W+F Bern Swiss 05/11 Carbine - sn 27xxx
Scarce Swiss 05/11 carbine which was converted from a W+F BERN Model 1905 Cavalry Carbine, with only up to 7,900 total in existence; no exact number is known. The base 1905 Cavalry Carbine in this conversion was one of 600 pieces originally manufactured in 1911, the final year of production.
4/5 Bore. 4/5 Stock. Stock and handguard matching serial numbers. Bolt matching serial number. Magazine matching serial number. Lightly dulled bore with sharp rifling. Furniture shows obvious signs of military use, with many pressure marks and multiple small gouges distributed throughout. Of note, on the left side of the stock there are many pressure marks found running from the grip, along the comb of the stock, to the butt. On the right side of the stock there are many pressure marks again along the side below the comb, a heavy pressure mark at the wood line below the receiver to the left of the finger groove, and a few small gouges to the left of the finger groove. The top of the comb of the stock has several pressure marks along its length. The handguard also has many pressure marks, with a gouge in front of the rear barrel band and a few heavy pressure marks near the gouge. Receiver has fairly dark bluing, with edge wear around the loading slot and the lightening cuts, edge wear on the right side, finish wear at the rear of the receiver, and several marks in the metal surface. Rear barrel band has heavy finish wear, with bluing remaining on the left side, hidden by the sling. Front barrel band has moderate finish wear on the top, finish wear on the hinge and the mounting screw, and edge wear on the underside at the bayonet lug. Trigger plate has lightly worn bluing. Trigger guard has edge wear. Magazine base had dulled bluing with edge wear. Includes leather sling.
Underneath the serial number is a "37" stamp. There is no P stamp on this rifle, nor is there a dot next to the "37" so it is unclear if this rifle was privatized in 1937 but was not P stamped, or if it was armory refurbished in 1937.
C&R Eligible. Discreet import engraving.
The 05/11 Carbine can be identified by its five-digit serial number beginning with the number "2". As both the 1900 Short Rifle and the 1905 Cavalry Carbine both started with the serial number "1", the 1900 Short Rifle retained its original serial number and the number "2" was added in front of the original 1905 Cavalry Carbine's four digit serial number to avoid duplicated serial numbers at the time of conversion. 05/11 Carbine serial numbers range from 20001 to 27900.
