Spanish M43: The Worst Sniper Rifle Ever Made

[@willkenny5687]

Also, the one who can say “I am sure they re-heat treated the receivers after they did all that welding” about these rifles must have faith that can move mountains.

[@angrydragonslayer]

I was naïve once I assumed something had been heat treated at all

[@David0lyle]

Well, there is a way to weld on stuff that’s been heat treated. It involves using a box of hot sand. I have found this to be perfectly reliable. I however make primary kitchen implements. While there are a few exceptions, the capacity to withstand high pressure, high temperature gasses is not typically a quality that kitchen implements enjoy. 🤔

[@davidkohler7454]

I'm sure they didn't really need re heat treated, since they only used JB weld.

[@abs_nobody]

they're known for their inquisition, after all

[@nate665]

I detected sarcasm in that statement from Ian.

[@Peterowsky]

I mean, it's not that it WASN'T a case of "OMG someone let Bubba do work on this poor rifle with a grinder and a really bad welder", it's just that Bubba's work was sanctioned by the Spanish military.

[@BuzzinsPetRock78]

Bubba had to learn somewhere how to do a proper bodge, and I think we now know where....

[@RCZM64]

@@BuzzinsPetRock78 The IPE? It certainly looks like something from one of their kids in training.

[@kevo-o-o]

I'm pretty sure it was Bubbito

[@FCCommunist]

Official Spanish Bubba-ing

[@daneaxe6465]

NOW.... we know where Century got their rifle building craftsmen. Or sent their own for training.

[@Murgoh]

This reminds me of the few Mosins I have seen that have been "sporterized" into hunting rifles by some village blacksmith. Those had scope mounts rather crudely welded on the receivers and some cheap, usually Japanese, old scope. Some had the original stock, sometimes with the forend cut shorter, some had had a new more "civilian" stock made often of birch wood. Some were in the original 7.62x53R caliber, some rebored to 9.3x53R (a caliber specifically developed to convert Mosins into moose guns as at one time there was a law in Finland that mandated a bore of 8mm or larger for moose hunting). That said my late uncle shot dozens of moose with a rifle like that so they did serve their purpose as cheap and easily available hunting rifles.

[@MrDmitriRavenoff]

Just like how you'll find thousands of Arisaka rifles here in the states sportorized and made into deer guns.

[@B52Stratofortress1]

That law explains a lot. I inherited two rifles from my great grandfather that came from Finland. One is a Swedish Mauser sporterized and converted to 8mm Mauser. Why he would have had this done always baffled me, as the original 6.5x55 is known to be a great hunting calibre.

[@kellymouton7242]

Moose-in rifle.

[@bouin91]

Damn. I have one of those sporterized rifles, with an original PU-sight. Too bad the mount is horseshit village-smith fuck-up. My grandfather had to aim up and to the right in order to hit where he wanted.

[@baneofbanes]

@@MrDmitriRavenoff eh Mausers and Springfields are more common for that than Arisakas. Arisakas we’re often just left to rot in attics and basements.

[@jamesgilbert124]

Ian: This is the worst sniper rifle ever made. Elbonian Arms Minister becoming visibly aroused: Go on...

[@ragnarragnarsson3128]

@@jacqirius I can only get so hard

[@nothingtoseehere1221]

I am picturing a 50 year old elbonian officer with an ahegao face and I wish to commit self forever sleep

[@ryanharris6045]

I can hear the Elbonian national anthem playing in the background.

[@skyninjaslayer337]

Visibly 💀💀

[@KR-hg8be]

@@ryanharris6045 buckets of mud rain from the sky: I'll take them all

[@jorgecaballero6215]

These were still in service in 1998 when I did my military service. My Sgt. and I took one out of storage to have a few shots at the range. Sure, stored away, rear echelon, etc, ect, but still in service.

[@jspec-vz3mc]

Thanks for sharing. That's pretty cool.

[@chedsalvia6270]

@@jspec-vz3mc probably not too cool for the guys who had to use it, and bet their lives on it

[@laurisjones]

@@chedsalvia6270 what war was Spain involved in circa 1998 that required rear echelon mobilization?

[@1stCallipostle]

I'm sure if you look in the back of storage for any country you can find some crazy stuff

[@jspec-vz3mc]

@@chedsalvia6270 I think the gun is pretty cool and interesting. I didn't say anything about war being cool. You are one of the worst type of people on here

[@scarfaceAC2]

"I'm sure they re heat treated the receivers" Words from a man who is very confident he won't ever fire the weapon

[@hibuddy1473]

I mean both of those weapons seem to have seen plenty of action and haven't maimed anyone so he's probably right

[@Tadicuslegion78]

“You are without a doubt the worst sniper I’ve ever heard of” “But you have heard of me”

[@brendonbewersdorf986]

You sir truly are Mr incredible

[@fredo1070]

Ha, ha.

[@raywhitehead730]

Too funny, it got it. !

[@thejohnbeck]

I came here to write this line, ha

[@hobetto4817]

Spaniard here. Elders always told about the "Guardia Civil" carrying those things on the shoulder everywhere. Elders know what a shitty rifle do. elfarodeceuta.es/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/guardia-civil.jpg

[@lordarathres]

"I'm sure they heat-treated the receivers after welding." Made me laugh out loud. I'm sure they did.....lol

[@jamespray]

Same 😂 "Sure ... sure ... yeah ..."

