somd_mustangs
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- Jul 1, 2012
- 5,733
This one slips in under the wire as C$R with a date code of 1964.
It's a single-barrel 10 gauge made by Zabala Hermanos S.R.C of Spain, imported by the Richfield Arms Co in the 60's.
My questions revolve around what model this is, how common/uncommon, etc.
I haven't found anything on single-barrel 10 gauges made by these folks, only SxS and single-barrel small-bore stuff.
It's actually a nice looking gun, with what I would call "apprentice grade" engraving and case-colored receiver. It's one heavy mutha.
A little background on this particular gun:
it was obtained by MBAssociates in the mid 60's and used as a test gun for large-bore (20mm) gyrojet rockets.
The advantage to MBA was a cheap off-the-shelf gun that only needed minor mods - namely removing the choke by cutting off the last few inches of barrel (down to 26" length), and adding a scope.
No mods were made to the action, chamber, etc. so it's still just a 10 gauge shotgun.
At some point Robert Mainhardt (president/co-owner/CEO of MBA) put this in his personal collection where it remained for years.
Advanced collector/gyrojet expert Mel Carpenter** acquired it from Mainhardt several years ago, and then passed it on to me last week as part of a package deal (maybe I'll put up some more from that later
)
** Mel literally wrote the book on MBA Gyrojets
It's a single-barrel 10 gauge made by Zabala Hermanos S.R.C of Spain, imported by the Richfield Arms Co in the 60's.
My questions revolve around what model this is, how common/uncommon, etc.
I haven't found anything on single-barrel 10 gauges made by these folks, only SxS and single-barrel small-bore stuff.
It's actually a nice looking gun, with what I would call "apprentice grade" engraving and case-colored receiver. It's one heavy mutha.
A little background on this particular gun:
it was obtained by MBAssociates in the mid 60's and used as a test gun for large-bore (20mm) gyrojet rockets.
The advantage to MBA was a cheap off-the-shelf gun that only needed minor mods - namely removing the choke by cutting off the last few inches of barrel (down to 26" length), and adding a scope.
No mods were made to the action, chamber, etc. so it's still just a 10 gauge shotgun.
At some point Robert Mainhardt (president/co-owner/CEO of MBA) put this in his personal collection where it remained for years.
Advanced collector/gyrojet expert Mel Carpenter** acquired it from Mainhardt several years ago, and then passed it on to me last week as part of a package deal (maybe I'll put up some more from that later
)** Mel literally wrote the book on MBA Gyrojets
