CFS has their not so crappy antique 1893 Turks available again for the low low price of $169 each..

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - CFS has their not so crappy antique 1893 Turks available again for the low low price of $169 each..

Posted: 2/27/2020 7:36:39 PM EDT

So I ordered 3 of them, just for s and g's... If they are reeeealllly crappy, I will send them back, but maybe I might luck out (not likely) and find a half decent one. Keep ya updated!

Posted: 2/27/2020 11:12:56 PM EDT

[#1]

Pics of the few they had in the ad looked pretty decent.

Posted: 2/27/2020 11:30:52 PM EDT

[#2]

MAYBE... I hope that I can assemble one of them into a complete rifle (and if not, source the needed parts from ebay, etc for cheap.... not likely though). using the best bore and headspace bolt to make at least one that is good... Thats how bad I expect these to be... but at worst, they all go back for $50 of shipping and I am out just a couple of sawbacks...

Posted: 2/29/2020 12:25:13 PM EDT

[#3]

Quoted:
So I ordered 3 of them, just for s and g's... If they are reeeealllly crappy, I will send them back, but maybe I might luck out (not likely) and find a half decent one. Keep ya updated!

View Quote

Let us know how they are once you get them i may pick up 2 or 3 if they aren't horrible

Posted: 3/1/2020 5:23:04 PM EDT

[#4]

I'm interested to see how they look. They look to be complete in the ad.

Posted: 3/1/2020 7:54:45 PM EDT

[#5]

Quote History

Quoted:
I'm interested to see how they look. They look to be complete in the ad.

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except for front sight blades

Posted: 3/2/2020 7:51:59 PM EDT

[#6]

They also say no buttplates or upper handguards... just got the shipping notice that they will arrive by Wednesday so pics should be up Wednesday evening (I hope).

Posted: 3/2/2020 9:43:44 PM EDT

[#7]

What would be the mostest bestest headspace gauge to check for general safety.... go, no go, field?

Posted: 3/2/2020 9:44:16 PM EDT

[#8]

What would be the mostest bestest headspace gauge to check for general safety.... go, no go, field? My guess would be field... best brand

Posted: 3/3/2020 10:15:44 AM EDT

[#9]

Quote History

Quoted:
What would be the mostest bestest headspace gauge to check for general safety.... go, no go, field? My guess would be field... best brand

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I'd say field and No go but im not positive since I've never bought headspace gauges for a bolt gun

Posted: 3/3/2020 11:23:08 AM EDT

[#10]

I have FIELD and NO-GO guages for a couple of cartridges 8x57mm Mauser & .30-06 Spr. The ones I have are Forster. I don't know that "best" is a thing. Forster is a respected brand.

Posted: 3/3/2020 8:06:23 PM EDT

[#11]

I ordered a field gauge (forsters) for the headspace check... I also have a Mexican mauser that needs its headspace checked as well, so its a good investment anyway, regardless how the turks work out.

Posted: 3/4/2020 12:27:26 PM EDT

[#12]

Quote History

Quoted:
I ordered a field gauge (forsters) for the headspace check... I also have a Mexican mauser that needs its headspace checked as well, so its a good investment anyway, regardless how the turks work out.

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I thought Mexican Mausers were usually in 7x57 instead of 8x57 like the Turks? I think those are two different guages.

https://www.amazon.com/Headspace-Gauge-8x57-Mauser-NO/dp/B006G4FV1M
https://www.amazon.com/Headspace-Gauge-Mauser-Roberts-Field/dp/B004LHHL3M

Posted: 3/4/2020 5:16:18 PM EDT

[#13]

Quote History

Quoted:

I thought Mexican Mausers were usually in 7x57 instead of 8x57 like the Turks? I think those are two different guages.

https://www.amazon.com/Headspace-Gauge-8x57-Mauser-NO/dp/B006G4FV1M
https://www.amazon.com/Headspace-Gauge-Mauser-Roberts-Field/dp/B004LHHL3M

View Quote

Correct, a Mexican Mauser will be 7x57 caliber, not 8x57

Posted: 3/4/2020 5:18:37 PM EDT

[#14]

I have an El Coruna one that is marked 8mm from CAI on the import mark and probably isn't 8mm. I actually think its 30-06, but I don't know for sure.

Posted: 3/5/2020 4:26:22 PM EDT

[#15]

Ok! A nice update but no pics until later... All 3 arrived in some one the worst packing jobs ever! Cardboard was ripped open and you could reach into the box and handle the rifles...UGH! Anyway, they were complete with front sights, upper handguards, buttplates, and cleaning rods. Bores seemed strong with pronounced rifling. Headspace will be checked as soon as I get the gauge from Midway, but the 3 bolts that were included separately were obviously not matching to the rifles but were themselves complete. One rifle had decent exterior finish, one had so-so finish, and the third is covered in flash rust over all of the metal surfaces. All of the rifles have cracked stocks at the wrist by the bolt handle cut out and one has a big chunk crack at the toe. They are all recoverable though with pins and Acraglas, so no real worries there. One of the stocks has some nice tiger stripe so that will be the first to get worked on... Overall, not bad!

