Third Party Press

CE 43 Type III SSR Sniper

Absolut

Senior Member
It seems that this was the "luck week" since I not only got hold of an all matching bcd / bnz 4 dual code K98k rifle, but also stumbled into an ad from this morning for a sportered K98k. Well, after calling the owner I have had a very quick dinner (hoping noone else would call him and him sticking to his promises) and drove two hours to pick it up for quite a good price as well.

The bads: not only poor finish left (typical to be found with J. P. Sauer & Sohn rifles), but also heavy rust pittings on the barrel. And the stock had been cut right, a bit similar to the duffle cuts, but of course locally made and not meant for bringing it to the US. Therefore also the two barrel bands and bayonet lug plus handguard are missing. Also missing is one fixture screw for one of the three main screws on the scope base.

The goods: it is an all original and untouched Type III SSR sniper rifle made by Sauer & Sohn in 1943! And while it has rust pittings on the outside, the barrel still is nice (I even got offered to fire it, what I declined).
 

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A detail I like very much is the fact that the stock got mis-serialized to the rifle one digit off (9443 instead of 9444) - they simply "corrected" this by a pencil written (and making it matching) 4 over the incorrect 3! Also the stock in the channel is marked "Na 3 49 42", wasn't this something with the date when it was made (like 3rd day in the week 49th week in 1942)?

The scope base is unmarked aside of a two digit serial on bottom of it. See the pictures. Safety also seems to be shortened, but very nicely made. Receiver is marked 280 on the right side, forgot to take pictures of it (Stock is marked Eagle H, as it should be).

... now have to decide whether I should restore it, or leave it this way! Any suggestions on what to do?
 

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A detail I like very much is the fact that the stock got mis-serialized to the rifle one digit off (9443 instead of 9444) - they simply "corrected" this by a pencil written (and making it matching) 4 over the incorrect 3! Also the stock in the channel is marked "Na 3 49 42", wasn't this something with the date when it was made (like 3rd day in the week 49th week in 1942)?

The scope base is unmarked aside of a two digit serial on bottom of it. See the pictures. Safety also seems to be shortened, but very nicely made. Receiver is marked 280 on the right side, forgot to take pictures of it (Stock is marked Eagle H, as it should be).

... now have to decide whether I should restore it, or leave it this way! Any suggestions on what to do?

Hello Georg. I definitely would fix that cut stock and make it all look as right as possible. Those SSR rifles are impossible to find and still valuable restored in my mind. Great find I think.
 
Even with the condition talk about a cool find! Difficult to do but that stock can be saved! That’s correct on the stock date, just in time for Christmas.
 
Neat rifle. This was the end of the line for the Short Side Rail. Tough gun to find. Don't really know how you restore it in that condition. Thanks for sharing.
 
I will have 3 stock fore-ends soon. may have one that matches the color/look if you decide to fix the nose of the old girl.
 
Good find Georg , as mentioned a Tough Variant to come buy . I would bet once its been restored it will look a lot better . Look forward to seeing it finished . Best Regards .
 
A detail I like very much is the fact that the stock got mis-serialized to the rifle one digit off (9443 instead of 9444) - they simply "corrected" this by a pencil written (and making it matching) 4 over the incorrect 3! Also the stock in the channel is marked "Na 3 49 42", wasn't this something with the date when it was made (like 3rd day in the week 49th week in 1942)?

The scope base is unmarked aside of a two digit serial on bottom of it. See the pictures. Safety also seems to be shortened, but very nicely made. Receiver is marked 280 on the right side, forgot to take pictures of it (Stock is marked Eagle H, as it should be).

... now have to decide whether I should restore it, or leave it this way! Any suggestions on what to do?

Cool rifle for sure! I may be wrong but that stock number sure looks like “2443” to me
 
A detail I like very much is the fact that the stock got mis-serialized to the rifle one digit off (9443 instead of 9444) - they simply "corrected" this by a pencil written (and making it matching) 4 over the incorrect 3! Also the stock in the channel is marked "Na 3 49 42", wasn't this something with the date when it was made (like 3rd day in the week 49th week in 1942)?

Cool rifle for sure! I may be wrong but that stock number sure looks like “2443” to me

It's a pity about the stock and nevertheless it's a great find, congrats!

