Aesthetics

I suppose aesthetics is officially defined as “the philosophy of beauty”, in my book it’s more along the line of “what I consider attractive, regardless of function or practicality”.   The particular application is regard to items which I think have some inherent beauty, at least in my own subjective opinion.

Guns.  I managed to acquire a Springfield Armory Saint, which is a very recent issue of the ever-popular AR15.  The AR15 is the civilian, semi-automatic version of the US military’s famous M16.   Over the years, since its introduction in the early 60’s in our controversial war in Vietnam, the military’s version has undergone several different models.

The original M16 was full auto and had a triangular handguard, that plastic thing in between the magazine (thing which carries all the ammo) and the end of the rifle.  The M16 had various problems, one of which was that the military couldn’t leave Stoner’s original design alone, and these problems were mostly fixed in the first change, the M16A1.   This model still had a triangular handguard.  Both fired full automatic, meaning automatic so long as the trigger is held.  It had a semi-automatic mode  as well.

Eventually the Army realized that soldiers were wasting ammo firing full auto and changed the gun to fire three round bursts.  This was the M16A2.  This model has a cylindrical handguard. 

Eventually they shortened it and gave it a pistol grip under the handguard, and named this the M16A4. 

Back in the early 90s I purchased an AR15, which I later sold.  This one looked exactly like an M16A2, with a 20” barrel and cylindrical handguard.   My Saint has a 16” barrel and a newfangled handguard which actually looks pretty cool.

The “aesthetic” angle comes in here, insofar as I consider both the M16/M16A1 attractive, as I do the M16A2 and the Saint.  One thing I can’t stand is this:  many current AR15s have a weird handguard that looks like it belongs on Playstation or XBOX.  Not sure where they came up with that, but Springfield fixed that problem.  All of these guns fire exactly the same, the aesthetics making no practical difference.   But I can leave my Saint out in the open and love the way it looks, without even firing it.

Mausers.  These are the most famous bolt-actions.   The original Gewehr 98, introduced in time for the Germans to get nasty against the Chinese in the Boxer Rebellion, then serving as the standard rifle of the Imperial German Army during WWI, is relatively long and has a straight bolt.  It’s an attractive gun.   The carbine I felt looks too short.   In 1935 the Germans split the difference between the two with the Kar98K, which served as the main infantry weapon of the Wehrmacht and Waffen SS during WWII.   In addition to being shorter than the Gewehr 98 and longer than the carbine, it has a turned down bolt.  I purchased one in the 90s and still have it.  That’s another gun I could simply look at and admire without even shooting, though the picture above is a Gewehr 98. 

I also love the look of the Russian PPSh submachinegun with its wood stock, drum magazine and square holed barrel shroud.  These faced the Nazis in WWII but then faced us in Korea when the Chinese and North Koreans used them.  According to my cousin, my uncle tried using one – during his service in 1950-53 (not with a M*A*S*H unit!) - until he attracted friendly fire from neighboring US units.  Oops. 

Cars.   Recently I posted pictures of the ’71-74 AMC Javelin.  That’s the nicest looking AMC there is.  The ’68-70 Dodge Charger is another non-GM looker.  But for all around best looks, Pontiac gets it done.  The ’88-92 Firebird Formula, the ’67-68 Firebird 400, and many of the ’70-81 Formulas and Trans Ams, especially with the ’73-78 simpler pattern Screaming Chicken, are my favorites.   The best would be a ’74 Trans Am SD455 in dark blue with the hood bird.  Dream on.   Again, not all these cars are necessarily fast – a 305-equipped Formula looks just as nice, though isn’t nearly as fast, as its 350-equipped brother, and after 1975 with the introduction of emissions and catalytic converters killing the power, the later second generation Firebirds are slower than their beauty would indicate.   These 70s Firebirds, usually the Trans Ams, also have aluminum dashes.   If I ever get around to restoring my ’76 Esprit, I’ll see about upgrading the dash, as it has the faux-wood dash which was standard on non-Trans Ams. 

Oh, and Rally II wheels are by far my favorite, well over the honeycomb wheels I can’t stand.

