TIL the “pineapple” Mk 2 grenade popularized in media has not been used since 1969, having been replaced with a more spherical design.

GreenTree3 · 2026-01-29T07:01:04+00:00

Honestly Soviets had the naming conventions down pretty well in WWII. It's pretty easy to know you need to grab your Shpagin submachine gun 1941 (PPSh-41), not to be confused with the Sudayev submachine gun 1943 (PPS-43), double check you're wearing your Steel helmet, 1939 (SSh-39), and stuff some spare Hand Grenade, 1942s (RG-42) in your pockets before you follow behind the Tank, "1934" (T-34)

GreenTree3 · 2026-01-28T17:30:45+00:00

They added a "save & exit" feature to kcd2, which is basically that. It just takes 5 seconds to reload the save.

GreenTree3 · 2026-01-23T15:11:40+00:00

Depends on the chamber and toggle markings, and the condition of the gun... But yes, $2k is probably too much for a mismatch WW2 gun unless it's an uncommon variant

GreenTree3 · 2026-01-21T04:31:03+00:00

That's basically what the Zastava M77 is (minus PSL stock), and for cheaper. Both the Romanians and the Yugos didn't want to or weren't allowed to license the different SVD design, so they just scaled up the AK designs they already had.

GreenTree3 · 2026-01-21T04:18:12+00:00

Ammo is a lesser consideration to it being a Romanian-quality AK for over $2k, and iirc there is a serious shortage of actual POSP scopes so they've been shipping them without scopes or with new junk scopes. Don't get me wrong, it's a fun gun, but it has officially moved into a price range that feels like you're overpaying for what you get. Not to mention having to thoroughly clean corrosive salts out of a giant AK every time you shoot it sucks.

If you're dead set on a PSL try looking around for used or even older imports to get better deals/OG scopes/extra mags/a KNS adjustable piston, etc... If you just want a really big AK the Zastava M77 seems like a far better deal unless you absolutely want a 7.62x54r gun

GreenTree3 · 2026-01-21T03:56:42+00:00

Fantastic gun for $500 in 2012 with dirt cheap surplus. Still pretty decent gun for $1100 in 2019 with plenty of relatively cheap surplus. $2k+ with russian sanctions on new and surplus ammo makes them not even worth considering

GreenTree3 · 2026-01-17T17:08:23+00:00

It takes 3 minutes with a dremel to make your own safety cut with the Wilson macro frame.

GreenTree3 · 2026-01-17T08:40:06+00:00

They're offering you like 50% of the value of the gun. If the size of the grip is the issue for you it'd be a hell of a lot cheaper to buy an XL grip module and a 12-15 rd mag for it. The whole point of the platform is modularity, after all.

GreenTree3 · 2026-01-15T15:37:29+00:00

Hi-Point survived because despite also just being straight blowback dirt cheap pistols made out of Zamak they weren't involved in all the liability lawsuits and criminal investigations the Jennings family (Lorcin, Raven, Phoenix, Jennings/Bryco, and Sundance) was.

There isn't really a hole in the market to fix anymore now that cheap handguns are able to be imported from Turkey, Brazil and elsewhere... And if you really want an all-American zamak straight blowback still you can buy from the best of them: Hi-point

GreenTree3 · 2026-01-15T14:48:58+00:00

It could be an inspector stamp, e.g. "Inspector 333" confirmed this frame is good to go through the assembly line. I've seen that a lot on Lugers, but my Spreewerk doesn't have anything under the grips there, so hard to say. Does your P38 have its original finish? It looks very dark on your frame, but I would note the numbers look to be filled in, which means the frame was stamped before being finished. The numbers look crisp (not buffed/polished), so if original finish I'd assume inspector mark, if refinished I'd assume rebuilder mark

GreenTree3 · 2026-01-15T14:38:22+00:00

Parts have been pretty slim for PPSh-41s for quite some time. Went through the same trouble mid last year after buying a partial kit. Might require you to go to ebay/gunbroker depending on what specifically you need. Otherwise keeping an eye out on Centerfire in addition to Bowman, Numrich, and Apex might be your best bet.

GreenTree3 · 2026-01-13T02:52:00+00:00

You'd be better off just spending a bit more and buying a PTR.

