Adventures in Surplus: Chromed Argentine 1891 Parade Rifle
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When I got this Model 1891 Argentine rifle, I assumed it was the unfortunately result of someone's experimenting with chrome plating parts. All the small parts are chromed and then heavily worn, while the barrel and receiver remain blued. Frankly, I think it looks awful, but it was in the lot with the Kar98a that I really wanted - such is the nature of lots. Anyway, when I started doing some reading, I found that a number of other people have Argentine Mausers in a similar condition. While there is no documentary proof, it is widely surmised that these were chromed for use as drill or parade rifles by the Argentine Navy. This would explain their condition and why they were surplussed only in the last couple decades. It's a great example of why you shouldn't make assumptions about something until you are really sure...
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Trust Ian to find something interesting about a rifle that he initially dismissed as junk.
Even "junk" can have a history, and history is Ian's forte.
@@lairdcummings9092 thats for sure. History is definitely his bread and butter when it comes to all firearms
to Gun Jesus, all *historical rifles are precious
edit*
All gats bright and beautiful, all firearms great and small, all systems weird and wonderful, Gun Jesus loves them all!
HAVE FAITH IN GUN JESUS HEATHEN
-Something finally from my country
-Ian: "It's basically junk"
lmao, got my hopes up for nothing
References to how things work with parade rifles, with parade rifles getting beat-up well. And most things after hard use, become beat-up, with curios and relics involving things other than antiques.
También hizo la ballester Molina, la hafdasa Ballester campeón y la hafdasa HA
Dejo los links por si no los viste:
czcams.com/video/O-AWJRhZMdU/video.html
czcams.com/video/CnZLIhVprSo/video.html
czcams.com/video/YycCl-vfAEM/video.html
the argentine mauser was not made in argentina it was made in germany then it was shipped to argentina. the argentine mauser is a great rifle since it was made before 1898 therefore it is an antique and does not need an FFL to purchase. and despite what ian the gun guy says i think these rifles are beautiful guns.
Yes it is a drill parade rifle, it should come with a crome bayonet too all and the scabard crome with the frog in white,, I am Uruguayan and here we have the same with some old mauser 98 that are still in use for drill, parade for the military schooll and the reg Florida batallion has allso crome plated mausers they are the históric legislature palace guard.
LUIS ANTOLA FRANCIS and I thought I was the only uruguayan watching...
Saludos!
@@-few-fernando11 can you explain why Suarez keeps biting people?
@@-few-fernando11 Saludos de los estados unidos!
Gun Jesus has blessed you 🙏
@@cardiffpicker1 We like to bite humans, i mean, what?
Petition to make "Adventures in surplus" a standalone show with a really goofy title sequence
Definitely a good idea.
How much more patreon money does he need to do it? I'd definetly be down for that.
many years ago a friend and I used to drive around looking for gun shops to peruse... we considered filming ourselves and calling it "Quest For Fire(Arms)"
@@WIRRUZZZ I suspect it's a matter of no time to do it.
I definitely appreciate these almost as much as the regular and "How and why" videos we get occasionally.
In the arms collecting system, unique oddball weapons are considered especially valuable.
In Arizona, the dedicated detectives who investigate these extraordinary firearms are members of an elite squad known as the Forgotten Weapons unit. These are their stories.
Dun dun
MenwithHill I think we now have the text and sound effects for the voiceover for the next episodes of adventures in surplus!
*giggles*
Definitely needs a recognisable rifle sound for the dun dun. A bolt being cycled, maybe.
This rifle is the star of Adventures in Surplus, because it’s the history of the gun not the model
Benjamin Clayton and not just the history of this gun but evidence of just how military’s use there guns. Not just for the obvious. Very cool
A unknown firearm once likely used by military parades with no documentation? Sounds like a true "forgotten weapon"
I'm Argentino (yeap) and these are still in use for ceremonial acts or parades
They are still used for parades (model 1909 mostly) and are chromed
I'm certain that this rifle would be quite a looker fresh off the line.
shiny shiny
"She likes chrome"
Worn nickel plating is patina. I'd buy this gun for deer or boar hunting if I was a hunter (I'm not), and I liked the 1891 (I don't).
The point is that it is not hideously ugly like Ian states.
