswold of Brokeback, Texas on April 16, 2000. He used his income tax refund to buy the rifle which seriously ticked off his wife who wanted new drapes for the living room. Griswold had to sleep on the couch for a few days until he wised up and sent her some flowers which got him out of the doghouse. He received the rifle on May 7, 2000 at 5:33 PM and eagerly opened the FedEx box. Upon examining the rifle, he was a bit disappointed as he had hoped to have gotten lucky and received a M1 still remaining in its WWII configuration rather than the usual post-war rebuild. He took the rifle to the local range and fired 4 clips at the target with mediocre results and took the rifle back home and gave it a cursory cleaning. After getting fed up with his wife’s constant complaining about the old drapes, he took the rifle to the Dallas Market Hall Gun Show on September 18, 2000 to sell it and stop the old bag’s (excuse me…”concerned spouse’s”) incessant nagging. The rifle was bought by Doug Surpie, a part-time gun dealer and flea market merchant for $75.00 more than it originally cost Griswold. On October 5, 2000, Surpie had the rifle on his table at the local gun show in your town. Dan Stickett saw the rifle and wanted to buy it but only had a personal check which was refused (which is a good thing as it would have bounced as he only had $14.31 available in his account at that time). Several other people at the show looked at the rifle until you came along at 11:47 AM and bought it after haggling $25.00 off the price, giving Surpie a total profit on the rifle of $175.00 (some of which went to buy watered-down soft drinks, stale nachos and a greasy barbeque sandwich at the gun show concession stand). I apologize for not having any information on Pvt. Duckworth’s E.R.A. when he pitched in high school or Phil Hendershot’s middle name. Regardless, I still hope the above thumbnail sketch of your rifle’s history is of some interest to you. Please let me know if you require any additional information regarding your rifle as time didn’t permit me to fully research the weapon so I could give you a more detailed response. Best wishes.” OK, I guess this proves that I occasionally have too much time on my hands. Anyway, if such a scenario could happen (yea, right!), we would have an answer to the age-old collector wish….”If this old gun could only talk.” In the case of M1 rifle #123456, somebody would quickly tell it to shut up.
The Economy, Politics and I’ve had a lot of friends and acquaintances ask me my thoughts about the current economic woes in the country and the impact on our collections and/or gun-owning in general. While I don’t follow current trends as much as I used to, I still try to keep tabs on the general condition of the collector market. From what I can determine, prices have pretty much stabilized across the board and the tremendous upward surge evident over the past few years has slowed, if not stopped, at least for a while. Also, even nice pieces are staying on the market longer than in the past but most eventually sell assuming they are genuine and prices are realistic. On the other hand, I haven’t seen a noticeable retrenchment in prices so, overall, the values of our collections shouldn’t be markedly less than they were a year ago. However, don’t be expecting double-digit annual increases in price for the foreseeable future. A lot of collectors are in a “holding pattern.” Some potential sellers are choosing to hang on to their stuff for now and are waiting for the price increases to resume at some point in the future. On the other hand, some potential buyers are cautiously waiting on the sidelines to see if prices start to fall before they jump in with open checkbook. While quality collectibles have held their value better than many other assets such as real estate, stocks, bonds, etc., they have always been a bit illiquid, thus aren’t always convertible to cash instantly. Unless you are faced with financial challenges that require liquidation of your collections, I would advise holding pat unless you have some compelling reason to do otherwise. There seem to be two primary reasons why some guys are mulling over selling their collections: (1) The collectible market is going to collapse and they fear they may not get twenty-five cents (or whatever figure you want to plug in) on the dollar for their prized martial arms.