[@neutronalchemist3241]

The welding WAS the heat treatment.

[@gingergorilla695]

Bubba must have been proud of his work

[@kez0o9]

@@neutronalchemist3241 annealing run lol

[@provenancemachining]

The degree of crude "craftsmanship" seen on the later Japanese-scoped variants is more of a testament to the Mauser design than anything else. Given Paul Mauser's later emphasis on safety and durability after his injury, you can seriously abuse (and bubba) the hell out of these guns and still come out with a relatively safe weapon to shoot.

[@vthegoose]

As long as you don’t feed it Turkish 8mm, as Ian found out

[@provenancemachining]

@@vthegoose Even then, didn't that only result in a cracked stock? As oppose to trying to feed that same Turkish 8mm in a semi-auto, I'd say his rifle took that ugliness like a champ.

[@_ArsNova]

@@vthegoose Even more of a testament to Paul Mauser's design that all Ian got from firing several rounds of incredibly aged and over-pressured Turkish 7.92x57 is a cracked stock. A lesser rifle would sustained some serious damaged to the bolt and/or locking lugs, if not failed catastrophically.

[@greycatturtle7132]

Ye

[@chemistryofquestionablequa6252]

@@vthegoose the action is fine with those Turkish rounds, just don't run it through a semi auto, machine gun, or if you really like your stock....

[@miguelangelsimonfernandez5498]

The visor IS a spanish manufacture, a licensed Zeiss copy of the Z39 Zielvier . It was made in Madrid at the Taller de Precisión Y Centro Electrotécnico de Artilleria (TPYCEA). This was a manufacturing establishment whose origins date to the second half of the XIXth century. It was finally located in 1915, in the northern outskirts of Madrid (Chamberí district) at the 147th block. It was involved in military technology research. The building was Spain's second and Madrid's first to use a reinforced concrete structure The three and a half acre building ended up being part of the city's center (Madrid's financial district) and was sold in 2015. The unit was transferred to the "La Marañosa" establishment also in Madrid and finally integrated into the INTA. The later cheap scope looks like some of the stupid things the spanish military did in the late 70's and 80's. Those rifles were taken out of service in 1985. They were issued to mountain troops and special ops corps. Santa Barbara would continue to manufacture a very similar rifle well into de late 80's that had good moa to sub-moa accuracy (I have one of those "police" models). Many of the early ones ended up in the Italian market and it's visors commonly retain good clarity.

[@mikoyanig5512]

The scopes could have been sent from Germany to Spain during the Spanish civil war with no markings as to remove themselves from being involved.

[@jspec-vz3mc]

Good observation. Seems plausible.

[@reliantncc1864]

We know that Hitler was very concerned with where Franco (Spanish dictator) would land in the European conflict. If he could get Franco on side, that would be a serious advantage for him. Conversely, if Franco sided with Britain and France, that would make things very difficult. There was an interest on both sides in either courting Spain, or at least keeping them neutral.

[@hjorturerlend]

Why would they need to do that? There was nothing hush-hush about their involvement (and deployment) in the SCW.

[@paulodecarvalho8965]

@@hjorturerlend A lot of the actual Arms sent were unmarked because ya know, War crimes, lots and lots of war crimes, plus why include another step in manufacturing when you could simply not pay someone to do it if it isn’t required. That is if it was never stamped

[@Sakkura1]

I wonder if they even cared enough to do that. Their intervention was very blatant.

[@luisfernandoauredmolina7979]

The scope is definitely Spanish made. The markings TPYCEA stand for "Taller de Precisión Y Centro Electrotécnico de Artillería" (Precision Workshop and Artillery Electrotechnical Center), located in Madrid since 1898. I worked there from 1989 to 1994. The TPYCEA was famous for their high quality optics, having a waiting list of several years to be able to purchase a pair of binoculars. They also made periscopes for battle tanks and many other things.

[@luisfernandoauredmolina7979]

By the way, I'm referring to the early version scope, not the Japanese one.

[@paulodeblas8354]

The scope in the first one can be one smuggled by Otto Skorzeny: after WWII good old Otto ends in Madrid, protected by El Generalisimo. From there, Skorzeny starts a profitable career as a businessman in several areas, including the shady ones. And smugging everything in the post civil war Spain was a very profitable one, from low quality gold for the dentists to Zeiss scopes and vaccines everything was ''smuggable''. And Otto made a lot of money with it. He even bought a summer house in Lekeitio (coast of The Basque Country) commonly known as La Casa del Aleman or La Casa de Cicatriz (House of the German or Scar's House).

[@Likexner]

Cicatriz sounds/looks a lot like cockatrice. Coincidence?

[@ragnarragnarsson3128]

He had one hell of a fencing scar to boot!

[@bfahren]

The good old "estraperlo" made some people very rich in a very poor Spain.

[@paulodeblas8354]

@@bfahren yep, specially in the high instances of the dictatorship

[@Phantom_Aspekt]

Otto Skorzeny, the man who organised a literal loony toons operation behind enemy lines using US military disguises that caused so much suspision and panic that the Americans were capturing their own captains, they also hid General Eisenhower away for fear of Skorzeny coming to kill him. Even funnier that the same method he used to mess with the Americans during the war helped him escape prison after the war 🤣 This guy has a legendary story.

[@WhiskyCardinalWes]

Looks like we have a contender for the Elbonia sniper rifle category.

[@alun7006]

Just needs to be chambered in 7.92 Kurz and it's perfect.

