Stories and fairy tales from the USA (Created: 01.11.2023)
Swiss weapons are very popular in the USA. Clever profiteers are constantly inventing new stories to drive up prices. Here are a few of them:
Blank bolt handle/bolt slide on Army-Modell 1931 Carbine
In American forums, there are repeated claims that various newer
Modell 1931 Carbine have blank or light-colored bolt handles. According to current knowledge and technical literature (e.g.
Swiss military rifles breech loading 1860-1990 (Ernst Grenacher), page 575), the blank bolt handles (which were pressed from steel and were unhardened and blank) were manufactured and fitted on army-contract rifles until 1937. From then on, they were stamped from sheet steel, hardened and blued. The bolt handles were replaced with the new design when the rifles were refurbished.
How can it be that obviously blank bolt handles appear on later Army-
Modell 1931 Carbine? The following possibilities exist:
- the bolt handles of the late
Modell 1931 Carbine were replaced or mismatched at some point.
- the bolt handles were worn and the bluing was sanded off. This is very likely to be the case with the weapons appearing in the USA, because the wear marks on the bolt handle can document the wear of the weapon very well. Once the wear marks are gone, the sales value automatically increases. It only takes a few minutes to remove the bluing from a bolt handle using the finest steel wool.
- There was a huge stock of blank handles, from which a piece was taken at random from time to time and fitted to new or reconditioned
Modell 1931 Carbine. This is the story that the traders want us to believe, but it is very, very unlikely.
Assembled, supplemented and prettified weapons
There are serious cultural differences between Switzerland and the USA. A weapon like an
Modell 1931 Carbine was the soldier's personal weapon, the soldier was personally responsible for his rifle. Repairs were always carried out by the armouries or authorized dealers/gun smiths, and the replaced parts were always numbered accordingly. Lost magazines were ALWAYS replaced by magazines without a number, which were then numbered accordingly. Of course, the same applies to barrels, bolt sleeves and stocks! There was never a non-numbered rifle in the Swiss Army.
It is therefore only after the end of a rifle's period of service that incorrectly numbered parts could have ended up on the weapons. This may have been done by a private owner in Switzerland, by the arms dealer in Switzerland or by the US importer.
The American market demands good-looking weapons. Appearance is often more important than originality, but originality gives a price bonus. As a result, Swiss rifles are specially perpared with this in mind. Bolt grips are polished or replaced, stocks are sanded down, repainted and/or replaced, and so on.
American buyers are then led to believe that this was done in the Swiss army or in arsenals so as not to jeopardize the originality of the weapons and to drive up the price further.
Social media
The rifles are discussed on social media and in internet forums. False information is deliberately spread, so that a pieced-together
Modell 1931 Carbine suddenly becomes a very special piece. This is deliberately supported by certain actors. It remains to be seen whether these actors are acting independently or are connected to companies that have an interest in pushing up prices, even for bad weapons. References to specialist literature and specialists are deliberately "refuted" with pseudo-evidence and a penetrating demeanor.
