Wrap steel wool around the board brush. Use vinegar and get the rust out.. Ron steel go to finer steel wall with oil work it back-and-forth. That soap, gun parts and vinegar you could have vinegar and water mix.. let it soak overnight and take it out. Then you can clean it up and put car wax on it. Oil tends to run off even if it is a film and leave the metal bear. Car wax will stay on better. Spread the cracks in the wood apart, just slightly and run a index card in it with white glue on it. Paper towel around it and then get some nylon rope or strap and tighten it up like a tourniquet.. that will give you the clamping pressure. You can take water and get the paper towel off if it sticks to the glue. Anyhow, that’s my idea on how to fix it up. Another thing you can do is put wet rags over stock down to raise the wood up.. if you have a major, it’s not going to take it out but small down dents will. Do not use wood filler it’s better to leave a dent. as part of the natural wear.. These firearms look great to practice antique restoration on. Bypassing steel wool with oil on it as the final rub you will be amazed at how good that Bohr looks when you get done.. I have success 1/3 vinegar to 2/3 water. 5050 should really do the job.. get 5% vinegar gallon jug at the grocery store.
This method is to harsh on the original finish under the crust, I use no chemicals just a dulled knife & tooth brush sized wire brush only. It leaves the orig finish & feels smooth too😊
Also ordered my 1888/90 when they were on sale. Put atleast 6 hours of cleaning into it but I'm extremely happy with it. No major faults and only missing the safety lever.
@@danm7298 I mean with all the cleaning I could see lands and groves but not very defined. Will expect keyholing if I ever get any ammo for it. Good luck with yours.
@@kaseyturchin4390 thanks. try to get flat based bullets. Ive never a few rifles that tumbled with boat tails but none of them tumbled when using flat based bullets. but thats only at 100 yards. If theres not a lot of pitting you could even use cast bullets
@@Hilth0Modding I got the one i ordered today. It was really nice and had a really good bore compared tot he other ones i saw. The rifling extends all the way to the crown. Its unit marked. all matching. The only thing that sucks is the rear action screw is seized and so is one of the buttstock screws
When the normal price is $400 and theyre on sale for $200 you can expect that theyre not going to give you the best rifles in the lot. If it was 20% off i wouldnt suspect that. I think its their way of getting rid of some of the worst ones. if someone had paid full price and hand select and got this they wouldnt be happy.
@@brasstard7.627 I just got the one i paid full price for today. i couldnt be happier. its all matching and 100% complete, bore looks really good rifling even extends to the tip. no cracks. quite a bit of finish left for an RTI. the only thing that sucks is i cant get the rear action screw out! No AOI or ethiopian script. I might make a video of the unboxing. never had a screw that wont come out tho!
these cavalry carbines played a crucial role in the first italio-abbasynian war specifically at the most significant battle of adwa. the ethiopians called them "nas masser" (rifle held together by brass) It was common for the men to take some of the brass off to make jewelry for their wives who accompanied them in the field actually. women were required to join them helping them, cooking meals for their husbands. or, if not married to take a single man to accompany during the war. every man had to fight! And every woman had to accompany their husband during war or take a single man to acconpany.
Having trouble understanding the second to last sentence: "women were required to for their husbands or to take a single man to accompany during the war." What were women required to do for their husbands, and what was this about a single man?
@@mickm5097 men took pieces of brass off to make jewelry for their wives who were forced to accompany them in the field. If a man wasnt married then an unmarried woman would be provided to him. All men were required to fight and every women had to accompany them. I rephrased it. I just thought that wasinteresting. If there was a war i wouldnt mind haveing a girl there to help me out lol. Cooking meals, dressing wounds, surely other stuff lol
I let my C&R expire around 8 years ago. My how things have changed. It looks like a good time to liquidate! Most of my refurbished Mosins were $49.00 - $79.00 with all the goodies. A lot of guy's bought crates full for coffee tables. RTI stuff looks rough, but still feel the history I guess.
Thanks for sharing this video. I also picked up these two in that Labor Day sale. I think for 200$ it’s worth it for the collection. My Gras was in worse shape then yours mine was missing the front barrel band and a giant Grand Canyon crack on the bottom of the wood. Not sure why it was so big but my 88/90 was in better shape it also had a crack in the right side next to the tang but not as bad as the one you got. I’m happy to have these two examples for that price point. I also enjoyed Rakum videos on his he got in. If RTI did more sales like that I wouldn’t definitely buy more knowing they are in this condition. Thanks for posting! Love the channel
Make sure you bore scope them before shooting them if that is your intention. Saw a guy got a Lebel from them, looking down it bore looked amazing, put a bore scope down it and there was a patch of the barrel where it looked like sewer pipe, so looking at it from the muzzle it looked perfect, closer inspection showed it was a wall hanger.
Mark Novak of Anvil , a gunsmith , loves to remind milsurp owners they have to separate the hand guards and stocks from the receivers and barrels to check for rust that goes unnoticed and hidden from site . I will bet those two rifles are prime examples of what he warns about .
Royal Tiger Imports used to also be known as Inter Ordnance / I.O. of US made AK infamy. Anyone not wanting overpriced sub-par surplus firearms and non-existant customer service would do well to steer well away from RTI.
Funny story, now, as a divorced, working , middle aged white male, I can't even afford these old pre 1899s that back in the 1980s you couldnt even give away... So, i decided i would build one from eBay parts, as theres no legal issues with these antiques. In the end, it wound up costing about the same to piece together a gewehr 88 as it would have cost to simply buy one from royal tiger or one of the online gun auction sites. I learned my lesson.
