In my contry, Norway, pre-war is always before 39. Of course that's just because we where "neutral" during the great war. (More than 2000 sailors died in that war.) If a gun is made during the war, I would refer it to as a War-xxx. I have no clue of the quality of the civil guns made during the war, but i know for sure that the german military mauser got worse. The Norwegian goverment confiscated a lot of these guns, and they chopped the crappy late war guns for parts, while they kept the good ones from earlier production. Then they used the ok parts from the late guns and used them as spare parts for the good ones. Then the mauser got a re-numbering, and was issued to the forces.
I'm not so sure about the argument of so many gunsmiths dying, being a reason for the post WW1 quality and production "problem". I think a trained gunsmith would have a first class ride to the gunshop behind the third line. A contry in war would not waste hard to find, special trained persons they desperate need for gun repairs, as meat for the grinder?
I rather think that the evolution and the marked had evolved from craftsman work for the few before the war, to mass production for the lot after the war. The exeptions exist of course.
/Joar
Last edited by Skrotnissen; 08/18/17 04:15 PM.