Guitars.  I have the good fortune to have collected several guitars:  4 Gibsons (SG, Les Paul, Explorer and Firebird V) and a Stratocaster.  With the exception of the Les Paul, which is in Black Cherry Pearl, the rest of the guitars are in black, or as Gibson calls it, “ebony”.   All of them have rosewood fretboards, including the Stratocaster – I can’t stand maple.  I switched out the Explorer’s white pickguard for a mirror pickguard, and the Firebird’s white pickguard for a black one with the Firebird on it.  I kept the black pickguards on the SG, LP and Stratocaster.  The Stratocaster has the large, ’68-82 headstock typical of ‘70s Stratocasters – Robin Trower and Ritchie Blackmore are most often seen with those.   The SG is a 2013 Standard in ebony, the ’13 Standards being very popular as they are almost identical to the ‘61/62 reissue models.  In fact, I traded my ’89 ’62 Reissue in cherry for the current one, and while cherry was tolerable, ebony is MUCH better.   

Aesthetically I like the smaller pickguard and don’t like the ’67-70 larger one which surrounds the pickups.   Also, whether it’s on a Strat or a Les Paul, I am NOT a fan of sunburst finishes, least of all tobacco or cherry.  Finally, I love the Les Paul script on the headstock, which ruled out a Custom with its inlaid diamond. 

None of these preferences have anything to do with how well the guitar plays or sounds, and the wrong color, pickguard, or a maple neck won’t compromise anyone’s ability to extract heavenly tones with the right amp.   

But some things are nice to look at too, and I keep my guitars out on stands.  They certainly sound nice – either through the Marshall 1x12” Jubilee combo I bought new in 1990, or through the condo-neighbor-annoying half stack (Marshall 100 watt 4100 Dual Reverb through 4x12” 1960AV).

Mauser Rifles

From the late nineteenth century, all the way up to World War II, the most commonly used military rifles in the world were designed and built by Mauser.

One of the three bolt-action rifles I own is a German World War II issue Mauser 98K.

[Update 1/27/24:]  A few months ago I saw pictures of Vladimir Putin visiting Germany, and the Bundeswehr honor guard were presenting Mauser 98K rifles.  Well, an honor guard isn't a combat unit (at least not in that context) so the rifles are purely ceremonial.  Are they issued live ammunition?  Somehow I doubt it.  In any case it was amusing to see a familiar WWII rifle in a contemporary context.  

In the beginning.   Shortly after the Franco-Prussian War (1871) the Mauser Brothers developed a new rifle.  It seems the Prussian’s Dreyse “needle gun” was much inferior to the French Chassepot design.   Rifles by this point were finally breech-loaded, but it was Mauser which developed a gun firing a fully-enclosed metallic cartridge (the Dreyse and Chassepot used a packet of powder which disintegrated when the round was fired) – although still in black powder.

Early designs (pre-WWI):

1871.  The first design.  11mm black powder metallic cartridge, single shot.  Not a winner.

1871/84.  Second design, but with an 8 round tubular magazine (like lever action rifles have, and the Lebel has – see below). 

1886 Lebel.  Not a Mauser, but still important: The French – damn them! – yet again topped the Germans by making the first rifle which fired a metallic cartridge with smokeless powder.  Smokeless powder, as opposed to black powder, made no smoke, was three times as powerful, and overall much better.  It definitely made black powder weapons obsolete and pushed everyone to upgrade immediately.  The initial Lebel round was 8x51mm round nose, “Balle M”. 

1888 Commission.  The first rifle in 7.92x57mm (aka 8mm Mauser) - with smokeless powder.  This had an internal box magazine instead of a tubular magazine.  This was actually NOT a Mauser rifle, but is of historical significance because it established the caliber.  The Germans mass-produced this design in a panic before the kinks were worked out.    

Belgian Mausers.  These were Mauser’s first response to the Lebel.  Fabrique National (FN), the famous Belgian arms maker, produced the 1889 model Mauser, in 7.65mm and it came into service in 1892.  This was the first design to use a charger (clip which holds 5 rounds together).

Spanish Mausers.  The next design, in 7mm (7x57) Mauser, M1893.  The 5 round box magazine was double-stacked, so the bottom was flush with the bottom of the rifle. 

