Early 1917 Amberg 6648b

chrisftk

chrisftk

Moderator²
Staff member
Hi Guys,

I had this one a while and sort of forgot about it. I bought this one from a friend a while back. It unfortunately had the "USPS duffel cut" from improper shipping. The stock broke completely off at the wrist, but was fortunately an extremely clean break and the pieces fit very tightly back together. I was able to fix it with resin, wax and some patience. You can hardly see the break now, as you'll see in the pics. I don't have a "before" but it was in two very distinct pieces.

The rifle itself is a nice, early 1917 that has the grooves and TD, but still in walnut with a nice finish on the wood. It was a nice, untouched closet gun with crisp wood. The only m/m part is the cleaning rod. It's nothing rare, fancy or unusual; just a nice honest wartime gewehr.

Receiver: 6648 b
Barrel: 6648 b, Kr 370
Bolt body: 6648 b
Bolt Shroud: 48
Safety: 48
Cocking Piece: 48
Extractor: 48
Firing Pin: 48
Bolt Stop: 48
Ejector Spring: 48
Trigger Guard: 6648
Floorplate: 6648
Follower: 6648
Screws: 48, 48
Sear: 48
Rear Sight Slider: 48
Rear Sight Button:48
Rear Sight Ramp: 48
Rear Sight Base: 48
Front Sight: 48
Front Band: 48
Rear Band: 48
Bayonet Lug: 48
Handguard: 6648
Stock: 6648
Buttplate: 6648 b
Cleaning Rod: mm

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Dang, I thought UPS was more prone to damage rifles in such a way. Too bad USPS is just as bad. Great find regardless!
 
You're saying you're not a fan of the USPS takedown mod? That's a stellar repair that you did, can't even see where the crack was. Congrats on a nice Amberg with a walnut stock, most Ambergs seem to be beech.
 
Yeah, nothing that I have shipped has ever had an issue arriving safely. Rule #1 is just to make sure there is zero movement in the box. If the rifle can move, that significantly increases the risk of breaking.

Thanks guys- this break was super clean so it fortunately fit together really tightly. I clamped it together while the adhesive dried, then used a little colored wax to blend in any remaining seam. If you have it in hand and you are looking for it,you can see it. Otherwise it's almost invisible. I have no plans to shoot it because I didn't do a super invasive repair, but it looks as good as I need it to.
 
chrisftk said:
Yeah, nothing that I have shipped has ever had an issue arriving safely. Rule #1 is just to make sure there is zero movement in the box. If the rifle can move, that significantly increases the risk of breaking.
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Agreed. I've had stuff (guns and non-guns) damaged by all the major carriers, and the common thread is always how well the shipper packed it. Like you said, if it can't move inside the box you're probably safe. Very rarely do I get a box that is mangled, but if the crap inside can move around all bets are off. Extreme example: I just had a car mirror shipped to me loose in the box with, I kid you not, a little ratcheting screwdriver that I got from the same seller. Zero padding of any kind, and the box was oversized for them to boot. Of course the mirror was cracked and scratched to hell.

About 20 years ago I did a very brief stint working at a UPS warehouse, loading trucks. Packages getting run over or ground up in the belts etc. was relatively uncommon at that facility (although I've heard horror stories from the really big hubs) but the boxes were absolutely thrown everywhere, out of necessity. You've got a crew of under paid manual laborers loading and unloading trucks with only two goals: speed, and compactness. It was like a giant game of tetris, fitting a brick (box) into every space you could manage. I never saw a box fail from having stuff stacked on it - i.e. a long narrow box like a gun bridging a gap and having a heavy item placed in the middle - simply because the stacks had to be assembled well to maximize the amount of crap in the truck. I never saw anyone maliciously abuse a package, but you have to flat out assume that whatever you're sending is going to be dropped from at least a 3 foot height, multiple times.

Properly packed and secured? You can have a crystal vase survive that. Packaged lazily or with a bunch of room to rattle around and move inside the box? I've literally seen actual bricks broken in shipping because of that.

FWIW that's also the best way to not get your package, because if stuff can rattle around in the box it can punch a hole in the box, and once there's a hole all bets are off. The ragged edge gets snagged, stuff falls out, it's a mess.

If a gun shows up with a bolt handle or muzzle poking out of the box the shipper screwed the pooch.

edit: my personal standard is to just buy a cheap rifle case (Plano ones cost about $35), run some tape around it to make sure it stays shut, and then pack that in a well fitting box. Bolt removed, bubble wrapped, and put in the case with the rifle if it has a protruding bolt handle or something. We're probably talking about a $1000 gun here, an extra $35 in shipping costs isn't the end of the world.
 
It’s no wonder postage is so high, you might think they charge by the mile. I live in west central Ga and just shipped a long gun to a man in RI. For reasons unknown it ended up in Texas then NJ. Hopefully he will get it today ( 5 days late). Ridiculous.
 
Cyrano4747 said:
Properly packed and secured? You can have a crystal vase survive that. Packaged lazily or with a bunch of room to rattle around and move inside the box? I've literally seen actual bricks broken in shipping because of that.
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This. 100%. I tend to wrap in bubble wrap or in several layers of cardboard, then use packing peanuts to fill any remaining space. It's highly effective.

I agree as well that if it is anything expensive, you should just spend the money on a cheap hard case and avoid any doubt.
 
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