G43 Frankenbuild: Not for the faint at heart.

SGT Ellis said:

Still looking for a rear sight

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Frontline in the Netherlands has 3 available on eBay right now. Buy it Now for $40 + $7.50 Shipping.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/G43-K43-Rear-Sight-/332310684909?hash=item4d5f42a4ed:g:hcsAAOSwOgdYof11

I got a firing pin and extension from them so as not to use the originals when shooting. Nicely made.

DtheD said:

First thing I did when I decided to shoot mine was order an Applegate shooter's kit. I ordered some extra small orifices also. He shipped them quickly and the product is machined extremely well. When working up loads I put tape on the bolt cover to make sure the carrier didn't come back to within 1/4" of the rear.

Yep, I have 3 Garands and built up 3 M14 demil kits I got from Armscorp back in the '80s. 1 Winchester and 2 TRW kits are now on 1 Springfield M1a receiver and two Fulton Armory M14SA recievers. Still have the wrench, M1/M14 barrel vice, and barrel/sight clocking tools.

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Yes I've seen those pictures and have been very careful with my inspections. No damage like that in the pics, other than a rather "typical" seem at the bottom rear of the bolt housing. I've shot the gun safely with Federal and PRVI factory loads as well as some reloads. It had the shooters kit already installed when I got all the parts (basically two guns I combined into one shooter).
I just installed new Wolf springs that are much stronger than the "replacement" springs that I've been using that came with the various parts I received. I have reloaded a number of rounds using IMR 4895, Varget and IMR 4064 (yes, I bit the bullet and bought some.)
I plan on testing all of these when my Danish magazine arrives in the next few days.

I also enjoy shooting Garands and M14/M1a's. I have two HRA Garands from CMP, one "special" with a new criterian barrel/ Boyed Stock, and one that is a beautiful service grade with original HRA stock. I also have a Springfield M1A built in '76. It was given to me by a good friend...actually, the same friend I bought all the G43 parts from.

Once I get the loads for this gun worked up and I'm satisfied everything is working smoothly and properly, I will begin the installation of the gun into the Polish stock that came with all the parts as well. I'll start another thread when that begins. I need some pointers. After that task is finished, this project should be just about over.

Maybe one day I'll get froggy and try to acquire a decent scope and mount.

The rifle certainly has some parts that are maybe worth donating to an un-molested barreled receiver, but a restoration on this piece is likely not worth it IMHO.

The barrel is the problem - they are pressed fit and hard to remove. Apfeltor can swap barrels, but this might make the project cost prohibitive.

Good luck either route you go.

agentcq said:

The rifle certainly has some parts that are maybe worth donating to an un-molested barreled receiver, but a restoration on this piece is likely not worth it IMHO.

The barrel is the problem - they are pressed fit and hard to remove. Apfeltor can swap barrels, but this might make the project cost prohibitive.

Good luck either route you go.

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Funny you should suggest such a thing.

Here is my ac44 shooter build thus far:
All internals and action removed from the butchered barreled action and installed into the ac44 "unmolested" barreled action that came with all the parts. I put the newly assembled working action into the sporterized original stock. Hey Mikey! It works!



How do I tell if the trigger/magazine guard is repro or original?


Notice how the gas block cants slightly to the side. Do others have this issue? It was straight but canted when I drove in the pin. The original gas block did the same thing on the other butchered rifle action. It doesn't seem to hinder operation.

Once I've fine tuned the gas system to work with a good load I will start the installation/in-letting of the completed rifle action into the Polish reproduction stock that came with all the parts. Final stain and finish of stock to be determined. I'd like it to be of similar color to the "original" stock I have the action in now, but not sure that is correct. Suggestions?

For all of this I am paying my friend $1300 over the course of a year, or however long it takes, really. Like I said, he's a good friend. There are also numerous spare small parts, such as locking flappers, firing pin/carrier, recoil and actuator springs, extra shooters kit, repro front sight hood, not to mention the butchered barreled action that hopefully I can sell. Other's may not agree, but I feel like I'm getting a great deal on a very good G43 shooter, with extras. Over time I will try and replace any repro parts with originals, but until then, I will have a working ac44 G43!

That's an interesting looking hand guard - almost looks like a VOPO but I am assuming reproduction?

