Old Guns And Other Stuff Newsletter For October 2025

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Cornell Publications

October 2025 Newsletter

KAR ’98, the Famous Mauser

Interesting Things

Most Internet Browsers – Firefox, Edge, Opera etc – have decided to truncate, or cut off, the bottoms of long emails like this one. There is a tiny note at the bottom allowing you to retrieve the rest of the email. Rob and Abby

Please forward this letter to your friends.

Man in the Bean!

Upset Chicago residents have been calling city officials to report a false rumor that a man is trapped inside the Chicago Bean. A group calling itself the Man in the Bean Coalition has propagated the hoax that local officials are covering up the existence of a man trapped in the stainless-steel artwork, claiming you can see his faint outline when the light hits a certain way. “I appreciate lighthearted parody as much as the next guy,” said Alderman Brendan Reilly, but the flood of calls is distracting from “the real work we do.”

NEW Weed Killer is More Toxic Than Glyphosate

Check your killer container! diq

The ingredient replacing the carcinogen glyphosate in some weed killers in the US appears to be even more harmful to human health than the original, reports The Guardian. The chemical, diquat, is already banned in the UK, EU, China, and dozens of other places but not in the U.S. where it has long been deployed in vineyards and orchards.

Diquat is a fast-acting, non-selective, and highly toxic herbicide used for controlling weeds, algae, and desiccation in aquatic and terrestrial environments, including ponds, lakes, and landscapes. It disrupts cell membranes and photosynthesis on contact, resulting in rapid plant death within days. While it is an effective weed killer approved in the U.S. for many uses, it poses significant toxicity risks to central nervous, respiratory, and cardiovascular systems in humans.

Make your own weed killer using a gallon of vinegar, a cup of salt and a tablespoon of dish soap. Effective and cheap! Rinse the sprayer when you are done to prevent salt corrosion.

A Running Battle Against Fake Reviews

As customers rely more and more on sites like Yelp and Trip Advisor, the battle against fake reviews is heating up, said Maria Cramer at The New York Times. Last year, Yelp removed more than 700,000 suspect posts, and in November, Google filed suit against dozens of shadowy companies that allegedly manipulated reviews. A whole fake-review industry has sprung up with clearinghouses paying freelancers to generate convincing fakes. One writer says he was paid $15 a shot to write rave restaurant reviews with convincing detail like “a waiter was so attentive he should get a raise.” The sites see the review as an industry-wide threat, and this has led to a spy-vs.-spy dynamic as fakers and review sites try to outwit one another. In addition to automated tools, the sites employ “curious and tenacious” human investigators.

FBI Hacks Ransomware Group

In an operation disclosed recently, the FBI “infiltrated” a major ransomware group to unlock victims data, said Umar Shakir in The Verge.The group, known as Hive offered software to “affiliates” who would find targets. Hive had been taking “a 20 percent cut of any proceeds and publishing stolen data on a “HiveLeaks” site if someone refused to pay.” Hive’s specialized tools were used in attacks on 1,500 victims in 80 countries, including a Texas school district and a Louisiana hospital. Before shutting down the group, the FBI hacked into Hive’s servers, quietly “snatching up over 300 decryption keys” that were used to free victim’s computer systems.

Week

Rants and Raves

Re: Walther Polizei Pistolen Modelle PP & PPK 1936 Manual (German) – Hello, Please tell me you are trying to prank me with this ultra low quality product. If not, I call this a scam and eBay will be advised. I’m here for more than 10years and never had any problems, not even with cheap Chinese products but this…come on… saleseutch ebay (Switzerland)

We’ve sold 45 of these manuals on eBay with no complaints until you came along. Thanks for the negative feedback review… I had your “comments” removed because they violated ebay rules, but the negative remains. You are blocked from any further purchases from us. I guess you are one of the very few people who don’t understand what we do. We reprint old and rare manuals and catalogs, 7000 of them, for collectors and enthusiasts to have access to the information. Because our reprints are one-offs, we obviously cannot make perfect forgeries of originals for what we charge. Also shipping is entirely up to eBay, we have nothing to do with that. Rob for cornellpubs

Arms Heritage

Printed Copies from us and we added PDF versions too!

If you haven’t read Arms Heritage you’ve not missed out, we’ve got them.