My grandfather had a sporterized 1891 he picked up sometime in the 60's. It used to hang on the wall of his den. Sure it isn't worth anything, especially not to serious collectors, but as a kid, taking that old rifle down and looking at the mechanics, learning how they all work and fit together, really sparked my interest in firearms.
Even "junk" rifles (or in this case not quite junk) are important. Thank you for the video and the fond memory.
Old sporterized rifles are kind of interesting to me, even though it makes me sad to see a cool piece of history made a less cool piece of history
I love random ass surplus rifles, there’s so much behind why they were designed the way they were and it fascinates me. One of the reasons I love this channel
Same story except mine was an 1895 Chilean Mauser haha - sparked my interest in becoming an engineer and in fact I joined the navy because of it haha
I also have a sporterized 1891, and have used it to put deer in the freezer. It's accurate even with custom open sights, and 7.65 Argentine hits like a .308 Win. The stock is effectively Mannlicher (since the barrel was cut down) carved with acorns and oak leaves, excellent checkering, a butterknife bolt handle, and a very slick action. Someone put a lot of love into it.
@@a.hollins8691 generally it means it's been modified from it's original military configuration into something more suitable for hunting (sporting). Often this includes shortening the barrel, re-profiling the stock or hand guards, modifying the bolt handle, adding telescopic sights, etc. You get the idea. It was common with a lot of very cheap imported surplus rifles throughout the years.
I own this rifle. It shoots great and I love it. I have Ian's signed Authentication for it. Bought it the second I saw it. An amazing part of history.
There are people who love hairless cats so there is definitely somebody somewhere who would love how that rifle looks.
@Christie Malry I am an hairless cat, i'not related with any parade rifle
I don't like hairless cats, Maine Coon Gang for life, but I think this thing probably looked quite nice new.
Having seen some of Ian's stuff, I have no idea why he finds an 1891 Parade ugly...
@@dzejrid I like boneless rifles and lubricated cats
So, I like the contrast, however. On THIS rifle, no.
Of course they love hairless cats! Have you ever tried to eat one with the hair still on it?
This is Ian version of Unboxing mixed with "Look what i got" aaaand i love it
Agreed, the only unboxing I have sat thru! Lol
That Refinishing was done so long ago so that one day future generations would discover by looking at the bolt body that Ian in fact does possess a ceiling fan!
I've been waiting for an Argentine Mauser Video for so long! This rifle specifically is so cool. My first rifle that I ever bought was a surplus Argentine Mauser. It's an original modification with all matching serial numbers. It even has the brass tip cleaning rod still.
Wow! Hi there, I´m argentine, I´ve heard of chromed plated Mauser rifles, but I´ve never seen one, because they had been all sold to U.S.A. apparently. An old Army Engineer Officer once told me that some people chromed Mauser rifles in the wrong way, presumably the interior of the chamber, these rifles were intended for parade only since they looked "nice and shiny" and were not meant to be shot, which unfortunately happened, resulting in the bolt flying backwards and sending the shooter to the hospital. I hope this history results helpfull to understand the background of the rifle.
It's highly unlikely that the bolt would blow out. If anything it wouldn't chamber a round with chrome plating in the chamber. If it did it would be tight and upon firing the case would just get stuck. It would take an impressive over charge of powder to blow the bolt out of one of these.
@@kylemichaels3373 I remember two really old gunsmiths disscussion about this incident, which happened in Córdoba in the ´90, one of them said that probably the front of the bolt was chrome plated thus causing overpressure since the headspace had changed, the other gunsmith beleived that probably the bullet had cordite, which in time breaks and creates much more deflagration surface thus causing overpressure. Both gunsmith agreed in one thing, this Mauser rifles were beaten badly, which lead to the conclussion that instead of throw them to the garbage, someone decided to chrome plated these rifles for parades, and they were not meant to be shot without been checked by a professional gunsmith. Once again I hoped these information help to understand the context of Mauser rifles in Argentina.
Hola Juan, estos mausers son de la armada. La armada todavía los sigue usando para desfilar, el bisa y la escuela naval, ejército y fuerza aérea, los siguen teniendo pero son 1909 y no son cromados.
Lo de que el cerrojo saliera volando lo escuché pero el problema es por el tipo de munición.
