Page 310 - Auction84-Book2

SERIAL NUMBER 165
LOT 1603
Rare Vickers Armstrong, Pedersen Self-Loading Rifle - Serial no. 165, 276 cal., 24 inch bbl., blue finish, walnut stock. This rare British experimental Pedersen Self-Loading Rifle was manufactured by Vickers Armstrong LTD., c. 1930. The British Vickers Armstrong Pedersen semi-automatic rifle was developed by John D. Pedersen under contract with the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps in the 1920s as a replacement for the bolt action Model 1903 and Model 1917 rifles. The Pedersen semi-automatic rifle was chambered for a .276 cartridge and featured a delayed blow-back toggle action with clip fed, ten-round magazine. The rifle had a ventilated, stamped, steel hand guard, and walnut stock with grasping groove. Following successful initial tests by the U.S. Army Infantry Board, the British government decided to produce limited numbers of the Pedersen rifle for testing. Although Infantry Board tests of the Pedersen rifle were positive, the Ordnance Department decided to retain the existing .30-06 cartridge and eliminated consideration of the .276 Pedersen rifle in favor of the .30 caliber M1 Garand rifle. The .276 cartridge was not popular with the British and development of the Pedersen rifle was not pursued by the British Army following the U.S. Army decision to develop the Garand rifle. Total production of the Vickers Armstrong was approximately 200 rifles. Surviving examples of the British Pedersen rifles are rare. This rifle has a military blue finish on the metal components with oiled walnut stock. The left side of the receiver rail is roll-stamped: “PEDERSEN SELFLOADER PA/ARMSTRONG LTD.”. The serial number is roll-stamped on the right side of the receiver rail. The rifle is fitted with a U.S. Model 1907 leather sling and is complete with a Pedersen .276 clip. The Pedersen semi-automatic rifle was a well-designed firearm that represents a key stage in the development of the military semi-automatic rifle. CONDITION: Exceptionally fine. This rare Pedersen Self-Loading Rifle is all original and retains 85% plus of the original military blue finish. The markings are crisp. The oil-finished walnut stock remains in very fine condition with some minor handling and storage marks. This is an excellent example of a rare and historically significant Pedersen Self-Loading rifle that would compliment both an advanced U.S. or British martial arms collection.
bbl., parkerized finish, walnut stock. This Springfield Armory M1 Garand Rifle was manufactured in April 1940 and has been restored to the original “Gas-Trap” configuration. The rifle has most of the difficult to obtain original Gas-Trap components. The receiver heel is stamped: “U.S. RIFLE/CAL..30 M1/SPRINGFIELD/ARMORY/34765”. The receiver has a smooth gray-green parkerized finish. The receiver does not appear to have the modified right rib that was altered on many gas-trap rifles. The barrel has the same finish as the receiver, but the chamber has been parkerized. The right side of the barrel has “X” stamped below the handguard clip and a “P” proofmark with a punch-mark in the center stamped just before the step. The rifle has the correct, early, “long channel” stock with checkered buttplate and no trap. The butt has the correct “large over small hole” configuration. The left side of the stock is stamped with a faint “SA/SPG” final inspection mark, and a circled,
serifed “P” proofmark is stamped on the inside of the pistol grip. The stock has no visible rebuild marks. The handguard has the “lip type” front ferrule. Both the upper and lower bands are grooved. The rifle is fitted with a stainless steel, second variation gas cylinder with “D-28289-1” drawing number on the top of the lower band. The gas cylinder has a blued front sight with the drawing number “SA12703-0” on the right side and early gas plug with lightening hole. The gas cylinder, plug and sight all appear to be original. The bullet guide, trigger guard, safety and rear sight cover are correct for the rifle and have the proper drawing numbers. The windage knob has the fine checkering found on early production rifles. The elevation knob has solid arrows. The “-6 SA”’ operating rod, late operating rod spring guide, “round” operating rod spring and “-12 SA” bolt are not correct for this rifle in the original gas-trap configuration. CONDITION: Very good. The rifle has the key original components (receiver and the refinished barrel) that are nearly impossible to obtain, and the receiver does not appear to have “seventh-round stoppage” modification. The receiver and trigger housing group retain 60% of the thin parkerized finish. The reproduction stainless steel gas cylinder and plug are very good with a mellow gray patina, crisp drawing number and some scattered, minor handling marks. The front sight retains 50% of the original blue finish. The sanded reoiled stock, handguard and forearm are good; the inspection and proofmarks on the stock are modern restamps. This is a rare example of a Gas-Trap M1 Garand Rifle that has been carefully reconstructed back to original configuration using rare, original components. Original Gas-Trap M1 gas cylinders, handguard ferrules, barrels and stocks are nearly impossible to obtain today. This is a fine looking, solid representative example of a Gas-Trap M1 Garand rifle! Estimate: 8,500 - 13,000
“Gas-Trap” M1 Garand Semi-Automatic Rifle - Serial no. 34765, 30 06 cal., 22 inch
LOT 1604
U.S. Springfield
Estimate: 9,500 - 16,000
308