Kar98a 1914 Erfut with Ulm Proof House stamp

I am a newbie to Ka98k forum, so please be kind if I make any mistakes.

Actually I am into Lugers and have 2 of them (1915 and 1916 DWM Artillery, matching numbers).

However I saw this K98 and took photos. After I became a member of K98k forum I read up about these wonderful rifles and found out that this one is a Kar98a made in Erfurt Gewehrfabrik in 1914.
Probably it was restamped in 1920 (after WWI) but I couldn't find out why it has a Geweihstange of Ulm proof house on the side. Also the writings WAESCH SCH are meaningless for me.

I would be very happy about any additional information about this old lady.

By the way the barrel is in a good contain and the rifling is intact and there was a DEMAG "staatlich geschützt" bayonet along with the rifle. I think it was a replica so I didn't take photos of it.

Remaining photos of the bolt:

post ww2 proofs

those proofs are proof.. that the rifle passed through germany in the 50's to present..

Welcome to the forum, as M99 states, the extra proofing is post WWII and impacts value to many collectors. Seems quite typical on rifles sold in Germany today, seems they are getting more extravagant with the use of such markings if you spend much time looking at auctions on eGun (Europe-Germany's version of Gun Broker)

The other marking I am unfamiliar with, "WAESCH SCH HALL"? Can't be a good thing but perhaps one of the European collectors have an explanation to its meaning.

The 1920 is a property marking, this has been discussed many times on this forum, I will see if I can make a thread on this topic from my post on Gunboards-Mauser. Essentially it means the rifle was in German hands from August 1920 through early 1921, it was to differentiate rifles in government hands from those illegally in civilian hands, during efforts to recover stolen military equipment from the immediate postwar period.

Erfurt 1914 Kar.98a production is not common, they made more in 1914 than any previous year, about 50,000 by estimates but it is a better date for them.

Property Marking Thread:

http://www.k98kforum.com/showthread.php?5741-The-1920-Property-Mark&p=39077#post39077

In case he wants to read it before you have time, here is the link to Paul's (SimsonSuhl's) information there:

http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?258828-The-1920-Property-Mark-Disarming-of-the-People-Act

Thanks TP, I had meant to link to that as well, but I created another thread on the interwar forum with a slightly revised version of the one I wrote for your forum on Gunboards.

I think it needs to be on both forums due to the general misunderstanding of the marking.

gew8805 said:

In case he wants to read it before you have time, here is the link to Paul's (SimsonSuhl's) information there:

http://forums.gunboards.com/showthread.php?258828-The-1920-Property-Mark-Disarming-of-the-People-Act

Click to expand...

Glad to do it Paul, it is an excellent explanation of a topic that is brought up often and is widely misunderstood. It certainly helped me and I know others were surprised as well. It has a place here in the Imperial section since some may miss it if they don't go to the Weimar section regularly. If you decide to create a "stickie" here with your name attached (it should be it was your work) I will be happy to see it. Thank you again, you hard work and research are always appreciated.

Good idea, but never been a huge fan of stickies, you do need them but one is enough per topic! (for me anyway)

Strangely enough the topic is fairly well discussed and known, Jan Still and the P08 dudes have long known the meaning, - of course along with Görtz, who was one of the best researchers out there and probably the original source for the information. I gave it a little more context in my MRJ article (with Wolfgang's help) and I used that in the thread for your site.

gew8805 said:

Glad to do it Paul, it is an excellent explanation of a topic that is brought up often and is widely misunderstood. It certainly helped me and I know others were surprised as well. It has a place here in the Imperial section since some may miss it if they don't go to the Weimar section regularly. If you decide to create a "stickie" here with your name attached (it should be it was your work) I will be happy to see it. Thank you again, you hard work and research are always appreciated.

Click to expand...

This rifle got a new firing proof in August 1972 (872) month/year.

According to the German gun law, guns have to have a valid firing proof, if used for hunting, shooting contests ......