#m1891

Remington Model of 1891 

Carcano m1891 

The backbone of the Italian army for a very long time the m1891 survived all the way into WWII. This rifle shows signs of being refurbished during the WWII era. It has a replacement barrel, and the bolt is a Rocca, evidence of late war era refurbishment. 

1. My fucking shoulder

2. Because of its weight the righthand bolt isn't negligible as a lefty shooter. I have to put down the rifle to cycle the action

3. Haha BANG Russian Sniper Caliber

A rant follows... my apologies...

So I live in DC, not exactly a place known for straightforward gun laws. But I've made do nevertheless by getting a C+R to simplify the process (since that is all I buy anyways) and cultivating a small arsenal. I've bought a half-dozen guns with it, and while I've been used to the quizzical looks, I've never had a problem. Until now.

A very nice looking M1891 Argentine Mauser immediately caught my eye at Cabela's today. Early run serial - matching, amazingly solid rifling, almost no external rust, and while the stock had been refinished, whoever did it did an excellent job, and managed to not degrade the original cartouches in the wood. The crest was filed off, but apparently almost any M1891 you get in the states has that, so it wasn't really a big deal. Wanted to buy it. Two reasons I couldn't get it. The second, while I've expected to run into it eventually, was their total inability to believe that I can in fact buy a gun despite living in DC, even with a C+R (I in fact can, having verified with both the City and the ATF, but they need further proof beyond my explanations, and as I am not sticking around town, I just don't have the time to go about getting it). The first part was the mind boggling one. It is an antique firearm. It was made in 1893 according to the serial range. But they refused to accept that it was in fact an antique without papers that accompanied the gun and certified it as such. And before we even got to the "can you buy this being from DC part" I had to convince them it was even C+R eligible. The M1891 was not on any list of C+R approved firearms (because it was an antique) so for quite a time, they were saying it wasn't even C+R eligible, but by extension, means they were implying the gun was made no earlier than 1963....

Well, no more gun shopping at Cabela's...