Hello everyone,
This is my first time posting, I am seeking information and advice on a K43 rifle that I recently purchased from a friend. The story behind the rifle is that it came from the home of a deceased relative who was a WWII ETO veteran (I also received a bnz 44 K98 rifle purported to be from the same individual that I will post on in the K98 forum). The rifle was found under his house wrapped in an old GI shelter half. The rifle had substantial surface rust and the stock has an ugly (badly repaired) duffle cut on the butt stock that is starting to peel/delaminate due to moisture. (The stock has the matching serial number and WaA214 stamps). I was pleasantly surprised to find out that most of the rust cleaned off rather easily after a good soaking in kroil and some elbow grease. I cleaned the bore and it seems to be in excellent condition. I watched some videos on You Tube and figured out how to field strip and disassemble the action. I did not observe any wear or damage to the bolt assembly and it appears that all of the internal parts have matching numbers inscribed (the dust cover is also still present). I had a heck of a time disassembling it and putting it back together however I was able to clean and lubricate the action and it now seems to function smoothly. The handguard and front barrel band spring is missing. The seller says that he has the original magazine is in storage and will get it to me at a later time. I know that the rifle is in pretty rough condition however it is a nice representative piece for my collection and I am hoping to at least restore it to a shooter. I was planning on purchasing a shooters kit from Apfeltor and replacing the springs with wolf springs. I am hoping that the original stock can be salvaged however I am also thinking of purchasing one of the polish reproductions from PPHU Fox for shooting. So far I have $375 into the rifle so I am trying to keep the cost of this restoration reasonable. I am new to German rifles and know next to nothing about G43's so any comments or suggestions would be welcome.
Respectfully,
Cliff
This is my first time posting, I am seeking information and advice on a K43 rifle that I recently purchased from a friend. The story behind the rifle is that it came from the home of a deceased relative who was a WWII ETO veteran (I also received a bnz 44 K98 rifle purported to be from the same individual that I will post on in the K98 forum). The rifle was found under his house wrapped in an old GI shelter half. The rifle had substantial surface rust and the stock has an ugly (badly repaired) duffle cut on the butt stock that is starting to peel/delaminate due to moisture. (The stock has the matching serial number and WaA214 stamps). I was pleasantly surprised to find out that most of the rust cleaned off rather easily after a good soaking in kroil and some elbow grease. I cleaned the bore and it seems to be in excellent condition. I watched some videos on You Tube and figured out how to field strip and disassemble the action. I did not observe any wear or damage to the bolt assembly and it appears that all of the internal parts have matching numbers inscribed (the dust cover is also still present). I had a heck of a time disassembling it and putting it back together however I was able to clean and lubricate the action and it now seems to function smoothly. The handguard and front barrel band spring is missing. The seller says that he has the original magazine is in storage and will get it to me at a later time. I know that the rifle is in pretty rough condition however it is a nice representative piece for my collection and I am hoping to at least restore it to a shooter. I was planning on purchasing a shooters kit from Apfeltor and replacing the springs with wolf springs. I am hoping that the original stock can be salvaged however I am also thinking of purchasing one of the polish reproductions from PPHU Fox for shooting. So far I have $375 into the rifle so I am trying to keep the cost of this restoration reasonable. I am new to German rifles and know next to nothing about G43's so any comments or suggestions would be welcome.
Respectfully,
Cliff
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