(2) They fear increased government interference and the possibility of confiscation or severe restrictions on gun ownership in general. Let’s take a brief look at #1… It is my opinion that you should not engage in “panic selling” because you fear that the collectible market will collapse. As I mentioned, prices for quality Now a not-so-brief discussion of #2: First, not to put too fine a point on things, in November, 2008, our nation elected the most virulent statist we’ve ever seen as president (I refuse to capitalize “president” in this instance), not to mention the least known and most singularly unqualified person to ever hold the office. His political agenda is straight out of Das Kapital and I fear we’ve only seen the beginning. I won’t go into the litany of problems this clown has created and will continue to create, but will concentrate (so far as I can) on how his absurd, misguided and dangerous Marxist policies may affect gun ownership in general and martial arms collecting in particular. He has achieved what I thought impossible…he makes Jimmy Carter look competent, makes Bill Clinton appear to be a paragon of truth-telling, makes Barney Frank look macho and makes Fidel Castro look moderate. Regarding the outright confiscation of firearms in this country, I think the Chairman and his reprehensible henchmen have larger fish to fry for the time being than coming after our guns. However, don’t get lulled into a false sense of security because if he remains in office, it will only be a matter of time before the anti-gun kooks in his party will force his hand to “do something” about the “gun problem” (whatever the heck that is supposed to mean). I don’t think an outright ban on firearms will be proposed anytime soon. The 2008 Supreme Court decision (albeit by only a 5-4 majority) affirming that the 2nd Amendment applies to individuals may prove to be more important than many people realize. It’s frightening to think it could have easily gone the other way which would have made some sort of sweeping ban more likely. Therefore, the Kenyan will probably opt to attack the “problem” on the margins by measures that might appear to be somewhat palatable to those who are uninformed, misguided or merely stupid. The following proposals are reported to be under consideration as methods to restrict or eliminate our Second Amendment rights. Some of them may appear to be a bit outlandish but given what this current administration has proposed for other things thus far, who knows? (1) Require that citizens list the descriptions and serial numbers of guns on their IRS Income Tax Return forms (under penalty of perjury). To quell the hue and cry that would result from gun owners, our Marxist representatives would simply state “Hey, this regulation doesn’t ban guns or restrict gun ownership” so the 2nd Amendment doesn’t apply. The “state” has need of this information and we can require that you provide it, so shut up and comply.” The sad part is, they probably can require it and there would be little we could do given the harsh sanctions that the IRS can inflict with near impunity. If this ever happens, it will only be “Step 1” with more to follow. (2) After we have dutifully complied with #1, the next step may be a “reasonable” tax on each gun. I’ve heard the figure of $50 per gun bandied about. (3) Registration of each gun could be done later or as a part of #1 or #2 above. (4) Another proposal that has been suggested is a heavy tax on ammunition. After all, guns are of little use without ammo. Again, their rationale is probably that they aren’t restricting gun ownership by doing this. Talk about being disingenuous! (5) Another proposal that has been mentioned in a hallowed halls of Congress (sarcasm intended) is to require that all bullets (projectiles, not cartridge cases) manufactured be micro-etched with a serial number and that the serial numbers be recorded in a central database just like firearm serial numbers. I’m not making this up. Their “logic” is that crimes could be solved because a recovered bullet could be traced back to its original “owner.” I won’t insult your intelligence by pointing out how many absurdities this proposal contains as I’m sure you can think of many. (6) One other proposal that has been suggested is treating all firearms in the same manner as Class III weapons today (machine guns and destructive devices) with all the onerous paperwork that would entail. They would likely attempt to make the case that this has been the law for over 75 years for machine guns, etc. and if it’s good enough for such weapons, its good enough for all firearms. I’m sure there will be more proposals forthcoming. The best thing we can do as gun owners and loyal Americans is to lean on our elected representatives to do the right thing and, if they won’t, throw them out of office and elect senators and congressmen who will properly represent our rights. With the way the current administration is over playing its hand on many issues, conservatives (assuming they start acting like conservatives) will have a golden opportunity to take back some of the House and Senate seats in the mid-term elections in 2010 and the White House in 2012. I didn’t intend for this posting to be so verbose and do not intend for this site to become another political rant blog. However, the future of our collecting hobby and politics are inexorably linked and we should always keep that fact in mind when we are considering our voting choices and campaign contributions. Also, as a final “plug,” while few of us agree 100% with everything the NRA does, it still remains our most potent lobbying force and any gun owner would be foolish to not support this organization. I will sum up this discussion in two brief phrases:
(1) Hang on to your guns. (2) Don’t vote Democrat. The “I vividly remember something that never happened” Syndrome. (Posted July 9, 2009) As I’ve researched my books and articles over the years or have interviewed veterans regarding the weapons they may have used while in service, there is one phenomenon that I’ve encountered with surprising frequency. Basically, this “Syndrome” involves veterans insisting that they saw, or were issued, weapons that never existed. Are they lying? I don’t think so. In virtually all cases, I am absolutely convinced that the gentlemen in question sincerely believe what they are saying is true. I may have touched on this topic in a posting on one of my previous “Canfield’s Corner” columns but I am prompted to revisit it again because of recent events. I recently did a “Q&A” in American Rifleman regarding an inquiry about a M3 submachine gun purportedly made by American Can Company. As I explained in this article, the ONLY makers of the M3 and M3A1 submachine guns were the Guide Lamp Division of General Motors (M3 and M3A1 in World War II) and the Ithaca Gun Company (M3A1 in