@@kylemichaels3373 Indeed, the problem with the bolt blowing out is a problem of ammunition, generally from Paraguay
My Great Grandpa bought an Argentine Mauser from G.I Joes in 1964 for $16. He sporterized it, and my grandpa inherited it. I just bought one for $400 in immaculate condition. Still has the crest. Awesome rifles. Thanks for the video Ian! Well done as always!
A customer brought me a horrible looking Ballister-Molina. It looked like it was so worn the gun was almost in the white. Careful disassembly and cleaning revealed a pistol with a hard chrome finish in very good condition. When coupled with other facts (e.g., a lanyard loop, very little bore or parts wear but wear consistent with a long life holstered), we concluded it was a ceremonial gun, likely issued to some guard organization who never shot it, and carried it in a flap holster. When we took it to the range to try it the first shot was dead center in the bullseye and the remaining shots in that magazine were all in the 10-ring. My customer was super happy and continues to shoot it from time to time.
Awesome! But is BALLESTER.
Don't call it grotesque, it is better to say that this rifle has a lot of "character"
very diplomatically put
Ask Quasimodo.
Personality.
She has a good personality.
The East German army had SKS for parades and ceremonial guard duty with a similar chrome pattern (small parts chromed).
Couple years back, saw a lot of chromed Czech SKSs.
@@zacharyrollick6169 If they were indeed Czech then that would have been the vz. 52 rifle instead. Fully chrome plated versions are used for ceremonial purposes by the Prague Castle Guard.
There was some chinese sks's chromed like this that came into Canada recently, theyre drill rifles
www.bullseyelondon.com/chinese-sks-honor-guard-surplus-semi-auto-rifle-7-62x39mm-wood-stock-skschhguard-rifle.html
@@TheDeadfast Yeah, I definitely said the wrong country. The right one escapes me at the moment.
I actually like the chrome bling... call me crazy. There’s something about it. Maybe its just different and thats cool. The history is cool too. Always a great job Ian.
Im from uruguay, we are argentina’s closest neighbors and we do things like those finishes in the guns to use them in military parades... i live in the frontiere, and every august 25th, a bunch of argentinian marines come to town to march dressed kind of like the British red jackets, and they use old rifles
Isn’t Uruguay basically Argentina’s mini-me?
I've been waiting for a video on these rifles! I have a '91 Argentine and was bummed when I couldn't find many detailed videos on them. I love the thing to death and I'm really glad my favorite living gun encyclopedia did a video for it!
I have a photo of my father marching with one of these during his graduation from a Military Academy in Buenos Aires in the mid 50's. I'd ask him if he recognized it (He might have said he'd forgotten as he HATED going there, haha) but he's now not with us any longer.
As a teen I worked in an army surplus store and we had a completely chromed bayonet for the Canadian FAL.
It would be interesting to look at the bolt face to see if the chrome plating is there as well and how much has worn off if so. That might help prove that it was a parade gun in a way if they didn't use it to shoot blanks off. I guess you would have to look into the parades of the day to determine that. Either way I find these extremely odd firearms much more interesting than the standard issue weapons and I think they have a much more intriguing story to tell.
Had to chuckle on this one. When I watched the Rock Island video, and Ian showed this rifle, my 1st thought was "drill team rifle." I am ex-Navy, and the Flying Rifles drill team had M1's that were chromed up. I don't remember the barrel being chrome as Ian mentioned...but it has been a few decades since I saw them.
Good video as usual Ian!
Indeed an Argentine Navy 1891 rifle for honor guards and parades. There are photos of sailors with chromed plated 1891 rifles in honor guard at the 1982 War Memorial in Buenos Aires.
The title I never thought I'd see on a FW video.
*Cue Indiana Jones Music*
Well, this really is a 'Forgotten Weapon' if the origin of the chroming is as Ian described.
Thank you for not shutting down the channel!
back in '59, I bought a mint '91 Argentine, with cleaning rod, for $10 out of a barrel at a 5c & 10c store, and shot it some when I was a kid with my dad. It is at my son's place now, so I can't check the gun for its serial bomber and such. Mine has the crest removed, but is otherwise a mint, unmarred rifle. I bought other guns too, for ten bucks of my lawn mowing money, including MKlll Enfield's and others. I shoot the latter guns. I haven't gotten around to reloading the 7.65 rifle. found a matching bayonets for it at a thrift shop not long ago. NV, in UpState SC
Fascinating! Awful bling rifle turns out to be a rarity.
