One more Gewehr 98 for the list - 1916 C.G. HAENEL SUHL

Slowly working on checking war time maker/date combinations off my list. This one is matching except for the front band, rod, and a couple screws. Unfortunately the firing pin is "tip snipped" so I will have to swap it out or re-tip it to go shooting. Still over all a decent rifle with a surprisingly minty bore.

Looks like a nice rifle, you take good pictures too!

Have you any pictures of the stock markings? The acceptance below the cypher and wrist are of most interest, these I track.

Thanks Paul. Here are a couple more shots, sadly there isn't much left of the stock markings. Can you tell anything from the pictures?

Yes, you are right, not much to go on... but thanks for posting them. I am sure it is the original stock, has the right features (walnut, no grips or takedown, has a C/B acceptance on the disc, which is typical, serial looks good), and though I do not have another CGH/16 "k" block, it should have been a C/B under the cypher going by surrounding rifles. (JPS acceptance in this range is different - this is the first CGH/16 “k” block recorded, most "k" blocks are JPS)

Changes happened around this rifles range though, the first beech stocks show up in the k block and take downs and grips quickly follow. Stock changes seem to be consortium wide, probably because the same firm finished most of the stock for the three firms, that seems to be how they collaborated, one firm specialized in one type of key component (CGH receivers, JPS barrels, etc…)

I still have not figured out how the rifles were made exactly, obviously they were assembled separately, they all have different inspection patterns within the same ranges (JPS, VCS and CGH rifles in the same range would have different "assembly" inspection - some of the other inspection, receiver hardened was common, CGH seems to have made many of the receivers, JPS many of the barrels), but there is no way they didn't share serialing in some manner, as had they the production totals would be several time more than were officially made according to Storz. Beside the rifles are far too scarce to have made over 600,000 rifles in 1916 alone. (all three go to the same ranges each year, in 1916 that is the "u" block, all three have recorded rifles in the "u" block, so if they all made individually over 200,000 rifles, they would have made collectively over 600k rifles in 1916, more than any other firm. Even Danzig didn't get anywhere near 600k in 1916, their top year)

Anyway, there is more to learn on this subject, I doubt I will figure it out, but the first step is to collect data and I need more stock acceptance patterns, they are hard to get good pictures of, especially with consortium rifles, they were made in fewer numbers and they are often well used (all the Suhl makers are hard to find nice, seems they got used more than some of the arsenal makers), worse most people do not take pictures of the acceptance patterns, and that is too bad as that is the only way to identify the assemblers and parts makers.