[@andersjjensen]

I think the lack of speed holes in the scope makes it a no-go... But then again, with Elbonia you never really know...

[@brettbaker5599]

7.92mm marking means 8mm-06. "We" supplied 150 of these rifles to Elbonia rebarreled to 8mm-06 in 1959.

[@danielwalker8142]

but they work to well

[@veewsol7078]

Definitely sketchy. Makes me think some barracks armorer got told to find his own scopes and mount them, decided to visit the local hunting store, cheap out on the scopes and pocket the rest of the budget.

[@hewdavies7733]

I mean, 50s and 60s europe and especially spain was very cash strapped. chances are they did exactly that but on a larger scale.

[@lawrencemeadonia7500]

I have a story about one of the latter made Spanish mausers. It was going to be my 1st scoped rifle purchase, my 1st rifle being a mosin that worked best as a pike. It was never an intention to buy a vintage mil surplus but I liked how this one looked like a k98 sniper, but clearly an imitation of a marksman rifle. The scope was an aftermarket cheap brand of the time and the finish was crude. The only thing it had going for it was that it was really cheap and being a vintage bolt action, probably very reliable. Oh, and the seller went on and on about how it was a genuine sniper rifle which I blew off as a sales tactic. He'll, I even called him a liar whenever I explained how I bought the rifle. Welp, after seeing this video I am fairly certain my rifle could be genuine Spanish sniper and he told the truth. It has many of the markings and "features" of the latter type. Doesn't make me want to shoot it anymore than before though.

[@koenvangeleuken2853]

as a metalworker, i don't think these welds look bad. they didnt weld on enough material to make it possible to grind it down to make the weld invisible, but that has nothing to do with the strength of the weld. what i would wonder about is what kind of steel are these rifles made of, if it is high carbon steel its not really weldable. and of course, the way this shim is fitted is ridiculous.

[@magoshighlands4074]

And that assumes they re-heat treated the receiver again, which I very much doubt

[@ryanj610]

If they weren't using Heliarc (TIG) back then, it would have been impossible to get a good looking weld regardless; and I don't think they were. You're right, you can only overweld and mill it down, but putting so much extra heat into the part has it's own risks.

[@TricknologistPHD]

These were made of mild steel and case hardened.

[@_ArsNova]

Agreed. If late war Japanese arms production is any indicated, fit and finish, and how "nice" a weapon looks has nothing to do with it's actual functionality. Looking crude and being unsafe are two separate concepts.

[@ddegn]

@@_ArsNova "Looking crude and being unsafe are two separate concepts." Also looking crude and being accurate are two separate concepts. If I were a sniper, I'd much rather have a very accurate rifle than a good looking rifle. Heck one doesn't have to be a sniper to chose accuracy over looks. Of course, what hasn't been said is accurate rifles are often the result of careful craftmanship. Careful craftmanship usually produces a good looking rifle. It's not *completely* unreasonable for people to associate good looking guns with accurate guns.

[@The_Bizzler1]

Bruh, the earlier version of this rifle was my grandpas old rifle and we finally decided to pull it out of storage about a week ago, so I decided to research the rifle to find out what it was and low and behold, he uploads a video on the same rifle the day I started researching into it

[@ForgottenWeapons]

Very cool!

[@charles_wipman]

It's weird to me that none of those have 'ET' or 'FN' markings (standing for: 'Ejército de Tierra' and 'Fuerza Naval'), our Mausers K98K and our MGs 42, dated on 1942 and 43' they all had 'FN' markings on top of the nazi eagle and the serial number; thanks to God the only sniper rifles that i seen were AWPs and our DMRs were CETME-LVs, LCVs and CVs, that we never used in the case of the CVs.

[@michaelblacktree]

The late pattern rifle looks like it would be right at home in a Fallout video game.

[@lilwyvern4]

It's the starter rifle in Zombie Survival game #86,340

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

I'm actually doing a new vegas run with the khyber pass bolt action AK we've seen a while back. Yes, somebody made that into a mod.

[@atelerdt7725]

@@HappyBeezerStudios I need that

[@infosneakr]

Or dayz

[@kwc0435]

You're giving me ptsd flashbacks to the left handed hunting rifle in fallout 4

[@juanpedropedraja1614]

As a Spaniard and with the great industrial history of quality arms manufacturers in the country, I feel ashamed watching this video

[@LD-Orbs]

I feel for you, man...

[@jwc00789]

Too bad Star and Astra are no longer in business. Armas Ugartechea Shotguns are now very rare in the USA.

[@SlavicCelery]

@@jwc00789 I love Star pistols. These rifles do not reflect the quality presented by Spain in general .

[@buffewo6386]

No te preocoupes... Some people forget that doing something well is better than making a larger profit. (F-22 vs YF-23 for example) It happens to all of us.

[@andersjjensen]

This may look like crap, but the base is still a Mauser. It would not hold up to the definition of a sniper today, as those routinely push head-shots out to 1000m and beyond. But when this was in it's heyday the requirement could've been closer to "consistent torso shot at 800m and consistent head-shot at 500m" which, despite the crude looking effort, the rifle can absolutely produce if the barrel isn't worn to smithereens. The Spanish economy wasn't exactly stellar at the time, so if the procurement branch went with "if it's stupid and it works, it ain't stupid!" I can certainly get behind that. I've handled a lot of military equipment that looked like dog shit in moonshine in the Danish army in the 90s too. But it worked the way it was supposed to. And that's what matters in an army. In my book military decisions can never reflect badly on the factories/arsenals who manufacture for them. The army never goes "Make this really appealing to gun nerds with deep pockets! Caress every little detail with the greatest care" Channel your inner artisan and let the firearm spirits guide you!". They go just "Must do X, Y and Z. The cheapest gun that fulfils those requirements gets the contract. And if you can make it unappealing to steal it that's actually considered a bonus.".