When it comes to the rear sight on the Gras being missing, I don't know when they were given to Ethiopia but given the rifles first entered production in the 1870's, it wasn't uncommon for large parts of Africa at that time to still be using Muzzleloaders and Muskets as their most advanced form of firearm technology. Given most muskets only had a front bead or blade sight, if Ethiopia went from smooth bores to these, it would make some kinda of sense to remove the rear sights if they were used to shooting with only a front sight
Many many Gras Rifles went into Ethiopia post 1900, they had an arms embargo put on them in 1905 and had a hard time getting modern weapons like 98 Mausers and such
But in other cases they put other guns rear sights on these Gras, one of these Ethiopian Gras sold on Gunbroker for $725 thats when RTI upped the price on the Artillery Carbines from $350 to $699, but it had some other guns rear sight bronze brazed onto it. I suspect the solder is just weak and they fell off over time and the way they carried these caused the sights to fall off as they rode around lost forever, there was a guy on a forum that his Berdan sight fell off in shipping. One of my Berdan cut downs has the rear notch filled into a Buckhorn style
I bought one of their Carcano carbines, I wasn't expecting much but was pleasantly surprised. 1901 date, and condition not too bad for the price. I've put 40 rounds through it and was pleased with the results
I got 4 rifles during their sale. One cav gras. Bore is very bright and I got a partial rear sight. Stock had small crack on the middle side. One cut down 1888/90 decent bore after cleaning. Missing safety, safety screw, safety spring. Replaced them online. Wood was very nice after cleaning. Lots of pitting/scrapes on surface metal. One 1888/90 full length rifle. Everything fine on except terrible bore. Gonna hang it. One Italian vetterli carcano version. Still haven’t cleaned it up but it looks ok and has cleaning rod. I think I got lucky each 2 bills except the veterli was a hand select for 3. Def will buy more if they have sales. Very fun to clean these rifles up. 😊 I didn’t plan on ordering the gras but after doing some work on them it’s by far my favorite to pick up and mess around with. After polishing the brass it really is beautiful. Hopefully I can find ammo for it eventually 😅😂
These can be shooters 👍 Well, sort of. I have cast my own bullets from hot glue and used them in various firearms and black powder guns. I’ve done this using only primers without any powder. The results vary, but can make for a little fun plinking. The cap and ball revolvers don’t do well, but perhaps one grain of powder would work.. The power is somewhere between airsoft and decent pellet gun. I use magnum primers that fit the case , and 209 for my .50 cal muzzle loader. 9mm will put a hole in a soda can, and the .50 will dent sheet rock. ( oops 😳) .450 bushmaster puts a dent in the can. Crayola makes round pencil top erasers that work perfectly in the .50 cal. (Shaped like a crayon) So you can enjoy these as “shooters” plinking anywhere that an air gun might be appropriate. I just might get a couple myself.
Definitely seems to be hit and miss RTI. I got a Mannlicher from the same sale. Mine is much nicer missing the safety and having a small crack on the right side of the stock near the trigger. I was prepared for it to be a wall hanger. Definitely worth 200. Even 300 given how rare they are. Keep up the good work.
Not bad for 1870s-80s, but with no ammo (and questionable safety anyway) they are wall hangers. Nice if you want collectibles, but $200 for a wall-hanger?
I got one of those $199 Mannlichers, a week ago. Im surprised it is in pretty good shape after cleaning up. Good rifling, furniture intact, nothing missing that I know of. Well worth it. Its in better shape then some of the ones I bought from IMA
I just got the one i paid full price for today. i couldnt be happier. its all matching and 100% complete, bore looks really good rifling even extends to the tip. no cracks. quite a bit of finish left for an RTI. the only thing that sucks is i cant get the rear action screw out! No AOI or ethiopian script. Just throwin that out there.
I don't buy wall hangers any more. I once bought a 1939 k98k and even paid more for the select grade. Opened the box it looked like someone had taken a wire wheel to the metal. Waffen stamps ground off. I figured what the hell , I was making good money at the time so I tore it completely down . One thing that made it not a total loss was that all the numbers matched. I refinished it and I checked the bore and it wasn't that bad but it wasn't a tack driver either .
I recently purchased a Italian Vetterli 1870/87/15 from RTI (The had a sale) decent condition but needed a lot of TLC. The finish of the stock was pretty crappy, I decided to strip the stock and refinish it. Most of the bluing was off, so I decided to re-blue that too. What was really surprising was the bore was in great shape so I may decide to shoot it (I'll have to reload for it since I don't trust shooting it with full-power factory loads (just in case). Even if I don't it is going to make a great wall hanger!
RTI had a few good offers in the last few days. But, I live in a US territory, and it isn't listed in the shipping options. Sent a few emails to RTI asking if they will ship to where I live, and I had no answer.
I ordered a Yugoslavia M48 from RTI, I knew it was going to be a beat up rifle but holy smokes it was beat to hell. I wanted a restoration project I definitely got one. She still a work in progress
I understand that you can get the 8x50mmR Mannlicher now. Supposedly due to Indian Gun Laws, it is used in civilian hunting rifles, specifically the IOF .315 sporting rifle, which is based on the Lee-Enfield. The .315 IOF cartridge is the Idian designation for the 8x50mmR Mannlicher [Not to be confused with the 8x50mmR Lebel cartridge]. So if someone could get some contacts in India to get some if those unprimed cases, you may have something you can work with...maybe...
