Third Party Press

A sniper rifle so rare that it might start a controversy :)

Sausages notwithstanding, I won't go into detail out of respect for the departed (some of you know though), it is unreasonable to rely upon the gospel of Backbone, particularly the "Sniper Edition". I can speak from firsthand knowledge on the things I won't dredge up.
 
don w said:
You know guys, talking about Richard Law and the collectors whom contributed to his books,,we all stand on thier shoulders.
Those collectors have opened thier doors to Richard back then, and still do with fellow collectors.
IMO- They got the interest and fun really going.

As to the sniper rifle in question, looks like a post war done item to me.
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The riflle in question looks like a post war deal to me as well. I think any collector should have an appreciation for those books and for those who have contributed. I just wish they would have picked a different girl to hold that basket of sausages.
 
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Law's books were a gallant first attempt. The data was badly flawed. His primary source, although considered to be the " go to expert " back then, was NOT. Many of the guns were fantasy pieces, especially in the sniper book. No one had a good god damned clue back then on what was right. If you base your "FACT" on something published way back then, chances are excellent you are a fool, plain and simple.

I well remember people walking the aisles with Law's book clutched tightly to their chest, turning down perfectly correct rifles because they did not fit with what was erroneously described in his "HOLY BIBLE" On the Kar98k, while snapping up absolute crap. Like I said, his books were a gallant, but fatally flawed, and now totally obsolete, first attempt on providing a guide to the German service rifle collecting community. I still own my copies, but I keep and view them as badly dated relics, which they are. Would I buy one of his books today? No, I would not. It would be comparable to buying a biology book, [and attempting to take a college level course with that book], that was published in the 1950s.
 
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Ditto what Basile said, except I think that Backbone is still a must have. Its a one stop shop for at least basic info...makers, years etc. It is also excellent as far as the manufacturing sections, very informative. While you cannot depend on the data sheets to 100% verify any rifle, they can at least be used as a guide for WaA's and such.

I think its still an integral part of a 98k collectors library, as long as one understands it limitations, and don't take it as 100% gospel. Of course people turning down good guns because they aren't right according to Backbone could be a good thing....:thumbsup:

In any case I thought the OP's statement about Law being infallible and his references unimpeachable speak more of his faulty knowledge and reasoning than impugning Law's efforts...

Also, I love this train wreck...its the thread that keeps giving...:facepalm:
 
What Basile and Pzgr said. We all have BOTW and recognize the limitations. Some don't recognize the limitations.
 
How could such a great guy get banned from Gunboards? I should ban him right quick to keep him from choosing this as his new home. I think I will just to annoy him.
 
mrfarb said:
How could such a great guy get banned from Gunboards? I should ban him right quick to keep him from choosing this as his new home. I think I will just to annoy him.
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You are a small dictator violating free speech rights and so does your monkey "Hambone" who moves posts. I agree with Pgaplayer authority and logic and I think the rest of you were afraid of being shown wrong so as your popular show says
 

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StuG.III said:
You are a small dictator violating free speech rights and so does your monkey "Hambone" who moves posts. I agree with Pgaplayer authority and logic and I think the rest of you were afraid of being shown wrong so as your popular show says
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Thanks for your kind words! I see your custom title says you are the boyfriend of honey boo boo's mom so that's why you post that photo?
 
Started with a deception and 21 pages later it dies with comic relief.

A fitting end if ever there was....
 
It seems I missed the drama again... just a word about Backbone though, - Backbone, Law and Robert Jensen should be respected for what they are, a beginning. A fine one in my opinion, when I bought the book in the mid-1990s it was all the information that could have reasonably assembled in the United States with the current communications available.

I didn't know Richard Law or Robert Jensen then, but I do know Robert Jensen a little these days, on the phone and letters, and he is a remarkable collector who deserves the highest respect in the hobby, truly a gentleman and very honest, - he eagerly admits to not being an expert on German rifles, being a collector of all the combatants arms, but I think whatever he calls himself, he is truly one of the pioneers of the hobby who has done the most to further our understanding of German military rifles 1888-1945. Almost every book on German military rifles, in the US, has relied upon his generosity, knowledge and collection.

I think the issue regarding Backbone is not the book or the author as much as it's zealots, - the book is a book every collector should own, like others mine is well worn and dirty, - only Storz Modell98 book and Heidler's code book are more tattered. When I make fun of Backbone, it isn't the book, I usually use "Backboners", meaning its modern day zealots, not the book itself or its authors.
 
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