Pics of a 1918 BS Marked DWM won on gunbroker

With this rifle you win some/lose some on the cruddy gunbroker pic auctions...This time I did alright but the damage didn't show very well in his photos...The rifle is a bolt/stock mismatch but I believe the stock was on this when the damage occurred...And I believe the bolt was in the rifle also as none of my other rifle bolts will fit this other than the one that came with it and it looks to be unmodified.(No cutting or grinding on the body itself)...The rifle is a DWM made in 1918...BS marked at one point and then reworked again in 1934...Just a quick question, Are G date reworks more common than K dated ones paralleling K98 production? Here are some photos...comments appreciated...Thanks Mike

Thats a pretty nasty hit that receiver took.

As for the K and G dates, from what I understood is that all that indicates is when the sight base was made, not when the rifle was reworked. I have a bolt m/m 1916 dwm with a K dated rear sight but the rifle was reworked in 1936

8x57 is correct, the r/s sleeve markings only relate to the manufacture of the sleeve, the rifle could have been upgraded at anytime after that.

What is the barrel code, I can't quite make it out, it is upside down, might be Bö (Böhler), DWM used them most, along with Bi (Bismarckhütte) second most common, but I can't make out the second character after the B?, and there are several possibilities.

This is actually a rifle made during the war, DWM dropped rifle production in 1918 to concentrate upon manufacture of the P08 and MG08, passing rifle production to Oberspree in 1918, so these are uncommon. Many DWM/1918 are post war assembled rifles, but not this one. Interestingly, the rifle looks pretty original metal wise, only upgraded, this is the original barrel. Pretty tough rifle to find, too bad on the condition.

You might look the stock over for a depot marking, or other markings that might suggest a history of the stock.

I'll try to get a better barrel code pic in the next couple days...The stock was sanded at some point in it's life but has "re-aged" since...Most markings have been obliterated...

How excellent! Nice find Rockisle. Seller's pictures were terrible, I really wanted a good look at that receiver, never guessed it could have been battle scarred. Thank you for posting the pics, that one is cool! Congrads...Mike

Re- the barrel code, a picture isn't necessary, just whether it is "Bö", "Bi" or some other set of letters before the "874" lot number. No rush, just when and if you can.

The stock, it is typical of depot reworks for the stock to be re-serialed to match the host rifle internally and externally, but sometimes it is just one or the other, but usually the re-serialing of the major components (barrel, bolt & stock) to the receiver was done if it was done at a facility before or early in the war. During the later stages of the war (1942-44), things seem to be hit or miss, the eastern facilities typically are less quality conscious than the depots in Germany.

rockisle1903 said:

I'll try to get a better barrel code pic in the next couple days...The stock was sanded at some point in it's life but has "re-aged" since...Most markings have been obliterated...

Click to expand...

More pics...

Here is a few more photos...The rear sight slider is number 01 and the rest of the bolt minus body and extractor is 01 with some ww2 eagle marked parts...The stock was much "darker" in person unlike the gun broker photos that made it look recently stripped of finish thank goodness that wasn't the case...And another photo of the barrel code...It's Bo if I'm not mistaken....Thanks to everyone who commented...And I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas... Thanks again, Mike

I agree, looks Bö to me also, and it fits others in this range.

Thanks & Merry Christmas!