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16832  - Remington 12 DOM
12/20/2025
Ray

Maker: Remington, Model: 12, Caliber: ?, Barrel Length: ?, Finish: ?, SN: 7033345

Question:
Hello, I hope my e-mail finds everyone there well & fine! I own a Remington Model 12, and the serial number is, 7033345, and I would like to know when the rifle was manufactured. As you can see the serial number has no letters within it. Would you folks know when my rifle was specifically made? I appreciate your help and thank you!

 Answer:
Ray- According to data accumulated by the Remington Society of America at:

https://www.remingtonsociety.org/serials-model-12/

your serial number was made in 1927.

Hope that helps.

John Spangler



16831  - Philippine Constabulary Carbine
12/14/2025
Dan

Maker: Springfield, Model: Krag 1899, Caliber: 30-4-, Barrel Length: ?, Finish: ?, SN: ?

Question:
I have a Krag 1899 that was sold to me as a Philippine Constabulary Carbine. I bought it at a gun show years ago. I got it for a very good price ( regardless if it is a PCC or not) if I sent you some pictures would you mind providing your opinion on its authenticity?

 Answer:
Dan- Thanks for the photos, they help a lot.

It`s really hard to be sure on these. The only ones you can be 100% sure on are the few with later cartouches, but JSA 1902 would be a standard rifle marking. Another common arsenal feature seems to be a slight bevel on the front of the bayonet lug, like on the M1903 bands, but experts disagree on that point. A key point is the fit of the top straps on the upper band, which should be fully seated against the barrel. The upper band was made to fit the barrel about 4`` from the muzzle, but the taper of the barrel results in a larger diameter where the band is located when cut back to PCC length. This causes the upper band to have a gap between the band and top of the barrel unless the straps are modified to fit the larger barrel diameter. I believe the arsenals used a mandrel and pressed the band to make it fit, or they may have removed some metal from the inside of the band straps to fit.

Some are clearly Bubba work, trying to fake a PCC, but this is not one of those.

The third category is less certain if they are in fact arsenal altered, or done by various gunsmiths to provide short rifles for color guards, schools, etc, more or less the same size as M1903 rifles, but using cheap surplus Krags which were a lot cheaper and readily available in the 1920s-40s. My high school had some of these for the school color guard in the early 1960s, likely done by W. Stokes Kirk of Philadelphia.

In my opinion your rifle is a good representative example of PCC, possibly arsenal work, possibly not. The turned down tip of the barrel for the bayonet is well done, and old. The upper band seems to fit well, although the condition is better than the rest of the gun.

As always, my free advice comes with a full money back guarantee!

Hope that helps.

John Spangler



16757  - Remington 742 Date
12/6/2025
Ron CedarMI USA

Maker: Remington, Model: M-742, Caliber: .308 Win, Barrel Length: 22, Finish: Long Gun - Blue, SN: 198930

Markings:
9BMS onleft side of barrel

Question:
I would like to know the build month and year of this rifle I purchased from the Hanau Rod Gun Club while serving in the army in West Germany in 1966

 Answer:
Ron- For most Remington Arms made since about 1921, the code on the left side of the barrel will indicate the date it was assembled, along with a few other things which may or may not be readily understood.

Using the information from the Remington Society of America (RSA) at

https://www.remingtonsociety.org/manufacture-dates/

we find the ``BM`` part of the code on the barrel indicates it was made in January 1965.

In addition to the barrel codes, the RSA site also has links to dates for a number of different models at https://www.remingtonsociety.org/serial-lists/

And they have scans of actual factory serial number notebook pages circa 1919-1944 for many models at https://www.remingtonsociety.org/factory-record-book-serials/

Those are the sources I use, and sometimes they are difficult to figure out but everyone is welcome to look at them and see what they can learn from them.

Hope that helps.

John Spangler



16773  - Gold Plated Mauser 1910
12/1/2025
Robert Nipomo CA

Maker: Mauser, Model: 1910, Caliber: .32, Barrel Length: 4.5, Finish: Handgun - Blue, SN: 74659

Markings:
Gold plated trim

Question:
I would like to know the year of manufacture and an approximate valuation

 Answer:
Robert, the Mauser Pocket Model 1910 was manufactured from 1910 to 1934. Pistols were available chambered in 6.35mm or 7.65mm. It has been my experience that pistols chambered in 6.35mm seem to be less popular than those chambered in 7.65mm. Original finish was blue with fixed sights and checkered walnut or hard rubber grips.

The gold plating is a wild card, I would have to see the pistol to give a good opinion but I would expect to see a pistol like you describe sell in the $350 tp $1200 range at a gunshow depending on condition. Marc



16756  - Winchester Model 1894 With Half Octagon, Half Round Barrel
12/1/2025
David Tory Hill Ontario Canada

Maker: Winchester, Model: 1894, Caliber: 38-55, Barrel Length: 24.5, Finish: Long Gun - Blue, SN: 222981

Markings:
Nothing other than serial and winchester logomodel and cal.

Question:
I am wondering how common this is with a half octagonal barrel and full length tube magazine. Also what price range it may be.

 Answer:
David- The Winchester Model 1894 (later just Model 94) has been continuously popular for over a hundred years, and over seven million made during that time. Most fall into a handful of patterns with consistent barrel lengths and features, sights, calibers, stock types, etc. But Winchester was very much a full service company and willing to make almost anything within reason as a ``special order`` for additional cost.

George Madis` ``Winchester Book`` includes his statistical analysis of the Winchester factory records and has a listing of the number of guns made with various features, some standard, some custom. I don`t have my copy available, but I am sure it will list a number for half octagon/half round barrels, which I think is a significant number, not seen every day, but not really rare either.

Your rifle was made in 1904, according to date lookup page on the Winchester Arms Collectors Assn web site. As far as value, too much depends on condition for me to even guess. I think the half round barrel would command a premium of maybe 10-20% over a similar condition common round barrel version.

Hope that helps.

John Spangler