Your Gras is better than the one I received. Was hoping for a shooter as I reload the 11mm Gras, but no such luck, even after paying the extra $100 for a rear sight. P.S.Cavalry carbines were issued with a ring baynet that fit over the front sight. I have one and the book in french that set me off in the search for one.
suggestion..... when showing the chamber and open bolt a flashlight would greatly improve viewer inspection, but very good job on bring the open bolt into zoom without lost focus
I ordered a gras carbine with complete rear sight. does have a complete rear sight. just missing the cleaning rod which i just finished making my own from a full length chasspot repro. It has an excellent bore. not matching. its an 1872 66-74 so 1 year after the franco prussian. I tried to get any of the french rifles from that perdiod. they have none. also mine has ethiopian script of empress titu.
The stock on that gras was from a rifle. u can tell cuz it has that wood plug on the sidde. that sucks i missed the 200$ sale i just bought an 88-90 for $400 :( it better be a really nice one lol
Wow the rifle has no rear sight but at least it has both of its sling mounts! What an amazing deal. I’m sure the aftermarket is awash in spare Gras carbine rear sights.
Exactly. Wasting money on garbage rods. Any serious buyer will laugh and offer $50 for that rifle. Or any other RTI (IO) imported rifles. His collection over the last 2 years has been hot trash from RTI and Cla$$ic (they got their rifles from RTI lol).
Back then my dad bought a Springfield '03 in really decent shape for something like $12 or $15 from Montgomery Wards. Sears also had them. The rifle my dad bought was still in cosmoline.
@@Joe_shmoe1 Except with guns, they appreciated in value much higher. My dad's $12 or $15 Springfield is now worth about $1-k. The SKS rifles that I bought in the early 1990s for $89 are now between $500 and $600. I actually like the SKS better than the AK-47s anyway. The hard part right now is finding ammunition at a reasonable price to feed the Russian guns I own.
@@yepiratesworkshop7997 Gun shows sellers: “I bought (insert any old firearm with historical value) for $5 and a cheeseburger back in 1960” “Okay how much are you asking now” “2k no low ballers I know what I have” 💀 Also, feel you pain with 7.62, I have a PSA ak-103 clone. You can still find under 50 cents online in bulk (used to be ~26 cents). It’s all cause Biden wanted to show the Russians that we don’t want their guns or something
@@Joe_shmoe1 You pretty much nailed it, Pavel. I did trade one of the Chinese SKS's for a good 200 lb anvil. But, that's probably the last one I'll let go of. The high price of ammo has sent me back to plinking with .22s these days. I just picked up a single-action Ruger (Used, but like new) and a new Heritage 'buntline.' The Ruger, of course, is much, much better than the Heritage pistol, but I wanted to change out the cylinder for .22WMR and take advantage of that 16-inch barrel length as a sort of 'mini-rifle' for squirrel hunting. I'll be doing some videos of that stuff sometime soon. My future 'wants' are a good .45-70 rifle or carbine, and a flintlock 'grenade launcher' for my pirate reenactor kit. I may end up making the launcher, though. I need to practice on making flintlock mechanisms and once I get a good working output of those, I'll start building flintlocks -- especially Queen Anne style flintlock pistols with a real "turn off" barrel.
If RTI dropped their prices a bit... AND answered their damn emails and phones, I might be tempted. That said, I was looking at some of their Enfields. Ended up finding one closer to home that was cheaper and in way better condition... so no ordering and crossing fingers.
wow! 200$ wont get you much these days. the last rifle i bought for 199$ was a while ago. i asked the gun shop owner if their was a good workhorse bolt action he could recommend and he brought out a what had originally ben a Remington mod 1917 in 30.06 that had ben re built action up into a respectable hunting rifle. it came with an old elpaso tx made weaver k4 that has a custom micro dot reticle. wen i asked the price he grinned and said well since its not original mill surp its not worth a whole lot and said 199$ would be fair so i bought it.and as we talked a bit more we compared it to a couple much more expensive options a ruger mod m77 and a pre 64 mod 70. and we both agreed that the Remington m1917 was the nicest of the three. i due suspect that their are still deals to be found still if you look around. the two examples you acquired are better collectables than my rem is witch is strange. but im ok with that. i bet that 200$ would have gone alot further in grandpas day. some truly nice options back in the day!
I've ordered quite a bit from RTI and my rule of thumb is to assume anything they're selling is 2 grades lower than advertised. I bought a Kar88 I was really excited for at around 800 dollars, and when I got it the gun was in such rough shape the barrel was literally cracked in 2 places so a large fragment was about to break off all the way down to the stock. Ended up getting a refund (which I was sad about because I was interested in keeping it as a wall hanger if they'd give me all but 200-300 back), but that was the last time I ever bought from them. They have some cool, rare stuff. But for the condition they're selling its really really not worth it imo. If you keep your eyes open on gunbroker you'll get the same deals for the quality and grade, and at least then you aren't just rolling the dice on whether the rifle will blow up on you or not. I've got my C&R FFL so anything of that era milsurp makes no difference for me to buy from Gunbroker or not.
Hey if you love firearms, especially military firearms like us. Two hundred is " I'll take it" numbers. haha! My problem is bayonets, some want more than the rifle itself. Maybe I'm just a cheap SOB? Carry on.
Your bayonet is a Model 49/56...It fits a French 49/56 MAS rifle.....The 2 rifle support rings on the handle proves this conclusion. I have over 200 bayonets and I've been a collector since 1968.
surprisingly there is a massive surplus of spare parts for the 88/90s-1890s. you can find them at numrich. only parts i coldnt find were FP springs and stacking quillion/hook things
@@Hilth0Modding nice i didnt know that. The one i got yesterday luckily want missing any pieces and the bore was pretty good. unit marked as well. no AOI or other markings. I cant get the rear action screw out tho! and one of the buttplate screws. other than that its really nice.