the mid-1950s). The American Can Company (or any other entity) did not make the weapon for the I initially thought I had conclusively made the point I was trying to make but, boy, was I wrong. The American Rifleman staff forwarded me several letters from readers who wanted to “correct” my mistakes. One gentleman absolutely insisted that he had a M3 submachine gun in In the course of a subsequent conversation with Mark Keefe, editor of American Rifleman, we discussed this phenomenon and found it to be a bit puzzling and somewhat amusing. Mark had the former head of Colt’s M16 program (who unquestionably knows more than anyone else about the subject) write a brief letter stating, unequivocally, that the Mattel company most assuredly did not manufacture M16 rifles or any parts for the weapon. He pointed out that Mattel did make a really neat toy M16 rifle in the late 1960s and postulated that was perhaps what got some people confused! That's probably not going to go over very well with some of these guys when Mark prints it in the magazine. This situation is, by no means, confined to American Can M3 submachine guns or Mattel M16 rifles. Over the years, I’ve heard similar claims regarding Singer M1 carbines and/or M1 rifles, Remington M1 rifles, Universal M1 carbines being used during the D-Day invasion and M1903 rifles chambered for In closing, there is another humorous aspect to this topic. Not long ago after my Q&A appeared, a friend forwarded me a digital image of a M16 rifle receiver with the name “Mattel Toy Co.” boldly stamped thereon. It looked very realistic and very impressive but it took me about two seconds to remember that my friend is a wiz with Photo Shop. It’s amazing what that software can do in the hands of an expert such as my twisted friend! I messaged him back that I am embarrassed and stand humbly corrected and that he needs to do a book on such esoteric weapons as the Singer M1, American Can M3, Mattel M16 and myriad others profusely illustrated with such expertly rendered markings. Boy, would that mess with a lot of guys’ minds! After all, if you see it in a book, it must be true. The “I vividly remember something that never happened syndrome” – Part Deux (Posted 7-27-09) One of the things I missed when I temporarily suspended postings on this forum was feedback from readers who had opinions, positive and negative, about my ruminations here. Well, it didn’t take long for someone who read my observations about individuals vividly remembering things that never happened to chime in. A gentleman who stated he served in the Marines in the late 70s attempted to take me to task about my (as he put it) “…blowing off a fascinating piece of history…” by my "erroneous" assertions that the Mattel Company never made the M16 rifle or any parts for the weapon. He also apparently felt that my use of the term “syndrome” to describe this phenomenon meant that I believe such persons are “senile” or “nuts” (his words) despite my prior explanations to the contrary. I politely responded to his e-mail and suggested that he take a look at the current issue of American Rifleman magazine as it contained the brief article I alluded to previously written by the former head of Colt’s M16 production program who, in no uncertain terms, confirmed my initial “Q&A” response in the magazine. I thought this would probably satisfy the gentleman and give him pause to reconsider his opinions but he responded by stating that such a “…summary dismissal ” was exactly the attitude he didn’t like and closed by saying that “…It seems that I am going to have to put this one together somehow. Not my imagination.” It appears that this situation regarding vivid memories of non-events may be even deeper-rooted than I realized. Perhaps this “syndrome” is old hat to the psychologist or psychiatrist but, as a layman, I still find it a bit surprising that some individuals are absolutely 100% convinced that they saw something that could not, and did not, exist. I know we all have, at times, thought something was correct and later discovered we were in error. In such cases, when presented with evidence to the contrary, we realized we were incorrect and chalked it up as a learning experience. This has certainly happened to me on numerous occasions. However, for the guys who swear they saw something that is actually mythical in nature, all the proof in the world often won’t convince them of their faulty memories. The human mind is an amazingly complex mechanism and contains mysteries we have not yet fathomed. To stay within the boundaries of this forum, a few comments should be made on the subject of While there are some things regarding On second thought, maybe I shouldn’t summarily dismiss such a claim as I wouldn’t want to overlook a fascinating piece of history. Perhaps the government embarked on an absolutely top-secret program akin to Lockheed’s “Skunk Works” or the Manhattan Project in which Mattel was given a contract to make M16s specifically to arm the fabled “Mouseketeer Battalion” during the Vietnam War. The unit, which the government still won’t acknowledge even today, utilized their caps with mouse ears attached as a form of diabolically clever camouflage although they did experience problems with the overly large white gloves they had to wear along with the uncomfortable shorts with fake tail attached. Surely, such an elite unit wouldn’t be armed with the boring old Colt M16s and needed weapons made by a more familiar entity…who better than Mattel Toy Company?
The I Vividly Remember Something that Never Happened Syndrome” – Part Trois I was going to make my previous posting the last one on this subject, but I just learned something that may, at least partially, explain the origins of the surprisingly widespread myth that Mattel made M16 rifles during the Vietnam War. Two different guys (who both state they are Perhaps there may be a similar explanation for the “Can Company M3” submachine gun but, if so, I haven’t heard it. I suppose it’s possible that a unit armorer with a good sense of humor and too much time on his hands utilized metal stamping dies to embellish the fictitious name on the side of a grease gun or two. It wouldn’t take much effort to stamp “American Can Co." or something of the sort on the rather soft sheet metal body of the M3. However, permanently defacing government property in this manner (as opposed to adding a sticker that could be easily peeled off) would have been frowned on by the armorer’s superiors so I doubt if this would have been the explanation. I still believe the “Can Co M3” was simply the result of a joke that morphed over the years into an indisputable “fact." I’ll try not to add a “Part Quatre” to this topic unless some new information comes to light. Maybe somebody will claim they were issued a Hasbro M16 while in
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