My first thought was the same like Bigdibbs88, the stock number looks like "2443" and it shows very well how easily you can misread these numbers. I did a collage with the stock number (9602) of one of my Sauer & Sohn rifles, in the middle is Georg's number.
Serial Number.jpg
It looks similar like a "2", but I think it's really a "9". There is stamped "9443" and they corrected the incorrect last number by pencil. The stock completion date is December 2, 1942 and it suits into this serial number range, I have a early "n" block with exactly the same stock completion date.

Regards,
Stephan
 
Well, I think I definately do not want to keep it as it looks now - so the possibilities then leave me at rather restoring the original stock, or replacing the stock with a complete one (in fact I even have a spare and original Sauer SSR stock which came from another member here). But I think I should rather go with the restoration - mowzerluvr, please do let me know if either of the foreends would match my stock.

Bigdibbs88, re the serial number in the barrel channel: after having removed the stock the first time I thought the same as you. It however is extremely hard to tell and you need the light in the correct angle to make out the correct and full serial number which is, as I had mentioned, one digit off, which was correctened with the pencil. Since this is very tough to tell when you have it in your hands, it is even harder to impossible to get a picture showing it correctly.

I gave it a short thought if I should use chalk to make the markings better visible, but the surface inside the barrel channel is not very smooth so I think that would leave the whole channel in the white. Did anyone ever tried chalk in a barrel channel to make the markings better visible?

Edit: if anyone here has a spare Type III SSR mount (with or without scope) for a Sauer & Sohn rifle they would be parting with, please let me know. I might be able to offer something else in a trade.
 
Well, I think I definately do not want to keep it as it looks now - so the possibilities then leave me at rather restoring the original stock, or replacing the stock with a complete one (in fact I even have a spare and original Sauer SSR stock which came from another member here). But I think I should rather go with the restoration - mowzerluvr, please do let me know if either of the foreends would match my stock.

Bigdibbs88, re the serial number in the barrel channel: after having removed the stock the first time I thought the same as you. It however is extremely hard to tell and you need the light in the correct angle to make out the correct and full serial number which is, as I had mentioned, one digit off, which was correctened with the pencil. Since this is very tough to tell when you have it in your hands, it is even harder to impossible to get a picture showing it correctly.

I gave it a short thought if I should use chalk to make the markings better visible, but the surface inside the barrel channel is not very smooth so I think that would leave the whole channel in the white. Did anyone ever tried chalk in a barrel channel to make the markings better visible?

Edit: if anyone here has a spare Type III SSR mount (with or without scope) for a Sauer & Sohn rifle they would be parting with, please let me know. I might be able to offer something else in a trade.

Hi absolut- I wouldn’t use chalk. Just go in a darkened room and shine a light horizontally down the barrel channel. That will light it up nicely
 
Oh well, I didn't follow your suggestion and did try it.. Afterwards I thought it was a stupid idea because it might take water or a brush to remove it, but then I thought I anyway do not plan to sell it again and the reason for it is anyway documented in here. So who cares!

While the pictures are only poor quality mobile phone pictures it should now be clearly visible that the first digit is a 9 and not a 2. And does anyone have an idea what the "27" and "Na" in the front part of the barrel channel mean?
 

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Oh well, I didn't follow your suggestion and did try it.. Afterwards I thought it was a stupid idea because it might take water or a brush to remove it, but then I thought I anyway do not plan to sell it again and the reason for it is anyway documented in here. So who cares!

While the pictures are only poor quality mobile phone pictures it should now be clearly visible that the first digit is a 9 and not a 2. And does anyone have an idea what the "27" and "Na" in the front part of the barrel channel mean?

The "Na" is the laminate supplier code. The meaning of the number "27" is still unknown, at least to me.
 
Oh well, I didn't follow your suggestion and did try it.. Afterwards I thought it was a stupid idea because it might take water or a brush to remove it, but then I thought I anyway do not plan to sell it again and the reason for it is anyway documented in here. So who cares!

While the pictures are only poor quality mobile phone pictures it should now be clearly visible that the first digit is a 9 and not a 2. And does anyone have an idea what the "27" and "Na" in the front part of the barrel channel mean?

I see it now, definitely agree. Worth repairing for sure!
 
Would this rifle have had milled (solid, H band?) or stamped barrel bands? And would the bayonet lug had been serialized to match it?
 

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