@@Hilth0Modding nice yea theyre so in the white u might as well. Did u do the stock as well? I like to reblue if most of the entire finish is gone but i like to leave the stock alone
I would NEVER buy any firearms from RTI. They buy entire LOTS of rifles from 3rd world countries,then interchange parts,to make "complete" units,then sell them at jacked up prices. Those 2 you have,would/should only be classified as "wall-hangers",...no worth more than $50 each.
It looks like an M1 or M14 bayonet. I have an 1895 Sporting Steyr in 8x50R. Bore has pitting but it shoots very well. Have dies and brass easy to make from Russian 7.62x54R brass. Oh its a .323 bore in the 8x50R Austrian and I use 250 grain Woodleigh and 250 cast
For those of you claiming that RTI is ridiculously overpriced and they need to discount their products 50 percent or more you are living in the past, or in a fantasy, I'm not really sure. Regardless, these are some of the most affordable surplus firearms on the American market right now and will probably continue to be for the foreseeable future. The days of getting mosins for $100 and K98s for $300 is long gone. You can go to any online store, any brick and mortar store, or individual dealer/gun show and you will be hard pressed to find any of these firearms for remotely the price your talking about. Not to mention a lot of the firearms RTI has managed to import out of Ethiopia haven't been available on the open market for a long time, in some cases even decades. It's time to adapt to the times and accept whether you like it or not that the days of cheap surplus and militaria in general ARE OVER. Collectables are worth what the people in the market are willing to pay and it seems if you are unable to accept that it's perhaps time to find a different hobby.
With them, presume that it's overpriced by 100%, needs serious work and probably gunsmith testing and certification unless you're buying a wall hanger. None of their crap is worth anything even vaguely close to their prices, especially the cheap & dangerous ones.
A Ras Welle marked working Berdan Rifle with a great bore for $500 is worth it, you couldn't find a sporterized Berdan for under a $1000 before these came in
@@larrynason8716 don't want them. Even if I was a collector, I wouldn't waste money on broken trash. Guns are a tool, if they don't work they are just clutter.
Hola! ¿Qué tal fiable es comprar mas de un Fusil Grass en RTI? Somos una agrupación Recreacionista y seria nuestra primera comprar de ese tipo... (necesitamos orientación)
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If RTI dropped all their prices by 50% it would be worth buying.
just gotta wait for their sales.
Maybe....
not even then!
The problem is dopes keep buying from them, which is the reason old beat up plentiful surplus is so high now a days.
I'm not buying anything if I can't see the particular rifle I'm buying.
Wrap steel wool around the board brush. Use vinegar and get the rust out.. Ron steel go to finer steel wall with oil work it back-and-forth. That soap, gun parts and vinegar you could have vinegar and water mix.. let it soak overnight and take it out. Then you can clean it up and put car wax on it. Oil tends to run off even if it is a film and leave the metal bear. Car wax will stay on better. Spread the cracks in the wood apart, just slightly and run a index card in it with white glue on it. Paper towel around it and then get some nylon rope or strap and tighten it up like a tourniquet.. that will give you the clamping pressure. You can take water and get the paper towel off if it sticks to the glue. Anyhow, that’s my idea on how to fix it up. Another thing you can do is put wet rags over stock down to raise the wood up.. if you have a major, it’s not going to take it out but small down dents will. Do not use wood filler it’s better to leave a dent. as part of the natural wear.. These firearms look great to practice antique restoration on. Bypassing steel wool with oil on it as the final rub you will be amazed at how good that Bohr looks when you get done.. I have success 1/3 vinegar to 2/3 water. 5050 should really do the job.. get 5% vinegar gallon jug at the grocery store.
This method is to harsh on the original finish under the crust, I use no chemicals just a dulled knife & tooth brush sized wire brush only. It leaves the orig finish & feels smooth too😊
Also ordered my 1888/90 when they were on sale. Put atleast 6 hours of cleaning into it but I'm extremely happy with it. No major faults and only missing the safety lever.
how was the bore? I just ordered one. didnt know i jsut missed teh sale :( I even paid the HS fee! it better be good lol
@@danm7298 I mean with all the cleaning I could see lands and groves but not very defined. Will expect keyholing if I ever get any ammo for it. Good luck with yours.
@@kaseyturchin4390 thanks. try to get flat based bullets. Ive never a few rifles that tumbled with boat tails but none of them tumbled when using flat based bullets. but thats only at 100 yards. If theres not a lot of pitting you could even use cast bullets
@@danm7298 you can also slug bore and just cast your own bullets to fit the bore.
@@Hilth0Modding I got the one i ordered today. It was really nice and had a really good bore compared tot he other ones i saw. The rifling extends all the way to the crown. Its unit marked. all matching. The only thing that sucks is the rear action screw is seized and so is one of the buttstock screws
... I can't believe you were willing to pay the $200...
I'd feel as though I'd swapped $400 for a buggering if that's the haul I'd received.
When the normal price is $400 and theyre on sale for $200 you can expect that theyre not going to give you the best rifles in the lot. If it was 20% off i wouldnt suspect that. I think its their way of getting rid of some of the worst ones. if someone had paid full price and hand select and got this they wouldnt be happy.
Yup exactly
@@brasstard7.627 I just got the one i paid full price for today. i couldnt be happier. its all matching and 100% complete, bore looks really good rifling even extends to the tip. no cracks. quite a bit of finish left for an RTI. the only thing that sucks is i cant get the rear action screw out! No AOI or ethiopian script. I might make a video of the unboxing. never had a screw that wont come out tho!
