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Help Needed ID'ing Mauser Rebuild

M

MCHammah96

Junior Member
Hello all,

I am posting for an older friend who isn't internet savvy. He recently purchased this rifle from an estate and it is alleged to be a vet bringback S42K Mauser rebuild, but reworked by the SS. There is a definite WaA at the wrist, albeit its very faint. And what appears to be a totenkopf. I am just not qualified to say definitvely and hence require the help of this forum. Pictures attached. Please share your thoughts and thanks in advance,

MC
 

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Additional photos

. If anyone could shed light on the "30" as well, it would greatly appreciated.
 
Last edited:
Additional photos

MCHammah96 said:
Hello all,

I am posting for an older friend who isn't internet savvy. He recently purchased this rifle from an estate and it is alleged to be a vet bringback S42K Mauser rebuild, but reworked by the SS. There is a definite WaA at the wrist, albeit its very faint. And what appears to be a totenkopf. I am just not qualified to say definitvely and hence require the help of this forum. Pictures attached. Please share your thoughts and thanks in advance,

MC
Click to expand...

Additional photos
 

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Identifying a Kar 98k

If I recall correctly, I believe the "EWB" marking on the stock stands for Bavarian Civil Guard.
Hope this helps.
Tks,
Bob32268
 
The "EWB" branding on the stock stands for Einwohnerwehr Bayern, a paramilitary organization. Think of it as a militia, with anti communist views.

That rifle was reworked by Mauser, as seen with the S/42 k rear sight.

There is a WaA eagle at the wrist, and the subsequent depot "30" on top of it, in the first grouping of photos you posted. It appears to have been reworked a number of times.
 
It’s Mg10 in this case for Magdeburg, no clue what the 30 is. Perhaps a look around with the rifle disassembled, it would be an odd placement but it’s possibly an arbitrary assembly number.
 
My understanding regarding Gew98M's done by mauser in 1934-35 either ended up in Spain for the Civil War or in the hands of the SS, as they had procurement issues before '41. Hence my rationale for it being possibly an SS weapon. Can anyone confirm or deny? Is it possible this was used by the Heer then?

Thanks
 
Mauser did not convert Gew98 rifles to flat sight rifles. They provided parts to the German Army depot system only. It would probably have been used by the Heer Training Regiments and not the SS, many were provided to Spain for the civil war.

The “30 g” is the old serial number from the rifle the stock came from.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
mrfarb said:
Mauser did not convert Gew98 rifles to flat sight rifles. They provided parts to the German Army depot system only. It would probably have been used by the Heer Training Regiments and not the SS, many were provided to Spain for the civil war.

The “30 g” is the old serial number from the rifle the stock came from.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Any ideas on the wrist markings?
 
flynaked said:
It’s Mg10 in this case for Magdeburg, no clue what the 30 is. Perhaps a look around with the rifle disassembled, it would be an odd placement but it’s possibly an arbitrary assembly number.
Click to expand...

Ah, ok I see it now. Looked like M91 to me, but I see the Mg10 with the 0 mostly worn away. Cool.
 
mrfarb said:
Mauser did not convert Gew98 rifles to flat sight rifles. They provided parts to the German Army depot system only. It would probably have been used by the Heer Training Regiments and not the SS, many were provided to Spain for the civil war.

The “30 g” is the old serial number from the rifle the stock came from.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...


The serial would have originally been past the pistol grip, on the bottom of the stock when it was a Gewehr 98. (It is probably still there).

What you are seeing is the WaA Mg10 depot marking, with a "30" stamped right on top. Not the serial.
 
mrfarb said:
Mauser did not convert Gew98 rifles to flat sight rifles. They provided parts to the German Army depot system only. It would probably have been used by the Heer Training Regiments and not the SS, many were provided to Spain for the civil war.

The “30 g” is the old serial number from the rifle the stock came from.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Additionally, a tell tale sign that this was not one of the Spanish used Gew98m's is the lack of Spanish fire proof, and lack of rebluing which is found on every Spanish Civvy Gew98m I've ever seen. Again I'm no authority but I firmly believe this rifle stayed in Germany.
 
Nice rifle, These are honestly my favorite rifles to research and look into. I do have some cool Gewehr 98m Waffen SS pictures, though most of them have already probably been seen. One even has a grenade launcher.
20160713132021-734f0de3-me.jpg
20160713132044-055fcd96-me.jpg
20160713132202-b66be15b-me.jpg
20160713132209-8974fbb3-me.jpg
 
Rutche said:
Nice rifle, These are honestly my favorite rifles to research and look into. I do have some cool Gewehr 98m Waffen SS pictures, though most of them have already probably been seen. One even has a grenade launcher.
View attachment 253304
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Click to expand...
Thanks, but it's not my rifle, this old coot will take it to his grave. Thanks for sharing the photos, in your opinion was this a Heer trainer or potentially used by the SS?

Take care
 
There is no real way to know, and I am definitely not very well versed on the info on these rifles. I do know the basics and some light information. It could be, but at the same time it could have sat in a rack for all of the war. We will never know. Even if it isn't an SS rifle, it is still an amazing piece of history.
 
Your friend needs to do better pictures, specifically relevant ones that are clear and show context, what doesn't match the receiver serial is irrelevant to any history of the whole and we need to be certain of where these markings applied and their orientation. This is especially important for the Republican era work, less so for the NS era.

If the "30" is at the wrist, it could be Kassel, E/Ka/30 is common in the rearmament era. It could represent other things as well, though I am not sure of the surrounding markings or how they were applied, wrist, RS buttstock?? Anything regarding reworks or ordnance work in general requires far more information and good pictures. These are grossly inadequate and not showing the barrel coding, the right receiver and the stock markings with clarity makes this whole exercise simple guessing, - and not very good guessing.



MCHammah96 said:
Hello all,

I am posting for an older friend who isn't internet savvy. He recently purchased this rifle from an estate and it is alleged to be a vet bringback S42K Mauser rebuild, but reworked by the SS. There is a definite WaA at the wrist, albeit its very faint. And what appears to be a totenkopf. I am just not qualified to say definitvely and hence require the help of this forum. Pictures attached. Please share your thoughts and thanks in advance,

MC
Click to expand...
 
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