Turkish Mausers.  The Turks initially ordered 71/84s chambered in their own black powder caliber, then switched over to M1889s in their own smokeless powder caliber, 7.65x53mm (actually the same as the Argentinians used), and by WWI had switched over to 8mm Mauser.    

 

Spanish-American War (1898).  I mentioned this earlier; the US forces were using the Krag-Jorgenson bolt action rifle and were unhappy with its performance relative to the Mausers the Spanish were using.  The 7mm Mauser round had a higher muzzle velocity and flatter trajectory than the .30-40 caliber of the Krag, moreover, the Mauser could be loaded by stripper clips while the Krag had to be loaded round-by-round.  At San Juan Hill, the normally outmatched Spanish (who surrendered without a fight on Puerto Rico) gave the US a bloody nose they would not forget – thanks to the damn Mausers.

            Note that these 1893 model Spanish Mausers also saw service during their civil war from 1936-39, in addition to Kar98Ks supplied by the Germans contemporaneously.  The MG34 made its combat debut in Spain.   

Boer War (1899-1902).  The Boers got their hands on Mauser rifles, similar to the Spanish 1893 models.  They also captured Lee-Enfields from the British. 

China.  The German troops fighting against the Boxer Rebellion in 1900 brought along the Gewehr 98.  During the Warlord Period (1911-1927) many of the Chinese warlords imported Mausers or made them under license in China.  They were so numerous in China that “Mauser” became the word for rifle.  As noted below, Mao equipped many of the “volunteers” in Korea (1950-53), who themselves were leftover Nationalist armies, with leftover Mauser rifles.

**         The Poles, Czechs, Bolivians, Paraguayans, Argentines, and Persians also have a well-known association with Mausers.

WWI:

Gewehr 98.   First used by German troops in the Boxer Rebellion in 1900.  Bolt action with straight bolt handle, breach loading, smokeless powder, 5 round internal box magazine, with a bayonet lug, in 8mm Mauser: It was upgraded to the spitzer design bullet in 1905.  This was the Imperial German Army’s standard weapon in World War I, and as such was Mauser’s first mass-produced and successful design.  Since it was so long, they also developed a carbine version of it, which became popular not merely with the cavalry, but also the storm troops.

1903 Springfield.  While not made by Mauser, it was copied from them.  After the Spanish-American War, the US wanted a decent bolt-action like the Spanish Mauser, and decided to copy the design.  Mauser sued them, so they had to pay the Germans a royalty.  But the Springfield wound up as an excellent weapon and well-liked by the troops.  They repaid the Germans the favor when they went “over there” and shot these rifles at the Huns in 1918. 

Later Designs (WWII)

Kar98K.  In the mid-1930s, as Germany re-armed, the weapons whizzes decided to split the difference between the Gewehr 98 and the carbine and make one model in between the two in length.  This became the standard infantry rifle of the Wehrmacht (and Waffen SS) and remained in production throughout WWII.  Not only Mauser but other manufacturers combined to produce around 14 million of them by 1945.  In addition to the shorter length, the other major change from the earlier Gewehr 98 is that the Kar98K’s bolt handle is turned down.  This is the model I have, built in 1942 by Steyr, possibly using camp workers from Mauthausen.  Oops.

The following three designs were not Mauser, but worth discussing as they’re related to this topic.

Gewehr 43.  This was designed by Walther, not Mauser, but is significant nonetheless.  Remarkably, after all this time (1943), the Germans finally got around to developing a semi-auto rifle – long after the US perfected the M1 Garand and the Soviets had (not quite) perfected the Tokarev SVT-40.  It didn’t work as well as expected, and they didn’t produce nearly enough (400,000) to replace the Kar98K or make a difference on the battlefield.  After the war the Czechs used it as a sniper rifle.  Nowadays they’re hard to find, and expensive when you do:  I saw one at a gun show in Chantilly, and the asking price was $2400.  This model has a 10 round detachable box magazine. 

FG42.   The Fallschirmjager Gewehr (Paratrooper Rifle) was actually a full-auto design in 8mm Mauser, which fired from a 20 round box magazine.  As such it could be considered Germany’s equivalent of the BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle).  However, its light weight meant the recoil was a bitch and it was hard to control.  It was not popular and not many were made.