Not more desirable though.
@@tomcat2395 Wouldn't it be? I suspect labelling it as "Argentine Parade Mauser" would make it much more desirable than "Horrendously chromed by some goofball Argentine Mauser". And there have to be some people who specifically collect parade rifles. I'm not suggesting it's turned out to be a hidden gem multi-thousand dollar rifle but it's definitely gone from ruined gun to interesting historical niche.
@@tomcat2395 More desirable than a failed home project.
@@slaughterround643 rare =/= valuable
Some old decorative rifles are pretty cool. I served on an Honor guard with 1903A3 Springfield rifles. We fired blanks for services, but the rifles had great 4 groove rifling. We cleaned and maintained the rifles perfectly. I remember another young man who wanted to take his rifle deer hunting. He said he just wanted to get a deer with a rifle that old! He never did and the rifles were only about 70 years old back then.
Rifles that have been delegated to drill or Honor guard use are obsolete for military purposes but often the best of the period. They were usually, long ago obsolete so the only reason they were still in inventory was because they were like new!
Great video! Take Care, John
The wear pattern on the magazine is from the inspection performance of drill in revue. With the left hand, grasp the magazine so the fingers are front, thumb is rear, muzzle is to the left. The right hand strokes the bolt open, hence the wear on the ball of the bolt handle.
I'm really enjoying this videos of looking at surplus / C&R guns with a perspective of buying/collecting them today.
He is so happy when he says 'adventures in surplus' it makes me feel lofty inside
Really cool video! I have an argentine mauser cavalry carbine that has regrettably been sporterized, but since it's not all original, I don't have to worry about keeping it original.
Long time viewer, infrequent commenter here. Just wanted to say I'm a huge fan of the "Adventures in surplus" series. Please make it a regular feature.
One of your longer videos and only the briefest mention of the rather nice 7.65x53mm Belgian cartridge. I had an '09 Argentine Mauser (poorly sporterized) for many year and only sold it when ammo reached the $2.00 per round level. Ballistically it seemed to fall right in between the .308 Winchester and the venerable .30-06 even though it isn't a true .30 caliber (0.313 inches). It never failed to drop a whitetail as long as I did my part.
Such a great series. Ian, I'd love to see more of these Adventures in Surplus videos. Right up my alley!
Damn I love these style of videos! Keep this style for some future videos!! Stay safe and keep it up!
I'd almost be tempted to have it "restored" to close to original condition by having everything rechromed.
Uh...NO.
Chroming is rather expensive, so maybe not. The job would probably cost more than the rifle.
That's what I would do
You aren't gonna make it worse anyhow
To each his own, but re-chroming would remove the history. The worn chrome is part of the character. Rifle with an interesting story.
@@roboticrebel4092 That's what I'm thinking, if I'm going to own a drill rifle, might as well get it properly gussied up.
I love that you give us a video in this style from all 4 guns of this lot! Thx!
This may be one of my favorite videos you’ve ever done.
I SWEAR I was just thinking about the few argentinian weapons reviews you have, and THIS pops up! Nice
My LGS that just went out of business had two chrome rolling blocks, but I don't think they were worth anything.
As a side note, I can recommend the Museo De Las Armas next to Plaza San Martin in Buenos Aires. Superb selection of weapons and armours, crammed into a place that should be much bigger (plus, the old chap who was doing the admissions when I visited in 2016 has a fine singing voice and almost charmed my argentinian novia :) )
good morning and greetings from Argentina. most likely, this rifle has been commissioned in the navy and the chrome work has been commissioned to the workshops of this branch. they have a habit of using this type of weapons. especially since the letters are painted white, the army would not have spent on that type of stere, but rather would have chosen better quality leather straps and wooden butts
One firearms book states that the Royal Navy took most of the production of the Lanchester sub-machine gun because it had a brass magazine housing which sailors could be made to polish, so I'm inclined to believe you 100%
@Superdude70 ok meaby i'm wrong whit that, but you can look pictures of the 1910 1rs Argentina century parade, and you will see that the Army branch (granaderos a caballo) use patina Mausers.
