1891 Argentine

[JSH]

Well I wanted one of these and chased a few around at some auctions. I went into the local Cabela's in a depressed mode. I knew better but did it any way. Buddy of mine in the lobary was standing there when I walked in. Well, what kind of junk have you got for milsurp I ask. A Krag carbine, cut down rifle that had a nice sanding job done to it, a lot of dents in the stock and some cold blue applied. Then there was the full length rifle, another sad sack. Then there is a 96 Swede/w bayonet. ALL of them with idiot prices.
I am having a hard time not buying a Krag here and there, cutiing it down and taking it in there as a carbine. I am pretty sure I could make a $ on it, even for the price of what a krag is now. We chatted a bit and I looked at the pistola case. A nice Kimber in there,45acp. I swore I would never own a 45 acp, have two now, a wheel gun and an auto. Bad thing is I would like an older one, as in original era type shooter to play with.
Left there and walked down and looked at the rack with the BP stuff. There in the rack sets this 1917 and the 1891. I thought I had looked at the 1917 before. After looking at the bore, I remember why it is still there. Nice parkerizing job though. Stock is fair but nothing to write home about. I was about to step away and go, WHICH I should have. There was a straight bolt rifle that was way to long and to nice of wood not to wrestle out of the rack. The rest is history I suppose.
Tell me what I need so I can get it up and running. What can I use for parent brass? I guess I am going to need a set of dies now too.
LOL, I must have been a some what boring fellow before I got hooked into this milsurp stuff.


KEN, HEY!

Your still a bastid!
I say that to those that don't know, with a smile on my face and love in my heart,lol.
Those damn long guns take up a lot more room than a pistol. I am going to have to buy another safe sooner or later.
I would say thanks, but am not sure that is the right choice of words? LOL
I tell you I have had a lot of fun with these old rifles. I sure hate to see one chopped up. I will say there are a lot of early sporters out there that are nice. I did look at a Springfield Sedgley this evening I would sure like to have it. I really doubt that it would shoot as good as some of what I have though. The lines on that were just somthing to ............................... well if you don't know what I am talking about, you wouldn't understand any way.
jeff

[45nut]

Damn Jeff,

I woulda sold ya a '91 myself. :) Still have a swede and a p-14 here for ya too.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/1003/45nut/misc/rlee.gif

Damn,, that enabler side is showin' :)

[Razor]

What can I use for parent brass?
7.65x54 brass is readily available..
A lot of fellas use the same slug in 7.7 Jap, 7.65 Arg & .303 Brit
Obviously you're gonna slug your bore..right ?

Ain't nuthin' sexier or slinkier than a '91 Argie...Enjoy:-D

Razor
:castmine:

[Larry Gibson]

Yes 7.65 brass is readily available or you can easily form it from 8x57 (just FL size and trim). Forming from '06 or other '06 length cases can be done but cutting off the excess brass can be a chore. A forming die helps and 8x57 ones are fairly common. With the 8x57 form die you can form a basic case and then FL in other dies and trim (6.5x55, 7x57, 7.65 Argie and of course 8x57.

I just picked up a box of Hornady 7,65 ammo. It is their 150 SP .312" bullet loaded in nny cases. I just put a strain guage on the barrel of my scout M91 and will run some pressure tests (M43 Oehler) on the Hornady ammo and my reloads.

My M91s ( I have 3 of them with one being a very nice long rifle. Also have a very nice DWM '09 so I shoot 7,65 quite a bit) like the Lee C312-185 and Lyman's 314299 really well when loaded over 5744 or 4895. I've not got a chance to try the GB C312-150-WFN yet but I have high hope for it in the Argie as a small game/varmint hunting bullet.

Larry Gibson

[JSH]

I won't have any pic's for a while. Had to put it on lay away. Have some other things that have priority at the moment.
jeff

[Hackleback]

If you need some brass, send me a PM. I have a pile of 7.65x54 refromed from -06. Willing to trade for?????

[Buckshot]

http://www.fototime.com/791BAB15E99BC05/standard.jpg

..............And to think that in the mid '90s you could buy'em like this for $100 or so :-)

http://www.fototime.com/F19455D6631D6CC/standard.jpg

These are a blast!

http://www.fototime.com/E024462DE300D0F/standard.jpg

And these are pretty sexy too.

..............Buckshot

[Larry Gibson]

Buckshot

Some of us remember the mid '60s when you found them in barrels in discount stores for $9.95 - $14.95!

Larry Gibson

[legend]

1962,bannermans in new york,15.00 or two for 28.50.
damn i am old!

[jonk]

06 brass is fine, but for all 4 of my guns, it requires neck turning as a final step- that part of the 06 case is just too thick.

[Ben]

While we are talking about the 60's, I went into a large gun shop in Alabama in the mid 60's ( Aero Marine Supply ).

There was a long rack ( 40 rifles on each side ) with nice looking M - 1 Garands on one side and nice looking M - 1 Carbines on the other side.

The Garands were $49.95 and the Carbines were $29.95.

[C1PNR]

IIRC, at the same time the NRA had them at about that price, plus the 1911 for $25, and all mail order!:coffee:

Of course, Uncle Sam wasn't paying me enough to buy all the beer I needed, never mind the extra I needed for guns! Hell, they gave me a Garand and a .45 to shoot without me even having to buy ammo!

