New Gewehr 43 Owner Inspection

Hello all,

I am a new owner of a Gewehr 43 rifle. Upon receiving it today I began to inspect the rifle as best I could. I have run across a few issues I am curious about and would like to see what you guys think.

The rifle is an AC44 rifle. I was told up front that it was all matching and that the stock had been sanded. So far it appears those statements are true.

I first noticed that there was some shiny metal around the barrel/hand guard area. After taking the hand guard off I can see that there is some sort of thin metal sheeting wrapped around the barrel where it enters the hand guard area. This definitely does not look like it belongs, and I cannot find any photos of this being present on another G43. Right behind it in the gas system I noticed the foremost gas cylinder has a chip out of the front end, and it appears to be more shiny in that area, as if it may have been worked on recently. It does not appear anyone has installed a "shooters kit".

I then noticed that I cannot get stripper clips to seat correctly for reloading. It appears one of the lips may be slightly bent. Not sure if this is normal or not. It also appear that the dust cover may have been broken at some point, but again not sure if this is normal.

Lastly, the seller advertised this rifle with a nicer looking "AWJ" coded magazine, however it arrived with a more worn "AYE" coded magazine. Beside the cosmetics, should I be upset by this? I have already emailed them to let them know I would like the AWJ magazine, but I am open to purchasing the AYE mag, as I would like additional mags.

This rifle came with a 3 day inspection period so I'm trying to make sure its worth the investment.
Thank you all in advance!

Unfortunately I can't upload more photos, but I have plenty and can take more if someone would like me to PM them. Please let me know!

Thank you!

Welcome to the forum,

I'll try to answer a few of your questions, if you go back through old threads here I think you may find this rifle discussed at some point, I remember the wrap on the barrel, I think the feeling was it was probably covering a bulge or some kind of issue in the barrel, makes shooting it seem risky.

The cylinder looks like someone tried to remove with a screwdriver or rough edge and chipped the lining, again, making shooting it without a shooters kit probably not a great idea.

Magazines do have significant value, if you were promised one in nice condition that's $300ish, rougher condition is $2-250ish.

Overall stock is sanded and with the issues you've noted takes this out of the collector field, and with issues noted I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable shooting it as a shooter. There are a lot of shooters out there for $1500-2000 if that's what you are looking for and with patience a collector grade can be had for $2500-3000. I'd be hard pressed to keep this one with the issues but that's just my .02.

Thanks, Nick

I remember seeing this rifle posted on gunboards when it first showed up on gunbroker. I remember the patch wrap, but not the damage to the gas cylinder.

Hopefully you can get your money back OP as I'd return it.

DWM1915 said:

Welcome to the forum,

I'll try to answer a few of your questions, if you go back through old threads here I think you may find this rifle discussed at some point, I remember the wrap on the barrel, I think the feeling was it was probably covering a bulge or some kind of issue in the barrel, makes shooting it seem risky.

The cylinder looks like someone tried to remove with a screwdriver or rough edge and chipped the lining, again, making shooting it without a shooters kit probably not a great idea.

Magazines do have significant value, if you were promised one in nice condition that's $300ish, rougher condition is $2-250ish.

Overall stock is sanded and with the issues you've noted takes this out of the collector field, and with issues noted I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable shooting it as a shooter. There are a lot of shooters out there for $1500-2000 if that's what you are looking for and with patience a collector grade can be had for $2500-3000. I'd be hard pressed to keep this one with the issues but that's just my .02.

Thanks, Nick

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^^This.

That gas tube took a beating from whoever was trying to free it up - most of us know from experience that's not the be approach and if they did that, what else did they do. The silver area on the barrel would probably be enough alone to send it back unless it was clearly just something aesthetic that could be removed.

Thank you every one! I have contacted the owner about the issues. I will keep everyone posted on what occurs, but I am confident it will probably be a return. I am pretty bummed, I thought I was getting a great looking rifle. None of those issues were noted on the listing via Gunbroker.

I plan on hitting the local gun show next weekend and seeing if anyone there has some Gewehr 43's, but I'm not holding my breath. If anyone can point me in a good direction on where to find one that is worth owning and can be shot I would sincerely appreciate it. In the mean time I will continue to educate myself on them a little more so I hopefully don't run into the same style issue again.

Thanks!

I have tried to answer your e-mail, but it cannot be delivered. Return the rifle if possible. I don't know what the shiny metal means, but I presume it's nothing good. And the gas cylinder - yes Bubba was there with a screwdriver and a big hammer.

***Update***

I have spoken with the seller about the issues and I will be returning the rifle. I'm bummed but its all I can do with the amount of money I spent. If it had been far far cheaper I would consider trying to fix the issues, but not at this time.

Seller stated their gunsmith left the metal wrap on to keep it from wiggling, but didn't think it was an issue. No comment on the gas cylinder or other issues I found. They did offer a $500 refund if I kept the rifle but I declined. They also stated the magazine mishap was a simple mistake, but could not offer me the mag in the listing, only that I could have a $50 refund for that, or another mag they had for sale.

I am very sad to see a piece of history like this that has been damaged. I will keep my eyes out for my next purchase, hopefully with some better luck!

Thanks to everyone!

IMO I wonder if barrel somehow was damaged and repaired. The gas cylinder is junk. maybe it is good to look for something else.

I agree that it’s too bad on this. That is an early one too. I will bet that the metal wrap is a repair from a blown out barrel. I think they knew what they were doing on the mag swap because the one they swapped out is worth a little more. It’s not like the rifle had the cheaper aye mag in it originally that was switched to an awj mag. You know that wouldn’t happen like that in reverse.

All you have to do is look down the barrel (bore). If there is a flaw, it will be obvious.

jkbord02 said:

Seller stated their gunsmith left the metal wrap on to keep it from wiggling...

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Utter bullshit. The G/K43 system is fully floating in the barrel area, no need for extra wrap to keep it from moving.
The seller knows very well what's wrong with this rifle and decided not to disclose. The "coincidental" magazine switcheroo is just another brick in the wall.

GunKraut said:

Utter bullshit. The G/K43 system is fully floating in the barrel area, no need for extra wrap to keep it from moving.
The seller knows very well what's wrong with this rifle and decided not to disclose. The "coincidental" magazine switcheroo is just another brick in the wall.

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^This^ Bubba, switched mag and mystery wrap... Glad that bitch going back!

You're far better off sending that turd back. Get yourself a better one and never regret it. There are more out there and an occasional deal, although far and few between, does appear. Where are you located in KY?

jkbord02 said:

Thank you every one! I have contacted the owner about the issues. I will keep everyone posted on what occurs, but I am confident it will probably be a return. I am pretty bummed, I thought I was getting a great looking rifle. None of those issues were noted on the listing via Gunbroker.

I plan on hitting the local gun show next weekend and seeing if anyone there has some Gewehr 43's, but I'm not holding my breath. If anyone can point me in a good direction on where to find one that is worth owning and can be shot I would sincerely appreciate it. In the mean time I will continue to educate myself on them a little more so I hopefully don't run into the same style issue again.

Thanks!

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Look on proxibid. I see them all the time, search for K43 or G43. Sometimes people bid stuff up higher than its worth, sometimes, you can find some really good deals. It just depends who is bidding and how bad they want the rifle. Keep an eye out and you'll find one.