Stocks are a big discussion. Late stocks were left 'in the white' and often unfinished and have a very blonde appearance. Lots of AC44's had a dark red and almost brown laminate stain/finish. The least common is the redish/yellow finish that you see on many K98's. The finish on the sporter stock has been messed with and I would not try to replicate.

Many of the Polish repro stocks come finished in 'red' or 'blond', he actually does a good job. Then you just need 75+ years of age and patina and you will have a stock that looks completely legit.

agentcq said:

That's an interesting looking hand guard - almost looks like a VOPO but I am assuming reproduction?

Stocks are a big discussion. Late stocks were left 'in the white' and often unfinished and have a very blonde appearance. Lots of AC44's had a dark red and almost brown laminate stain/finish. The least common is the redish/yellow finish that you see on many K98's. The finish on the sporter stock has been messed with and I would not try to replicate.

Many of the Polish repro stocks come finished in 'red' or 'blond', he actually does a good job. Then you just need 75+ years of age and patina and you will have a stock that looks completely legit.

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Yes, the plastic handguard is a reproduction. Nothing special about it.
You can see in the pictures I posted previously in this thread, http://www.k98kforum.com/showthread.php?27971-G43-Frankenbuild-Not-for-the-faint-at-heart/page4 , that the Polish stock is laminated with red glue and unfinished. It has a solid wood handgaurd instead of laminate, but for the price I'm paying, beggars can't be choosers.

I hope to attain a color that approximates a correct stock color for a correct ac44. In my mind that would be the dark reddish brown you mentioned. The final finish would be BLO or maybe even RAW Linseed Oil. This will oxidize over time and deepen the reddish color. I'm not going to shoot for the 75+ years of age patina. I don't have that much patience. LOL.
So I will have to try to reproduce a color that is "good enough" for an non matching ac44 shooter.
I will have to do some testing, but I'm thinking a mixture of Minwax Red Mahogany and Gun Stock Red might do it, or maybe sub the Red Mahogany with a Medium reddish Walnut, if such a color exists. The search begins. If anyone has color suggestions, please feel free to help.

Are there any tell tale signs to indicate if the barrel is original to my ac44 receiver?

More than likely the original barrel. Swapping a barrel on these rifles is a 'process' and not for the faint of heart. Your rifle is dated 1944 and the barrel is dated 1944 and the contractor code is correct for an 'ac' rifle.

I know on many K98's you can pin down a barrel with additional code info to about a 2-4 week production span, however I am uncertain if that specific of a trend has been documented for these rifles.

From what I've read so far this gas block has been on 2 different barrels and every time it was cock-eyed.
Time for a new gas block, I'd say.

GunKraut said:

From what I've read so far this gas block has been on 2 different barrels and every time it was cock-eyed.
Time for a new gas block, I'd say.

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Ah! But it’s not the same gas block. The original ww2 gas block that was on the original sporterized barrel, ad was canted, is not the one I have on the “new” ac44 barrel. To Minimize the possibility of the gas block canting as it did on the old barrel I installed a new production gas block that came in the kit of parts for this build from my friend. And yet after installing the new gas block on the ac44 barrel, it to has a cant after installing the cross pin. Run with it or is there a fix? Maybe try driving the cross pen in from the office at side? I don’t want to run the risk of wallering it out so that the gas block is loose.

agentcq said:

More than likely the original barrel. Swapping a barrel on these rifles is a 'process' and not for the faint of heart. Your rifle is dated 1944 and the barrel is dated 1944 and the contractor code is correct for an 'ac' rifle.

I know on many K98's you can pin down a barrel with additional code info to about a 2-4 week production span, however I am uncertain if that specific of a trend has been documented for these rifles.

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Thanks for the info. I was guessing it was the original barrel but just wanted some added insight. Thanks

You certainly have a real rough road there. Any progress?

Rudi said:

You certainly have a real rough road there. Any progress?

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For the most part my ac43 build is done. The gun is functional and I’ve procured a Danish magazine that feeds reliably (by manual operation) so far. Working on getting an original German mag. Testing loads and dialing in shooters kit for proper function. You can see pictures of rifle in its current configuration in sporterized stock. I’ve since added front sight hood. I will try and post pictures of rifle dressed in my “in the white” polish laminated stock soon. Finishing the fitting of the stock and it’s refinishing will be my final task...other than continuing to try and find the last few original parts I need to swap out for the reproductions currently in use.