@@danm7298 you can put a soldering iron against the screw to apply heat and hopefully help it loosen
@@brasstard7.627 thats a good idea thanks!
these cavalry carbines played a crucial role in the first italio-abbasynian war specifically at the most significant battle of adwa. the ethiopians called them "nas masser" (rifle held together by brass) It was common for the men to take some of the brass off to make jewelry for their wives who accompanied them in the field actually. women were required to join them helping them, cooking meals for their husbands. or, if not married to take a single man to accompany during the war. every man had to fight! And every woman had to accompany their husband during war or take a single man to acconpany.
Having trouble understanding the second to last sentence: "women were required to for their husbands or to take a single man to accompany during the war." What were women required to do for their husbands, and what was this about a single man?
@@mickm5097 men took pieces of brass off to make jewelry for their wives who were forced to accompany them in the field. If a man wasnt married then an unmarried woman would be provided to him. All men were required to fight and every women had to accompany them. I rephrased it. I just thought that wasinteresting. If there was a war i wouldnt mind haveing a girl there to help me out lol. Cooking meals, dressing wounds, surely other stuff lol
@@mickm5097 To act as camp followers: logistics basically. Common in pre-modern armies without proper logistical system.
Knowing that Royal Tiger used to be Inter Ordinance doesnt fill me eith confidence.
I definitely would be interested in the videos detailing the repair and cleaning of the 1888,
I let my C&R expire around 8 years ago. My how things have changed. It looks like a good time to liquidate! Most of my refurbished Mosins were $49.00 - $79.00 with all the goodies.
A lot of guy's bought crates full for coffee tables.
RTI stuff looks rough, but still feel the history I guess.
A Mosin spring will work in that French rifle. You will have to cut off a couple of loops until it fits. It fit perfect in my gras rifle
Good to know
Keep up the good work, my man! I have been collecting Milsurp since the 90’s, and your content keeps me excited after all these years.
There are so many opinions about milsurp outlets out there... Thanks for a refreshing view.
Thanks for sharing this video. I also picked up these two in that Labor Day sale. I think for 200$ it’s worth it for the collection. My Gras was in worse shape then yours mine was missing the front barrel band and a giant Grand Canyon crack on the bottom of the wood. Not sure why it was so big but my 88/90 was in better shape it also had a crack in the right side next to the tang but not as bad as the one you got. I’m happy to have these two examples for that price point. I also enjoyed Rakum videos on his he got in. If RTI did more sales like that I wouldn’t definitely buy more knowing they are in this condition. Thanks for posting! Love the channel
Make sure you bore scope them before shooting them if that is your intention. Saw a guy got a Lebel from them, looking down it bore looked amazing, put a bore scope down it and there was a patch of the barrel where it looked like sewer pipe, so looking at it from the muzzle it looked perfect, closer inspection showed it was a wall hanger.
Mark Novak of Anvil , a gunsmith , loves to remind milsurp owners they have to separate the hand guards and stocks from the receivers and barrels to check for rust that goes unnoticed and hidden from site . I will bet those two rifles are prime examples of what he warns about .
Royal Tiger Imports used to also be known as Inter Ordnance / I.O. of US made AK infamy.
Anyone not wanting overpriced sub-par surplus firearms and non-existant customer service would do well to steer well away from RTI.
Funny story, now, as a divorced, working , middle aged white male, I can't even afford these old pre 1899s that back in the 1980s you couldnt even give away... So, i decided i would build one from eBay parts, as theres no legal issues with these antiques. In the end, it wound up costing about the same to piece together a gewehr 88 as it would have cost to simply buy one from royal tiger or one of the online gun auction sites. I learned my lesson.
Can't really go wrong with any sort of milsurp for $200 today, especially if you like to fix them up
that's fine when parts are plentiful and reasonable, that hasn't been like that for years
@@remiel3315 I would say you’re correct but drill purpose rifles are still a steal for parts.
When it comes to the rear sight on the Gras being missing, I don't know when they were given to Ethiopia but given the rifles first entered production in the 1870's, it wasn't uncommon for large parts of Africa at that time to still be using Muzzleloaders and Muskets as their most advanced form of firearm technology. Given most muskets only had a front bead or blade sight, if Ethiopia went from smooth bores to these, it would make some kinda of sense to remove the rear sights if they were used to shooting with only a front sight
Many many Gras Rifles went into Ethiopia post 1900, they had an arms embargo put on them in 1905 and had a hard time getting modern weapons like 98 Mausers and such
But in other cases they put other guns rear sights on these Gras, one of these Ethiopian Gras sold on Gunbroker for $725 thats when RTI upped the price on the Artillery Carbines from $350 to $699, but it had some other guns rear sight bronze brazed onto it. I suspect the solder is just weak and they fell off over time and the way they carried these caused the sights to fall off as they rode around lost forever, there was a guy on a forum that his Berdan sight fell off in shipping. One of my Berdan cut downs has the rear notch filled into a Buckhorn style
For wall hangers, $200 still seems a trifle excessive to me.
Dirty hands! Looking forward to seeing more! $200 is definitely my price where it's like "yeah I don't care, give me them"
Wall art... wall hangers... perfect...Great Review 👍
These are example guns and thats about it. Missing parts that are almost impossible to find is real bummer.
Royal tiger really is a shot in the dark, I got a no 4 Lee Enfield and got a pretty nice savage no.4 with shiny bore
The bayonet is for a French MAS M49/56.
