Mauser DSM 34 with Prototype Rear Sight????

This gun just won on-line auction not yet in my hands. But clearly has a windage adjustable rear sight bar of a type I have never observed before. NOT from a B Series gun either.

This DSM falls just before the transition to DSM 36 at Mauser.

Pics from Auction attached.

Does not look dinked with to me.

Anybody seen this rear sight before.?

And front sight

Note that rear sight sits higher than normal. Means front had to be higher for that to work. In the auction pictures it sure appears to have a taller base at front. This one is special. More and better pics once received.

Just a thought...

Serial number places this at the proper time frame to POSSIBLY have been something made at Mauser to present to the customer (the SA, from day one) in the process of making design changes which were known in-house as the DSM 36. The sights had not been among the complaints listed by the Fachamt Schiessen, which led to those tweaks in the design, and certainly the SA would not have been interested in this feature for their purchases of DSMs (not like the K98k sight), but it would exhibit Mauser's willingness to make changes for the customer to keep them happy. We may never know for certain, but it will certainly be interesting to put a magnifying glass on this thing --- this week!
Steve

From Jon Speed regarding this:

"I will say it IS a correct Mauser made unit. In the period 1925.34 period Mauser designed several tangent sights with windage. In my .22 book page 15 in the right image showing such sights is a unit with similar key operated windage on a tangent sight, I even have the factory glass plate image of this unit and the windage part is similar to one on DSM you show. It would be normal for Mauser to consider a similar windage tangent sight for the DSM but for whatever reason this was not made standard which I find odd etc. By 1934/35 the windage sights we all see on B series came on line with more complicated windage units. I have seen similar such sights on Mauser hunting rifles which were offered as options"

Looks similar to the site JGA used as well.. Maybe also the mauser 350 series ? Its basically the same rifle..

Interesting find ! Always nice seeing something you have never seen before even after doing this for so long.

Follow Up Pics OPINIONS

No serial numbers or markings at all on site pieces

The bar IS CUT for coil spring indicating made for DSM exclusively and not from a B Series gun. B series and others use flat spring.

The head at the end of the bar is milled different than the B Series part and is driven by square head worm screw which also retains it while effecting the right and left travel.

Rear sighting notch plate appears to have been a blued blank that had the notch cut by hand, then fire blued with a torch (pic) after notch cut. It is attached to sliding head piece with small screws that are not buggered and appear never to have been disturbed.

The elevation slide and slide lock are normal DSM parts with a piece of fitted "in the white" steel soldered to bottom to raise the rear sight on the base ramp. I think that was done to calibrate to the special front sight.

I believe the front sight base is a standard 98K of that era and just cut and sleeved to fit. That may be explanation for the rear sight "shimmed" so to speak to arrive at proper height relationship. - TOOL ROOM work Calibrating those together for sight graduations to work out, is darn near rocket science.

Only real unique parts to the rear sight are the bar, head piece with worm gear and square key end, soldered on "shim", and screwed on sighting notch plate which appears hand made to me.

That all said, this ain't the work of a so-so gunsmith.

As for the range from my Data Base:

Serial numbers in proximity:

30124 Highest DSM34 with all 34 features noted prior to this gun

30391 (lowest DSM 36 noted does not have longer safety though, and still had old style sleeve indicates to
me transitional gun)

30474 had all DSM 36 features except still used short safety - transitional

30548 all DSM 36 features except short safety - transitional

30624 (This gun which is all DSM 34 features other than the tweeked sights - Leftover 34 parts?)

30705 Lowest gun noted with ALL DSM 36 features including the longer safety and all others subsequent full DSM 36 changes.

Make what you will of it.

It is the highest serial number DSM 34 by Mauser Oberndorf I have observed or noted. It is all matching and all DSM 34 first variation features other than the sights. It falls after the first DSM 36 receivers are noted during the transition to pure DSM 36 features throughout the balance of the range.

Purely speculation on my part but I believe it was either a tool room example of a sight option for the customer's consideration, or made up at Mauser for a customer who desired windage adjustable rear sights.

As observed on the other Mauser production, if the customer was willing to pay, he could generally get what ever he wanted "special order".

Again my opinions

If anyone else has encountered a similar example, or documented a higher serial number for the first variation (DSM 34) by Mauser, I would appreciate the feed back.

Further Report forthcoming

After I repair the duffle cut stock, get it cleaned up, I fully intend to shoot it. Perhaps find from network a key or fabricate one to regulate the windage. I will report the outcome of that to include range report with targets.

I look forward to your range report. I shoot all of my .22/training rifles. Rifles made to a standard and not a price point which makes them great shooters. I regularly hit the small spinner targets at the back of the .22 range with the standard iron sights.

They were made to be shot!

KKW22cal said:

I look forward to your range report. I shoot all of my .22/training rifles. Rifles made to a standard and not a price point which makes them great shooters. I regularly hit the small spinner targets at the back of the .22 range with the standard iron sights.