[@thefez-cat]

When your actual armorer is just some guy from the motorpool or something.

[@reconty2133]

This just screams: Ok guys we need to start up a sniper program. Do we have a budget? Well no. So let’s pool up some money and make something happen. You mean use the unit beer funds? Yes. Well not all the beer funds.

[@takki2747]

Alright, we're expanding the collection of the worst arms: The Zip22 as the worst pistol The Cobray Terminator as the worst shotgun The L85A1 as the worst Military Rifle And now the Spanish M43 joins the club

[@Seb-Storm]

Indeed that is the list for the army with worst guns, we are just missing an lmg and we are all set

[@DHCR-core]

And the butchered krink as the worst AK

[@khaderahmad-abdallahllop7823]

The also Spanish Ameli is a good contender for worst LMG.

[@BRBMrSoul]

I’d like to nominate sig’s mp48 for smg category

[@ScottKenny1978]

@@Seb-Storm Breda 30 LMG.

[@bulukacarlos4751]

Excellent video!!! It comforts me to know that someone welds worse than me, LOL 1- What led the Spanish Army to change caliber from 7x57 to 8x57? - The first scope could also have been made by Nedinsco (Holland). This manufacture was made in Holland between the wars in order to "jump" the Versailles treaty. In Argentina the 1909 Mausers were equipped with those. And after WW2 I understand that Nedinsco put together and sold some more. Greetings from Patagonia Argentina

[@Dominic1962]

Getting a bunch of 7,92 machine guns and rifles during the civil war. When they decided to make the m43 and m44 ALFA machine guns they also decided it would be best to use 7,92 instead of 7 for them. The 7mm guns got put to rear echelon use then surplused. Portugal went to 7,92x57 during the same time period.

[@RCZM64]

What Andre C said. The bulk of German weapons aid was in 7'92. Also, since they changed the old 1893 action to the newer "cock-on-open" one, and many countries produced 7'92mm for those kind of rifles, it was logistically logical (I suppose).

[@bulukacarlos4751]

@@Dominic1962 Thanks!

[@bulukacarlos4751]

@@RCZM64 Thanks!

[@matthayward7889]

How bad can a sniper Mauser be? Ohhh…. 5:22 those welds 😳

[@Lowtiercomputer]

06:47 up close and ugggggly!

[@TheArchaos]

Nah, they're fine, they will hold more than ten times what will be required of them, in fact I am surprised they bothered welding at all and not just braise the mountings in place haha.

[@mauricematla8379]

Yes, those are not the greatest welds. At the samen time time will do the job here more then fine.

[@Caffeine_Addict_2020]

They’re fine, no visible oxidation or flaws

[@jmb5030]

The only "sniper" mausers I saw in my military service (Berga 89-90) were a couple of Fr8 (M43 conversion to 7.62x51) fitted with an small scope. They were in storage at the company, never used them, we just cleaned them once. I don't remember much more, but the scope was definetely, much more smaller than in those m43

[@Catherea]

I happened to come across a similar rifle back in 2016! A local shop had another one of these that was made in 1953. It appears to have all original markings on it and still chambered in 8mm, but there are no sniper mounts on it at all. I got it for $300 and I have honestly loved having it ever since.

[@fernandoguzmanfernandez3466]

As a Spanish veteran, I'm pretty sure the modern one was not made in a factory, as a serial manufactured weapon. The '70 and '80 were bad times for the Spanish Army, and it was usual that even just a company, even a platoon, made crude modifications of their weapons, for fullfit special needs. Special Operations troops (COE), La Legión, paratroopers... had their own blacksmiths, even conscript troops.

[@graelgraan2428]

I love Ian looking at a 60-year-old rifle" The scope already has a ding on it"

[@alexm566]

He's the Steve1989 of firearms 😅

[@Piromanofeliz]

As a Spaniard I want to publicly apologise to the gun comunity for this atrocity

[@Marco_Antonio_CV]

Me too

[@lokodehortaleza]

likewise

[@joseelempecinao89]

No hay dos sin tres. Sorry

[@anteshell]

I'm sorry but we just cannot accept the apology. That is not nearly enough of an apology for something like this monster. This atrocity demands full war reparations to make it right.

[@jomega717]

What are you apologizing for? You didn’t make it

[@astartegm]

The logo reads T.P.Y.C.E.A (Taller de Precisión y Centro Electrotécnico de Artillería - Precision Workshop and Artillery Electrotechnical Center) It´s possible the scope was rebuild in that place. This workshop also manufactured artillery calibration instruments.

[@RCZM64]

It was. Also, only had vertical adjustment, so the mount it had to be phisically centered, and that was it. When taken out of service, some of those scopes (and the later Japanese 10x) were reused in the "EOD FR8" (they never were intended as sniper rifles). THOSE really go from pro-level to worse than that second rifle.

