[stoser]

Hello all, I'm new to TFF although I've been thinking of joining for some time. Therefore please forgive my lack of knowledge of guns, as I'm a little new to this. Any pointers you could give are greatly appreciated.

I've got some questions about an Argentine made carbine. It's a 22LR. The stamp near the base of the barrel reads:

" D.G.F.M. Fabrica Militar de Armas Portatiles Calibre 22 - Long Rifle Industria Argentina". The serial number is 20157. I already know what DGFM is, most notably the 1911 Colt replicas, but I can't find ANY info on any 22LRs made by them.

This carbine has an interesting loading mechanism that I'd never seen before. The rounds are loaded through the right side of the stock, and a long rod made of what appears to be brass is used to push the round into the chamber. The rod enters through the back of the stock. Not sure if this is considered a type of breech loading. It weighs a little under 10 lbs, but I forgot to measure the length. I could post some pictures, please let me know if it's necessary. I'd have to drive to the owner's house and take some, and it's about 20 miles away...

Looks pretty old, all the wood has seen it's share of use. If I'd have to guess I'd say pre 1950 at least, probably pre WWII, but them again, maybe it was just used A LOT.

Also, it can be disassembled into two pieces by unscrewing a small hand tightened bolt the attaches behind the action. It then unfolds into two pieces similar to how a breech loaded shotgun would, but it has no hinge, so the two pieces just come apart.

Let me know if any of this needs further clarification or if you need pictures.

Any info would be helpful. Specifically I would like to get an idea of what model it might be, when it was made, what it was made for (military training, civilian, etc), and what it might be worth. Also, if the loading system has a specific name, it'd be nice to know what it's called.

Thanks!