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Love. It’s the glue that binds humanity together. True love is selfless. True love is sacrificial. True love overlooks faults. One chaotic evening in the emergency department, I saw for real the indomitable power of true love.
Our heroine was 29 years old. She arrived by POV (Personally Owned Vehicle) attended by her boyfriend. He was doting and attentive. The fact she was conscious and conversational shocked me. She had been shot in the head.
She was sitting up when we met, a scant dribble of dark blood tracking down the side of her face. Her left eye bulged monstrously. Bullet wounds are almost mystically sinister up close, like the blackness of an evil man’s soul. This one seemed about the diameter of a pencil and was centered on her left temple.
Miracle Of Misfortune?
I don’t know why, but we always asked what happened. It’s not that it really much matters. The type of firearm is germane to a degree, but the psychosocial events leading up to the shooting not so much. However, I just never could resist. I always wanted to hear the story.
It was the boyfriend who provided the details. He said he had come in from whatever it was he did and was unloading his daily gear — a trim little .380ACP pocket pistol part of his daily loadout. He told me he slipped the little gun out of his pocket and set it down sideways on the top of the dresser.
He had no idea how it happened. He strongly suspected the gun was defective and explained he might have a lawyer review the issue. Somehow, when he set the gun down, it went off.
Bullets are the very embodiment of physics. They describe a path based predominantly upon their orientation and initial velocity. Projectiles fall to earth driven by the constant acceleration due to gravity. Like everything else in the universe, they continue in motion until affected by outside forces. The boyfriend explained the evening’s sordid outcome was pure unvarnished random.
His girlfriend had been standing across the room inquiring as to the nature of his day. When the gun went off the little bullet had traversed the bedroom and, as foul luck might have it, struck the hapless women in the temple. After quite a lot of frenetic chaos as well as a trip screaming across town to the ER here we were.
The Truth Hurts
It was indeed a compelling tale. However, this was not my first gunshot wound. When I examined the thing closely, I noticed charred flesh with ample powder stippling fanned out from the point of impact. There was even a little tearing of the skin around the wound.
As anyone who has ever watched one of those criminal forensics TV shows might attest, you can ascertain a great deal from an entrance wound. A bullet fired at a distance just punches a hole. The same thing at contact range will tattoo the surrounding skin with unburned powder and carboniferous ick. This was definitely the latter sort. Compelling story notwithstanding, this guy had clearly put his gun to this young woman’s temple and stroked the trigger.
The lady in question was doing shockingly well, considering. The anemic little bullet had transected her left optic nerve, deflected downward through her maxillary sinuses, and come to rest behind her rearmost right upper molar. I cleaned her up and found a maxillofacial surgeon who popped the spent projectile right out.
I waited until the moment was right and got a pal to remove the boyfriend for a while. Once it was just her and me, I explained my concerns regarding the nature of the wound and how it didn’t seem to jive with the boyfriend’s story. I assured her we could keep her safe, and if he had indeed shot her intentionally, then we would need to deal with that.
Throughout it all she stuck religiously to the tale. The gun went off when he set it down. He loved her, and she loved him. There’s nothing he would ever do to harm her intentionally. I pushed as much as I was comfortable, but then let it drop.
The cops did the same, but when the victim swears it was an accident, there’s just not a lot left with which to work. They had likely rehearsed their stories en route to the hospital. I discharged her the following day, now irrevocably half blind, in the company of her boyfriend. He was as attentive and affectionate as ever.
Independently produced by the Republic of Turkey, these World War II vintage Turkish K.Kale M1938 Mauser rifles are good, solid representations of the classic Mauser.
Built during World War II, K.Kale-marked Turkish Mausers feature actions actually made in Turkey. Around 250,000 M1938- type rifles were made over a six-year period.
While all previous models of Turkish Mausers and many of the so-called M1938s were actually made in Europe, K.Kale-marked rifles were manufactured in Turkey. The first domestic-made Turkish Mauser-type rifles, they were built in Kirikkale Tufek Fabrikast, a government-owned “Military Factory.”
During World War II, Turkey was neutral but isolated, and for the first time it had to rely on local armories to produce military firearms. Thousands of Gew.98s were parted out and converted to the M1938 configuration. These were for the most part marked ATF, for Ankara Tufek Fabrikast (Ankara Rifle Factory).
According to the site turkmauser.com, a few early K.Kale-marked receivers were actually rebuilds using various repurposed, previously made actions. Nearly all these occurred in 1940, at the beginning of domestic reliance.
Between 1940 and 1946, the K.Kale factory manufactured around a quarter-million rifle receivers. Top production years were 1942 (53,000 rifles) and 1944 (49,000 rifles). The sample shown here is a 1944 model and is serial-numbered and stamped accordingly.
Additional markings atop the receiver ring are a star and crescent moon, with the letter abbreviations T.C. (Turkiye Cumhuriyeti, or Republic of Turkey); AS FA (Askari Fabrika, or Military Factory); ANKARA, for the city where the K.Kale factory is located.