Here is the index to Volume I:

Letters From Readers
This has been a tough month, We can sum up what follows with, “We didn’t do it. We don’t want to do it. We’re sorry we did it. When did we do that? And, what do you mean by that?” Rob and Abby

Re: Colt 1960 Component Parts Catalog, Hello would you take $12? Thanks! tifwoodm_0eBay

Sorry, no, we can’t dicker while offering one-off reprints of over 7000 old firearms publications at reasonable prices. Rob for cornellpubs

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Hello my friend, how are you? This time I’m searching for books wrote by Ragnar Benson, specially: – Hardcore Poaching; – Bull’S-Eye: Crossbows; And all his other Books, of course being the only problem how deep my pocket must stay to buy all avaiable scanned copies, because our situation in Brazil is going down the drain as the days passes. And no, it’s not because of what your Honorable President Mr. Donald Trump has done to Brazilian products, it is because Brazilian is now under the rule of a Marxist Government, and the situation gone really sour. But, besides the medicinal drugs I toke everyday (to stay alive a little bit more) and the food and water (to live another day) the only other things that means something to me is to read, learn new things, and try translating the new knowledge, and nothing more. If it can find it’s place on my pockets, I’ll buy all that I can! Asking from the Almighty that you and yours are blessed and protected, your humble servant, Abe.

Hello Abe, We offer only the books listed at our website. For used books we suggest bookfinder or addall. You can buy directly from them, we don’t offer a service where we would buy the books and forward them to you. Cheers, Rob

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Re: Heckler & Koch 1998 Military and Law Enforcemant Weapons; Good evening, I was just contacting to express some disappointment with the product. I am grateful for your preservation of these for antiquity but at a time when originals are still available in excellent shape this matte finish lower fidelity version is a bit of a let down. I don’t want to leave negative feedback but am regretful of my purchase. Thank you for listening. Dd2-42 ebay

Hello David, Thanks for your note. I appreciate your concern with our reprint. We reprint over 7000 old firearms catalogs, manuals and books that originally came is a very wide variety of formats, some color and some not. Some were glossy, some on tissue paper and others on heavy linen paper. The problem is that we cannot make forgeries of originals. That would cause problems with people trying to pass them off as originals and frankly, it is impossible to print very high quality one-off copies at anywhere near what we charge. So, we satisfy our customers by offering good copies of originals for their historical value, not for display as originals. Does that help? Oh yes, thanks for not giving us a negative review, that only raises prices for everyone and, after 25 years in our retirement, it is really annoying! Cheers, Rob for cornellpubs

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Re: Lyman 1919 Gun Sights Catalog; Is this an original or is it a jpeg or paper. Thank you. 1224fischer eBay

eBay puts in a ton of unrelated advertising on listings. You have to scroll down to find this information: Lyman 1919 Gun Sights Catalog, 69 pages, about 8 1/2″ x 6″ glossy soft-cover in full color. New re-print restored and digitally enhanced from a nice original. Printed on high quality 20# 97 bright acid free paper. Fully Illustrated.

Thanks. Yes eBay pads things with so many other items I can’t even find the sell one like this option. I wish eBay would get rid of a fee on postage and not charge for relisting on buy it now’s. I have to stop every buy it now on day 26 or 27. Or there’s a fee for them to relist it without us seller there is no eBay so they should listen to what the sellers need Kitty

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Sirs: Recently I ordered 7 publications from you. I have received this order, and I am entirely satisfied with each of these publications; they are all fine additions to my library. But an 8th publication was enclosed that I did not order: Hopkins & Allen Arms Co., Fifty Years of Gunmaking 1867 – 1917 by Joseph Vorisek (item #1306). This is another wonderful book — but I neither ordered it, nor paid for it. I fear a mistake was made and a book from another order found its way into my package. I certainly do not want to keep something meant for someone else. Shall I return it? I will need a return address if this is the case, I will of course pay any postage necessary. I await your instructions. Thank you for your time and trouble. Sincerely, Bernard

Hi Bernard, How kind of you to write. It isn’t necessary to return the Hopkins, please just keep it or toss it, we wouldn’t resell it anyway because we carry no stock, we print to order. Sorry to cause a problem, I guess the Hopkins was just on the table when we packed it and got wrapped up. Cheers, Rob

Rob: Thank you so much! Yours, Bernie

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I ordered Winchester Model 42 Complete Takedown Manual Print x 1 book and have never received it , from Cornelius Publishing. You did charge my credit card for it and I have not received it. It has been several months. Louise Bollinger

Hello Louise, Thanks for your note. I tried to trace your order, but I have no record of a purchase using your last name or email address, at least since Feb of 2024. I also searched all the Win 42 manuals we’ve sold for the last couple of yours and your name is not among them. Can you give me a bit more information and I’ll try to help. Cheers, Rob

Do you have a phone number…I gave you invoice id. You cashed my check. What more info do I you need. Sent from my iPhone

Also: my husband. Made the purchase and he told me it was on his Cabelas Credit Card. If you have a fax, I will send you his paperwork. It says via PayPal August 13, order 91127. His Cabelas Statement shows PayPal Cornellpubl 8102253075MI for 17.91. I dont know how to attach his statement to this email, but if you send me your fax, I will fax you what I have. It was called Winchester Model 42 Complete Takedown Manual Print x 1.

