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Old January 29, 2019, 11:02 AM   #1
'88Scrat
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1891 Argentine Bayonet Doesn't Fit

Wasn't sure where to post this but figured this would be close. Title pretty well sums it up, I bought a beautiful 1891 "Army" contract (aluminum grips) bayonet to go with my 1891 Argentine Mauser because why not?

However, I can't get the bayonet on the rifle. It's like the barrel is about 1 or 2mm too large to fit through the barrel ring on the bayonet. It fits perfect near the T-latch groove. I feel that if I really mashed it down I could probably force it but I'm not willing to try that. To much bluing?

What am I missing here?

Thanks!
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Old January 29, 2019, 12:03 PM   #2
tangolima
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I don't think you can, nor you should try to, force fit a difference of 1mm or 2. The bayonet doesn't fit your rifle.

It happened to me. Bought a bayonet off a forum for my gew 88. The seller swore it would fit. $80 later it didn't. The seller was nowhere to be found.

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Old January 29, 2019, 12:12 PM   #3
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Is it genuine or a knock off?
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Old January 29, 2019, 12:15 PM   #4
'88Scrat
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So far as I can tell its genuine. I'm by no means an expert but it has all the correct proof Mark's and the the Crest has been scrubbed. Seems like if it was a knockoff then whoever did it would have left the Crest intact.
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Old January 29, 2019, 12:22 PM   #5
'88Scrat
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After taking a second look it might not even be off by the 1 or 2 mm I said earlier. It's THIS close.
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Old January 29, 2019, 06:02 PM   #6
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Get a micrometer and find out which part is out of spec. Bayonet might be fine but the barrel might be local replacement. Those things were in use for a long time.
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Old January 29, 2019, 06:51 PM   #7
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Like someone in the US replaced the barrel? How would I be able to tell?
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Old January 30, 2019, 10:08 AM   #8
mapsjanhere
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I wasn't thinking US, the 1891 were modified several times in Argentine. Check if the barrel still shows the serial number matching the receiver, if not the barrel got changed at some point.
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I used to love being able to hit hard at 1000 yards. As I get older I find hitting a mini ram at 200 yards with the 22 oddly more satisfying.
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Old January 30, 2019, 10:43 AM   #9
tangolima
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Still, how much difference in diameters is there?

-TL

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Old January 30, 2019, 01:47 PM   #10
T. O'Heir
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"...replaced the barrel?..." It chambered in 7.65 Argentine? How long is the barrel?
This'll help.
https://www.militaryfactory.com/smal...allarms_id=920
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Old January 30, 2019, 02:15 PM   #11
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Tomorrow when I get a chance to get out the mics I'll see what the dimensions are. Currently traveling for work. And yes it is chambered in 7.65x53, it's a great gun! Took me a little while to get used to the sights but now I can ring steel with it at 300 yes pretty consistently.
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Old January 30, 2019, 07:44 PM   #12
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I am not in the know on how rare or collectable, for what its worth

http://worldbayonets.com/Bayonet_Ide...rgentina2.html
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Old February 1, 2019, 06:08 PM   #13
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I busted out the micrometer yesterday and did some measuring. The measurements varied by a few thousandths of an inch here or there but the average came to:

Barrel = 0.614

Bayonet = 0.607

As you can see the barrel ring in the bayonet seems to be just a hair smaller than the barrel.

Thoughts on what (if anything) to be done about this?
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Old February 1, 2019, 10:26 PM   #14
tangolima
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The barrel is 0.007" larger than the ring. You need to enlarge the ID of the ring more than that. I would suggest at least 0.017", which is more than 0.5mm. That's quite a bit of work on steel.

I wouldn't want to alter the barrel.

The ring can be enlarged by removing metal, assuming there is enough metal left. There are different ways to do that. The other option is to remove the ring altogether. It is easier to do, but probably not as desirable.

-TL

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Old February 2, 2019, 10:02 AM   #15
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I'll figure something out. Just wish I knew why it was an issue to begin with.
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Old February 3, 2019, 11:25 AM   #16
F. Guffey
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Quote:
I'll figure something out. Just wish I knew why it was an issue to begin with.
1 or 2 millimeters; the up side? You now have it down to where you can handle it if there is .040" (+/- a few) in a millimeter.

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Old February 5, 2019, 04:12 PM   #17
Jim Watson
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Plan A: Ream the bayonet til it fits the barrel. A 5/8" .625" might do for cheap.
Plan B: Sell the bayonet.

Do NOT mess with the barrel.
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Old February 8, 2019, 02:15 PM   #18
Bill DeShivs
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Go to Harbor freight and buy a tapered reamer.
Use it equally on both sides of the part that doesn't fit.
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Old February 10, 2019, 01:16 PM   #19
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Quote:
Just wish I knew why it was an issue to begin with.
The most likely reason is that the bayonet is slightly out of spec. If the bayonet came from stocks that had never been issued (put on a rifle) the problem slipping past initial QC would go undetected.

If its a reproduction, essentially the same thing, except we know it wasn't issued to the troops.

Early Moisin-Nagant bayonets were deliberately made to be a very tight fit. Virtually a hammer on/off tight fit. The bayonets were meant to be fixed at all times, not meant to be removed and reattached often. Russians were big on bayonets..

I don't think Argentina followed that school of thought, I think what you have is simple production error that no one discovered, until you did.

If you want to attach it, hone it until it fits, and call it a day. Don't modify the rifle, do all needed work on the bayonet.
Good Luck!
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Old March 3, 2019, 10:11 PM   #20
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I remember reading somewhere (more than once) that during the 1800s, bayonets frequently had to be modified by the armorer to fit a rifle.

Something about less precise quality control back then, so bayonet rings were made slightly tighter than barrel specs to allow the rings to be reamed to fit.
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Old March 23, 2019, 05:35 PM   #21
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so much of this was hand fit during assembly, I have also seen this issue with other guns from the era
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Old March 25, 2019, 09:53 PM   #22
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I wish I could remember where I read this, but I was looking for a bayonet for a 1909 carbine an I thought they were slightly different for the carbine compared to the rifle. I stopped looking for one a while ago. I'll try to find that research but it was probably 10 years ago. Not much help I know.
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