[@BobSmith-dk8nw]

Some of the late war Japanese stuff was really crude. I had a buddy who had a late War Arisaka where the sights were simply welded on with no adjustment what so ever. It was a good gun though and shot true. You had to use Kentucky Windage with it, adjusting your point of aim because you could not adjust the sights but - it shot true and put those rounds where you aimed them. It was incredibly crude - but I liked it. It was a good gun. .

[@lairdcummings9092]

Yeah, but the Japanese had the excuse of being on the losing end of a war. The Spanish have no such excuse.

[@BobSmith-dk8nw]

@@lairdcummings9092 Yes. That's true. Also - the Japanese Arisaka was just a standard troop rifle - not a sniper's weapon. It certainly had no facility for mounting a scope - but - the workmanship on that rifle ... the shape the stock was in ... it looked far, far worse than that Spanish Rifle. But - LIke I Said ... it was an honest weapon that put it's rounds right where they were supposed to go. I don't remember if Ian commented on the weapons accuracy. That - after all - is what's really important. I just don't remember what he said about that. One of the things about that Arisaka was that, as with any weapon - whoever it was assigned to - would need some training on using it - and I don't know if they would have gotten that. Kentucky Windage can certainly be accurate - but - it requires some familiarity with the use of the weapon to get an appreciation for how you had to apply it. Of course windage and elevation adjustments on the sight would not have precluded the need to be trained in how to set them. One of the things about the M-1 Garand - was that it had a hole in the butt stock for some cleaning equipment - which could also be used by Marines to put the dope for their rifle in. Thus - someone using an unfamiliar M-1 - could look back in the butt stock and see if it was there - then apply that dope to the weapon at whatever range they were firing it. Of course, the Marines spent a good bit of time on the Rifle Range determining what that dope was - and how to apply it. Not everyone would have received that much Marksmanship Training. .

[@LuisFM33]

Hi Ian. Congratulations for the channel and your excellent videos. I´m spanish and I own both types of these rifles, one of each. I showed them in a post in Gunboards forum, you can see my rifles looking for "Spanish Mauser M43 sniper rifle pictures" in gunboards. So, after watching the video, I think the tittle is for the second type, not for the first?, as you dont say anything bad about the first type, just that the mount system is unusual. I will add that the first type lacks windage adjustment with the mount or scope. Just elevation is possible with the scope, which can be a problem. Otherwise is a solid 4X sniper of the era. About the second type, the 10X scope with elevation and windage adjustment has a better performance that the 4X, the higer magnification does matter and the possibility of adjustments also do. The scope is not that bad I think, for that times. I doubt that the second type was made at La Coruña Factory, I think it was made in military workshops, thus the difference beetween many type 2 rifles. My unit havent got that grind job in the bolt , or the safety also grinded... The welding is crude but it is solid. It is true that the shim in the front mount is ridiculous and the rings are not adecuate for military use, as they are not very solid. Both of my units are reasonably accurate, I wouldnt bet my head against these up to 600 mts.

[@schakalx3556]

I got a Kar98 in .308 presumably altered for Israel somwhere after the war as it has israeli proofmarks on it. It was also retrofitted with an civilian style scopemount which is soldered on. It seems like it stayed in germany for some reason and was used by the Grenzschutz (border guard). The safety lever was also cut down a bit, but in a good quality, even with a nice checkering graved in. All in all its in a very good condition, only the soldering of the scopemout looks a bit crude.

[@moemaster1966]

I’ve seen the early type scope mount style in a few sporterized Mauser’s from the mid 60’s early 70’s …I’ve seen the later style mounts on 90’s century arms deluxe model for the extra $19.95 plus shipping

[@GreatUncleJulio]

that peeved look on the thumbnail while you were looking at this masterpiece of spanish technology had me rolling, someone should do something similar with Simo Hayha doing the "My Disgust" meme face, but looking at this gun from the side.

[@Lazarus7000]

Holy shit the welds on the late-pattern scope mounts are _seriously_ "Grinder and paint makes me the welder I ain't!"

[@Chlorate299]

I bet anyone who wasn't as well read as Ian would look at that later pattern gun and go "eurgh, what a horrible sporterised Mauser".

[@ahranguy4571]

Ian ripping on weapons is ASMR that I need to sleep when stress is to much. I need a playlist of literally all these videos

[@imadrifter]

Thanks for all the incredibly interesting content, Ian.

[@Phoenixx6]

what's covering the front sight post on the better version (around 1:42 mark)? I have no suspicions as to why you'd completely cover the front sight, even on a scoped rifle.

[@notonlysunandbeach2567]

We, the people of La (A) Coruña, truly apologize for this felony, and therefore we brought to you Estrella Galicia as a compensation.

[@p.s.9658]

Thanks, riquiño 😂

[@saoirsekreider5627]

The paint scraped off the side of the scope is likely from someone wearing a ring while working the bolt.

[@drmaudio]

I thought I sucked as a welder, but I could clearly get a job at that plant.

[@betty4833]

I always like your informative style when talking up a gun but when you dog on one is a ballet of subtle insults haha love it

[@adamdapatsfan]

Honestly surprised that the aluminum mountings screwed onto the welded steel block haven't resulted in significant galvanic corrosion, given the quality of work and the amount of time since it was performed.

[@WardenWolf]

Meanwhile there's my hunting rifle, which was a German Kar98k that someone sporterized back in the 1950's. They put Weaver bases directly on the receiver, so all I had to do was install some high rings. I don't know why the Spanish did all this extra work instead of just direct-mounting the Weaver bases.

