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Greek M1903/14 with no crest or manufacturer

JAG2955JAG2955 Member Posts: 3 ✭✭
edited April 2007 in Ask the Experts
So I got a Greek 1903/14 yesterday that had been sporterized at some point in the past. Part of the stock is missing, along with the front band, but what I'd like to know is, why are there no crests, cartouches, manufacturer's name, anything other than the S/N on the receiver?

Was this part of the group that was given back as reparations, or what? The only marking on it is Y:1903/14, and on the side, there is a SN, starting with AA.

I have learned that it was a 1903 style stock, and it has a greek mismatched bolt.

P.S. Is it worth my while to look for another stock for this guy?

Comments

  • nmyersnmyers Member Posts: 16,875 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Haven't a clue what you have there. I think we need to see some photos.

    Neal
  • nononsensenononsense Member Posts: 10,928 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    JAG2955,

    Welcome to the GB forums!

    Why are there no markings or a crest? If you were one of these rifles that had been swapped and traded between countries for as long as this model has been, you might not have any markings either! The better response is that the vast majority of these rifles were admired for the quality and smoothness of the action and magazine so they were "sanitized" to become sporters for thousands of owners after all the conflicts had subsided.

    Here is another little piece of the history:

    "The only nation that bought the rifle was Greece, who, in a bizarre twist of fate, found themselves on the wrong side of the trenches from their main rifle supplier when World War One broke out. By the end of that conflict, Greece was badly short on Mannlicher-Schoenauers, and was making up their losses with captured Austro-Hungarian Steyr-Mannlichers and hand-me-downs from their allies. After the war they needed more rifles, but Steyr was located in the new nation of Austria and, as part of the losing side, couldn't sell military arms on the world market under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Relief was to be had in 1926 when Breda, in Italy, was contracted to supply M/S 1903/14 rifles and carbines. The Greeks eventually phased the rifle out of frontline service, replacing it with Mausers, and later, as a part of NATO, with British and American arms. Rumor has it, incidentally, that the Breda contract rifles were actually merely assembled and marked there, and had actually been manufactured at Steyr.

    So as a military rifle the Mannlicher-Schoenauer was a flop, but its smoothness made it a very popular sporting rifle. It was successfully marketed and sold as such from 1903 into the 1950's, pretty much unchanged. One reason that original military models are so scarce on the collector's scene today is that most all of them were turned into sporters after they appeared on the surplus market."

    - The Arms Room -

    Best.
  • JAG2955JAG2955 Member Posts: 3 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=3351525#post3351525

    There's some pics and more info in my thread at THR.

    Thanks for the help, guys.
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