New to the forum

[Maistrak 0]

Hello, 

I recently purchased a Johnson rifle, sn 9010, Photos will come as soon as possible. The rifle has no bolt latch, JS stock and forend, original but worn barrel (not tested to the range yet). All metal parts are in good conditions. finishing is a mixture of bluing, and grey or green parkerizing. I'm sure I will learn a lot from this forum

Merry Christmas

[camstuff 0]

Welcome, looking forward to the pictures of your new toy!  You will enjoy it. 

[ArtR 0]

The following information is from the production logs:

Receiver SN 9010, Manufactured by or Received From: Cranston Arms, Date Received 3/02/1942, Stock No. 2 Barrel No. 6830E, Hammer Block No. 6136, Hammer No. 2934, Bolt No.  7014, Locking Cam No. A0288, Firing Pin No. 7015,  Extractor No. 8188,  Magazine No. A2154, Disposition Date 3/05/1942, Transferred to J.A. Inc - N.P.C

[Maistrak 0]

Well. here are some pictures of the rifle; to start with I can say that barrel and bolt do not match with those on the list.The markings near the logo are import marks. 

 

4

 

 

Edited December 24, 2021 by Maistrak
corrected a sentence

[eb in oregon 0]

If your rifle works "as advertised" and is otherwise "correct," enjoy it and be happy. 

[ArtR 0]

Initial photos...it looks like it is a nice piece....how do you feel about it, over all?

Edit: Just did full size photos, and noticed various non-standard and unusual markings on receiver, in area of the "Cranston Arms"  imprint and just to the right of that on the receiver.

[camstuff 0]

This is interesting, never seen the extra markings like this before.  You mentioned import markings, Is that the hard to see markings just under the serial number?  Still overall, it looks like pretty nice .

[Maistrak 0]

The import marks are italian markings, as the rifle was imported in Italy in 2009 (according to the markings) BTW when imported the rifle was fire prire proofed with an increased harge (30 percent more than usual, i guess) That should mean that the rifle is safe to shoot but now bears the import markings added. 

First impressions: The rifle in itself is a masterpiece of engineering, The pieces fit one to the other perfectly  and the action seems to work very smoothly. A bit difficult to take down until you  haven't  understood the tricks. All in all, needs a bit of habit. Very good balance, similar to a hunting rifle if not to a shotgun.Don't know about recoil,as I haven't fired it yet.

The balance is different from a Garand, the Johnson at first look seems longer and clumsy but in fact it is not. Very easy to load.

Simple sights, non sophisticated as the Garand's one but in my opinion all in all more suitable to the average draftee of the time, who if ever handled a rifle before probably handled a lever action that has similar sights (elevation)

Way ahead of it's time considering it could be be built by subcontractors using standard machinery ad that the LMG had a lot of parts in common with the rifle

[metrotps 0]

Very nice and welcome aboard!  Before you take her out to the range please check the length of the recoil spring which should be 12 inches.

[Rarecat 0]

So are you located in Italy @Maistrak?

Welcome to the forums!

[Maistrak 0]

2 hours ago, Rarecat said:

So are you located in Italy @Maistrak?

Welcome to the forums!

Yes I am 

Thank you very much

21 hours ago, metrotps said:

Very nice and welcome aboard!  Before you take her out to the range please check the length of the recoil spring which should be 12 inches.

Thank you very much for your useful advice, before taking the rifle to the range i'll for sure check if everything is ok, including the spring lenght (now that i know)

[eb in oregon 0]

Florence and Rome were phenomenal. Several of the greatest experiences of my life were to view "David" and then Rome. People are generally good. Sometimes government not so much.

[Maistrak 0]

You should visit Venice, too

[eb in oregon 0]

25 minutes ago, Maistrak said:

You should visit Venice, too

Nope, my traveling days are done. I've seen enough (35 states and 13 country's) and will no longer subject myself to the torture of commercial airline travel. I'm 6'2" with a bad knee and many old aches and pains and refuse to be treated like a sardine in a can. Anyway, by the time we got there Venice would probably have sunk. 