@@matthewspencer5086 Argentina and UK have a love to hate you kind relationship. For most of a century Argentina's politics and also militaries form Army and Navy was influiced by UK. Even today in Malvinas war memorial in Buenos Aires, guards From Navy (cadetes de infantes de Marina) use a ceremonial Mauser to wach the monument.
Ian- thanks for putting out such interesting and unique content. Great to escape with your channel during current times.
Keep up the good work Gun Jesus, I'm totally digging the new series!
I just love your dissections of your new-found treasure.
Imagine actually parading with these, everyone would be blind by so many sunlight reflections cast off the magazines!
So my theory is that these were actually standard service rifles. The chroming gives soldiers a last resort blinding weapon in case ammo runs out.
“By the power invested in me by the god of bling: BE GONE FOUL BEAST”
@@wolflegion_ While engraving gives you no tactical advantage whatsoever, chroming does. Intresting . . .
WIRRUZZZ Nice engraving might give the enemy a drooling debuff?
It’s not for bilnding it’s for signaling like the did on warships
You did it again! That's two in a row! :-) got to say, I'm liking the history and I like this series! Well done, Ian!
I really like this little series. Keep up the good work!👍
This kind of stuff is why I love this channel, you're doing the lords work and we thank you for it.
I'm picking up a 7.65x54 'Argentine' Mauser from my local dealer. Excited as I love Mausers along with full stock, bolt action military rifles as I also have a Mark II Enfield that fires .303 British. (My Dad's 14th birthday gift from back in the day when hardware stores would have a barrel of surplus rifles for $10.) My only concern is whether the ammunition is oddball and hard to find. It'll make a fine deer rifle.
Argentina really loved military parades, up untill 37 years ago
JEH
Yeah, because we had
a bunch of military dictatorship
As Argentino I must say that joke is 37 years too soon for us
@@lacolimba2777 it wasn't a joke. It was true. Both in democracy and with the facto governments there were frequent military parades.
As always I'm loving your videos. Keep up the great work.
I have been collecting surplus military rifles for over 20 years. I am very happy you are making this new surplus review series. Thanks Ian . I enjoy your content very much.
Very interesting. Can't wait to hear about the other 2 guns from your lot...
I'd really like to see more of these videos. Its exciting to see what surprises these guns hold.
Hopefully this is enough of a success he gets invited to do promos for other auction houses.
This was quite the Adventure in Surplus!
Really like this type of content Ian. Keep it up please.
"Nobody's collection contains only good stuff." Back in the golden age, when Kenneth Bound edited Mayfair Magazine and the tobacco industry was allowed to subsidise his efforts, my collection of gentleman's literature consisted solely of items I could not bear to throw away. Once Mr Bound retired and the tobacco adverts (I have never smoked and do not intend to start) were replaced by "personal services" and "premium phoneline" adverts, there was nothing that I really wanted to buy in the first place. Not sure how this relates to gun collections, but it might.
Really enjoying these. 1891 is my favorite rifle. Keep them up!
Love this series
thanks for taking the time to find out about this rifle i think it looks great
IMO if the small bits were chromed and the rest blued and oil polished to the nines it would be stunning
Yeah, back in it's day this would have gorgeous after a full army regulation shine job :)
I'm enjoying this format of videos, I hope it stays!
I have one of these - bought it 20 years ago Has the same chrome job. Barrel is kinda rough as used corrosive primed ammo
My serial serial number starts with T series
We had chrome plated WW1 era Springfields with chrome bayonets up to the 1980s as well. The bayonets actually helped balance the rifle while spinning...yeah spinning. Ours did fire blank rounds so I'm force remembering they were not chromed in the action. Surprised at how good it looks as we often broke stocks and forehand guards through aggressive precision.
I love your series titling. I often find myself in unexpected situations and tend to describe them affectionately as "adventures".
It's beautiful in its own way, just like any other weapon
I actually love those ceremonial Mauser rifles.
*Rifle sobbing* "Ian called me ugly...."
@@Taistelukalkkuna my rifle is in a pretty bad situation... it overheard ian calling it a piece of junk. now my rifle is crying so hard... i took my rifle to the therapist and when they saw me i was thrown out the building by a bunch of cops with these ugly ass glocks if i dont pet it and clean it every day tears will drip down the barrel. the poor rifle thinks jesus has disowned it.