Posted: 3/5/2020 6:21:38 PM EDT

[#16]

Quote History

Quoted:
Ok! A nice update but no pics until later... All 3 arrived in some one the worst packing jobs ever! Cardboard was ripped open and you could reach into the box and handle the rifles...UGH! Anyway, they were complete with front sights, upper handguards, buttplates, and cleaning rods. Bores seemed strong with pronounced rifling. Headspace will be checked as soon as I get the gauge from Midway, but the 3 bolts that were included separately were obviously not matching to the rifles but were themselves complete. One rifle had decent exterior finish, one had so-so finish, and the third is covered in flash rust over all of the metal surfaces. All of the rifles have cracked stocks at the wrist by the bolt handle cut out and one has a big chunk crack at the toe. They are all recoverable though with pins and Acraglas, so no real worries there. One of the stocks has some nice tiger stripe so that will be the first to get worked on... Overall, not bad!

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Pics please. I'm really thinking about ordering 2 of these

Posted: 3/5/2020 7:49:51 PM EDT

[#17]

Hello,

Are these large ring or small ring actions? Thinking of one for a rhineland arms conversion.

Thanks,
Norm

Posted: 3/5/2020 8:45:53 PM EDT

[#18]

Ok here you go... some pics are bad, some are really bad, but some are decent... If you want more... let me know, but I can't promise they will be any better than what I have taken already... remember that I haven't head spaced any of the rifles yet so I don't really know if they are any good... so there's that. Anyway, onwards and downwards...

Posted: 3/5/2020 8:47:58 PM EDT

[#19]

more pics...

Posted: 3/5/2020 8:49:25 PM EDT

[#20]

Finally a decent bore pic...

You can also see in this pic the crack in the wrist though....

Posted: 3/5/2020 8:53:15 PM EDT

[#21]

As you can see, the bores are actually pretty decent, headspace is the issue though, all 3 of the rifles had headspace tags on them that listed the measurements of the headspace, but it meant nothing to me... eg... HS is .012, HS is .010, etc...

I think that as long as it either doesn't close on the field gauge, or has a bit of pressure to close, I am good, but just don't count on being able to reload brass.

Posted: 3/5/2020 10:29:59 PM EDT

[#22]

Quote History

Quoted:
As you can see, the bores are actually pretty decent, headspace is the issue though, all 3 of the rifles had headspace tags on them that listed the measurements of the headspace, but it meant nothing to me... eg... HS is .012, HS is .010, etc...

I think that as long as it either doesn't close on the field gauge, or has a bit of pressure to close, I am good, but just don't count on being able to reload brass.

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Ive got an old Mixmaster Spanish mauser that I never bothered to check headspace on but the brass is fine that comes out of it so im sure you'll be ok on brass.
Edit Thanks for the pics those actually look like fairly decent shape rifles for 169

Posted: 3/5/2020 10:47:13 PM EDT

[#23]

here are a couple of pics of the very rusty LOOKING bolt that was supplied with the rifles.... It cleaned up pretty nicely...

Posted: 3/5/2020 11:03:57 PM EDT

[#24]

You really want to know what the most messed up thing is? I bought one back in 1991 off of a local guy for the grand total of $60.... It was bubbaed with a weird polyurethane finish on the stock, but no mods to the metal.... sold long ago but always wanted another as a beater Mauser.... I guess this kinda fixes that need...The bore on these actually exceeds the original I had, so somewhat... I win, maybe....

Posted: 3/5/2020 11:11:56 PM EDT

[#25]

How'd you go about cleaning them up and getting the rust off?

Posted: 3/5/2020 11:51:55 PM EDT

[#26]

simple...elbow grease...not that my elbows are very effective anymore....

Posted: 3/6/2020 12:03:57 AM EDT

[#27]

Back in the day somebody had a write up about headspace guages and the 8x57.
Seems everyone that did a 8mm had a slightly different shoulder angle or something.
My Forster nogo will not fit in some and in others it will.
And the ones it will fit in take tighter ammo. {resized fired cases}
So as long as your field bairly fits they should be fine I would hope.

I have two Turks but they are large rings.
Now I might have to go look at them.
I may have a take off stock collecting dust.