While the serial number located on the left side of the receiver ring is appropriate for the year, not all of the other parts have matching numbers. This, according to most sources, is common, since Turkey was primarily assembling rifles out of stockpiled spare parts. From what I can see without disassembling the rifle, the action, floorplate, and rear sight have matching numbers (so presumably the barrel does, too). The bolt does not match. More on this later.
Several variations of the M1938 were made, including the 38/46 Short Rifle and the 03/38 Short Rifle, but most featured 29.25-inch barrels, a basic pistol-grip-type stock, a wood heat shield atop the barrel, a full-length fore-end, one barrel band with a sling loop, and an iron nose cap that housed a cleaning rod. Bolt handles are usually straight, and the V-notch rear sight is a robust, simple ladder-type sight graduated to 2,000 meters. A pyramid-shaped front sight is dovetailed into a stud permanently affixed atop the muzzle.
A stout sling loop is inletted into the toe of the buttstock. Centered in the butt is a through-hole protected by steel grommets and a tube. Allegedly, its purpose was to aid in bolt disassembly, or for securing during packing and shipping, or both.
Mechanicals
Turkey’s M1938 K.Kale receivers are, in design and dimension, identical to Mauser 98s, with one notable exception: They are bored and threaded for small-shank Mauser barrels rather than the large-shank/large-ring barrels common to the 98 and 98 clones. Apparently, when speccing the model, the Turkish powers that be felt it necessary to use a stockpile of small-ring barrels.
According to gunsmith Jerry Rindlisbacher, to whom this particular rifle belongs, this feature makes the Turkish Mauser M1938 the strongest of all Mauser-type receivers.
As with all M98-type actions, the bolt features dual, opposing locking lugs; a third “safety” lug just forward of the bolt handle; a massive claw extractor and mechanical ejector; stripper-clip compatibility and the appropriate thumb cutout in the left wall of the receiver; and a three-position, wing-type safety atop the bolt shroud.
To engage the safety, with the bolt closed, lift the safety lever and rotate it. Leave it straight up to put the rifle on “Safe” but still allow bolt function; rotate it 180 degrees to put the rifle on “Safe” and lock the bolt closed.
Provenance
I first spotted the rifle featured here hanging in wire loops from the ceiling of Rindlisbacher’s gunsmithing shop. The rifle appeared to be complete, with appropriate bayonet, cleaning rod, and so forth. According to Jerry, it has hung there for years, possibly decades.
He kindly allowed me to borrow the rifle for this report. As we examined the rifle in his shop and ran a rod down the barrel to ensure it was free of wasp nests or cocoons or other obstructions, Jerry showed me the rifle has no magazine follower and spring. He said a friend needed one and the Turk wasn’t using its.
Not to worry. I pirated a follower and spring from another non-collectible Mauser and dug out a double handful of Turkish military-surplus ammo with which to test-fire the old battle rifle.
Rangetime
Loading and feeding the M1938 was easy and smooth. But that was to be anticipated; after all, it’s a Mauser.
Firing it, however, proved to be problematic. When the trigger released and the cocking piece fell, only a mild, metallic “clunk” resulted.
I attempted again, then switched cartridges in case I had a dud. No luck. Dents in the primers were modest. Perhaps built-up Cosmoline or gunk in the firing pin spring and assembly were slowing the firing pin down and robbing it of primer-punching authority.
Unfortunately, when I went to put the safety on the center “disassemble” position, it wouldn’t move. The safety lug doesn’t line up with the cam groove in the cocking piece. I examined the bolt and shroud more closely.
While the bolt body and handle appear about the same condition as the rest of the rifle, the bolt shroud and safety assembly look newer and have little of the patina common to the rest of the rifle. Presumably, a part was missing when the rifle was imported, and this newer shroud was added from a parts bin—but never tested.
Unable to disassemble the bolt in the approved fashion to clean it and concerned about whether the bolt’s headspacing would be correct, I reluctantly headed home. Undoubtedly, Rindlisbacher, being rather an expert in all things Mauser, would make short work of getting the rifle shooting, but it doesn’t belong to me, and I wasn’t willing to go gun plumber on it.
My deadline loomed, so I was unable to fire the K.Kale Turkish Mauser. It’s a shame, as it has an excellent bore, and the two-stage trigger trips crisply at 6 pounds, 10 ounces. I suspect it will shoot quite well once the bolt-related issues are resolved.
Similar rifles in decent to good condition can be found for sale for between $275 and $400. They are not rare Mausers, but they are usually good, solid shooters.
Turkish M1938 K.Kale Mauser Specifications
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Manufacturer: Kirikkale Tufek Fabrikast
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Type: Bolt-action repeater
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Caliber: 8x57mm Mauser
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Magazine Capacity: 5 rounds
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Barrel: 29.25 in.
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Overall Length: 49 in.
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Weight, Empty: 9.44 lbs.
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Stock: Walnut, full length
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Length of Pull: 13.12 in.
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Finish: Blued barrel and action
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Sights: Ladder-type rear, pyramid front
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Trigger: 6.63-lb. pull (as tested)