1972 Romanian M1969 Trainer

[BubbaDX]

Yesterday I took a couple revolvers to the range. On my way out I made a quick pass through the gun counter and they had a lot more used guns than normal. Their firearms selection had been getting pretty thin lately, which is odd because other shops in town are stacked to the brim. On the racks I noticed this Romanian Trainer rifle made at the Uzina Mecanica Cugir plant in 1972. They took $20 off the price and I told them I would take it. I hear these are very accurate but have crappy triggers. I will let you know when I get to shoot it. Sorry for the crappy pics, I will see if I can get a few outdoor pics today. What do you think? Worth $140?

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The serial number on the bolt does not match the serial number on the barrel. I don't know if that is normal or not.

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The magazine is stamped "Made In Taiwan" so I assume it's a repop and not the original.

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I cannot get a full shot to work for me, I will try with my regular camera outside today. But this will give you an idea on the stock. The stock is in great shape.

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[millman]

Cool.

[BubbaDX]

One thing I forgot to ask. The bore on this 22 is very tight. So tight I cannot use a standard bore snake on it. The bore snake will not go through the bore, it gets stuck at the end of the bore snake where he loop is formed. This spot is normally tight, but I've never had one this tight. Anyone else have this issue? Its not a big deal, I have rods and brushes but the little bore snake works very good on my other 22's.

[catcracker]

Nice rifle. This model was the second rifle added to my collection. First C&R purchase from AIM. Pretty accurate. I didn't notice the trigger being bad.
The hard task with these are finding original magazines. The after markets work fine though. I only have one original magazine. I am always on the lookout for another. But haven't come across another one yet.
I also bought a spare bolt. Funny thing is, it doesn't fit. But it is a M69 bolt. So there must be differences in this model somewhere. Never had time to investigate further.
Have fun with it.

[millman]

One thing I forgot to ask. The bore on this 22 is very tight. So tight I cannot use a standard bore snake on it. The bore snake will not go through the bore, it gets stuck at the end of the bore snake where he loop is formed. This spot is normally tight, but I've never had one this tight. Anyone else have this issue? Its not a big deal, I have rods and brushes but the little bore snake works very good on my other 22's.

My first thought is pull harder, but you might check for burrs or something. All .22 bores are going to be essentially the same dimensions, so it should work. As a last resort, you might trim the loop end a little bit. I bought a BRNO Mod 1 last year,that came out of Romania. It has some wear, but is a good shooter with a nice trigger.

[BubbaDX]

My first thought is pull harder, but you might check for burrs or something. All .22 bores are going to be essentially the same dimensions, so it should work. As a last resort, you might trim the loop end a little bit. I bought a BRNO Mod 1 last year,that came out of Romania. It has some wear, but is a good shooter with a nice trigger.

I dropped a 22lr into the bore and it chambers just fine. It has to be the bore snake. The odd thing is I can pull it through my 22/45. Here are a couple pictures of my 22lr bore snake. The end is getting a little bunched up, but I am not sure if it shows in these pictures. This is where it gets hung up. I might see if I can work the material to unbunch the end. Or just pick up another one, they are not that expensive. I just hate to toss it out if its still usable.

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[bunkysdad]

I like these. Mine has a good trigger, and shoots fine. I did find an original mag on Ebay by luck but it doesn't fit. It is so close to going in but binds before clicking into place and gets stuck like Chuck (sorry longcolt [emoji14] ) I think I can file the mag in a few places and adapt it but the Made in Taiwan mag is ok. That price was good. Heck yeah! I paid 130.00 shipped 4 or 5 years ago.

[BubbaDX]

Good to know bunkysdad, thanks. If I ever run across an original mag I will grab it. Gives me yet another item to look for at gun shows.

[millman]

Try this guy for mags. http://www.hoosiergunworks.com/ Call him and don't rely on his web site listings. He has found some really oddball mags for me.

