Hardpan Curmudgeon SASS #8967

A very respectful presentation; moreso as the three gentlemen are Jewish. Well done!

Yup. Thassit.

Hans-Ulrich Rudel, Germany's most decorated pilot* in WWII, lost a leg during the war. He kept flying. A hard-core Nazi, the man was not a nice guy; but his biography, "Stuka Pilot," is a good read. *Rudel was credited with the destruction of 519 tanks, one battlesip, one cruiser, 70 landing craft and 150 artillery emplacements. He claimed nine aerial victories and the destruction of more than 800 vehicles. He flew 2,530 ground-attack missions exclusively on the Eastern Front, usually flying the Junkers Ju87 "Stuka" dive bomber.

That was my first thought... followed immediately by "Naw; this is Joe. Gotta have somethin' to do with sailing ships!"

I remember reading about him in a Reader's Digest story when I was in high school or junior high. As I recall, they were convinced when they found the remains of his parachute in the plane's wreckage.

I gots a Gras ~ picture is my son holding it. A college buddy gave it to me fifty some years ago. Story was that some relation of his had brought it back as a souvenir from WW I. It passed down until he got it; he had no interest - but I did. Long booger with the bayonet on it!

LOL... I would consider it... but I awreddy gots one - Ruger No. 1. Been pondering it, and one caliber that caught my eye is the 9.3X57. Basically an 8X57 expanded to 9.3mm. 🙂 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/9.3×57mm_Mauser

Seriously pondering taking this on as a project ~ easy enough to remove the nickel, a bit of judicious welding could build up the bridge and replace the bolt-stop ears - an alternative worth exploring would be a Ruger 77 bolt stop. And as far as the weird "ball bearing" goes, I prefer Model 70 style bolt handles anyway. Here's a "Yugo" Mauser I sporterized a bunch of years ago: Bell & Carlson stock, Beuhler safety, mounts and rings, Timney trigger, ancient Weaver K4-w scope. Metal work done by the late John McCrae of Vallejo; barreled action and Beuhler accessories were Parkerized my my old pard Hank. That said, I does likes me a good Mauser ~ having one with "Spandau" stamped on it might be kinda cool! Hm. If I did this... what caliber...?

Well, I have been given an intereting "artifact" - a 1916 Spandau Gewehr 98 action. Actually a basket case, but what the heck - it's interesting. And could be the basis for a long-term project. Anyway, someone has done some really cruel things to the critter. First off, at some point, it was nickel plated. But prior to that, the bridge was ground down, as if to make clearance for a receiver sight perhaps? Then, the bolt stop was removed and the "ears" ground off. But the oddest of all, the bolt handle was cut off and a replaced with the strangest thing I've ever seen: a stub with a captured steel "ball bearing" (last picture). This sphere is evidently secured with a horizontal pin that allows it to spin vertically in it's "cage." Any ideas wotinell this might be about??

Almost absurd and totally cool!

'Bout the only thing that compete with a turkey flogging is a good goose flogging....

Mebbe a little OT, but for Hank's granddaughter Charlotte's recent birthday party, Sassparilla Kid "spatchcocked" a young pig and cooked 'im up in his OMC ("Oversized Mobile Cooker") Da Pig Last Year's Pig (Sassparilla, birthday girl Charlotte, yours truly) The Kid and his Cooker

They look as close to being the same as any two separate pictures of ME....