Hi Louise, I found the order! I’ll send you another, no need to send me anything. Cheers, Rob

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Good afternoon, I purchased a book in a .PDF format online. But I cannot see any download link. Le Damas History (The Damascus Barrel History) 1966 – PDF × 1 Please see attached image of the screen in question. I await your kind advise. Best Regards, Ben

Hi Ben, Thanks for your note. I’ve searched our history and can find no purchase of the LeDamas since 5 Sept to a fellow in New Mexico, so, I assume you never completed the purchase. The attachment you sent is 13mb which worries me, there are just too many untoward characters out there and it looks suspicious that a screenshot could be that big a file so I’ve not seen the file. Please get back to me with a bit more information and we will get to the bottom of the issue. Cheers, Rob

Hi Ben, Upon further investigation, I see the payment is still pending. This indicates there may be a problem with the bank processing your credit card. The only thing we can do is wait to see if they figure it out and release the payment to us. Cheers, Rob

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I received the manual for the Star Pistols Models -SI, S, A, B, M, P Manual (English Text). I was decidedly underwhelmed. It is a very poor quality. The exploded view is practically invisible. I know you don’t issue refunds but anything you could do to mitigate my disappointment would be appreciated. brownbess77 ebay

Hi Joel, I can’t say I disagree with you. My excuse is that the original scan is very difficult to work with because the background color and the image colors are roughly the same. I reprocessed the images, and the result is better. I’ll send you a copy along with a full page size of the schematic. I hope that helps. If not, give me a shout and I’ll refund your money. Cheers, Rob for cornellpubs (I didn’t hear back so I guess I did a good job)

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Re: Winchester 1904 June Firearms Catalog; Abby: I see shotshells advertised on the cover, but not in the contents list (as in other of your Winchester catalog reprints). Does this catalog mention the NEW No. 4 primer for shotgun shells? If so, I will buy one. Kind regards, and years since we have spoken. Gary Green

Hi Gary, the catalog offers paper cartridges with the No 4 primer. I hope that is what you are looking for. Best, Abby

Abby, Thank you for getting back to me. I just need to decide which of the 1894 catalogs to order. Kind regards, Gary

Abby, Does this 1904 Winchester catalog mention “Brush” load shotshells under Leader or Repeater shells? If it does, I will buy it. A December 31 1904 ad is the earliest I can document the Brush loads. My last feedback on the 1894 catalog is at the top of your sample feedback. Thanks for your time. Gary

Gary, I had a quick look at the ten pages and didn’t see the word “Brush”. Rob for cornellpubs

Rob, Thank you. It’s a blurry (small) bit of information, but very important to my collecting parameter. I have your 1905 Winchester catalog and they are mentioned, but I’m interested in its early evolution of case wall markings. I have I think the first one without markings, and will probably have it X-rayed at my veterinarian. Thanks again and send my best to your bride. Gary

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Hi Cornell Publications, thank you on selling the Manurhin c1972 MR73 Revolvers & Manual as I did not have one. I am also after a good manual for the Sig Hammerli P240 32 S&W Long as the only ones I can find are poor reproductions that cut out half of the manual details. Are you able to help me out? Regards, Matt yoda19776 ebay

Hi Matt, no, we don’t. That is a very rare one; we have 179 Sig manuals, but no 240. Rob for cornellpubs

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Re: Lyman 1978-1878 Centennial Journal – Will you sell one of these for 30.00 shipped ? promedeye

No, they are very large and expensive to print in color. With eBay taking about $5 in commissions, there just isn’t room to dicker. Sorry, Rob for cornellpubs
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I need a copy of an a7survival rifling .22, William Ladd

We have two AR7 manuals but nothing for an “A7”: /3382/, /3383/, Best, Abby

Iam looking for an ar7schmatic

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I purchased a PDF version of the manual for the Dietermeyer DL 300 (Deitemeyer 300 Shotshell Reloader Tool Manual-ed) reloader back on August 14, 2025 and was not able to download the manual. I made several attempts to do so. I wrote to you after my failed attempts and received no reply. I see now that the download expired on 8/26/25, yet I was waiting for your reply. Now I can’t d/l the manual. (See below) You all ripped me off. Please send a working link so I can get what I paid for.