StG44.  Formerly known as the MP43 (to fool Hitler), and designed by Haenel.  This model fired a shorter version of the 8mm round (7.92x33).   Since it’s a select-fire weapon (semi- or full auto) shooting a shortened rifle round, it’s considered the first assault rifle.  Like the Gewehr 43 it was produced in modest numbers (about 426,000) but unlike that weapon it was highly effective and popular with the troops who received them.  It served to inspire Kalashnikov with his design. 

           

Post-war.   Although Germany lost World War II, VE Day in May 1945 did not stop the Mauser.  All those 14 million Kar98Ks, plus all the variants produced by other countries, remained in circulation.  They were damn good rifles, and the ammo was still available.

Yugoslavia.   Not only did the Yugoslavs inherit tons of Mausers, they even went into business making their own copy, the M48.  Apparently these were still in use as late as the 90’s Balkans wars.  Many of the Kar98Ks sold at gun shows, or by Mitchell’s Mausers, are actually Yugoslav M48s – so check the codes. 

Israel.   How ironic:  the Jewish state used former Nazi weapons to defend itself against the Arab onslaught in 1948.  The Kar98K was the initial standard weapon of the Israeli Army (before they developed the Uzi).

Korea & Vietnam.  The Chinese and Russians had plenty of Mausers left over from WWII, so they shared them with the North Koreans and North Vietnamese.  Back in Paris, one of our friends’ father had served in the US military in Vietnam.  Our friend showed us the Mauser Kar98K his father brought back from that war. 

8mm Mauser.  7.92x57mm, also known in the US as 8mm Mauser, though Mauser itself did not design that particular caliber; it was developed by a commission in 1888 and originally had a round nose, the Patrone 88.  In 1898 the French upgraded their Balle M into a spitzer design, the Balle D, and guess what: by 1905 the Germans also changed to a sharp-pointed “spitzer” design (S-Patrone) and kept with that since.  The US liked that design so much it changed its own .30 caliber round into a spitzer design in 1906, thus “.30-06”.   Chassepot?  Lebel?  Balle D?  Who knew the French could be cutting edge in weaponry?  Bravo for the Chauchat, which changed all that. 

            Although this was for the most common, other calibers were 11mm, 7.62mm, plus some later conversions to .30-06 and .308/7.62mm.  Since the Polish produced their own Mausers, in 8mm Mauser, they actually converted a substantial number of Mosin-Nagants to that caliber as well. 

            In any case, 8mm Mauser is comparable in ballistics to other .30 rounds such as .303 (British), .30-06 (American), 7.62x54R (Russian), and 7.62/.308 (NATO).  It was the caliber used in Germany’s machine guns, the Spandau, the MG08, the MG34 and MG42.  Fortunately it’s still commonly available (I scored some surplus Romanian ammo) but not as cheap as more popular calibers such as .223/5.56mm or 7.62x39 (AK47). 

8mm Kurz.  Although there is only one weapon which fires this round, and I’m not aware of any military which used the StG44 after WWII, apparently Partisan still sells this caliber. 

Accessories.  The Germans made bayonets and rifle grenade launchers for these rifles as well, plus sniper versions.  The WWI sawback bayonet was intended for engineers for cutting, but the Allies didn’t know that: soldiers refused to carry it, fearing nasty treatment if captured with it.  I purchased a standard Kar98K bayonet in Paris in the 80s, long before purchasing my Kar98K in the 90s: but it fit perfectly. 

An excellent source book, to which I referred substantially for this blog entry, is Mauser Military Rifles, by Neil Grant.  

Guns & Ammo

In October, 1992 I began working for an attorney, Jerry, who used to work for the NRA.  He was heavily into guns – even had a safe put in his basement for all his guns.  We would go to the range during business hours or on the weekend.  He was the one who infected me with an interest in guns which went beyond my normal intense interest in the military.

 In the past, I’ve had a few guns.

 Beretta 92FS.  This was the first gun I bought, when I was working for Jerry.  It’s a 9mm automatic, and replaced the Colt 1911 .45 as the US military’s handgun of choice.  It comes with a double-stacked magazine holding 15 rounds, and I secured a few extra mags, and an inside the belt holster.  It’s also the gun Riggs (Mel Gibson) uses in the “Lethal Weapon” movies.  At some later point I sold it.

