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Advice on a G33/40

Hi all. I have a very good friend who is selling her deceased father's rifle collection. Among it is this 945 1940 G33/40. I was immediately wowed by it, but I am a newbie to Mausers (other than my Russian capture byf). From what I have read so far on these forums is that the G33/40 is frequently faked. It has a mismatched bolt (I'm guessing from a K98?) but I don't think it is a fake - but then again, I really don't know much of anything yet. I could be totally wrong.

So I would appreciate any advice you can give me on this. Is it a fake? What would be a reasonable offer for me to purchase it? I certainly don't want to gyp my friend and if it's too far out of my budget, I'll have her auction it off. But after reading the history of these, I'd love to have it in my meager collection - provided it's legit.

Thanks in advance for your insight and feedback.

Not sure what all to look for on these things, so I took as many pics as I could of visible markings and the overall piece:

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Save for the bolt.. Nice G33/40!.. Matching Erma bolt will get you close to a correct replacement. If you check out the examples pictured elsewhere on this site you'll see the 33 bolts have a hollowed out handle, one eagle and letter stamp plus the serial/suffix on the handle stem.

Sight hoods are pricey but easier to find than original cleaning rods BTW
 
Indeed a Erma bolt but overall the rifle is still a nice first production G33/40. Too bad about the hand guard has a slight crack in it but the rest of the stock is really nice. If the price is fair I would buy it.
 
That is a nice one, too bad not the original bolt...

Plus I think this is a new observed high for the "d" block....mine is 9775 d (IIRC), and I believe was the previously high observed....getting damned close to roll over to "e" block, but as far as I know, no "e" blocks have ever been observed...
 
Thank you all for the feedback so far. So I take it this all seems like a legit G33/40 to you? Would a German or other Axis arsenal have put the mismatched bolt on it? Or is that something that a "bubba" might have done somewhere along its history?


Indeed a Erma bolt but overall the rifle is still a nice first production G33/40. Too bad about the hand guard has a slight crack in it but the rest of the stock is really nice. If the price is fair I would buy it.

Agreed about the slight crack - bummer. So given that, the missing sight-hood, and mismatched bolt, what would be a fair price for it? I have no clue.

What I've dug up from internet and auction searches (and there isn't a lot to go on -especially in recent history) is that they can go for $800 - $2800. I've seen the really great condition ones and some in worse condition with mismatched numbers go for $2000+. I've seen comparable all-matching and all pieces there (like sight-hood and cleaning rod) also go for $1000 (1.5 yrs ago). So it's all over the place. I'd rather hear from you collectors and enthusiasts what it's worth vs. relying on fakers, auctions, pawnshops, and the interwebs. Again, I don't want to gyp my friend - if this is a $2000+ rifle, I want her to get every penny of it.
 
This is just my SWAG, but prices on these have softened, and with an incorrect bolt (not mismatched, incorrect), cracked handguard, no sight hood...but nice sling...I'd go $1500, up to $1600...

Maybe I am wrong, but that's my guess...
 
I would say $1200.00 given the wrong bolt, cracked hand guard and missing sight hood. As pointed out, prices have truly softened on G33/40s lately.
 
That is a nice one, too bad not the original bolt...

Plus I think this is a new observed high for the "d" block....mine is 9775 d (IIRC), and I believe was the previously high observed....getting damned close to roll over to "e" block, but as far as I know, no "e" blocks have ever been observed...

Nice rifle. I concur on the observed high for 1940. At least what I have.
 
I would buy that in a heart beat! Crack is no problem, I would worry about bolt later. Fake? depends on what you mean. Back in the 60's these rifles were imported lose in wood cases. They were well used but no rust at all. I purchased several and they all had m/m bolts. One had a VZ-33 bolt in it, which I snatched up to put on my VZ-33, its now still m/m but the proper type. I think they sold for less then 30 bucks. One had a two piece stock. I doulb that is a "fake" in the sense of a 'bubba'.
 

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