I bought one of their Carcano carbines, I wasn't expecting much but was pleasantly surprised. 1901 date, and condition not too bad for the price. I've put 40 rounds through it and was pleased with the results
Where the hell did you find 40 rounds of 6.5 Carcano?
@@acester86 Royal Tiger sells it
I got 4 rifles during their sale.
One cav gras. Bore is very bright and I got a partial rear sight. Stock had small crack on the middle side.
One cut down 1888/90 decent bore after cleaning. Missing safety, safety screw, safety spring. Replaced them online. Wood was very nice after cleaning. Lots of pitting/scrapes on surface metal.
One 1888/90 full length rifle. Everything fine on except terrible bore. Gonna hang it.
One Italian vetterli carcano version. Still haven’t cleaned it up but it looks ok and has cleaning rod.
I think I got lucky each 2 bills except the veterli was a hand select for 3. Def will buy more if they have sales. Very fun to clean these rifles up. 😊
I didn’t plan on ordering the gras but after doing some work on them it’s by far my favorite to pick up and mess around with. After polishing the brass it really is beautiful. Hopefully I can find ammo for it eventually 😅😂
These can be shooters 👍
Well, sort of.
I have cast my own bullets from hot glue and used them in various firearms and black powder guns.
I’ve done this using only primers without any powder.
The results vary, but can make for a little fun plinking.
The cap and ball revolvers don’t do well, but perhaps one grain of powder would work..
The power is somewhere between airsoft and decent pellet gun.
I use magnum primers that fit the case , and 209 for my .50 cal muzzle loader.
9mm will put a hole in a soda can, and the .50 will dent sheet rock. ( oops 😳)
.450 bushmaster puts a dent in the can.
Crayola makes round pencil top erasers that work perfectly in the .50 cal. (Shaped like a crayon)
So you can enjoy these as “shooters” plinking anywhere that an air gun might be appropriate.
I just might get a couple myself.
Nowadays a $25 wall hanger for $200 ain't bad. $400 would be.
Definitely seems to be hit and miss RTI. I got a Mannlicher from the same sale. Mine is much nicer missing the safety and having a small crack on the right side of the stock near the trigger. I was prepared for it to be a wall hanger.
Definitely worth 200. Even 300 given how rare they are.
Keep up the good work.
I got the POS wall hanger. 😒
You'll see the rear sights available for $500
Not bad for 1870s-80s, but with no ammo (and questionable safety anyway) they are wall hangers. Nice if you want collectibles, but $200 for a wall-hanger?
Very interesting. If I could afford it I would definitely roll the dice and order bunches of old rifles like this.
Gras carbine ! A great rifle for it's time, French technique 🇨🇵🇨🇵
I got one of those $199 Mannlichers, a week ago. Im surprised it is in pretty good shape after cleaning up. Good rifling, furniture intact, nothing missing that I know of. Well worth it. Its in better shape then some of the ones I bought from IMA
Couple of nice wall hangers. It’d be fun to clean them up at least. (I enjoy that kind of thing). Lots of history there too.
Those are $200 clubs
Those rifles are worth like $60 each
I second that motion!!! 🤠👍
I just got the one i paid full price for today. i couldnt be happier. its all matching and 100% complete, bore looks really good rifling even extends to the tip. no cracks. quite a bit of finish left for an RTI. the only thing that sucks is i cant get the rear action screw out! No AOI or ethiopian script. Just throwin that out there.
I don't buy wall hangers any more. I once bought a 1939 k98k and even paid more for the select grade. Opened the box it looked like someone had taken a wire wheel to the metal. Waffen stamps ground off. I figured what the hell , I was making good money at the time so I tore it completely down . One thing that made it not a total loss was that all the numbers matched. I refinished it and I checked the bore and it wasn't that bad but it wasn't a tack driver either .
I have looked at their selection, but simply am not going to pay their prices, which are ridiculous.
Awesome!!!! You got a haul bro
M7
I have one made by Colt that I sharpened. I use mine to open Amazon packages.
Thanks for the vid . Brass nails wer a nice touch lol
you can tell if it was wire wheeled by if there is scratches and loss of finish near the metal.
Another great vid. I wish you could do more videos more often.
I recently purchased a Italian Vetterli 1870/87/15 from RTI (The had a sale) decent condition but needed a lot of TLC. The finish of the stock was pretty crappy, I decided to strip the stock and refinish it. Most of the bluing was off, so I decided to re-blue that too. What was really surprising was the bore was in great shape so I may decide to shoot it (I'll have to reload for it since I don't trust shooting it with full-power factory loads (just in case). Even if I don't it is going to make a great wall hanger!
RTI had a few good offers in the last few days. But, I live in a US territory, and it isn't listed in the shipping options. Sent a few emails to RTI asking if they will ship to where I live, and I had no answer.
Call Stephanie at the front desk she will help
Video collection ideas, a. Video on how to attach a Bayonetta Mauser or a Mosin or I guess you could do it all the different popular styles
Hey Ready. .thoughs are rough. I have a new video on the Hunters Lodge FR-7 i just got from them. Not a bad rifle !! Thanks for this RTI video !!
Hunters lodge and RTI is garbage I'll never order from either again
@@anthonyfiore8917 I have a new video coming out here real soon .. the last 3 rifles i have got from Hunters Lodge have been great. I sub you too.
These seem perfect for a beginner to work on restoring
I ordered a Yugoslavia M48 from RTI, I knew it was going to be a beat up rifle but holy smokes it was beat to hell. I wanted a restoration project I definitely got one. She still a work in progress
RGuns sells M48 stocks with buttplate, barrel band and bayonet lug
@@bloodCount8895 Thank you I actually got it all done, took a couple of months. I had to order a new barrel, the barrel was damaged beyond repair.
