A lot of time, customers who contemplate selling firearms to us here at Parker’s gun store tell us what they have, and then follow it up with “Is that too old for you guys to be interested in buying?” Invariably our answer is that if it shoots a projectile, we’re interested. From matchlock to machine gun, cannon to Colt, your gun is neither too new, nor too old for us to be interested in. Recently, we bought a large collection of antique firearms from an East Coast estate. Amongst them was this absolutely spectacular flintlock blunderbuss made in Birmingham, UK, by gunmaker Theophilus Richards anywhere between the latter part of the 18th century and the early 19th century (i.e. the American Revolutionary War period – roughly the 1770s to 1800 AD). Richards was considered one of the finest gunsmiths of his day, and was father of William Westley Richards, who … Read More
German KIA WWI or WWII Battlefield Pickup M1916 Helmet
A Grim Reminder from a German Battlefield Pickup M1916 Helmet Here at Pony Express Firearms we handle a myriad of historic items, many of them in exquisite condition, but sometimes there are items which bring home the tragic human consequences of war. This German M1916 helmet is such an example. The oral history given to us when we purchased the helmet out of a large collection is that it was recovered in the Ardennes Forest in the aftermath of a WWII battle. So, how did a WWI helmet get onto a WWII battlefield? It could be that this was a WWI helmet reissued during WWII as was common practice, or it could be that the oral history was wrong and that this was a WWI helmet recovered from a WWI battlefield. Either way, the key here is to buy the item, not the story attached to it, especially when it’s only … Read More
Soviet SSH-39 WW2 WWII Steel Helmet, Model 1939
Earlier, we looked at the Soviet M36 steel helmet, which was manufactured from 1936 until 1941. Today, we examine the next model of Soviet helmet, the Ssh-39 (stalnoy shlem), or Steel Helmet, Model 1939. This was the first Soviet helmet to have a more modern design, and was much easier to make than the earlier M36, as it lacked the wide side flares or the top crest. Indeed, this same general design of helmet stayed in service for the next 29 years. The Ssh-39 was produced from 1939, until being phased out in 1942. The hallmark external feature of the Ssh-39 is rivet placement. The Ssh-39 has only 3 external rivets, one on each side, and one in the back, all placed high on the crown of the helmet. The later Ssh-40 helmet has six rivets, all near the bottom of the helmet. Knowing proper rivet placement on Soviet helmets … Read More
Soviet Russian M-36 Steel WWII WW2 Battle Helmet, 1939 Dated
Note: This item sold in our shop in January 2017. In today’s post, we’ll be looking at a rarely seen item – the Soviet M-36 steel battle helmet. Original Soviet militaria from WWII and before is generally uncommon in the United States for a number of reasons: The American and Soviet Armies did not have a lot of interaction in the War, so there was limited opportunity for trade of equipment. The political situation after the War made importation of Soviet equipment into the United States problematic at best. Today, the Russian Government has cracked down on the exportation of their country’s WWII items, declaring them to be “national treasures.” The few items that have made it into US collections generally seem to have come from the Soviet Union in the early 1990’s, when the political situation in Russia meant a free-for-all, with even museums selling their inventory for American dollars. … Read More
Mauser C/96 Broomhandle Long Barrel Bolo Pistol
The Long Barrel Bolo rare variant of the Mauser C/96 Broomhandle Pistol Note: This item sold in our shop in March 2017 to a private collector. In a previous post, we examined a very interesting and rare C/96 long barrel Bolo made in the immediate Post WWI era. In this post, we’ll be looking at an even more rare variant of the Broomhandle Long Barrel Bolo, one that was built from the start as a long barrel Bolo, without any hash marks on the barrel, and with a standard front sight. This gun is standard in all respects, except that it’s a full size upper matched with a Bolo sized lower. Mauser made a very small run of these in a tight serial number range, and very few have survived to appear on the market today. When contemplating purchase of one of these, be mindful that a full size upper assembly … Read More
Mauser C/96 Broomhandle Long Barrel “Hash Barrel” Bolo
Mauser Broomhandle Hash Barrel Bolo NOTE: This item sold in our shop in March 2017 to a private collector. The Mauser C/96 “Broomhandle” Pistol was made from 1896-1936, and is an incredibly fascinating pistol to collect, with an immense amount of variants made over its long production run. The pistol featured here was made in the immediate Post WWI era, and was made at a very chaotic time in German Arms production. Mausers from this time period may be “1920 reworks” (full size military pistols cut down to comply with the Treaty of Versailles), standard full size guns, standard Bolos, French Gendarmes (full size frame mounted with a Bolo upper, for a rumored French contract), or completely inexplicable variants such as this Long Barreled Bolo. Mauser took a C/96 upper, cut the barrel off, and then threaded a new 7.63mm barrel into the barrel extension. They then masked the area … Read More
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