[SKhiSm 59-66]

I've had the same problem with a bore snake, you can pull that bunching out of it, or have somebody hold a little tension on the back end as you pull it in and if you have a little lube on it, it will go. There's been several times I found myself wondering if I was going to get that snake pulled through before having an aneurysm.

[Longcolt44]

I have one dated 1981. They are a fun shooter.

[BubbaDX]

I found a place with original Romanian magazines for these M1969's in stock for $30. If you click this link, they have 3 options. 1 is the Taiwan made aftermarket. 1 is unmarked and the 3rd is stamped Romania. They show "in stock" so if you want an original mag, get it before they are gone.

http://www.apexgunparts.com/22-rifle-pa ... e-fed.html

[BubbaDX]

My Romanian magazine for this M1969 Trainer Rifle came in the mail today. It does not quite snap into the rifle like the Taiwan made magazine. I think the feed lips are a tad bit taller on the Romanian magazine. Here are a couple pictures.

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[WeldonHunter]

The Taiwan made mags I have are not stamped out as pronounced where it locks in to the Magazine catch as the original mags. They work fine but feel like they just don't lock as positively. I have 8 of them (bought a bunch of spares after almost losing the original) along with the original that came with the rifle. I got mine from Liberty Tree Collectors a few years back and he still has them for $24.00 https://www.libertytreecollectors.com/p ... dcategory= As mentioned Apex has originals by their listing as well as "Improved Feed" which are actually the ones from Taiwan from what I can see. Then Keepshooting.com also has some. http://www.keepshooting.com/romanian-22 ... azine.html Just a few more sources and in the future they'd be listed here if they're still available. http://gun-deals.com/index.php?dealtype ... 9&subcat=1 This is a post I made about mine in 2012 with a comparison of the original magazine and Liberty Tree's replacements along with some discussion from others that have them too. http://www.russian-mosin-nagant-forum.c ... 08&p=79243

[BubbaDX]

One quick update. The Romanian stamped magazine I purchased does snap in place and cycles just fine. It just took a couple times to get it to snap in. They stick and it was pretty hard to pull it out of the magazine well the first couple times. It got a little easier after inserting the magazine and removing it a few times. The Taiwan stamped magazine also works as it should and is a lot easier to insert and remove. Now to get this rifle to the range and see just how accurate it is.

[catcracker]

Wow. I have looked for these for a long time. Not real hard. But for a while. And now I see several sources. I will try to get one tomorrow.
Thanks for the post.
Cat

[WeldonHunter]

Wow. I have looked for these for a long time. Not real hard. But for a while. And now I see several sources. I will try to get one tomorrow.
Thanks for the post.
Cat

There's a few other places that get these in from time to time, just have to keep an eye out on gun-deals to see when they show up. They're in the Other/Magzines catagory. It's the link I posted above. Hell Numrich even had them. I'm always on the lookout for these and when I find them they go straight on gun-deals because I know everyone is always looking for them.

[BubbaDX]

The only thing I will add is if you want the original magazine, not one made in Taiwan, you may need to get it from Apex. If anyone knows otherwise please let me know. But reading the listing at Liberty Tree and Keep Shooting they refer to the magazines as "replacement magazines".

[BubbaDX]

I was fiddling with my M69 trainer recently and started looking online for a manual again. I know there was never an official manual issued from the Romanian arsenal with these rifles but I had seen where one was written and sold by Paul Liska. His website has long been removed from the internet, but as some of you may know nothing is ever "gone" from the internet. Unfortunately the email address from the original website that was posted in forums is now defunct. However, a new email address was posted to Paul's website just before the site was pulled from the internet. I found that email address and figured what the heck do I have to lose, I sent him an email. I promptly received a reply from Paul Liska and he still had a few of he manuals. I sent him a check and my address and on Friday in the mail I found this:

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I have only thumbed through the pages so far, but man is there a lot of information in this manual. It was well worth the meager price that Paul was selling these manuals for. I am not going to post Paul's email address here and I have no idea how many he has left. But, if you would like Paul's email address to inquire about one of these fantastic guide's for yourself, shoot me a PM.

BubbaDX