Some M28/30 questions and pic.s

[bb91]

I picked up this 1934 dated M28/30 with matching bolt and butt-plate and have a few questions?


How common are these things?

Inspectors mark under the handguard and in front of the rear sight?

1934 M28-30 007xx.JPG

No indexing marks on the front sight, usually on the left side.

1934 M28-30 106xx.JPG

Last but not least the stock shim.

I think I remember seeing a similar shim awhile back anyone recognize it or what it says?

1934 M28-30 031xx.JPG

1934 M28-30 032xx.JPG

Next the specimen!

1934 M28-30 085xx.JPG

1934 M28-30 065xx.JPG

1934 M28-30 043xx.JPG

1934 M28-30 074xx.JPG

1934 M28-30 097xx.JPG

1934 M28-30 070xxx.JPG

And for fun!

1934 M28-30 067xx.JPG

1934 M28-30 002xx.JPG

[desdem12]

Nice So now you are branching out to the 28-30s so maybe some m27s can be liberated from your grasp?
Maay- for country....maybe

[Flyin Brian]

Bill,

Very nice 28-30!! To answer your question, there are maybe 3,000 in the range of serial numbers for 1934 so if maybe half of them survived at most, maybe there could be 1,500 total? Actually it is unlikely that many survived from that early in production, so yes it is rare compared to a 1939 where they made the most (11,000 roughly).

The =S= mark on the barrel is the Civil Guard acceptance stamp. If you could look real close in that same area, can you tell me if there is a number sequence stamped somewhere around there that looks like 3300/33 or something close to that? Your rifle is about 700 numbers above the highest one I have recorded with that production number on the barrel, and I have no idea when it actually stopped, so it would be cool to finally draw a line where I can confirm it is no longer used

Some cool features on your rifle for sure, the stamped shim is neat, I have never seen that. Also, the dots on the front sight don't appear until around serial 39000, and the ears on the rear sight base are not beveled on yours, they began in 1935. I can't tell from the shim photo... is the cleaning rod nut a normal one or a "flexible" nut? That's another feature that I don't know when it started.

I only have one 1934 and it is a POS compared to yours... that's a beauty!!

[Junk Yard Dog]

common and M28/30 are two words that do not go together in the same sentence

[TopperT]

, so true!

[zeebill]

I have two 1934 dated 28/30's one is 37635 and the other is 37327 are they on your log Brian? Nice Rifle by the way, does it have the aluminum sleeve up front? Bill

[bb91]

Brian hi and thanks for the explanation, I've already learned a couple things from your post and it seem that there's a few more things I didn't know as well.

This one does not have a barrel serial/date stamped on it and it has the M28/30 cleaning rod nut with the metal strap wrapped around it. Flexible? I've heard of it but haven't looked into it so an explanation of it would be a learning experience for me.

I hadn't noticed the rear sight bevel before and had to look at another later M28/30 to understand what you were talking about, that's pretty interesting as well.

[bb91]

I have two 1934 dated 28/30's one is 37635 and the other is 37327 are they on your log Brian? Nice Rifle by the way, does it have the aluminum sleeve up front? Bill

Zeebill, yes it does have the aluminum sleeve, I'm not sure which ones but I'm sure I have at least one that doesn't have the sleeve, I believe I read that this was a design that didn't exactly pan out but I don't exactly remember why.

[Knuckledragger]

Nice So now you are branching out to the 28-30s so maybe some m27s can be liberated from your grasp?
Maay- for country....maybe

Don't bet on it. I think he has an equal affection for both. I believe he has about as many 28/30's as M27's

[bb91]

Anybody have more thoughts on the shim or what it says? Sorry but it's difficult to get a good picture of it.

untitledxxx.JPG

This is what it looks like to me.

Määrä

If that's correct this is what Wikepedia says about Määra:

"Määra is a village in Padise Parish, Harju County in northern Estonia"

1934 M28-30 113xxxx.JPG

[Bugelson]

Määrä means "amount" in Finnish. Still, does not make much sense...

[Knuckledragger]

Could this shim have been cut from a container of something else-thus the unrelated word? Things may have been fast-paced in the depots back in wartime and they ran out of regular shims?
Just thinking out loud/pure speculation.

[shmlnaaa]

Hell of an m/28-30 for sure! I'm envious!

Could this shim have been cut from a container of something else-thus the unrelated word? Things may have been fast-paced in the depots back in wartime and they ran out of regular shims?
Just thinking out loud/pure speculation.

I think this could be likely. But, it doesn't necessarily mean it's wartime though IMO. I see no reason not to use recycled or re-purposed material in peacetime. It's not like shim material needs to be fancy.

[graphic914]

I love a good mystery when it comes to old rifles

[gurn]

Boy that is a nice one and an antique to boot!

[zeebill]

Määrä means "amount" in Finnish. Still, does not make much sense...

Could it be the amount of shim thickness? Just a thought as machinist shims are sometimes marked that way. Bill

[bb91]

Määrä means "amount" in Finnish. Still, does not make much sense...

Bugelsom, thank you! I am only fairly sure of the first three letter the last two are harder to distinguish and leave me somewhat guessing. Quite possibly my guess is wrong and there is another meaning

[Flyin Brian]

I have two 1934 dated 28/30's one is 37635 and the other is 37327 are they on your log Brian? Nice Rifle by the way, does it have the aluminum sleeve up front? Bill

Yes I have you in there for both of those, thanks Bill!!

[Flyin Brian]

Brian hi and thanks for the explanation, I've already learned a couple things from your post and it seem that there's a few more things I didn't know as well.

This one does not have a barrel serial/date stamped on it and it has the M28/30 cleaning rod nut with the metal strap wrapped around it. Flexible? I've heard of it but haven't looked into it so an explanation of it would be a learning experience for me.

I hadn't noticed the rear sight bevel before and had to look at another later M28/30 to understand what you were talking about, that's pretty interesting as well.

Bill, if it has the strap over it, then it is the "flexible cleaning rod nut" that was advertised in the upgrade brochure from around 1935. I forgot to ask about the aluminum bushing that Bill mentioned. Also, I don't recall if the front of the stock has the metal reinforcement plates and the crossbolt just behind the nosecap? If it has both of those features, I would assume the stock was upgraded at some point after the barrel date, as many of the rifles from 1934-35 don't have that.

Here's a pic of a flexible nut for anyone who hasn't seen one: (it's covered in dried grease though)

[bb91]

Brian thanks, after your informative post and Zeebills question I did break I did break it down again and i took these pictures.

First the cleaning rod retaining nut.

1934 M28-30 128xx.JPG

Then the barrel sleeve.

1934 M28-30 141xx.JPG

Last but not least the barrel where it would have been dated/serialized.

1934 M28-30 131x.JPG

Since this one is fairly early in the 1934 range (within first 1000 rifles) do you think this get us closer to the serial number that they stopped using the (dated/serialed) "first run"? of M28/30 barrels or possibly this was not done in any real order as we seem to have found in other areas of production.

There is no forward crossbolt or metal reinforcements on this one.

Thanks for the info.