Third Party Press

LK5 Marked Berthier 1907-15 M34

Gunrunner

Senior Member
Found this LK5 marked Berthier M34 at the recent SOS, rifle #F51290 is all matching with the LK5 by the stock serial number and the number 16 stamped below the pistol grip, another LK5 rifle for the collection.

Chuck
 

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Nice one Chuck! Did the seller know what it was?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
For those of us who are not as knowledgeable. the LK5 stamp is a possible indicator of German military use? In some of the previous messages though it is inferred that the stamp is not definitive of German use. Is this correct?


KJ
 
It's not as definitive as a typical depot stamp with eagle/HZa/letters/number, but when you look at other examples of LK marked weapons, the totality of non-original aspects are very persuasive. Most of these LK marked weapons have things like blued bolts, numbered components that weren't numbered by their home countries, and some even have modifications that are typically German. Personally, I'm convinced that it's WWII German, with a possible Luftwaffe affiliation.

This marking shows up on a number of different types of rifles, but the majority are French. That shouldn't come as a surprise as German sources noted that French arms outnumbered any other countries' in German use. Use of these same weapons, primarily in western countries like France itself, also means that they are disproportionately more common on the US secondary market.
 
I have a Czech VZ-23 with the LK5 stamp. These rifles were in storage when the Germans took over the country. The Czechs had up-grated to the VZ-24 and were looking to sell the VZ-23. It has a Polish bolt, renumbered to match rifle. Certainly seems to be German used.
 

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