[@RCZM64]

I think it's just an 80's "sniperization" to pass as a surplus sniper rifle, and this kind of turrets arrangement is what most people think about when they hear "sniper mauser". But I can be wrong, if we take into account "institutional wisdom".

[@wandreduvenhage6121]

I inherited one of these from my grandfather ( the early model) and we rebarreld it in 30-06 I've taken shots at 800 meters or about 950 yards on gongs of course freefloted the barrel and glassbedded the stock. I put a zeiss conquest 4-24 scope on it and it shoots like a dream. I took my first kudu, eland, warthog and so on whith it. (I live in Africa by the way)

[@DDrew67]

You sound...Legend

[@wandreduvenhage6121]

@@DDrew67 thanks man

[@Mikino1976]

My wife is from La Coruna, but I had no idea there had been an armory there. Absolutely gorgeous city.

[@N0rthAI]

It occurs to me that there might be a little editing trick to improve a bit on these videos: When you reference things like the CETME, editing in just a quick picture of it to save having to look it up would be a nice little addition. It's not that it's needed or anything, just polishing what's already lovely and shiny.

[@petercheney8316]

The drop in quality ... is really impressive.

[@iamcondescending]

Spanish military: "we need someone to update the sniper rifle, who we got?* Spanish Bubba: "hola senior!"

[@someonesdad5986]

Reminds me of a poacher I once caught with a No.4 Mk1that had scope rings welded onto the receiver and a Tasco Pronghorn scope. Otherwise the gun was completely original. The welds were Jimbob backyard hack welds. I wanted to slap the guy. At least he went to jail.

[@xaquko9718]

If this rifles look so ridiculously elbonian thats becauese Spain during the 50s and early 60s (and the whole dictatorship and transition) was basically Elbonia. From 1957 to 1958 Spain was fighting in the "Ifni War". Spain had recently aquired american weapons but their use was forbiden in a war unless the United States gave permission (which they didn't) so they had to use artillery from the civil war and He-111 bombers. The bombers didn't have bombs so they used their defensive machineguns to shoot at the bedouins like some sort of poor-man's gunship. The only excuse I can come up to explain those rifles is that they were fielded at the same time the CETMEs were being introduced. This means that (at least the second pattern) they were only used by rear echelon troops while those serving in more operative units (legionnaires, regulares, paratroopers and marines) used something decent.

[@shawnmiller4781]

That explains why the Spanish Army had so much ex german gear until the 1980’s. Because of that, they were able to rent the Spanish army to movie houses. That’s why so many films about North Africa were filmed in Spain (Patton being probably the best known example)

[@xaquko9718]

@@shawnmiller4781 I'm not aware of the spanish army being rented to make movies but indeed, a lot of spagetti westerns and films set in North Africa were shot in Spain (especially in Andalucia and Murcia). And a lot of Spanish weapons both of local and german origin found its way to Hollywood prop makers after being decommissioned. You probably already know it but a lot of 1911 in films were actually Star-Bs (since the blank conversion was easier with 9mm) and a lot of Heinkel He-111 in ww2 movies were CASA 2.111 (a spanish licenced copy with british engines).

[@Sephiroth391]

My farther has LaCoruna mauser in 308 from 1947 although it has modern rotary scope mount with 90's Bushnell scope

[@OlMrEllis]

Russians wiping their brow after the Mosin Nagant PU dodges the title "worst sniper ever made" yet again.

[@briansmith3011]

I’ve been waiting for an M43 video. I’m glad to say the one I’ve had the chance to use is in much better condition. 1956(?) production, very well done sporterized. Only issue is the check rest on the Monte Carlo stock is too high for the Lyman sights. Otherwise the gun is more accurate than I am. And 8mm availability, providing you don’t want to use surplus corrosive ammo.

[@highlandoutsider]

When even khyber pass smiths would wince at your QC you know your in trouble 🤣

[@Alldaboss]

Please give us more down the optic views really wanted to see how the marine scope looked.

[@Alldaboss]

@@jone002 I must of missed it somehow did he show both scopes

[@TheBertybasset01]

My family grew up in Spain at this time and my dad did his military service in the 60s. The stories I heard showed that money was in short supply everywhere and poverty was rife in the villages. No wonder guns where done cheaply! Fascist dictatorship I guess...

[@petergray7576]

The Franco government tried its hand at North Korean style economic isolationism during the 1940s. And when this didn't work economic reforms were attempted in the 1950s, but these were inconsistently applied and hampered by corruption and high inflation. By the time of the late pattern M43, the economy was beginning to takeoff from another set of reforms, but the benefits hadn't reached the masses yet.

[@TheBertybasset01]

@@petergray7576 my dad said he spent more time painting the officers houses than doing any military work. Corruption everywhere in Spain or worse in those days.

[@daneaxe6465]

@@TheBertybasset01 Sounds just like all the stories I've heard from the PLA in China. Rampant corruption equals very poor military, just ask Russia.

[@polca4love]

@@TheBertybasset01 Bueno es ver qué las cosas han cambiado... ...What?

[@HughesEnterprises]

I don’t know, I’ve seen a Mosin M44 with one of those EBay scout scope mounts but they put on a normal eye relief scope with high rings. So your chin weld had to be on the receiver to see anything and the stock just hanging out under your armpit. Probably the rare Elbonian model M44/57/11

[@sadwingsraging3044]

I bet that when Zeis converted to aluminum they had a pile of steel ones laying around and either cut a deal on a custom order or sold the lot just to get rid of them.