[ArtR 0]

I agree with Eb. Having visited 9 countries and 35 states in the past 50+ years, travel today for those over 60 becomes more risky. And COVID aside, DVT/PE are two issues which are seldom discussed but highly risky as we age, and aircraft seating does not help. Poor seat design, lack of room, and no encouraged exercise on long flights makes this a real threat.

I was lucky, and did visit northern Italy back in 1967, while on an eight country tour of Europe. While just the tip of an iceberg, it was a very memorable visit.

[Yuccacapt343 0]

Maistrak, Welcome to the forum! Since you are in Italy and obviously you have what appears to be a very nice JSAR, what are your guns laws like in Italy?

Again, welcome!

Wayne

[Maistrak 0]

Real Johnsonians like you gentlemen should go on pilgrimage to Anzio's beachhead, considering it's one of the few places in Europe that saw Johnson LMGs in action

[Maistrak 0]

1 hour ago, Yuccacapt343 said:

Maistrak, Welcome to the forum! Since you are in Italy and obviously you have what appears to be a very nice JSAR, what are your guns laws like in Italy?

Again, welcome!

Wayne

Thank you very much.

 

Talking about gun laws, they're not so bad even if a bit clumsy.

Speaking about "civilian" owners

First of all here (and generally speaking in Europe) there's not a 2nd Amendment so basically you  need permission to own and bear guns.

Once you've passed 18 y.o., The permissions you can get are for hunting purposes, or for sporting purposes, and they last no more than five years. The  first permission requires that you undergo a "technical exam" (that means you can handle safely your guns) and for the hunting license an exam to prove you are able to hunt (basically, you recognize wild animals and so on). To get the permission you must undergo even a medical visit (every time the permission is released). The hunting license gives you the permission to bear shotguns and rifle suitable for hunting purposes only during hunting and only during the hunting season and to transport (non bear) your guns to the shooting range.  The "sporting" license permits you only to bear your guns to the shooting range.

There is even a permission to bear arms for self defence, but it is very rare and the permission is released every year

Obviously you must not assume drugs, abuse of alcohol, be a felon and so on.

As for the question "what you can own", generally speaking:

Long firearms (shotguns, bolt action rifles and semiauto rifles born as such, not converted from full auto) - officialy no limit in number. 

Short firearms (aka pistols): three. To own more than three "pistols" you need a collector's licence, usually the licence states even what safety measures (safe, vault, alarm system, video surveillance...) you must adopt. The collectors's  licence states even you can't own the ammo for the guns listed in the collection licence.

Sporting firearms: twelve. Sporting firearms include even full auto rifles permanently modified by authorized builders to fire in semi auto mode only. They keep the original receiver. To own this kind of guns you must be a member of a shooting range club or association. In poor words, this means you can own a M16 converted to semi auto but you can use it only to the range. 

Ancient guns (prior to 1890): eight. To own more than eight ancient guns you need a collector's licence for ancient guns

You must declare all your guns, ball ammo, gunpowder, high capacity magazines, swords, daggers, and bayonets you own. You can't own swords, daggers, and bayonets without licence. You can own only a limited quantity of ammo and gunpowder.

Full auto guns are a no - no, no way. Some years ago there were some surviving licences released before 1975.

No more than 10 days ago a new law authorized 9x19 (parabellum) pistols, that were forbidden to civilians  since the end of WW2

Obviously this is a very simple explanation and I hope you'll forgive me for the details I omitted but I wish it  will be useful anyway.

 

 

Edited December 28, 2021 by Maistrak
corrected a sentence

[Yuccacapt343 0]

Pretty extensive but at least you do have the ability to own some! I was under the impression the gun ownership was pretty much none existent 

[Maistrak 0]

It is estimated that in Italy roughly one citizen out of ten owns a gun, but this is an average that doesn't reflects the real situation. There is people in fact that owns more than one, and a majority that owns none.