 AR15.  The civilian, semi-auto version of the M-16.  My version had the standard barrel and jacket, making it look like an M-16.  I fired it once, shortly after purchasing it in 1993 (right before the assault gun ban went into effect).  It fires .223, aka 5.56mm.  I sold it to Jerry.

 .32 Revolver.  My dad’s brothers were cops, so they gave him this gun, and he had a DC (!) gun permit for it.  Unfortunately, it was a small, underpowered gun.  Compared to the Beretta, the sound was “pop!” and the recoil nonexistent; with the ear protection on the impression is of firing a cap gun.  Not only that, the permit was non-transferable and not valid for any other gun, i.e. worthless.  I ended up selling it with my dad’s OK.

 At this point, I only own two:

 Mauser Kar98K.  A few years after buying the AR15, I bought this one.  This is the standard infantry rifle of the German Army during WWII, in 7.92mm, best known in the US as 8mm Mauser.  It has a 5 round internal magazine, typically fed by stripper clips.  The recoil is noticeable but not too bad.

            Arguably, the Mauser rifle deserves a blog entry of its own.  The design was perfected in 1898 with the Gewehr 98 model, which served the German Army throughout WWI.  In the 1930s, the K98 model was designed, a compromise between the longer Gewehr and the shorter carbine.  Even the US copied it to make the 1903 Springfield (they had to pay a royalty to Mauser).  So many countries used a Mauser variant that it might be easier simply to name the ones which didn’t.  The notable non-Germans were the Israelis, Yugoslavians, Chinese, Russians (captured from the Germans – and supplied to Soviet satellites as late as the Vietnam war), Portugal, Norway, and even France. 

            Ages before I got my rifle, had been collecting WWII German militaria.  I had the ammo pouches (black leather) and the bayonet.  Sure enough, the pair of pouches fit 12 stripper clips of 8mm Mauser (60 rounds) and the bayonet slipped right on. 

 Walther PP.  Jerry gave this to me.  The PPK (K = “kurz” or short) is the better known variety of this gun, which comes from Germany.  It’s .380 ACP, just short of 9mm.  James Bond carried the PPK, and Hitler shot himself with a PPK, so it’s not an obscure gun.  Personally, my preference would be for a Luger, but I’ve never been able to afford one.

 Revolvers.  I never really liked revolvers, never had any interest in a .357 Magnum or .44 Magnum, Dirty Harry notwithstanding.  “Lethal Weapon” gives the clear example: the young guy, Riggs (Gibson) uses the Beretta, while “I’m getting too old for this shit” Murtaugh (Glover) still carries his revolver.  And don’t get me started on single action revolvers; last I had one was a toy cap gun as a kid.

 Shotguns.  I never really got into shotguns, whether for hunting or “combat”.  All I can say is that a 12 gauge has a heavy kick to it.  I never really got into skeet shooting.

 Ammo.  Aside from shotgun shells (and slugs), the main deal is FMJ vs. JHP, regular bullets (full metal jacket) vs. jacketed hollow points.  What I’d typically do is get a single box of (expensive) Cor-Bon JHP for self-defense and rely on tons of surplus or reloaded FMJ for target practice.  The hollowpoints have a hollow point (obviously) which is designed to expand into a mushroom shape when striking human flesh, doing considerably more damage (!) than a regular bullet which might simply pass through the body. 

            But by the same token, against body armor a hollowpoint would be useless – it would expand against the vest instead of penetrating it.  Thus to call hollowpoints “cop killer” bullets is stupid.  Really what would qualify as such are armor-piercing bullets, which would go right through a bulletproof vest.  Such vests, though, tend to be designed to stop handgun rounds (up to .357 magnum) and not so much even against rifle rounds.  Rifle rounds tend to have twice the velocity of pistol rounds.  Only Type III and IV body armor are proof against rifle rounds, only Type IV against armor piercing rounds.

