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BYF44 Kriegsmodell Authentic?

Hello,
I am cleaning out my safe to rid myself of some odd calibers in lieu for some more magnum 30 calibers. I ran across a K98 that I got in a deal a while back. I would like to know if it is a period correct rifle, or someones reconstruction.

Details:
BYF44 #206 serial on receiver
Matching serial on bolt/firing parts

Front of floor plate frame reads SVW, floor plate Eagle 135 stamp w/byf lettering

butt-stock end plate: gqm 44

stock: no cleaning rod hole/bayonet lug, no disc on right side of butt(stamped eagle instead)- Appears to be full Kriegsmodell

No scrubbed swastika or proof markings, but plenty of others

I would assume it's an L-block since that was the first run of the full kriegs.

Thanks in advance ;)



















 
I thought this might be an L block missing the suffix, but could just as easily be an early byf45. BUT....there's a few things that aren't adding up to this being an original gun. Namely, in either if the above scenarios it would NOT have an svw triggerguard. Might be some kind of restored piece. Does it look like the hand guard color doesn't match? Front band is too late for that scenario too. That and the "odd" Waffenamt on the right side leave unanswered questions. Maybe more photos would help.


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I'm out if anyone else wants to make an offer.


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Broke it down at work and took some better pictures. Pulled some more markings, under the stock, the barrel was stamped with : 44 D 1026 followed by a 135 waff stamp .

I have done a lot of reading and pulled information directly from latewar, later published here. You can copy and paste my results into google to see the same.

Floor-plate:
I was under the impression SVW was an obendorf mark from both the byf 44/45 series? The floor plate does contain the byf mark, the svw is at the top near the front screw, followed by 2 small 135 stamps

Barrel Bands: they seem appropriate and original given snippets I’ve read here and there,
“All manufacturers went to simplified versions to one degree or another, but the 2 most common terms thrown about are "Full Kriegsmodell" and "Semi Kriegsmodell". These terms are modern descriptions for collectors. A "Full Kriegsmodell" will have no bolt disassembly disc in the buttstock, a hole drilled in the buttplate to aid in disassembly, no band spring for the front and rear bands, no bayonet lug, and both bands will be held to the stock with screws. The only manufacturers to completely switch to the "Full Kriegsmodell" style were bnz and byf/svw. The others never fully switched over, and are known as "Semi Kriegsmodell".”

“A "Semi Kriegmodell" will have a mix of features, such as no bayonet lug or band spring, screws holding the front and rear band, but still have the standard buttstock with bolt disassembly disc”

Butt stock side marking:
“The most common are full Kriegsmodell stocks. All correct stocks will have Wa135 proof on the side, except some late svwMB rifles which are not proofed.”
_____________


From my readings everything mentioned appears correct?

Now the only part I found to not add up after a complete strip down-the upper hand guard. It is stamped with the Aa655 waff. Maybe this was only for 1940 year models? And is the only incorrect piece?

Floorplate


Trigger (theres is a faint stamp to the right that the camera will not pickup)


Barrel




Sight base


Buttstock waff mark


Bolt


Rear sling cutout marking- Appears to be a 2 as well as a small waff stamp



Barrel bands


Questionable upper guard- (sorry my cam wont pick it up any better)
 
Let me clarify what I'm talking about a bit. First, the e/655 handguard could be perfectly correct, many armorers parts were used in late byf production.

The serial number appears to be machine stamped (the last digit drop is typical for machine stamped numbers at Mauser). This means it was not hand stamped, which are usually where oddballs show up. The serial is 206 - most likely this is the 206th rifle numbered in the January 1945 letter block (no letter suffix). Some ar44 receivers also show up in the early byf45 series, it isn't typical to see byf44 receivers numbered in the byf45 range but nothing seems impossible at Mauser. So I suspect that the rifle is actually from the first letter block of byf45 production.

The triggerguard marked "svw" is too soon for this production. The svw code wasn't introduced in production until a few months later. namely the svw45 "a" block guns.

The front band has the dimple to locate the hole for the band spring, but isn't drilled- this is another late feature that shows up in svw45 rilfles.

So what I'm saying is the stock/bands appear to be from later assembly than the barreled action. Could it be 100% as issued? Sure, but it could also be assembled later. It's impossible to know. It's a neat gun, it just has some continuity issues in my opinion, others may feel differently and pay top dollar for it. If you wanted top dollar for it you'd probably have to auction it.
 
Awesome, thanks for the insight. Sorry if I misinterpreted you. I will probably send it to gun-broker if I don't get any interest on here.

If anyone else has anything to add or needs more up and close pics, let me know. Will make a FS post in a few days. Stay tuned.

6/21/17 2:15 am..All PM's replied to! :thumbsup:
 
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So I was at my LGS today picking up one of my Scar 17's, and the part time salesman offered me 1000 for the K98.. do you think this is an accurate price?
 
If its all matching no... I just breezed through this thread so it hasn't stuck yet... that's the easy answer.
 
Settled on a price for k98 enthusiast :$1400 + $20 shipping.
Gunbroker will be listed higher if it makes it that far.

All PM's replied to
 
Glad it found a good home. Fair price for it in my opinion.


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Enjoy it Bob!

Side note: Picked up the wife a Savage Stealth .338LM today. I really just need a bigger safe, tired of giving up my room to the Mrs.
 
Seems "good" to me byf 44(45) sn 206

The pics are not loading, so thought I would add mine.


Reading deeper into Kriegsmodell, I believe this one to be a good one...

At first... the byf 44 receiver, seemed odd.... but the barrel code 44 D 1026, places it squarely into the no-letter block for '45 (at the earliest). The phosphate bolt clearly is right, and so this isn't an early '44 rifle, slapped into a KM stock.

Farb had concerns about the svw trig guard... yet when looking at the data (posted elsewhere on this Forum)... there is a byf45, SN 12283... with a svw guard. This one (sn 12283) was made less than a week after sn 206.... assuming linear production. From Kriegsmodell, Mauser made 58-60K rifles in the no letter block in 1945.... so about 15K units per week.... so these two units could have been made the same week.

At first glance, the color of the hand guard does not match the stock.... but the HG is an armorers and we know armorer parts were commonly used. One subtle detail I commonly look at is the fit of the stock and HG, and how they snug to the rear band. Matched guns have a perfect fit (alignment), and this example is perfect.

Bands have the dimple, but aren't drilled seemed to be a concern (see link above)... yet it's stated in Kriegsmodell, "generally, that both types can be found throughout 1945 Mauser production".

Here's what I like: The '44 dated receiver used in the 1945 production (new one on me), and the walnut is always a plus plus. The oddities... the unnumbered WaA 655 handguard, the E/63 on the extractor collar, the repurposed trigger, the double struck E/135 on the receiver, sub-contracted butt plate....etc.
 

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I disagree with your evaluation. If you found a byf44 L block in the 90,000 range would you think it was original? This gun is 206 numbers away from the last L block. But you bought it, so you can feel however you wish about it I suppose.
 

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