So one rifle that has been missing from my collection of stuff is a good SS Gew. conversion. Frankly, most I seem to find are mismatched or restorations, and other good ones I just plain missed out on. It's a tough gun to find a good example of, with the popularity the fakes seem to outnumber the real ones. Anyway, first find for the year 2019 has broken the drought on that! This is a really nice rifle condition wise, and is matching. Came from an estate sale in California.
This rifle is somewhat typcial of a "normal" SS Gew conversion in that it was built by one SS depot, and subsequently was reworked again at the SS2 depot (presumably Dachau). As built, the SS Gew conversions were straight bolt/pinned front band. Around 1941, the SS Gew conversions were returned to the SS depot system and updated to bent bolt/band spring front end. This conversion work was done to nearly all of the rifles in inventory. In a recent discussion with Bruce, it dawned on my that this time frame fits exactly with the rise of the Waffen SS - this is significant because in this time frame Waffen SS untis began to receive weapons from the Army as Waffen-SS units were put under the command of the Army for combat operations. So, it makes sense that the rifles issued to the SS-VT were recalled for updating ( ? possibly for use as training rifles, and might be why the majority of SS Gew conversions are so "tired"). I just want to add, if you collect depot reworked 98k's, they can be confusing - with reworks, you need to try to ascertain what features go with each facility, and SS Gew conversions are the same.
Pictures show somewhat typical SS2 skull on barrel with serial. Whats different is when you take the rifle out of the wood you can see an "01" skull and the same serial next to it. After looking this over, it's clear that the rifle was built by the "01" depot, and the 3 40 Eagle N commercial proof on the barrel goes with that build. It seems that when it was returned to the SS2 facility for bolt bending and front band changes, the barrel was removed and "reclocked", putting the original serial and skull below the wood line. I'm guessing that this was done to repair a head space issue? It appears the front of the receiver was reworked, and the entire receiver was polished and redone, with new serial added. This is a pretty extensive repair for a skilled Waffenmeister. It also appears a new stock was added at this time, with a new trigger guard and floor plate. This rifle has a unique "Walther" banner muzzle cover on it too - has anyone seen anything like this before? Seems like possibly a commercial made component for the SS??? Anyway, enjoy the pics.
This rifle is somewhat typcial of a "normal" SS Gew conversion in that it was built by one SS depot, and subsequently was reworked again at the SS2 depot (presumably Dachau). As built, the SS Gew conversions were straight bolt/pinned front band. Around 1941, the SS Gew conversions were returned to the SS depot system and updated to bent bolt/band spring front end. This conversion work was done to nearly all of the rifles in inventory. In a recent discussion with Bruce, it dawned on my that this time frame fits exactly with the rise of the Waffen SS - this is significant because in this time frame Waffen SS untis began to receive weapons from the Army as Waffen-SS units were put under the command of the Army for combat operations. So, it makes sense that the rifles issued to the SS-VT were recalled for updating ( ? possibly for use as training rifles, and might be why the majority of SS Gew conversions are so "tired"). I just want to add, if you collect depot reworked 98k's, they can be confusing - with reworks, you need to try to ascertain what features go with each facility, and SS Gew conversions are the same.
Pictures show somewhat typical SS2 skull on barrel with serial. Whats different is when you take the rifle out of the wood you can see an "01" skull and the same serial next to it. After looking this over, it's clear that the rifle was built by the "01" depot, and the 3 40 Eagle N commercial proof on the barrel goes with that build. It seems that when it was returned to the SS2 facility for bolt bending and front band changes, the barrel was removed and "reclocked", putting the original serial and skull below the wood line. I'm guessing that this was done to repair a head space issue? It appears the front of the receiver was reworked, and the entire receiver was polished and redone, with new serial added. This is a pretty extensive repair for a skilled Waffenmeister. It also appears a new stock was added at this time, with a new trigger guard and floor plate. This rifle has a unique "Walther" banner muzzle cover on it too - has anyone seen anything like this before? Seems like possibly a commercial made component for the SS??? Anyway, enjoy the pics.