Conference foundr::firearms

    I agree that the Radom was made well of excellent materials.
    It is a heavy pistol for the caliber, so perceived recoil is small.
    My only complaint is the thing which looks like as safety is a
    decocking lever.  Pressit down and it is not visible that it is
    blocking the firing pin, so when the hammer slams down, you have a
    heart attack, and bless the habits that keep a firearm in a safe
    direction.  Scares me every time.

    By the way. Century Arms has a shipment of Radoms for sale.
    
    I have NEVER seen a shipment of Radom's before. $349 if I remember
    right, with Nazi WWII proofs.
    
    Randy
    

    
    I had a chance to see two of those Century Radoms at the last
    gun show. I guess the best description I can provide is that
    to me they looked heavily refinished....all stampings were very
    "washy". They'd still make good shooters, assuming good bores,
    but I doubt that these will devalue existing specimens.
    
    One theory I've heard is that these Radoms are Russian capture
    guns. The Russkies captured an amazing amount of German hardware
    at Stalingrad as well as what was left behind by the Germans
    during their retreat. Seems that they sent much of their spoils
    through their arsenals and put the whole mess into storage...waiting
    until the day Century Arms could deliver these guns to you!
    
    There's been some Russian-rework Lugers around as well, some
    of which are wearing VOPO grips; lots of history there. Century
    also seems to have a fair pile of Russian-capture K98s. Again,
    all heavily refinished and parts renumbered with electric pencil
    in typical Russian fashion. Since it seems that their arsenal
    process involved tearing down the incoming rifles into parts and
    then reassembling them with no regard for what is "proper", it's
    common to see early rifles in late stocks or late stocks with
    early bands. However, if you look at enough of them, it's possible
    to turn up an interesting rifle that is more or less correct. 
    
    I had a Horton-import Russian K98, code CE 41....JP Sauer, 1941.
    A desireable code and early date. It was in the proper stock with
    proper bands; the bore was literally perfect and the finish was
    almost as good as a commercial rifle. It was all covered with an
    arsenal varnish type of glop, much the same as what we see on
    the SVT40s. A very nice rifle overall. Then Century got in the
    game and the floodgates opened. I saw three down at the local shop;
    he got a 1938, a '39 and a '40, all code 27 (Erma). The '39 had
    a butter-smooth action, shiny bore and was in a walnut stock. All
    that was "wrong" was that it had a late-war/stamped front band...
    right next to it in the rack was the '40 in late stock with early
    band. One minor swap and some price negotiation later, I took that
    '39 home. Damn good K98 shooter for the money spent..which is where
    I came in. These Russian guns are great value for what they cost,
    have their own history to them, and are around is great enough
    numbers that the selection is excellent....get 'em while you can!
    
    DAP