1945-47 Mossberg 42M (b) .22 Rifle

[1srelluc]

I found this one in my travels today.....It was missing it's mag but I knew I had a couple so I bought it for $75.00.

It had it's twist-n-lock sling swivels which is a minor miracle as they are often missing and expensive to replace. It had a Vietnam era "seatbelt" sling on it.

It was also missing the sight hood and the S100 receiver sight but was otherwise intact. It was scoped with a 1947 vintage Weaver G4 4X scope on a side mount....It's still clear.

I'll replace the hood to balance the look out but not the receiver sight as they sorta sucked anyway.

It's a man-sized .22 rifle with a 23" barrel.....The M stands for Mannlicher which is the stock style.

I've had several over the years and they were all very accurate.....Mossberg made a great barrel back in the day.

 

[JGalt]

I found this one in my travels today.....It was missing it's mag but I knew I had a couple so I bought it for $75.00.

It had it's twist-n-lock sling swivels which is a minor miracle as they are often missing and expensive to replace. It had a Vietnam era "seatbelt" sling on it.

View attachment 947688

It was also missing the sight hood and the S100 receiver sight but was otherwise intact. It was scoped with a 1947 vintage Weaver G4 4X scope on a side mount....It's still clear.

I'll replace the hood to balance the look out but not the receiver sight as they sorta sucked anyway.

It's a man-sized .22 rifle with a 23" barrel.....The M stands for Mannlicher which is the stock style.

I've had several over the years and they were all very accurate.....Mossberg made a great barrel back in the day.

Sweet!


I hate you, you dick. Always finding cheap deals like that.

 

[1srelluc]

Sweet!


I hate you, you dick. Always finding cheap deals like that.

Well OEM mags are $75.00+ and knock-offs are around $48.00. If I didn't have the mags already I would not have messed with it. I don't mind springing for $10.00 for the sight hood.

Years ago I bought seven 42Ms that were US Property marked lend-lease rifles in various states of disrepair. I cobbled together five complete rifles. All had both mags (one stores under a trapdoor in the butt-plate).

I still have one that the Brits just bought off the shelf and Woolwich proofed in a NYC proofhouse they established just prior to the Lend-Lease period.

On that one they got rid of the Mossberg sights altogether and installed their own, more robust sights.

Great read:

The Mossberg 42M-B, and 46-M(b) U.S. Training Rifles for the British WW2 Lend-Lease contract

Historic Arms Resource Centre facility for British and Commonwealth Enfield and other Miniature calibre training and small-bore TARGET RIFLES (BSA- Birmingham Small Arms Co.), conversion units and accessories with representation of other nations' training rifles, plus Postal League competitions...

rifleman.org.uk

 

[mudwhistle]

I found this one in my travels today.....It was missing it's mag but I knew I had a couple so I bought it for $75.00.

It had it's twist-n-lock sling swivels which is a minor miracle as they are often missing and expensive to replace. It had a Vietnam era "seatbelt" sling on it.

View attachment 947688

It was also missing the sight hood and the S100 receiver sight but was otherwise intact. It was scoped with a 1947 vintage Weaver G4 4X scope on a side mount....It's still clear.

I'll replace the hood to balance the look out but not the receiver sight as they sorta sucked anyway.

It's a man-sized .22 rifle with a 23" barrel.....The M stands for Mannlicher which is the stock style.

I've had several over the years and they were all very accurate.....Mossberg made a great barrel back in the day.

That's a weird scope.

Looks like the guy who owned it was hunting birds or grasshoppers.

 

[mudwhistle]

Sweet!


I hate you, you dick. Always finding cheap deals like that.

Yeah, Son of a Bitch.

 

[1srelluc]

That's a weird scope.

Looks like the guy who owned it was hunting birds or grasshoppers.

It's just your basic .22 scope/mount for the era and correct for the rifle's age. Back then a .22's receiver was either D&Ted for a side mount or not at all. Mossberg did not grove their receivers till 1951.

That said the scope is woefully inadequate when compared to today's scopes. The crosshairs are not even centered. If you need a lot of windage the crosshairs will be off-center.

Riflemen of the day would shim the bases or rings to bring things closer to center.

 

[mudwhistle]

It's just your basic .22 scope/mount for the era and correct for the rifle's age. Back then a .22's receiver was either D&Ted for a side mount or not at all. Mossberg did not grove their receivers till 1951.

That said the scope is woefully inadequate when compared to today's scopes. The crosshairs are not even centered. If you need a lot of windage the crosshairs will be off-center.

Riflemen of the day would shim the bases or rings to bring things closer to center.

I was thinking that open sights would work too.

But it is a cool thing regardless.

 

[para bellum]

It was scoped with a 1947 vintage Weaver G4 4X scope on a side mount....It's still clear.

Boy, they weren't big on eye relief in those days were they? I think I would have a hard time getting used to that scope.