Click to expand...

Good for you!

Perhaps not if particularly pristine or special presentation gun, etc. Even one in a factory crate was proof fired. "No such thing as un-fired."

See this where I turned a friends fine sons loose with my collection:

http://www.k98kforum.com/showthread...Incorrect-Values-Processing-of-American-Youth

Just my Hillbilly Redneck logic.

Going Off Topic - But it's my thread!

And I am a moderator and senile old fart, so forgive me.

Those pics of the boys was some years back as you will note in the date line.

They are also my guest hunters on the property for Whitetail management.

Here are the same boys this past fall (grown a bit) and the by product of marksmanship training and proper hunting values instilled by good parents.

very interesting/logical thinking from someone who really knows these... Congrats on the eagle eye auction

mauser22 said:

This gun just won on-line auction not yet in my hands. But clearly has a windage adjustable rear sight bar of a type I have never observed before. NOT from a B Series gun either.

This DSM falls just before the transition to DSM 36 at Mauser.

Pics from Auction attached.

Does not look dinked with to me.

Anybody seen this rear sight before.?

Click to expand...

Hi, this rear sight was taken out of a JGA wehrsport.



Have a look on my website : www.kkw-dsm34-22lr.com

You are Right!

No doubt.

Mystery solved.

Let my imagination run wild again.

Some pretty significant effort by some old gunsmith to make it work on this DSM.

So there you have it folks!!

Or.....

Was there collaboration or cooperation or proliferation of this sight, as the JGA Wehrsport was much later?

Grasping at straws I know.

Only reason for that thought is the locations where the blue on the bar remains and manner polished off on this vs. the JGA. Typcial of Mauser sights but not the JGA

Doubtful fer sure as for the manner installed on this gun and the steps taken on the front sight to make it all work out.

One of the best things about this forum

3 heads better than one, 5 heads and more in several countries with decades of observation eventually arrive at proper conclusions

Thank you Sir!

BGcollector said:

Hi, this rear sight was taken out of a JGA wehrsport.

View attachment 154132View attachment 154133View attachment 154134View attachment 154135

Have a look on my website : www.kkw-dsm34-22lr.com

Click to expand...

I said that originally... They used there on their own version and there .4mm version with .25m site.
Knew it the minute I saw it.

mauser22 said:

Was there collaboration or cooperation or proliferation of this sight, as the JGA Wehrsport was much later?

Grasping at straws I know.

Only reason for that thought is the locations where the blue on the bar remains and manner polished off on this vs. the JGA. Typcial of Mauser sights but not the JGA

Doubtful fer sure as for the manner installed on this gun and the steps taken on the front sight to make it all work out.

Click to expand...

hi, better more real color

Indeed

mauser99 said:

I said that originally... They used there on their own version and there .4mm version with .25m site.
Knew it the minute I saw it.

Click to expand...

Yes you did Wayne. Not having collected any none here to compare. YOU WERE RIGHT!

Other thoughts

It is imaginable the design was proliferated from Mauser. (My imagination again)

Would not be the only instance where JGA capitalized on Mauser developments (for example making Millions off the Anschutz 54 built off the Mauser Model 37 blue prints proliferated by a 3rd party.)

Von Lossnitzer talks about the laws regarding patents being relaxed to preclude legal battles on weapons development which led to delays during this period.

That helped pave the way to set aside disputes over patent rights on such mechanisms as the trigger and bolt design disputes between those 2 firms Walther, Erma, and BSW (at the time) and expedite joint cooperation to produce the KKW.

Just a thought.

I have already conceded that it is most likely my gun has been adapted to accept a JGA sight.

But I don't think it can be ruled out that the Chicken came before the egg.

Intend to take this gun along on next visit to Galesburg to compare with some of Bob's JGA's.

Most likely my initial take on it blocked Wayne's comment. I was and remain intrigued that this appears on one of the last Mauser 34 models made at a time when they were addressing customer complaints. And given - the sights were not one of those complaints. All that occurring prior to the emergence of those JGA models, (I think). Grasping at straws - yes. Just have learned never to say never.

Worst case I have an interesting and controversial shooter cobbled together sometime after 1938 somewhere, drug to the USA by a Vetran. As a Hillbilly, I'm good with that.

Thanks to all for helping jerk my head outta my arse.

mauser22 said:

Yes you did Wayne. Not having collected any none here to compare. YOU WERE RIGHT!

Click to expand...

I think they will interchange fully. Not really about being right. I just knew what it had to be when I say it.

Putting the correct leaf in there shouldn't be an issue. I needed one of these JGA sites years back. I added a standard DSM34 that you gave me. Thank you again.


Also, I've owned over a 1/2 dozen over the years. The mauser made rear site with windage adjustment Is slightly larger I think ?.