I understand that you can get the 8x50mmR Mannlicher now. Supposedly due to Indian Gun Laws, it is used in civilian hunting rifles, specifically the IOF .315 sporting rifle, which is based on the Lee-Enfield. The .315 IOF cartridge is the Idian designation for the 8x50mmR Mannlicher [Not to be confused with the 8x50mmR Lebel cartridge]. So if someone could get some contacts in India to get some if those unprimed cases, you may have something you can work with...maybe...
I used to absolutely not understand unboxing videos and thought they were stupid. I am now getting a stupid about of enjoyment out of watching these.
Awesome video RR
Dude, you're going to use up a LOT of white vinegar saving the bore on that French fry!
Your Gras is better than the one I received. Was hoping for a shooter as I reload the 11mm Gras, but no such luck, even after paying the extra $100 for a rear sight. P.S.Cavalry carbines were issued with a ring baynet that fit over the front sight. I have one and the book in french that set me off in the search for one.
suggestion..... when showing the chamber and open bolt a flashlight would greatly improve viewer inspection,
but very good job on bring the open bolt into zoom without lost focus
an orange sharp ponter would increase bbringing attention to areas your talking about (well noticed on 2nd rifle)
How do I miss their sales even when Im signed up to their newsletter
check your junk folder. I was missing all theirs as well.
@@warpig79 checked still nothing
They send like 6 emails a fucking day
I ordered a gras carbine with complete rear sight. does have a complete rear sight. just missing the cleaning rod which i just finished making my own from a full length chasspot repro. It has an excellent bore. not matching. its an 1872 66-74 so 1 year after the franco prussian. I tried to get any of the french rifles from that perdiod. they have none. also mine has ethiopian script of empress titu.
The stock on that gras was from a rifle. u can tell cuz it has that wood plug on the sidde. that sucks i missed the 200$ sale i just bought an 88-90 for $400 :( it better be a really nice one lol
Good luck finding any ammo to fit that
If I had much money and were a collector.... at the moment, if I were to buy a fire iron, it would have to be usable.
For $200 each, you did well
If you want to make your own ammo, try the 45/70 brass, but use light loads.
Wow the rifle has no rear sight but at least it has both of its sling mounts! What an amazing deal. I’m sure the aftermarket is awash in spare Gras carbine rear sights.
Let’s see a clean up video now!
I always wondered what the suckers who bought RTI guns looked like.
Exactly. Wasting money on garbage rods. Any serious buyer will laugh and offer $50 for that rifle. Or any other RTI (IO) imported rifles. His collection over the last 2 years has been hot trash from RTI and Cla$$ic (they got their rifles from RTI lol).
Now put a Field headspace guage in it. Although their great for decoration.
In the 1960s I bought those rifles for $15 - 25 Bucks and converted them to floor lamps.
Back then my dad bought a Springfield '03 in really decent shape for something like $12 or $15 from Montgomery Wards. Sears also had them. The rifle my dad bought was still in cosmoline.
$25 in 1960 is about $400 today...
@@Joe_shmoe1 Except with guns, they appreciated in value much higher. My dad's $12 or $15 Springfield is now worth about $1-k. The SKS rifles that I bought in the early 1990s for $89 are now between $500 and $600. I actually like the SKS better than the AK-47s anyway. The hard part right now is finding ammunition at a reasonable price to feed the Russian guns I own.
@@yepiratesworkshop7997 Gun shows sellers:
“I bought (insert any old firearm with historical value) for $5 and a cheeseburger back in 1960”
“Okay how much are you asking now”
“2k no low ballers I know what I have” 💀
Also, feel you pain with 7.62, I have a PSA ak-103 clone. You can still find under 50 cents online in bulk (used to be ~26 cents). It’s all cause Biden wanted to show the Russians that we don’t want their guns or something
@@Joe_shmoe1 You pretty much nailed it, Pavel. I did trade one of the Chinese SKS's for a good 200 lb anvil. But, that's probably the last one I'll let go of. The high price of ammo has sent me back to plinking with .22s these days. I just picked up a single-action Ruger (Used, but like new) and a new Heritage 'buntline.' The Ruger, of course, is much, much better than the Heritage pistol, but I wanted to change out the cylinder for .22WMR and take advantage of that 16-inch barrel length as a sort of 'mini-rifle' for squirrel hunting. I'll be doing some videos of that stuff sometime soon. My future 'wants' are a good .45-70 rifle or carbine, and a flintlock 'grenade launcher' for my pirate reenactor kit. I may end up making the launcher, though. I need to practice on making flintlock mechanisms and once I get a good working output of those, I'll start building flintlocks -- especially Queen Anne style flintlock pistols with a real "turn off" barrel.
I have that same little casing tank lol. I think I completely overpaid for it in some museum gift shop
Would make a great fence post.
If RTI dropped their prices a bit... AND answered their damn emails and phones, I might be tempted. That said, I was looking at some of their Enfields. Ended up finding one closer to home that was cheaper and in way better condition... so no ordering and crossing fingers.
wow! 200$ wont get you much these days. the last rifle i bought for 199$ was a while ago. i asked the gun shop owner if their was a good workhorse bolt action he could recommend and he brought out a what had originally ben a Remington mod 1917 in 30.06 that had ben re built action up into a respectable hunting rifle. it came with an old elpaso tx made weaver k4 that has a custom micro dot reticle. wen i asked the price he grinned and said well since its not original mill surp its not worth a whole lot and said 199$ would be fair so i bought it.and as we talked a bit more we compared it to a couple much more expensive options a ruger mod m77 and a pre 64 mod 70. and we both agreed that the Remington m1917 was the nicest of the three. i due suspect that their are still deals to be found still if you look around. the two examples you acquired are better collectables than my rem is witch is strange. but im ok with that. i bet that 200$ would have gone alot further in grandpas day. some truly nice options back in the day!