Posted: 3/6/2020 1:17:15 AM EDT

[#28]

Yeah, I thought about the chamber variations over the years. but at least I am in range of a factor of safety with using the field gauge... kinda funny, never used one before, but this set of rifles pretty much demands it in my opinion

Posted: 3/6/2020 3:03:35 PM EDT

[#29]

Those definitely look rougher than the ones I got 10-15 years ago but at $169 these days not bad. It is tempting to buy a few more, but I really don't need them.

Posted: 3/6/2020 3:11:44 PM EDT

[#30]

Well i ordered 2 of these this morning so we'll see if mine turn out to be decent like OP or if mine end up being dogs.

Posted: 3/6/2020 9:04:14 PM EDT

[#31]

I bought one, we shall see

Posted: 3/11/2020 9:03:45 PM EDT

[#32]

I ordered two.

Both were manufactured from 1894 to 1895 and refurbished by the Turks in 1937. One was still wearing a Springfield Sporters tag. Rifling is present, but I have not run a patch through yet to check condition. Both stocks are still in one piece, but cracks are present. Handguards looked good at first glance. Nothing appears missing, but the magazine follower on one was not smooth, and the other had been patched with a wood Dutchman alongside the receiver.

The good news: The one with the best stock also came with a matching bolt!

The 1894 date is marked in Eastern Arabic on the left side of the receiver as 1312. The Arabic calendar is lunar and does not match our calendar. Arabic year 1312 ran from July 5, 1894 to Jun 23, 1985. You can decode Eastern Arabic here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Arabic_numerals, and you can translate the Arabic year to our Gregorian calendar here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Islamic_years

Posted: 3/11/2020 10:24:02 PM EDT

[#33]

The first one I disassembled had a barrel tag the said bad barrel.... Well, It had a serious rust spot around halfway down the length of the barrel... solvents and 0000 fine steel wool couldn't get rid of it so I applied my magic elixir of evaporust by sealing the barrel at the muzzle with a wine cork (I know, I know) but it worked... 2 days later, the synthetic cork was inundated with rust and the bore was completely free of rust.... but not dirt... That required and still requires more cleaning, but at least its shootable with pronounced rifling and relatively clean lands. Headspace field gauge is scheduled for delivery tomorrow so we will see if any of the bolts supplied will work with the actions.

On a brighter note... I got the Acraglas and brass stock repair pins from Brownell in a very timely manner and I will spend the next few weeks repairing the stock from the cracks and chips and replacement pieces... The stock has a beautiful tiger stripe on the forearm, so I don't want to give up on it yet.... gonna set up some pics of the before and after soon... this weekend possibly.

Need some advice though... with an oil soaked stock, what's the best way to leech out the oil soaked into the stock without damaging the wood?

Posted: 3/12/2020 6:00:10 PM EDT

[#34]

Quote History

Quoted:

Need some advice though... with an oil soaked stock, what's the best way to leech out the oil soaked into the stock without damaging the wood?

View Quote

Heat. Trash bag and dashboard on hot days, build a cosmo cannon, heat gun. Depends on how much time and effort you want to invest.

Posted: 3/12/2020 6:20:20 PM EDT

[#35]

Well the shipping notice says both of mine should arrive Saturday so we'll see how good they are. Also does anyone in central PA have 8mm headspace gauges I can borrow to check these out.

Posted: 3/12/2020 7:22:23 PM EDT

[#36]

I just got my field gauge from Midway today and I checked the HS on the 1st one I tore down... All 3 bolts do NOT close on the gauge so this one is good to go! PM me if you want to borrow the gauge, all I ask for in return that you send it back as soon as you are done.

Posted: 3/14/2020 1:52:49 PM EDT

[#37]

Well i just unboxed them both. Both are missing the front sights and have very badly cracked stocks both on the left side in between the trigger guard and receiver. otherwise one looks to be in pretty nice shape and the other seems to have a fair amount of light rust oozing out from under the stock. The rusty one was also packaged with a bolt with cut down safety. Bores seemed to be fairly decent dark with strong rifling. Now i've just got to clean them up fix the stocks and check headspacing.

Posted: 3/26/2020 7:04:44 PM EDT

[#38]

here are some of the pics from the 1st one that had the best grain but the worst stock damage (with whole pieces broken off). I figured that if I couldn't fix this one, I couldn't fix any of them... FWIW... Sorry for the lack of before pics, but I wasn't really hopeful that it would come out OK. As it turned out, things worked out pretty good. You can barely see the cracks in the area around the bolt turn down area, and the entire toe stock repair is near invisible. Used Acraglas and stock repair pins from Brownells, and they worked beautifully (thanks, Brownell's). Anyway, here's some pics!

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - CFS has their not so crappy antique 1893 Turks available again for the low low price of $169 each..

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