1938 calstalbvt 7.62 rifle

Answer 1

calstalbvt is not a manufacturer's marking - it's an importer's mark, required by the BATFE on all firearms imported into the US. CAI is Century Arms International, and STALBVT means St. Albans, Vermont, where CAI's home office was located.

Exactly what you have, I would need some specifics. If it's chambered for the 7.62x51 NATO cartridge, you probably have an "Israeli" Mauser. In the days prior to Israel becoming recognised as a nation in 1948, they acquired a number of weapons by various means. After the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, it was realised that fielding rifles of so many different calibres was going to be a logistical nightmare. Eventually, the Mauser rifles were converted from their original 7.92x57 cartridge to the 7.62x51 NATO cartridge. The most common Mausers to undergo these conversions were the German Karabiner 98, and the Czechoslovakian VZ-24. They remained in service with reserve and paramilitary units until the 70s.

Another possibility is that you have a .30-06 rifle (7.62x63 is the metric dimensions for the .30-06 cartridge). I know Brazil had such rifles, originally manufactured in Czechoslovakia as the VZ-24 in 7x57, and later converted to .30-06 in the 1950s (the original 7x57 rifles were converted in Brazil, while rifles purchased after the adoption of the .30-06 cartridge by Brazil were manufactured in .30-06).

I could tell you something more definite if I could see photos of the markings. If you have such photos, you can email me at the e-mail address listed in my bio page profile.