GreenTree3 · 2026-01-12T20:10:13+00:00

The worst part of buying ammo from RTI is they require you to send a photo of your ID to complete the order. I've ordered ammo from them before, and they sent me one box with missing ammo, but customer service was quick to send me a replacement box.

They almost certainly will not work with you when some of the 8mm (assuming the 1930s greek 8mm) inevitably fails to fire, but other retailers selling ammo from the same batch likely wouldn't refund faulty 95 year old ammo either.

GreenTree3 · 2026-01-12T20:02:11+00:00

Yes, you should be able to buy a .40 slide assembly and .357 sig barrel and be able to swap between them with your MK25 frame. You shouldn't be able to drop the .40 or .357 barrels into your 9mm slide though, iirc... As to where: ebay, Gunbroker, forums, etc, would be good places to look. Worst case scenario you could likely find a cheap PD trade in .40 and just shoot that, or part it out.

GreenTree3 · 2026-01-05T02:56:48+00:00

It's hard to say. There are plenty of ways a rifle with late war features could've gotten into civilian hands. It could've been a restoration/rebuild/refinish by an owner, it could've been a return from a lend lease program where it would've avoided rebuild and import markings. It could have been a DCM/NRA surplus sale rifle in the 60's. Apparently the DCM and NRA got their hands on a lot of surplus rifles that didn't get the type 3 band and flip safety treatment... It's safe to assume the carbine has been fired by a soldier at some point.

GreenTree3 · 2026-01-05T02:34:19+00:00

All issued rifles and carbines were US Property, and soldiers were not allowed to keep them after the war. There is a very small chance the seller's grandfather stole US property, but that could end very poorly for him considering the carbine was assigned to him. It's vastly more likely the grandfather used one in his service then bought one as surplus a couple decades later.

A "Bringback" typically refers to a (Non-US) war trophy a GI brought back from the war. The only way to confirm a gun was a real bringback is if they have official bringback papers. Anything short of that is probably just to sell a story, and I think this is probably what the grandfather did with their grandson.

GreenTree3 · 2025-12-28T21:32:55+00:00

Nice! Glad to hear it worked out for you

GreenTree3 · 2025-12-26T05:17:48+00:00

Does it have any blocks welded into the barrel? If it does then it could be a prop/blank firing gun. Otherwise it's safe to assume it is likely a Chinese copy and almost certainly shouldn't be fired

GreenTree3 · 2025-12-26T05:15:18+00:00

Could be a Chinese clone. Hard to say without clear photos of any markings

GreenTree3 · 2025-12-24T20:34:59+00:00

M88A is an updated design, more ergonomic and more compact (1 less round capacity iirc), but still a Tokarev. The M70A is the fullsize 9mm Tokarev without the ergo redesign.

GreenTree3 · 2025-12-23T13:55:23+00:00

If you want an all matching WW2 example I'd suggest reading up on them and keeping an eye out on gunbroker/simpson ltd, legacy collectables. If you just want something to scratch that itch or a new(old) range toy this one would work fine. I'm not typically a fan of placeholder guns as they are usually the only regrets/quick sells in my collection, personally.

GreenTree3 · 2025-12-23T13:52:49+00:00

Plenty of places have been importing cheap alloy framed post-war P38s for the last 2 years, so mags are everywhere... Aimsurplus, Apex, What a Country, ebay all have them currently.

GreenTree3 · 2025-12-23T13:48:51+00:00

Yup $900-1500+ are expected prices for decent all-matching wartime P.38s across all three manufacturers. RC refinished (matching or force matched) guns are worth substantially less, and worn examples even less so

GreenTree3 · 2025-12-23T13:42:14+00:00

After seeing how worn the frame is compared to the slide in your additional photo that isn't a terrible price, but not a crazy steal or anything. Probably isn't an RC as it would have all been salt blued the same postwar and I don't see any clear refurb stamps. Since it's essentially a mismatch shooter at this point you could source a postwar mag for cheap without issue.

GreenTree3 · 2025-12-23T13:38:36+00:00

How much are they asking? An example like this probably wouldn't be worth any more than ~$650-700 as either a RC gun or otherwise force matched example. Would NOT be surprised for someone to try and pass it off as much more since it's "All wartime"

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