Israeli Mauser Watch 08.31.12

First, let me say I am still astonished that the last Israeli Mauser I posted about ended up selling for $1,225.00, double my estimate.  Long story short, don't put much stock in my estimates!

Today Gunbroker.com has 2 more listings.  The first only has an hour left of bidding, asking price of $399 for a Belgian with the IDF crest that to me looks a little beat up.  Personally I would not pay more than $300-$325.

9/23/12 Looks like it eventually sold for $329.

The second has an asking price of $499.  It is advertised as a Sauer & Sohn German receiver, and what I LOVE about is the photo revealing both a Star of David and a scratched out Nazi eagle still slightly visible.  A big middle finger to Hitler!  Sorry, notwithstanding the amazing price the other Belgian went for, I think the German captures with markings like this are more valuable, all else equal, and I think this one ought to go for $800 give or take.

9/13/12 Sold for $451 after being re-listed.  Again I'm quite surprised but mazal tov to the buyer!

It seems to me that this seller left his auctions open for only a very short time, and re-listed several times.  I don't understand that strategy, as opposed to say leaving the listing open for a week or 10 days.

Again I have no connection to the auction and as always, buyer beware!

Morris Fisher's Shooting Tip: Eye Wash and Lubricant

A couple years ago, I blogged about Morris Fisher, a great Jewish marksman.  I picked up his books, one of which is called "Mastering the Rifle" from 1940.  It is full of timeless advice.  However, when I first read the book, one particular nugget struck me as a strange:

Numerous shooters use eye-washes to clear their eyes before they fire in matches, or after the strain of shooting all day.  Cold tea, or one teaspoon of boric-acid to glass of warm water, or a drop of 5-10 per cent argyrol, or any other solution prescribed by a doctor, may be used.

Boric acid?  I know any acid can be diluted or otherwise made to be stronger or weaker, but it just seemed strange to me that competitive shooters back then would put acid in their eyes. However, lately I've been using an over the counter product called Systane lubricating eye drops which many shooters swear by.  I looked at the ingredients the other night, and although it is not the active ingredient (polyethelyne and propylene glycol), sure enough it also contains boric acid!  I think I will stick with the store bought drops instead of brewing my own...

Israeli Mauser Watch: 08.23.12

Currently on Gunbroker.com another Israeli Mauser is up for sale (click for link).  This one seems to be a fine specimen of the Belgian-made Mauser with the IDF crest.  Again, my understanding is that these were made on contract for the IDF, post WWII.  They are definitely cool with the IDF crest, I own a stripped receiver like this that someday I will build out.  But they just don't have the same history and symbolism as a German captured rifle, in my opinion.

Bidding is at $385 with 6 days left at the time of this writing.  My guess is this one will go somewhere between $450 and $550.  

I have no relation to the auction, and as always, buyer beware!

8/25/2012 The current bid is now $782 on that rifle with a few days left of bidding.  A lot more than my estimate, and I don't think I've ever seen a Belgian go for that much...  Definitely one of the nicer-looking specimens.

8/31/12 Ummm...it sold for $1,225.00!?  Shows how much I know!  Perhaps I underestimate the value of matching serial #s on the bolt and receiver?

Jewish Olympic Shooter Sandra Fong Tweets; Visits Israel

Jewish Olympic Shooter Sandra Fong maintains a public Twitter account/page:

https://twitter.com/Smbfong

She is currently "tweeting" about her trip to Israel!  Follow her on twitter for updates.

Jewish Marksman's Return to Smallbore

Over the weekend I shot a 1200 point smallbore match.  I brought out the Anschutz 1807 with aperture sights, which is very welcome change from using a post sight or the weird concoction I have on the Israeli Mauser.  I didn't have a chance for any practice before the match.

The first stage consisted of 20 shots at 50 yards, followed by 20 shots at 100 yards.  I got off to a fairly good start, shooting 98.5%, which would be an Expert score.  But as the match moved to a 40 shot 100 yard match, and then 40 at 50m, things went downhill, and I finished at 97.5%.

I think I lost about 6 points for failing to pick up wind changes at 100.  I could see my shots moving right, but lacked the confidence to know that it was the wind as opposed to my shooting technique, so I did not adjust when I should have.

Other than that, position wise, I think I lost some points by not having the rifle firm enough in my shoulder and not having a consistent head position.  Fellow shooters gave me some tips on that so I can work it out before the next match.  I also do not grip the rifle consistently, particularly as to where I put my thumb, but I don't think it made much difference.

Jewish Marksman's Summer 2012 Miscellaneous

Dear loyal readers!  I've been quite busy this summer so I apologize that posting has slowed somewhat.  I do have a few items on the agenda:

• Can someone please send me a brief summary of the exploits of Jewish athletes at the Olympics?  Obviously I know about Aly Raisman, but that's it!  I do not think we have any Jewish shooters on any teams this year (except Israel of course), but let me know!
• What about Camp Perry?  Every year we seem to discover new Jewish shooters there, please let me know!
• I do have some interesting stories in the queue, I just need time to write them up.
• I'm getting back into small bore prone.  I want to finish this year as Expert or Master.  I realize that if I ever want to make High Master in High Power, I really need to improve my prone game and small bore practice might be the ticket.
• I'm moving from Service Rifle to Match Rifle, my Eliseo-stocked Remington 700 finally arrived from the gunsmith!  More on that later...
• Now that we've reached over 100 likes on Facebook, I'm toying with the idea of making Jewish Marksmanship a more formal association, maybe print up some stickers for our butt stocks and gun cases?
• I'm toying with the idea of a book about Jews in the shooting sports and the firearms culture generally...
• We need to figure out a way to get the top Jewish shooters more exposure to the Jewish community...inspiring youth air rifle teams at every JCC!!