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To all who replied to my question on the M38 via email and this newgroup, much thanks. I apologize for taking so long to answer and not answering each individually but work has kept me pretty busy lately. (It's going to be getting a whole lot busier if this war with Iraq happens. 'Nuff said.) Good information on the counterboring especially. I've tracked down the meanings of some of the markings on the rifle and it has, indeed, had metal and stock reworking done at an arsenal at some point in its life.
Here's another one that I'm having some trouble with. I picked up a Tokarev SVT-40 not too long ago at the local gun show. I'd been looking for one for years and finally found a 1940 Izhvesk in very good shape, 12-port muzzlebreak, standard stock, all matching numbers except for the mag. The receiver is grooved for a scope but doesn't have the cutout on top that some do. Bore is very nice. I'm going to put off shooting it until I can decrypt the VAST multitude of stamps and marks on it. (There are so many on the receiver that it's hard to read the date.) For any of you that are familiar with Toks, I have a couple of questions:
1. The stock shows some signs of repair. A 'corner' near the left rear of the receiver has a wedge of wood spliced in. The grain, finish, and contour match perfectly and the repair is very well done but the splice is obvious upon close inspection. On the right side of the comb is a thin, oval segment appr. 4' long and 1/8' wide running longitudinally that's slightly mismatched and, again, was obviously spliced in; again, the splice was well done but the color's off a bit. Finally, on the right side of the comb, there's a black splotch reminiscent of epoxy filler that's been sanded flush. It's easily visible but can't be detected by touch. All have been covered by the last coat of varnish that went on, wherever that may have took place. My question is, are any/all of these typical of postwar Soviet (or other) arsenal stock repairs, or were they done by someone else?
2. I've read that some serial numbers feature a letter as the first digit that can be used to track down certain facts about the rifle's history. True or false? (For the record, mine starts with a 'C'; this wasn't mentioned in any of the sources I've seen so far.)
3. The bolt carrier has an odd coppery color to it, very similar to copperwashed cartridges but a bit lighter. I've heard references to carriers in the white and I'd assume that some are blued; is this color caused by corrosion?
4. Why the hell are the accessories for these so expensive? ;^)
5. And finally, I paid $350 for mine; compared with the prices I've heard others quoting this seemed on the good side of reasonable, assuming the thing works. Disregarding any marks or historical facts not mentioned above, does this sound all right?
Thanks in advance.
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