[DLCTEX]

In 1973 I bought one(91) from an old gent for $5, which was what he paid for it at Sears sometime before that. It was in excellent condition and shot like a dream. I sold it a year later for $75 to move on to another rifle. Been kicking myself ever since. Dale

[mike in co]

http://www.fototime.com/791BAB15E99BC05/standard.jpg

..............And to think that in the mid '90s you could buy'em like this for $100 or so :-)

..............Buckshot

welllllll
i just bought one...for $100...
all matching numbers/ excellent bore/BUT sporterized stock on the front end.
now heres the silly part. i bought this as a small ring recvr...just to use an action.....but now not sure if i should take it apart.

and i sold some 7.65 milsurplus ammo earlier in the day...lol

mike in co

[Boz330]

IIRC, at the same time the NRA had them at about that price, plus the 1911 for $25, and all mail order!:coffee:

Of course, Uncle Sam wasn't paying me enough to buy all the beer I needed, never mind the extra I needed for guns! Hell, they gave me a Garand and a .45 to shoot without me even having to buy ammo!

I was in HS at the time but remember $18 1911s, $20 Carbines still in the Cosmo. All of the gun magazines had Milsurps mail order, 3 for $39. M-1s were a little higher though $79 at the local discount store.
When I got drafted they told us that if we lost an M-14 it would cost us $94.50. I'll take a dozen. They got pretty damned serious when one disappeared though.

Bob

[corvette8n]

I bought one from Century just before I got my C&R FFL for $69.00, it was antique so I could mail order. I have yet to shoot mine as I didn't have headspace guages for it so I just hung it on the wall.
It was also thwe subject of my first cold bluing project, came out a little light.

I do have a partial box of ammo that I may pull the bullets and dump the powder and load up about 8 to 10 gr of Unique and the Lee cast bullet.

[tinsmith]

Mike in CO:
I purchased an Argentine 1891 long rifle last summer ($225). Stock has a few small dents & dings, but all matching and it looked to be unfired! Well, I took care of the unfired part real quick. Hey, these things are great cast boolit shooters! I was humming "Evita" on the way home from the range. It seems to like the Lee 312-185-1R. The bore of mine is tight (.302 land to land and .311 groove) I may give the unsized .311284 a try.
It is a shame that they ground off the crest from the receiver ring. What were they thinking???

[Uncle Grinch]

Those '91 Argy's are addictive. Maybe because I like the look of the extended magazine and their slim profile.

Larry Gibson is right on concerning the 314299 mould. My '91 and '09 love it.

[JSH]

Would the 311291 be a good one to try in this?
I slugged it and the throat looks to be .312 as is the muzzle.
I don't have this mould but see a lot of reference to it in a lot of calibers.
Jeff

[KCSO]

The Lee 165 spire point for the sks is a top bullet for the 1891. Not only does it feed well but I have shot a number of 1 1/2" groups at 100 yards with my Argentines. Ifind that most of mine like a 311 or 312 bullet and my favorite powder is Red Dot. In addition I shoot a lot of soup cans with 4.5 grains of Unique for a plinking and squirrel load. at 25 yards these will hold into 3/8" or less.

My first Argentine was $20 (1969 GEM store) and my last one was $225 and I thought i was going stupid as i forked over the money.

[OeldeWolf]

I have 2 1891's, a long rifle and a carbine. The carbine has a sporterized stock, but it appears to have been an engineer's carbine. I have a stock for it, awaiting refinishing.

I also have a 1909 DWM argie, and have shot that a lot in the past. I am currently making up a supply of cases for it from 30-06. And wondering when I can afford a reamer, or should I learn to use the forster neck turner? :)

The 1891's balance well, and are so slim with their magazines. The 1909 is a fatter stock, but has the smooth belly. Hard to say which is nicer to shoot, really. :)

Frankly, all my old Mausers are decent shooters, with the two swedes and the 1909 perhaps being the best of the lot.

btw, I paid $150 for the 09, which is what my mom bought it for. I paid 140 for the 91 long rifle, and I believe $110 for the carbine, which has pristine metal.

[KCSO]

I got it tonight hooray hooray...

I traded for an Argentine just to get the sight for my Argent. This is the Faux carbine that has a mint 22" barrel all bobbed back to look like a carbine. The Hooray is that I finally got a Lyman 48 peep sight. I mounted it tonight and inlet the stock and it looks right at home. I can't wait to shoot it and see how much it tightens the groups. Now I have just about another complete Argentine sporter in parts. I'l have to find a cheap sight and put it all together. I gave $150 for the rifle with the sight and so i figure whatever I get for the rifle will put me even. I've always wanted a 48 but could never afford one.

[Bret4207]

My '91 LOVES the original Fat 30. Something about those old sticks that grows on you.

[swiss 96/11]

My 91 loves 314299 sized .313 over 16 Grs. IMR-4227, and they are great fun to shoot with cast bullets.

[David R]

This is my son's 7.65. I slugged the bore after cleaning it with a home made electronic bore cleaner and it came out .314. I bought the fatter 30 group buy mold. I use Liquid ear wax, then put on gas checks in a lee push through .314 die and another coat of Ear Wax. This target is at 50 yards and as good as my eyes will ever do with those sights. I tried up to 12.5 Promo and 12 Unique. Unique won. Brass was formed from '06 and neck turned.


7266

I figure I hit the jackpot on this one

I also loaded some up with 4895. They just sprayed and beat me up.
David