Third Party Press

Danzig 1917 SN 61.68

BOGSailor

Member
Greetings,
I finally received the Mauser that my friend from FL gave me. It cost me $35 to have it shipped to WA and another $50 here for transfer fees and tax. Yes, WA requires you to pay tax on all FFL transfers........:(
I estimated the value, based on input from this forum, at $200. The wood is in good condition and there is quite a bit of bluing left on the metal. The RCVR, barrel, lower stock, rear sight (both pieces), floor plate/trigger guard and butt plate all have the same SN 61.86. S/42K is stamped on the left side of the barrel just under the rear sight. The bolt, front band, bayonet lug and other parts have different numbers. It has 8MM stamped on the barrel in two places, both on the left side of the barrel, one just above the bayonet lug and the other in between the front band.

#1 This is a thing of beauty, at least to me, so the value of it is secondary to just owning it. If I broke even I will be happy.

#2 I would appreciate it if anyone could point me in the right direction to look up this rifle's history.

#3 I have never owned one of these before so here come the really dumb questions.......Does it have a safety? The lever on the bolt that I believe should be the safety does not move. Is there any information on basic operation out there? I understand that it should be safe to shoot and not to worry about headspace because these rifles were made so well?? That is after I read the owners manual...:laugh:

I appreciate any help or advise that any could give. I will post pictures as soon as I fugure out how to transfer them from my phone, to my email, to the forum....
 
Not much downside at $85, and most working rifles are worth $200. Of course images would be helpful in giving an opinion, but your questions:

#1, Main issue is metal and stock condition, heavy pitting, crude handling (idiot marks, like wrench marks trying to take a barrel off etc..) and most of all refinishing hurts value. Refinished by anyone other than the German military kills value, this is the reason the "rc" is next to worthless imo.

#2, History of your rifle or Danzig? Your rifles history is impossible to say beyond an examination of the components that are original (matching). The S42K rear sight sleeve, it is not part of the barrel, means it was upgraded for the sS patrone sometime after 1934. Assuming it is an original rear sight sleeve, and most are (few replace the sleeve, even the commies left it on the "rc" usually).

#3, The safety can be engaged when it is cocked, it has to clear the striker as that is all it does, it blocks the striker. Sometimes if the striker or safety is replaced you need to adjust the clearance. Everyone should own a field gage at least, do not take the cheap route with safety, - buy books and a field gage first, before the rifles. That said, just my observations over 30 year of collecting and shooting. Head space is important if the bolt is a mismatch, normally a matching bolt is ok, never seen one fail a head space (field gage) before anyway. Generally these rifles are safe to fire with the proper precautions, glasses, proper ammunition (I do not use garbage ammo, corrosive anything or poor quality hot ammo) and safe handling procedures. It is always a good thing to check the head space, especially with a mismatched bolt, but generally I have never seen one fail a field gage before. But of course I haven't bought real beaters before either. Best to be safe than sorry, check the head space and examine the rifle closely, also the first few rounds you fire.

Good luck!

Greetings,
I finally received the Mauser that my friend from FL gave me. It cost me $35 to have it shipped to WA and another $50 here for transfer fees and tax. Yes, WA requires you to pay tax on all FFL transfers........:(
I estimated the value, based on input from this forum, at $200. The wood is in good condition and there is quite a bit of bluing left on the metal. The RCVR, barrel, lower stock, rear sight (both pieces), floor plate/trigger guard and butt plate all have the same SN 61.86. S/42K is stamped on the left side of the barrel just under the rear sight. The bolt, front band, bayonet lug and other parts have different numbers. It has 8MM stamped on the barrel in two places, both on the left side of the barrel, one just above the bayonet lug and the other in between the front band.

#1 This is a thing of beauty, at least to me, so the value of it is secondary to just owning it. If I broke even I will be happy.

#2 I would appreciate it if anyone could point me in the right direction to look up this rifle's history.

#3 I have never owned one of these before so here come the really dumb questions.......Does it have a safety? The lever on the bolt that I believe should be the safety does not move. Is there any information on basic operation out there? I understand that it should be safe to shoot and not to worry about headspace because these rifles were made so well?? That is after I read the owners manual...:laugh:

I appreciate any help or advise that any could give. I will post pictures as soon as I fugure out how to transfer them from my phone, to my email, to the forum....
 
Thank you for the advice, especially about the mis-matched bolt. The 1934 date is interesting. I don't think the rifle has been re-blued, it does have some pitting, but for that date it is in good shape. I will try to post some pictures here. I am not used to this forum and I am not sure if I am replying to you in the correct place. The photo's are taken with my phone. They are not the best quality. If they are not good enough I will try again with the digital camera.
I appreciate the reply...
 

Attachments

  • 20120403_131812.jpg
    20120403_131812.jpg
    289.9 KB · Views: 36
  • 20120403_132008.jpg
    20120403_132008.jpg
    293.6 KB · Views: 36
  • 20120403_132139.jpg
    20120403_132139.jpg
    288.9 KB · Views: 37
  • 20120403_132232.jpg
    20120403_132232.jpg
    284.2 KB · Views: 29
  • 20120403_132246.jpg
    20120403_132246.jpg
    275.5 KB · Views: 37
  • 20120403_132402.jpg
    20120403_132402.jpg
    278.9 KB · Views: 31
  • 20120403_132532.jpg
    20120403_132532.jpg
    281.4 KB · Views: 24
  • 20120403_132606.jpg
    20120403_132606.jpg
    271.9 KB · Views: 26
  • 20120403_132627.jpg
    20120403_132627.jpg
    274.2 KB · Views: 23
  • 20120403_132646.jpg
    20120403_132646.jpg
    276.9 KB · Views: 23
  • 20120403_132801.jpg
    20120403_132801.jpg
    284 KB · Views: 30
Your serial number is 6168 i, which means it is in the 90k block. It is actually a pretty early rifle from Danzig/1917. (It was made by them due to the right receiver acceptance being Danzig.)

Pictures are good enough, it has been re-blued imo, not too good there, but not all bad as at least it has some matching parts. The stock has the Spanish MP8 marking on it, and the rifle is probably an Spanish import from the 1960's. Spain received many rifles from Germany during and after their Civil War, - all paid for, none were gifts.

The rear sight is early, meaning it probably was an early upgrade. I would say it is probably well worth $200 as most of the Spanish imports cost that and more and this is a better looking rifle than most from that batch.
 
I truly appreciate the information. The next step will be to find out if my local gunsmith has any experience with these rifles. I will order some ammo as soon as I get the all clear. I am anxious to get this out to the range. Thanks again.
 

Military Rifle Journal
Back
Top