| kuduae |
| (.400 member) |
| 13/03/24 06:13 AM |
Re: Help with Identification of this 8x57
|
Quote:
In my post you said the B meant made by BRNO. Ive search the net and cant seem to find that anywhere because Id like to be able to prove that.
And is there anything else you might be able to tell me about this rifle.
I understand you are saying it was made by BRNO but with Mauser Oberndorf tooling purchased after WW1.
have I understood that correctly?
Also what might the number 219 after the B mean?
B219: Letter prefix serial numbers of this form are typical for the 1920s CZ Brno made Mauser rifles, see Ball’s book on Military Mausers.
Until 1918 Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia were parts of the Austro – Hungarian empire. The military depended on the small-arms factories in Steyr and Budapest. So the new founded Czechoslovakia was without any military smallarms factory of their own. At the same time, 1919 – 20, it became obvious that the German arms industry was to be abolished by the Versailles so-called “peace treaty”. Instead of awaiting destruction by the allied disarmament commissions, Mauser Oberndorf sold machines, tools, blueprints and remaining parts to the Czech republic. This package was transferred to Brno where the CZ small arms factory was founded. Even some former Mauser engineers were hired to get production running. In 1922 military rifle production started, not for Czech domestic use only, but for export worldwide too. CZ also made some sporting Mausers to test the market for civilian use and export. Your rifle is one of those very early and rare CZ made sporters.