This surplus rifle series is awesome, love the random history.
Argentine here, Ian, theres an story that a container of Manlincher 1901 pistols from the army were trown to the ocean after they were decomissioned. But the task was made by civilians, a lot of them well.... were saved from the ocean. I had the chance to shoot one of those in 2002. Also an Fg-42 (yeah you can imagine how reach my country ejeje). We have a lot unique weaponry still going around in our land, also you should check on what wonderful surplus of weapons we used against the british in the Falkland Conflict.
Excellent vid Ian.
I'm really enjoying this mini series; if you want to call it that; I'd love to see more of these videos.
Really digging this series.
I thought there was a little something extra to that rifle when you showed it in the other video. I've ran across one like that before at a show. Not really a looker but a cool Rifle regardless. Keep the great videos coming dude!
More "Adventures in Surplus" - may it become a thing!
This is a great series of videos!
I humbly request 1 video a month in this fashion.
I'm very much enjoying this little series. It would be cool to re-visit this type of content occasionally. I think it's also great content for people just beginning their collections.
My late father had a sporterized one - someone had turned down the bolt. Crests were ground off the receiver, and gouged out of the stock. It had the short handguard. I got to fire it once as a teen, and it was actually a very nice rifle.
Ah, yes, the classic gun look of "Power Rangers toy with paint wearing off"
I am definitely loving this new (mini?)series a lot. Hoping we get some.more of these videos.
wonderful find, history and all with the artifact, it gets no better!
my grandfather was Argentinian.
mille merci, Ian
I had one of these a few years back. Early Ludwig-Loewe production with the short handguard. Numbers matching with an intact crest. Chrome plating was practically perfect. I like you originally figured it was bubbas attempt to chrome plate a rifle until I started looking around online. Guys on milsurp forums argued with me until they were blue in the face that it couldn't have an intact crest because no Argentine mausers have an intact crest. At least not rifles, some carbines but rarely. After I showed them pics I was accused of showing a different rifle. I bought it for $300 and reloaded for it, it shot good and I sold it a bit later for $350.
I hope you get some of these out to the range. Love to see them shoot.
Cool stuff. Thanks for another of these.
lol had a sneaky suspicion when I saw it a lot of old footage shows chromed rifles used by drill/parade teams ,
Very Cool looking Chromed Argentine 1891 Parade Rifle. Thanks for showing it, Gun Jesus !!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is why surplus is fun and not dead. So many different cool niches to dive into.
I love this "series". Absolutely fantastic video.
This was a really great video. A couple years ago I bought a lot of 1891 parts from eBay (had a plan didn’t work out), then this year as everything started going down a found and bought a 1891 that was only missing the magazine (which I of course had). But it sort of dismayed me when I got a wonderful blued rifle and had a chromed mag for it. And the chroming shows the same wear. I was actually really excited when you saw this at the auction I was hoping you’d explain what was going on.
When I was in the R.A.A.F our Sergeants mess had some Lee Enfield's that were chromed for the honor guard colours party. Don't know where they went after the base was closed.
I remember parade drilling (with a #4) was fun. We had this thing, four of us, done around an unmarked square, no verbals, the butt was tapped on tarmac, bounced on wood, lasting about 10 minutes. When I joined the RAF the corporal sent me off to drill fellow recruits who were getting it while he tried to teach remedials- highly unorthodox.
I like firearms that have a story. I own an 1898 Krag carbine that was chromed by a VFW post long ago. It doesn't have any collector value but I like to think about how many funerals and parades it participated in.
Just think of the value of all the videos and info that Ian has put together since starting Forgotten Weapons. Documenting, preserving, disseminating and improving knowledge and understanding of history of any kind is the work of truly great people. Mankind is indebted to people like Ian.
Thanks, I'm enjoying it this series.
It's funny to imagine junk guns endlessly cycling through collectors and auctions. You got the junk gun because it was bundled with the gun you wanted. You die, and your whole collection goes to an auction. Your junk gun is now bundled with a gun somebody actually wants…
Repeat.
Eventually, the junk gun is old and rare enough to be desirable, and gets bundled with a new generation of junk...