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serial number question

I'm looking at a beautiful Vet bring back BNZ 42 for a "shooter". Everything matches except for the rear sight and base, 3018. Everything else on it, including stock, is 3013. Could this be a factory mistake?, as the 3 and the 8 look quite similar. The provenance of this one is very solid so I thought it unlikely that someone would mismatch a sight with such a similar serial number. Thanks
 
I'm looking at a beautiful Vet bring back BNZ 42 for a "shooter". Everything matches except for the rear sight and base, 3018. Everything else on it, including stock, is 3013. Could this be a factory mistake?, as the 3 and the 8 look quite similar. The provenance of this one is very solid so I thought it unlikely that someone would mismatch a sight with such a similar serial number. Thanks

The Germans were very particular, so I don't see many mistakes being made and not corrected on the spot. Post a picture, I'm sure an expert here will have some insight.
 
steyr... this was quite common. The 3 and 8 look very similar and as far a maker who made mistakes Steyr was the leader.

also don't buy a nice matching k98k as a shooter... Buy a mm bolt or RC as a shooter.. too much $$$$ at risk.
 
The Germans were very particular, so I don't see many mistakes being made and not corrected on the spot.

My experience has mostly been the opposite of this, especially as the war dragged on and factories were at max capacity.


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I am regarding this one as a shooter because the most prominent SS marks were lightly filed off. I doubt it would be if interest to a collector. Really a shame because rest of rifle is maybe nicest I've ever seen. The asking price reflects the loss of markings and is just what I am looking for. It is a "Grandpa's" bring back. The fellow said his Grandpa, who brought it home, filed it off himself due to his hatred of SS. GShow story or not, price is right for my needs. Comes with a nice bayonet/sheath, frog. I've got Yugo M75 I intend to use. Would anyone think this ammo is ok for this rifle. I want to do some casual accuracy testing between an A303, Mosin, M1, etc. ps I am having trouble loading pics, any tips? Thanks, CTK
 
May I respectfully advise you that you would be much better off using a less valuable rifle to go "joy popping"?
There are hundreds if not thousands of K98 available for reasonable prices that are fun to shoot, very accurate and not nearly as rare desirable or nearly impossible to replace as an original matched number BNZ.
It's your rifle, so do as you please of course but after shooting off a few hundred rounds, please consider retiring it and finding a Yugo or Russian capture K98, or perhaps an almost all matching version for long term shooting.
I myself just sold a matching (except for the safety lever) BYF44 for $650.
It did have some damage done to the stock but it still looked like a military rifle from most angles, so such a thing is within the realm of the possible.
 
If I recall correctly, 1942 was a busy year at Steyr. They were trying to increase output, so a lot of inspections and numbering may have been overlooked. My BNZ 42 receiver has only 1 E/77 inspection and the trigger guard and floor plate don't have any. I don't think it's unreasonable that they let a rifle with a slightly off numbered rear sight leave the factory.
 
I’ve bought a lot of good guns because people pass on rifles with small mismatched parts or transposed numbers. In this case, if “SS” marks were filed off its most likely a bad fake that someone is trying to recoup some of their loss from. Might be the perfect shooter.


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The Yugo M75 is some of the best military surplus 7.92x57 that you can buy on the market. Stuff is great, burns clean and its accurate.
 
I’ve bought a lot of good guns because people pass on rifles with small mismatched parts or transposed numbers. In this case, if “SS” marks were filed off its most likely a bad fake that someone is trying to recoup some of their loss from. Might be the perfect shooter.


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I've done many shows with the seller and trust him implicitly. I believe the provenance of his Grandfathers bring back is solid. Regardless, don't the filed off markings make the rifle useless to a collector? I found what I was looking for, a very pretty K98 (#'s match to boot) for a good price. Also, can anyone state with certainty whether or not M75 is corrosive? I've gotten mixed answers elsewhere on subject. I do run it thru an FN49 but treat is as corrosive because I put a NOS FN barrel on it and want to keep it clean as possible. Not fun thoroughly cleaning gas guns though, one of the reasons I ask about using it in the K98. I am having trouble uploading pics. Might be a compatibility issue with a new to me Apple? I'll go to Mods for some support. Thank You for your input. CTK
 
stock sanded?

This stock is so nice, does it appear refinished to anyone?
Seller insisted it hasn't been. I dont notice any obvious striations from sanding. I've included pics of the sight #, so close to the rest of #'s seems to be a factory mistake?
 

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steyr... this was quite common. The 3 and 8 look very similar and as far a maker who made mistakes Steyr was the leader.

also don't buy a nice matching k98k as a shooter... Buy a mm bolt or RC as a shooter.. too much $$$$ at risk.

I know many people disagree with this, but I have put hundreds of rounds through my matching guns, and have never had a problem.
 
This stock is so nice, does it appear refinished to anyone?
Seller insisted it hasn't been. I dont notice any obvious striations from sanding. I've included pics of the sight #, so close to the rest of #'s seems to be a factory mistake?

Wood, not orig to me, recoil lug looks pushed back.... and is the fire proof defaced on the receiver?
 
This stock is so nice, does it appear refinished to anyone?
Seller insisted it hasn't been. I dont notice any obvious striations from sanding. I've included pics of the sight #, so close to the rest of #'s seems to be a factory mistake?

stock looks stripped to me... No damage from shooting ???? Look at the recoil lug. No SS mark I see. looks like a double struck test proof.
 
IMO, the guns aren't fragile.... but orig condition is with the wear and tear

The only wear Ive seen on my byf was the bolt, it developed a weird line running down the length of the bolt. It is not bad, and can only be seen in bright light from an angle. But it is annoying :googlie
 
Wood, not orig to me, recoil lug looks pushed back.... and is the fire proof defaced on the receiver?

I don't know what to look for in these but there is a stamped number inside stock that matches the other numbers. Again, this one was intended to be used a bit, the price was right. The matching numbers were kind of a bonus to me as I figured it would have to be a mismatch in the budget I had set for a shooter. If the waffenamts? were not filed I'm sure it would have cost more. I thought it's very presentable, for less $ than Mitchell or some RC's I looked at. Gives me some affordable plinking. Curious how it will stack up against an o3A3. Similar I'm guessing.
 
The stock for sure has been sanded, almost looks like a norwegain stock by the color. recoil lug looks like it may be a shadow that makes it look set back. You will not likey out shoot an 03a3 since the a3 has better "target" sights.
 

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