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16746 - Winchester Model 12 Date Of Manufacture
11/8/2025
Fabian Herrera Espanola NM USA

Maker: Winchester, Model: 12 20, Caliber: 20 Guage, Barrel Length: 22 Without Choke 26 With Choke, Finish: Shotgun (Non-Military) - Don`t Know, SN: 1096895

Markings:
525-30-4961 hand written on sidemade in new haven conn

Question:
what year is this shotgun what kind of model 12 is it fancy game etc. what is the possible value would you be interested in purchasing

Answer:
Fabian- Dates of manufacture for nearly all Winchester made firearms can be looked up on the Winchester Arms Collectors Assn site at:

https://winchestercollector.org/dates/

That will tell you that Model 12 with serial number 1096895 was made in 1947. The numbers scratched on the side are in social security number format. Back in the 1960s-80s, some people were saying the mark your social security number on all your property so that if it were stolen the police could return it to you. I don`t know how much stuff actually got returned, but I have seen quite a few guns with SSN`s marked on them, seriously hurting their value and demand.

We appreciate your offering this to us, but we will pass.

John Spangler

16769 - Military Mauser Pistol
11/1/2025
Bryan Plainfield IN US

Maker: Mauser, Model: ?, Caliber: 7.65, Barrel Length: 4, Finish: Handgun - Blue, SN: 897776

Markings:
Has German Reich markings

Question:
Any history of this gun is appreciated. Date of production Issued to who or department etc.

Answer:
Bryan, you did not indicate what model your Mauser is and it is hard for me to answer your question without knowing this information. One of the most commonly encountered WWII German Mauser 7.65 pistols is the Mauser HSc and the serail number that you indicated fits into the HSc range.

Nazi HSC pistols were made from 1941 until the end of the war, serial numbers began at 700,000 and ended at 951,000. 135 is the German WW-II Heerswaffenamt inspector`s mark on arms produced at Mauser Werke AG, Oberndorf am Neckar, Germany. The Eagle over the letter N is a commercial test proof and it should be located in 3 places.

1 - on the right side of the chamber (barrel).

2 - on the right side of the trigger guard.

3 - on the right side of the slide near the muzzle.

Military models will be marked with WaA135 which is the German WW-II Heerswaffenamt inspector`s mark on arms produced at Mauser-Werke AG, Oberndorf am Neckar, Germany. The eagle over WaA135 should be on the left side of the trigger guard where it meets the frame. As to what branch of the armed forces your HSC was used by, HSC`s issued to the Kreigsmarine had a Kreigsmarine acceptance stamp on the front grip strap or the left side of the trigger guard. HSC`s issued to the police had an eagle over an x inside a circle with the letter L to the right stamped on the left side of the trigger guard. If an HSC has none of these special markings, the military branch that it was used by can not be determined. Marc

16729 - Marlin Model 39A Not Working Properly
11/1/2025
Rich Jenison MI USA

Maker: Marlin FIrearms, Model: 39-A, Caliber: .22, Barrel Length: 23 Inches, Finish: Long Gun - Stainless Steel, SN: D 18862

Markings:
Visually it is in decent condition no rust but does have a few scratches and scrapes. Mechanically everything appears tight lever and breech bolt move as expected with no stickiness or apparent issues. However when cocking the lever the bullets dont get chambered consistently. It does eject the current round but the next round does not always load from the mag tube. The round either gets jammed or just doesnt get expelled from the mag tube.

Question:
My wife inherited my uncles old Marlin 39-A .22 rifle. I have broken it down and gave it a simple cleaning and oil with cotton patches and swabs. I am wondering if it is worth whilecost effective to take it to a gunsmith to have it checked out andor repaired.

Answer:
Rich- The Marlin 39A is a really nice quality gun and considered to be very reliable.

However, .22 rimfire rifles and pistols are notorious for having reliability problems if they are fired a lot and never cleaned. The .22 rimfire ammunition, especially older ammo, tended to have ``external lubrication`` with a thin film of grease on the outside of the lead bullet. After hundreds or thousands of rounds are fired, tiny bits of grease and lead are slowly scraped from the cartridges and build up and prevent the various parts from moving freely.

For any .22 with functioning problems, the usual solution is to thoroughly clean the gun and give it a wipe down with good gun oil, or even WD-40, and that will almost always make them run great again. Be sure to clean out the gunk from all recesses (a toothpick or Q-tip is very handy). This is well within the capabilities of the average gun owner, and you can find written instructions or YouTube videos on disassembly and cleaning of just about any type of firearm if you need help figuring out how to take them apart

A gunsmith can do the cleaning, but it will probably run about $50, so do it yourself and use the money to buy more ammo.

Hope that helps.

John Spangler

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