[@RCZM64]

It's a TYPCEA copy of the Zeiss, made in Madrid in the 1940's.

[@Danogil]

Heat Treat, Smeat Treat, What's the worst that could happen? Saw a late pattern M43 when these things were coming out of service and being imported in the late 1980's or early 1990's. A friend worked at a Surplus Store in OKC called Aries Military Surplus, Kel took one and loaded it with a Proofing Load. It came apart like a Grass Shack in a Tornado. So the ones that he got in were at best Wall Hangers. When he ordered them he was hoping for the early models and Zeiss Scopes, they were late with welds.

[@PJHamann1]

That electrical socket looks familiar. Did you record this in Spain or just in the EU?

[@HappyBeezerStudios]

The one with the unscraped scope has the cutout done better than the other one.

[@capnstewy55]

As the Great War Channel says "if it goes boom someone will buy it".

[@Danthar]

What's hilarious about the grinding to that safety lever is that in the middle position (Safe, but able to operate the bolt) it couldn't even clear the scope even with all that grinding.

[@Ws_minion]

"I wouldn't have expected that..." *Looks over at welds on the CETME rifles* "No no, that checks out..."

[@MrSonic1953]

Is interesting the changes they made to make it work for them. One question is, Where were the stock made? My Mauser have the same depression on the handguard for fingers and thumb, but I have no idea where and when was it made. It does have the K98 engraved on the left side of the action.

[@snipersl270]

This would have made for a great April Fools episode where the twist was it wasn't a joke at all. Its for real a military bubbad up rifle they used.

[@chrisgs8727]

During the 1960s, Argentina made some cheap mauser snipers by installing weaver mounts and Japan light 4x scopes with German 1 reticle

[@donwyoming1936]

I've seen Chinese Mausers with similar, crude scope mounting. I always assumed the mounts were Bubba'd, even though the bores were trashed, making it pointless to mount a scope. I now have to wonder if those mounts were done by a Chinese Bubba in an "armory".

[@cymond]

Also, maybe the bore was good when the scope was new.

[@RedZeppelinAirship]

I bought one of these garbage cans of a sniper rifle. I bought it for 45 usd and a 30 dollar rds, actually went to a fudd gun store and sportized it because the scope welds actually cracked and the optic fell off the rifle. The one time i would actually recommend sporterizing a military firearm. Note: the gun has a beautiful new stock and a Leupold 3-8x, great little hunting rifle. Note 2: they actually re-treated the receiver too.

[@DarkestVampire92]

Would love to know how they shoot, if their accuracy is that much worse through the cruddy optic or if its just a question of "Military grade accuracy" aka good enough.

[@jorgecaballero6215]

Me and my Sgt. ran 5 rounds through one of those 50's built ones with the Japanese optic in 1998. I don't think it had been shot in 10 years at least, and it ran with no hiccups and was reasonably accurate at 300mtrs. As a military sniper rifle, I'd call it "adequate". That 7'92mm kicked like mule, though!

[@DarkestVampire92]

@@jorgecaballero6215 Sounds about right. You probably have to re-zero them more often than properly built ones with the shoddy mounts and scopes but in the end its just a scope. As for the recoil, can confirm, I like a hard kick but my dad complained for a week after we got to shoot Grandpa's Mauser 88.

[@andrewrife6253]

The guy who built the second rifle- "reheat treat the what?"

[@maxlutz3674]

What is that "heat treat" thing you talk about? Getting hot during welding should be enough.

[@linksbro1]

I dispute your joke about "Oh my god, someone let Bubba work on this poor rifle with a grinder and a really bad welder". Even Bubba's would do better work, I mean look at the L96A1. That was basically 3 British Bubba's in a shed who thought they were clever for tricking the government into providing free testing of their rifle by submitting it for the sniper trials... Who then went panic mode when their rifle won.

[@adamnouiguer3430]

Accuracy International were already making really nice competition rifles before submitting. That's very different from a man brutalizing a rifle and making up the design as he goes.

[@OctagonMD]

The happy font to indicate caliber. You'd expect a print like that on a toy or something and not on a service rifle. :D 1:50

[@agustinricardo]

yo lo he usado en 1983 en la mili, una pasada, por lo menos los de mi unidad eran buenos.

[@SCOTT95001]

Interesting to see such a drop in quality between the two iterations.

[@MrKronikDeception]

The M43: El especial de Bubba

[@dragofill2808]

5:25 as a ticket of welder I immediately noticed you missed a very important feature there's the shit weld..... (Lack of fusion, undercut, and most important of all cratered start or stop I'm not entirely sure) (that was either done by somebody who isn't a welder or somebody who is extremely underpaid)

[@mattclarke8791]

Definitely would like to see this on the range, just to see if expectations meet reality....

[@blargh2212]

"You have got to be the worst optic actually used on a military rifle that I've ever heard of!" ... "But you /have/ heard of me"

[@ibubezi7685]

"Worst sniper rifle ever made" - 40 years later, still in service (not for lack of alternatives)...

[@matthewblackwood9653]

Probably more due to lack of budget...

[@ArkadiBolschek]

10:01 NOBODY expects the Spanish M43 sniper rifle :D

[@totalutternutter]

Alarm bells must ring when you're handed a sniper rifle with a bayonet attachment.