 Class III.  All of these were/are semi-auto, or in the case of the Mauser, bolt-action.  I’ve been to a Class III shoot at which various wealthy non-drug-dealers brought a variety of fully automatic weapons: an MG-34, an MG-42 (on tripod), a Browning .30, a Lewis, and maybe a few more I can’t recall.  These require a special license from the BATF, but the main obstacle is price:  there is no such thing as a cheap full auto weapon.  Most WWII submachine guns, M-16A1s, or machine guns run $20,000-40,000.  The cheapest I could find was an M2 carbine for $7000.  Of course, that doesn’t count all the ammunition you’d run through.  Well, if I win the lottery…

 Concealed carry.  I’ve noticed that most jurisdictions have a law that says you don’t need a carry permit to take your gun to and from the range, provided you make NO detours and securely lock up the gun en route.  The exceptions are so narrow, that getting a concealed weapon permit makes sense even if you have no intention of carrying the gun around with you all the time.  Unlike the 90s, by now most states – including Virginia - have passed “shall issue” carry laws, which means that if you aren’t a criminal or a wacko, the local court has to grant you the permit.  In the past, the laws gave the court discretion to deny the permit based on need, and of course the liberal courts found that no one – even Oliver North or crime victims – had any legitimate need to carry a weapon around.  They do require that you take a handgun safety course, which is sensible enough.  I let my earlier permit expire, but I plan on getting a new one as soon as I can find my safety course certificate.

            Florida was the first state to pass that kind of law (aside from Vermont, which has no law regarding concealed carry) and the anti-gun, Brady Bunch crowd predicted mayhem in the streets, Dodge City, as anyone with a beef and a gun would be settling disputes with bullets and not words.  Didn’t happen.  Nor did it happen in Virginia, or any other state which followed suit.  The Brady Bunch are liars, plain and simple.

 NRA.  The National Rifle Association gets a bad rap.  Their national headquarters is in Fairfax, very close by and convenient.  Their indoor range is fantastic: decent distance, open 7 days a week, and they allow you to fire rifles, not just handguns and shotguns. 

            As for their politics…a few years ago Guns & Ammo magazine posted an “Election Guide” which warned off voters from Libertarian candidates.  “They don’t have a chance, don’t waste your vote.”  The NRA Guide was more lenient:  it made no recommendation one way or another, and simply said, “Libertarian candidates as a matter of ideology are consistently pro-gun.” 

            Back to the Brady Bunch: the NRA has never advocated that “everyone” should have a handgun or weapon, or that basic gun regulations (e.g. felons and insane barred from having guns) are objectionable per se.  What they object to are blanket bans – no one can have weapons – or hidden bans, such as prohibitive taxes on guns or ammunition.  As usual, the Brady Bunch plays the “straw man” game, of attributing bogus arguments to the NRA to discredit the organization.

            Where the NRA went astray was focusing too much on hunting.  Somewhere along the line they decided that no one would ban hunting, so to associate guns with hunting would be a good way of protecting gun rights and ownership.  Of course, they ran afoul when liberals took the ball and ran with it, proposing to ban anything other than a hunting rifle, making the NRA look foolish for defending handguns and “assault rifles” which few people hunt with. 

            But it’s not just about hunting – which I don’t care for and have no interest in – but personal protection, and even “tyranny deterrence.”  In terms of the former, we have a right, under criminal laws of most states, to defend ourselves with deadly force when faced with an immediate threat to life or property.  Even with a duty to retreat, that duty does not apply when you’re in your own home.  The law never requires you to be a victim at home.  Moreover, the police are not, and never were, our bodyguards.  The police simply come by to pick up the bodies and maybe (!) solve the crime after the fact, which doesn’t do us much good.  As hard working or brave as they may be, their duty is not to protect us before a crime is committed.  Most rank and file police officers tend to support gun rights, it’s their politically motivated police chiefs and FOP/union heads who have to fall in line with the liberal agenda of disarming America’s lawabiding citizens while being unable to effectively disarm the criminals who would harm us.

            As for “tyranny deterrence”, as radical as it seems, ordinary citizens have the right to military style weapons, not just sporterized hunting rifles, precisely to deter Obama, Janet Reno, or whoever, from trying to oppress us and take away our freedoms.  To those who shudder at the thought of illiterate inbreds from the backwoods of our country constituting our “militia”, the answer is, as Daily Kos put it, that there is nothing in the 2^nd Amendment preventing the Paul Wellstones, Al Frankens, or Michael Moores from strapping on a rifle and declaring their own militia.