Note: The "Witness" mark on the receiver might be slightly out of line with the "Witness" mark on the barrel.
I've ordered quite a bit from RTI and my rule of thumb is to assume anything they're selling is 2 grades lower than advertised. I bought a Kar88 I was really excited for at around 800 dollars, and when I got it the gun was in such rough shape the barrel was literally cracked in 2 places so a large fragment was about to break off all the way down to the stock. Ended up getting a refund (which I was sad about because I was interested in keeping it as a wall hanger if they'd give me all but 200-300 back), but that was the last time I ever bought from them.
They have some cool, rare stuff. But for the condition they're selling its really really not worth it imo. If you keep your eyes open on gunbroker you'll get the same deals for the quality and grade, and at least then you aren't just rolling the dice on whether the rifle will blow up on you or not. I've got my C&R FFL so anything of that era milsurp makes no difference for me to buy from Gunbroker or not.
Have you seen the new Vetterli Carcano cut down rifles they just put up? I just ordered one.
I actually live right down the road from RTI. Now I kinda want to stop in.
Hey if you love firearms, especially military firearms like us. Two hundred is " I'll take it" numbers. haha! My problem is bayonets, some want more than the rifle itself. Maybe I'm just a cheap SOB? Carry on.
Beautiful rifle.
Do they ever get any mosin nagants in?
I'm willing to bet that 88/90 Mannlicher was graded by RTI as fair to good.
Your bayonet is a Model 49/56...It fits a French 49/56 MAS rifle.....The 2 rifle support rings on the handle proves this conclusion. I have over 200 bayonets and I've been a collector since 1968.
Norma has made 8x50 in commercial euro production. Knock was another company
surprisingly there is a massive surplus of spare parts for the 88/90s-1890s. you can find them at numrich. only parts i coldnt find were FP springs and stacking quillion/hook things
You can use m95 stacking rods iirc. Also you can use the m95 front sight if you require it.
@@Hilth0Modding nice i didnt know that. The one i got yesterday luckily want missing any pieces and the bore was pretty good. unit marked as well. no AOI or other markings. I cant get the rear action screw out tho! and one of the buttplate screws. other than that its really nice.
@@danm7298 I ended up doing a full restore and reblue on mine.
@@Hilth0Modding nice yea theyre so in the white u might as well. Did u do the stock as well? I like to reblue if most of the entire finish is gone but i like to leave the stock alone
@@danm7298 yeah I did stock aswell lol
The 'crud' in the action is almost certainly some kind of grease to prevent corrosion. A shot of brake cleaner should clean it right up
I would NEVER buy any firearms from RTI.
They buy entire LOTS of rifles from 3rd world countries,then interchange parts,to make "complete" units,then sell them at jacked up prices.
Those 2 you have,would/should only be classified as "wall-hangers",...no worth more than $50 each.
It looks like an M1 or M14 bayonet. I have an 1895 Sporting Steyr in 8x50R. Bore has pitting but it shoots very well. Have dies and brass easy to make from Russian 7.62x54R brass. Oh its a .323 bore in the 8x50R Austrian and I use 250 grain Woodleigh and 250 cast
Im thinking same thing m1 garand bayonet eas linger im not sure but it American. Maybe m14 16
For those of you claiming that RTI is ridiculously overpriced and they need to discount their products 50 percent or more you are living in the past, or in a fantasy, I'm not really sure. Regardless, these are some of the most affordable surplus firearms on the American market right now and will probably continue to be for the foreseeable future. The days of getting mosins for $100 and K98s for $300 is long gone. You can go to any online store, any brick and mortar store, or individual dealer/gun show and you will be hard pressed to find any of these firearms for remotely the price your talking about. Not to mention a lot of the firearms RTI has managed to import out of Ethiopia haven't been available on the open market for a long time, in some cases even decades. It's time to adapt to the times and accept whether you like it or not that the days of cheap surplus and militaria in general ARE OVER. Collectables are worth what the people in the market are willing to pay and it seems if you are unable to accept that it's perhaps time to find a different hobby.
RTI pricing is absolutely absurd!
With them, presume that it's overpriced by 100%, needs serious work and probably gunsmith testing and certification unless you're buying a wall hanger.
None of their crap is worth anything even vaguely close to their prices, especially the cheap & dangerous ones.
A Ras Welle marked working Berdan Rifle with a great bore for $500 is worth it, you couldn't find a sporterized Berdan for under a $1000 before these came in
I wouldn't pend $50 for the pair.
That's why you will never have them!
@@larrynason8716 don't want them. Even if I was a collector, I wouldn't waste money on broken trash. Guns are a tool, if they don't work they are just clutter.
Bet a 100 bucks a Mosin nagant sight could be adapted. Or try an old model Mauser sight.
some is cosmoline. Not all rust. it's been used for preservation for ever
Looks like a French MAS 49/56 bayonet....
Are these imports fully functional!?
Garand Collectors got an M1 from them and was a total junker..
Hola! ¿Qué tal fiable es comprar mas de un Fusil Grass en RTI?
Somos una agrupación Recreacionista y seria nuestra primera comprar de ese tipo... (necesitamos orientación)
My question is do they actually fire