You didn’t leave your name so it makes finding the order a bit difficult, but I was able to trace the order by your email address and will attach the file you ordered. We have no record of you ever trying to contact us with your accusation that we “ripped you off”. And, why did you wait a month to report not getting your $3.99 manual? Rob

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Can I get a manual for a 1909 Hotchkiss Mk1* that includes the firing pin specs? Bill

Bill, None of the Hotchkiss manuals, to the best off my recollection, include machinist dimensions. Sorry. Rob

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Request for 1962 Browning sweet 16 semi automatic shotgun owners manual. Thanks.

We have 267 Browning manuals, but I don’t think we have that one. Sorry. Best wishes, Abby

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Please do not refer to any firearm as a weapon. A weapon is a device intended to injure, defeat, or destroy, by definition, certainly not a 22 revolver. David Gardner

Hey David, Really? Aw heck, I used to shoot at rats in the Bridgehampton, NY dump with my uncle’s .22 revolver. However, I doubt I ever hit one with that, uh, weapon, so perhaps, with my lack of success, it indeed wasn’t a weapon. Cheers, Rob

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I recently bought an O’Brien Guncraft 1952 Catalog from you and am perfectly satisfied…but the company also had one from a year or two either side of the 1952 one I got. I had thought I saw it in your list but now I can’t find it. It contained a page with an M-1 carbine which is not included in the 1852 version. Is it even possible that I didn’t in fact see it? If you could try to find that catalog I would very much appreciate getting a copy. I actually built a Thompson SMG, a carbine, and a Colt .45 automatic model in about 1952-1953. I was 10 or 11 years old and my dad thought I would enjoy them. Over the next years I enjoyed them to pieces. Please let me know if any other versions of the catalog are available. Thank you, Tom Taylor

Hi Tom, No, I’m sorry, we don’t have either, just the 1952. In fact, your copy is the only one we have ever sold. I’ll keep your request in mind. Best wishes, Abby

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Re: Lyman 1958 Handbook of Cast Bullets 1st Edition – Can you find out what’s going on with my item. I live 20 miles from Pittsburgh and it’s been stuck there for 5 days now. Did USPS lose it? Nursessl Ebay

Sorry, the USPS isn’t what it used to be. We just have to be patient and wait for them to deliver the package. According to the tracking, it has now left Pittsburgh and the mule train is headed toward you. Rob for cornellpubs (I seem to spend an hour each morning trying to explain why the UPSP is slow) Rob for cornellpubs

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Abbey , you had “the gun collector no 28 June 1949” listed on ebay in aug of 2024 for 12.oo . I found a cancelled ck for the 12.oo. going through a bunch of paperwork I found your invoice.#8106233251. This is , if I remember right an article on martial pistols as that is what I collect. It is billed to my email, but not on a check . Please look this up and see what you find . Thanks Joe jones

Hi Joe, Sounds like you can’t find it or it was lost, se we’ll send another. Sorry about that! Cheers, Rob

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I ordered the Bernardelli Model 60 Owners Manual from you guys and I have never received. You’re a cooperation and consideration in this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Robert Hunter

Robert, Cooperation? I just send you another. Rob

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.price and availabilty and order procedure for military maint manual for Remington Model 11 shotgun,thank you

I don’t believe we have a “military” manual, just a couple of regular Remington manuals for the weapon:

Cheers, Rob

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I would like to purchase any publications concerning Lefever Shotguns before / Pre 1915 . Could you provide me a list of what you have available, Tim

Hello Tim, Here is a link to the Lefever catalogs we reprint. The dates are a bit mixed up but there aren’t that many and each has an index of contents: https://cornellpubs.com/manufacturer/lefever-firearms/ I hope this is what you were looking for. Best, Abby

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Re: Ideal 1907 Hand Book 18th Edition – Does this handbook show ideal mould designs 358311 and 360302? Thank you akadannyd eBNay

Yes it does. Abby for cornellpubs

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Are you able to Airmail me a Print version of your publication? “A Hollis 1915 circa Guns, Rifles and Handguns – Bombay & London” If you can, how much are the costs and how do I pay you? Thanks Christopher

Hello Christopher, I’m sorry, we no longer ship to the UK or the EU due to their requirements that we collect their import duty and taxes along with all the necessary paperwork. The best we can offer is a PDF you can take to an office store and have them print and bind it for you. Cheers, Rob