Polish Mauser

Picked this up from the veteran's son who father was a dentist stationed in Berlin 1945 post was as a dentist who did some sort of facial reconstruction there. Would like some information on it. The floor plate and bolt are not matching, The stock and hand guard matches. The receiver is scrubbed. The odd thing about it is that the rear band is one backwards and it is the way it should be??>? When you turn it around to the left side the holes do not line up and the 12 is upside down?

Very interesting rifle. What you have seems to be a german kar98a and not a polish one. I could be wrong. The band should be flipped around. Not sure what you mean by the screw hole not lining up. Looks to possibly have a later war k98k bolt. I like it!

John.

It has a Polish eagle by the serial The band will only go on to the left. The holes do not line up to put the screw in when it is turned around the right way. The number 12 would be upside down also. Very confusing I know.

It is a German Kar98a. That is a German Imperial eagle next to the serial number. Same as the one on this 1914 P08.

Peter S said:

It is a German Kar98a..

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Agreed Kar98a for sure. Danzig maybe? I seem to remember that middle stock stamp looks like a crown on a pineapple. I see the remnants of the lettering on the receiver ring also. Maybe the OP can see some more?

Looking at the lettering I can make out on the receiver it looks more like Erfurt now. 1918?

mpkills said:

It has a Polish eagle by the serial The band will only go on to the left. The holes do not line up to put the screw in when it is turned around the right way. The number 12 would be upside down also. Very confusing I know.

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You need to flip and rotate the band. Put it so the number 12 is on the left side and is not upside down then see if screw fits.

As others have said, this is a 98a and the rifle is German "so far"; Erfurt to exact. You can make out the partial name at the glancing angle that shows the receiver (which shows Erfurt's style of fireproof). The receiver has been scrubbed or nearly so, including the original serial, though it probably was the original serial number of the rifle (considering the sum of parts, though this rifle probably had a suffix). Removing the handguard would probably clarify the original serial, but the serial on the receiver looks restruck to me.

It is very possible this is a Polish rework of a 98a, but if so there should be evidence of their work, which seems absent so far. More & better pictures would help in this regard...

The number on the hand guard is the same as well as the barrel number. Why would the receiver be scrubbed? I had a brain freeze, took off the stacking hook and bayonet lug and put the band on right

It could be that the Poles did it, they often did... the serial on the receiver is not the original serial as struck by the factory, whether it is the original numeric numbers is possible, probably even probable considering the sum of parts that look original and share the same number.

Because you are picture shy we can only go into probabilities and educated guesswork as to the circumstances, but the receiver serial is not the factory applied number. "Probably" the serial was reapplied due to the faintness caused by the receiver scrubbing, the story behind that is "probably" hidden in the pictures you have not taken.