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I inherited a bnz 45 and 22 training rifle.

MOJO

Member
I inherited these two rifles when my grandfather passed away. He was captain in the infantry during WW2 and although he has told me about the war, he has never mentioned anything about these rifles. I have done some research on the rifles but I don’t know much about them. I have taken the bnz 45 apart and most of the parts seem to match except for two that say byf, I assume because it’s such a late model 98. I would like to clean it up and see if I can fire it for the first time in 70+ years but I thought I’d check here first. Any suggestion would be greatly appreciated. I will include pictures.
 

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awesome.... the bnz matches ... and the byf were parts made by Mauser... but used by Steyr (bnz) in the build. Gentle oiling is appropriate, leave the wood alone, and don't shoot the bnz too much (like maybe 5 rds) to avoid damage to the wood. Guns prob have a value around 3K combined. The .22, is it a Deutsch Sportsmodell, or another model? Add more pics if you get a chance...
 
Congrats! Welcome to the forum. What Bob said, don’t touch the wood, I wouldn’t even shoot the bnz, nothing to gain and so much to loose.
 
I would not shoot the BNZ, as others have said "Too much to loose." I would really like to see the training rifle.
 
Thanks for the info, I will add more pictures once I figure out how. I’m curious why I shouldn’t fire them though, is it just to hold the value or is it to keep the wood from cracking or anything else from braking? I’m not looking to sell them so their value isn’t important to me but I don’t want to damage it. I was thinking about having a professional look at it and clean it before doing anything.
 
Cleaning

I would not let any “ professionals “ get their hands on it. Lightly oil the metal and leave the wood alone. Jmho
 
What a great find and congratulations, super cool with the family connection.

The BNZ looks to be "collector" condition meaning it's original and unmessed with, that's not easy to find, firing the rifle(s) causes stress and may lead breakage of parts or cracking the stock, neither of which are easily fixed and hurt the value as well as the history of the rifle. There are many available inexpensive K98 rifles that are "shooter" grade and fun to shoot that are better alternatives. If you do plan to shoot I would not use a factory load out of the box, hand loads that are light work best.

Good luck, and again what a great heirloom to be passed down.

Thanks, Nick

Thanks for the info, I will add more pictures once I figure out how. I’m curious why I shouldn’t fire them though, is it just to hold the value or is it to keep the wood from cracking or anything else from braking? I’m not looking to sell them so their value isn’t important to me but I don’t want to damage it. I was thinking about having a professional look at it and clean it before doing anything.
 
Thanks for the info, I will add more pictures once I figure out how. I’m curious why I shouldn’t fire them though, is it just to hold the value or is it to keep the wood from cracking or anything else from braking? I’m not looking to sell them so their value isn’t important to me but I don’t want to damage it. I was thinking about having a professional look at it and clean it before doing anything.

As the stocks on these rifles ages, it dries out. While it won't just crack in your gun safe, firing the rifle puts pressure on the recoil lug and rear tang, both areas where metal parts touch wood - in some cases, the recoil causes cracking (I've seen K43 stocks just flat out break apart). Not to make blanket statements, but bnz45 rifles weren't made in the best of conditions, even when new.

If a rifle is mismatched or otherwise not collectible, no harm shooting it. Many times those guns have seen use and are not too dry. Looking at your rifles, they have that untouched look which collectors desire - if you take it to a professional to clean, he will overclean it. These rifles are not Remington M700 deer rifles, care and preservation of collectibles is not the same as your typical weapon, and value can be halved by over cleaning and professional detailing. My advice? They've made it 70+ years, don't do anything to alter them. Oil the metal components, you can even take it down out of the stock to check for active rust. Use a towel and some oil on it, nothing more. Don't touch the wood, anything you put on the wood will harm the value and appearance.

Edit - There you go - 3 instant replies with nearly the same exact advice.
 
I hundred percent agree lightly oil for storage, wipe the parts down, put it away. Remember with late war k98k rifles were being produced they weren't thinking about collectors 70 plus years from now.
 
I will take everyone’s advice and I won’t shoot it. I may not know a lot about this stuff but I’m not an idiot. I’m glad I checked here first, thank you everyone. I will post more picture for those who are interested. And I have one more question. On the left side of the side of the stock there are 6 small nails hammered into the wood in the shape of a rectangle, as if someone hammered a small card or plaque onto it. Whatever was nailed on is now gone. Does anyone know what this might be for?
 
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i like your rifles! i know i shouldn't shoot my all matching k98s but i do sometimes. i take the metal out of the original wood and put it in a non matching stock. can't help it. the rifles have the firing proofs after all and i shoot lighter reloads. only once a year of 10 rounds. awesome rush shooting the original metal.:happy0180:
 
the .22 looks to be a w625C if I can read it all the way across ?? There is a trainer section
best to post better photos there. Its a high polish blue with some speckling of rust. This can be removed carefully if done properly.
 
Thank you everyone, this is a wonderful forum. As you can see I wasn’t able to take it fully apart. The one screw for the ring that holds the top wood piece has been dinged up quite a bit. I did not want to damage it any further.
 
interesting on the Bnz. k98 there was another floating around years ago that had a paper tag nailed to the stock.
Im sure someone here can find those photos. the tag had plastic over it as well.
 
interesting on the Bnz. k98 there was another floating around years ago that had a paper tag nailed to the stock.
Im sure someone here can find those photos. the tag had plastic over it as well.

Yes, under one of the nails it looks like there is a piece of plastic stuck.
 
Wow, my BNZ's serial number is 500 away from yours! Does your stock have an Eagle H marking on the right side, midway on the butt? Most do, but mine does not. thanks M89
 

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