My K43 AC45

So, I sure was happy to find this forum. Thank you all for the interesting reading and information. I am having trouble uploading pictures and am trying to figure this out, so have patience.

I remember seeing a G43 at my Grandfather's friend's house and fell in love. So, fast forward 40+ years and I see a K43 in a small local dealer's shop, about 4 years ago. The dealer said that it was not for sale because it was a rare piece. Jump ahead to last week and a buddy tells me that the K43 is for sale. I promptly run down to the shop and, trying to hide my excitement, inquire about the rifle. Lo and behold, it is for sale, and after some quick dickering, I walked out with my new-to-me K43. So, here, for your consideration, are some of the pictures I took. It is all matching numbers, but I was most concerned with the scope mount and scope's sn#.

I probably will not fire the rifle, and am having a cradle mount built for it so that I can display it. The wife has now stopped threatening to smack me, and instead now threatens me with smacking my rifle....

Welcome to the forum. We will definitely need to see more pictures. You’re scope mount is not original. Not original to the rifle and not made during WWII. Hope this helps.

mdarnell19 said:

Welcome to the forum. We will definitely need to see more pictures. You’re scope mount is not original. Not original to the rifle and not made during WWII. Hope this helps.

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Thanks! If you don't mind my asking, what were the giveaways on the scope mount? I was skeptical when I saw both the rifle sn# and the scope sn# on it, and it just seemed too good to be true. I keep trying to upload more pictures, but it keeps saying that I am exceeding my upload quota, even if it is just one picture... grrrr

Sarco had mounts identical to this one for sale years ago. The buyer had their choice of waffenampt stamps, 359 or 214. The most visible giveaways are the bluing and the milling on the flat side of the mount. Quality is otherwise very good. Rumor at the time had it that these were made in Taiwan. The mount came with bands. Be careful not to overtighten these! They're tight enough when the scope doesn't shift on the mount. Too tight, and the bands start to deform.

I bought a 359 marked example for my ac45 K43. I had it fitted to the gun by a gunsmith who knew his business. He did the fitting to the mount, and not to the original rail. The mount slides on easily, locks up tight, and zero does not shift when it's removed and reinstalled. I bought a repro wooden scope box from the Czech Republic, as well as all of the little accessories, like the sun shade, filter, lens caps, knob caps, and rubber eye cup. Looks and works great.

I’m sorry to say the stock has been hit too. Someone sanded it, but luckily not too bad as the stamps are at least shadowed where they were. The scope mount is definitely aftermarket as stated above.

Wonder what the seller’s thinking was that made him think this was a rare rifle?

Tiger 2 Tank said:

I’m sorry to say the stock has been hit too. Someone sanded it, but luckily not too bad as the stamps are at least shadowed where they were. The scope mount is definitely aftermarket as stated above.

Wonder what the seller’s thinking was that made him think this was a rare rifle?

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Wishful thinking maybe.

tsmgguy said:

Sarco had mounts identical to this one for sale years ago. The buyer had their choice of waffenampt stamps, 359 or 214. The most visible giveaways are the bluing and the milling on the flat side of the mount. Quality is otherwise very good. Rumor at the time had it that these were made in Taiwan. The mount came with bands. Be careful not to overtighten these! They're tight enough when the scope doesn't shift on the mount. Too tight, and the bands start to deform.

I bought a 359 marked example for my ac45 K43. I had it fitted to the gun by a gunsmith who knew his business. He did the fitting to the mount, and not to the original rail. The mount slides on easily, locks up tight, and zero does not shift when it's removed and reinstalled. I bought a repro wooden scope box from the Czech Republic, as well as all of the little accessories, like the sun shade, filter, lens caps, knob caps, and rubber eye cup. Looks and works great.

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Wow. Thanks for that info. That makes a lot of sense regarding the sn#'s on the scope mount being all over the place. Gonna have to take a closer look at the rest of the rifle now. Fortunately, the scope mount and the obvious sanding down of the stock were negotiating points for me. I really appreciate all of the input, guys. While the rifle was worth every cent, to me at least, I really want to know exactly what I have.

Old2631Marine said:

Wow. Thanks for that info. That makes a lot of sense regarding the sn#'s on the scope mount being all over the place. Gonna have to take a closer look at the rest of the rifle now. Fortunately, the scope mount and the obvious sanding down of the stock were negotiating points for me. I really appreciate all of the input, guys. While the rifle was worth every cent, to me at least, I really want to know exactly what I have.

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We’ll need to know if it’s all matching or not if you need any more opinions. Bolt, firing pin housing, both locking lugs are what we are looking for.