Third Party Press

Numrich Zf-41 repro scope out of spec?

SA1942

Senior Member
Bought a new repro from Numrich (GPCorp) and it doesn't fit in the mount rings with the scope mounted in the forward direction (large objective lens to the front). It does fit in the rings reversed.

I made some measurements of the ring slot area widths and the spacing between the rings.
The mount from member caesar1 is believed to be a refinished original. At least he was informed it was original.

zf41

Front ring
Scope .548
Mount .551

Rear ring
Scope .560
Mount .530

Between rings
Scope 1.58"
Mount 1.59"

It looks like my Numrich scope ring width in the front is too narrow so it won't set into the mounts front ring.
One collector and measured his older Numrich scope at about 0.540 and the mount ring (accumount) at about 0.530. He thought it went in tight when he installed it a year or so ago.

Can anyone with a numrich repro scope and original scope/mount set tell me what they are seeing for the dimensions? Is my repro scope out of spec and should be returned?

I'd rather not buy another mount or grind on an original if I didn't have to.

Also is there another scope/mount combo with higher mag and larger mm sight picture that works with a K98 zf41 rail? The zf41 scope really doesn't by a shooter much.
 
Found this blog post. Seems like the Numrich repro doesn't fit in the original wartime mounts.

For several years I've been working at assembling a variety of World War II sniper rifles, and so far original American, British, Soviet and Japanese versions have fallen into my hands. The stumbling block has been German ones. Authentic German sniper rifles bring amazingly hefty prices and, besides, fakes are in abundance. Even so I was able to obtain one with reasonable bona fides. Well, sort of: said not due to its authenticity but whether it was actually a "sniper rifle."

That's because it is a K98k 8mm mounted with their little Zf41 1.5X telescope set atop the open rear sight. (A "scout rifle" that predated their debut in America by about 50 years.) The German military did not intend for this rifle/scope arrangement to be an actual "sniper rifle." It was meant to be issued one per squad to above average marksmen for more precise shooting than possible with open sights. Regardless of what was meant, it was actually pressed into service with Wehrmacht snipers, hence my "sort of."

My rifle/scope combination is "reasonably authentic" because both items' serial numbers with manufacturers' codes are shown in photos in Phillip D. Law's book Backbone Of The Wehrmacht Volume II: Sniper Variations Of The German K98k Rifle. That was the good news. The bad news was the scope is cloudy, a fact I knew upon buying it in 2006. My intention was to have someone clean it, which has not come to pass. Therefore, until recently this otherwise very nice rifle sat, mostly unfixed, in my vault.

Browsing an Internet firearms auction site, I became excited upon discovering Numrich Gun Parts Corporation is selling reproduction Zf41 scopes. Their photos looked nice and the price of $350, while not cheap was not unreasonable especially since I hate having rifles sitting about unused. I ordered one and indeed it is nice. There are no maker's markings. Surely they're being made offshore: my guess is most likely in Eastern Europe. Again there's good news and bad news. The good news is the scope has great optics. The bad is it didn't fit in my original Zf41 scope mount. The scope has a "waist" that sets into a corresponding recess in the mount, and it didn't by a tiny fraction. The mount could have been filed but that's not going to happen with it being original and fitting the original scope perfectly.

In for a penny in for a pound: so back to the Internet. It is amazing how much WWII equipment is being reproduced and I was happy to find Zf41 mounts are too. They are available at $249 from Accumounts and the new scope did fit in them perfectly. Accumounts' Zf41 set up comes with an adaptor base so it can fit on regular K98k rear sights (and several other '98 Mausers) without gunsmithing or any permanent alteration. I didn't need that as my rifle's Zf41 base mated with the Accumounts' rings perfectly.

https://www.thefreelibrary.com/WWII+reproductions+abound%3A+Numrich's+Zf41+scope+%26+accumounts'+base.-a0241516810
 

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