[@Dominic1962]

Totally normal at the time when sniper rifles were more sharpshooter rifles made out of standard infantry rifles. Even the SVD was originally made with a bayonet lug as it was not designed for the same role as something like the m24.

[@totalutternutter]

@@Dominic1962 I suspect alarm bells were totally normal at the time too.

[@Dominic1962]

@@totalutternutter Why for something that would have been bog standard?

[@andersjjensen]

It's a sniper rifle. It can stab people reliably at up to 1000 meters if it's zeroed correctly. And if you run out of ammo it can still stab people reliably at about 1.3 meters. That's a drastic drop in range but still more effective than throwing your empty shell casings at them...

[@MSgtofMarines]

Ian, have you ever done a video on the Spanish FR8? Those are neat little rifles.

[@ForgottenWeapons]

No, not yet. On the list though!

[@bladudemovies]

[Sweats in Elbonian]

[@Externikov]

Once in 1995 in Madrid, i saw in the shooting range an fr8 with scope, which was not a sniper rifle but a fr8 cetmetón with scope.

[@RCZM64]

EOD, unit made conversion (if it was an Engineers unit), or personally-owned rifle taken to the range by some subteniente, most probably. The "sniper FR8" didn't even get a proper prototype, before being cancelled.

[@SpacePatrollerLaser]

10x32?? I'd hate like hell to try and use that in twilight or night

[@SpacePatrollerLaser]

Although the Vortex Solo 10x36 is very good for twilight and night and acquires the target very quickly. What I don't get is why Vortex made the Rocon 15x50 only 50mm. It has a trticle and 3 lines on the bottom left quadrant for human hight compar for targets at different distances but the twilight capability is questionable compard the the Aus Jena 15x60

[@jamesbracken4618]

I had a 1948 La Coruna I got it at a gun show and some one didi a real nice job puttimg weaver mounts on and altering the bolt for 150,00 bucks, What a shooter 1/2 inch groups all the time, didn't matter what the weight was. I sold it. They would have done better putting weaver mounts on and use super high rings.

[@coolsenjoyer]

At least they had the sense to get rid of them in the 80's, while in Finland in the same decade they decided to make "new" Mosin based sniper rifles that are only starting to get replaced now.

[@RCZM64]

From what I know, they entered service in the late 40's up to 1950. The double bayonet lug was adopted for the new model of bayonet, and also make use of all bayonets leftover from the civil war and earlier rifles. The "falcata blade" type from the 1893 was more common, but was being phased out by the modern design. If those "Zeiss" had only vertical adjustement, they are actually a spanish copy made in Madrid in that era, and the manufacturers is a giveaway. I know of no real Zeiss accepted, but someone could have obtained one, but using it during your military service is not something I see happening during the era (unless you were some important officer, of course). Conscripts making use of scopes regularly was almost unheard of until the 90's. Scopes and other expensive equipment were never a priority for conscripts, and specially the ones that should be quite independent from command. Those later scopes, I have seen a few in Santa Barbara C75s, but not exclusively. Also, that second rifle looks like one of the many "sporterised" M43 exported after being declared obsolete (as the calibre was illegal then to own in Spain). That bolt could have been originally taken from an airforce "M44" (almost same rifle, closer to Polish mausers than to German ones). Many went to the US and Italy, where many mounted weaver bases and contemporary cheap scopes and "sniperised", as many Kar98s and Mosins were here after that movie about snipers in Stalingrad appeared in theaters. Those crude aluminium bases, exactly the same style, I have seen in some FR8s in the civilian market, selling as "sniper FR8s" at atrocious prices. Since there was no "sniper FR8" (only a few adapted for EODs in the 90's), probably have similar origin as this one. OR some rush job from the IPE, back then. I can totally picture that, too (and would explain quite a few "mistery rifles" around here, too). I'll try to dig a bit, out of curiosity.🤔

[@pax9263]

Sad thing is I have an m43 sniper 4x. I rebarreled it. It shoots 1.3 moa. It’s a great rifle!!! Glad to learn about the later ones!!

[@luked2767]

Lol heat treated, I rember some story about the Spanish civil war where people demanded rifles so they removed the bolts and gave people rifles, Im not sure if it was the fact no SN was on the bolt or the fact that when needed they just handed out bolts and gave 1 per rifle without thinking of marching the serial numbers. It did not end well with headspacing issues. When I lived in China I went to an scope factory in Shenzhen OEM scopes so you could just ask them to put whatever markings you liked on them. They had a very wide range of qualitys from realy cheap and nasty to nice Japanese glass lenses, nitrogen filled with great seals and a nice paralex. You could choose to have them tested as they would mount them on a block and a pneumatic piston would hit them 10x or so to make sure they are strong enough. I needed up getting a 4-14 40mm with a paralex and the best QC and parts they had, it cost me 40 dollars and they gave me some nice mounts and it's by far the best sub 350 dollar glass I have. I think many scopes on the market are fake.

[@andrewrife6253]

I'd love to have one of these with the paperwork to show authenticity just for the reason of pissing off purists who would claim it as a bad sporterized model.

[@hideous62]

They have used a commercial Parker Hale scope mount base & rings copies . they were about $30 a set when the originals were $50

[@alangordon3283]

Are you sure it’s not Elbonian 🤔

[@ColterBrog]

“…all the way up until the 1980s when they were finally taken out of service.” More like mercifully taken out of service.