Third Party Press

The last great K98k mystery - or are there more?

I'd like to find out more about the reworked booty rifles.
Especially the VZ24!
Are there any period photos out there, showing the modified VZ24 in ARMY use?
Thanks
Wolfgang
 
Originally Posted by flynaked

"I’ve wondered if researching the commercial makers in Austria might be of use on the SC’s, even the serial fonts might be a clue. Perhaps one of them had a contract for their assembly. Might also explain the m/m barrel bands seen on these, disassembly by a third party not necessarily under the same scrutiny as the factory, and then perhaps sent somewhere else, maybe a depot for the final acceptance on the barrel"??

Regarding mis-matched barrel bands on a Mauser rifle, I had always understood that German rifles with mis-matched barrel bands were simply not original. Why would (just some) single claws be any different?

Agreed. I haven’t noticed any trend of original single claws with mismatched bands myself. Mismatched sight parts yes, but not bands. And those have depot markings from Spandau.


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I’ve seen around 3 with m/m bands that are Steyr font and “appear” to be original to the rifle, with finish and aging continuity, as well as having heard mention of this from SC owners on multiple occasions however these were unconfirmed without photos. I suppose this still doesn’t confirm anything as there is no way to know for sure, but would it not be odd if multiple SC’s existed with this same scenario? I wish the owners who mentioned this would support their claims with photographs. I will take some of mine however it is not the best example to judge as it has an unknown history, other than being a recent closet find, because it is already missing some parts etc. however it does have a Steyr font lower band that is m/m to the rifle and certainly doesn’t look to be “added” especially considering it was bought at a garage/estate sale as is.
 
SC pictures
 

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Yes, agreed that discussion on each topic is getting mixed, but I'm glad to see some discussion. So, when I get time, I am going to break this thread into the different components.
 
I’m not seeing it, you mean on the top face, I think that’s just rough finish? Or is RF a facetious acronym I’m missing? Haha
 
Well, to me the greatest unanswered mysteries regarding K98's concerns the circle A rifles which came to light on this forum about a year or two ago.

Someone posted a pick of a K98 that his dad had brought back after the war and he requested information about the rifle. The pic's showed a k98 without any acceptance markings and the only markings were a four digit S/N. However, almost every part on the rifle was punched with a circle with a large A in the center. This was the maker mark for a rejected part and the bring back was made of totally rejected parts. After these pic's were posted a member here recalled an earlier posting on gunboards about a Russian capture which also had circle A parts on the barrel and receiver and no proofs or acceptance stamps. He posted with a link to the earlier gunboard posting. This R/C barrel and receiver were only marked with a Circle A and had a S/N on both which was in the range of the Vet's bringback K98.

As I recall this posting was a hot topic since both these rifles actually violated German firearms laws. Yet, it was indisputable that both rifles had been used in combat since one had been captured by the Russians and the other by the Americans on the Western Front. The big question centered around exactly which German (or there allied) combat unit would have received rifles which were made from rejected parts.
 
I've always been curious as to the meaning of the "B" and "C" markings on BSW produced rifles and receivers. Volume 1 touches on it, but nothing definitive.

If mrfarb and bruce98k ever get back to writing, a book on beutewaffen would be awesome.
 

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