Third Party Press

Can I get some information/price evaluation on this rifle?

D

DownstreamDrifter

Member
I've been considering buying this rifle for some time, was just wondering what someone with more expertise thinks of it or if you guys notice anything "off" or unoriginal . Appears to be all matching and probably a vet bring back. Marked 1938 S/42.








 
My first inclination is that the metal is good, but that the wood has been sanded and its external serial restamped. You can see both a bottom and side Waffenamt that look really faded. Usually they hold up much better in hardwood than in laminate, and when they have faded its cause the stock is really well used. But this stock looks wayyy too fresh.
 
Thanks for your input, I agree that I thought the stock looked too good as if it may have been cleaned up a bit. Not a deal breaker for me, the matching metal components however for me is a must. Someone elsewhere commented that the bolt looked suspicious, I do notice that its very bright in color and the markings on the safety look slightly different. What do you guys suppose a fair price on this rifle might be?
 
I think it’s been cleaned/sanded and handled a lot but for what it is that wouldn’t be a deal breaker. As to value I can’t estimate, these are not in my wheelhouse.
 
Metal including bolt look good, but I agree on the sanded stock. It's hard to see, but it looks like a Luftwaffe rifle? I think I can faintly make out an e/L. That marking does have a dark appearance to it, similar to what is seen in stamps after sanding. The question is, what is the seller asking?
 
Zeppelin5000 said:
Metal including bolt look good, but I agree on the sanded stock. It's hard to see, but it looks like a Luftwaffe rifle? I think I can faintly make out an e/L. That marking does have a dark appearance to it, similar to what is seen in stamps after sanding. The question is, what is the seller asking?
Click to expand...
So back in January he wanted $1900, I passed on it at the time but have revisited the pictures and thought about it quite a few times since, emailed him this morning and he tells me he still has it, hopefully that's still the price.
 
Not only the serial has been re-applied to the stock, but also the suffix "a". And this isn't a normal stamp that everyone has, it is a scripted letter which is very unique being a German font and of a larger size (wood stamps are larger than metal stamps). It is nothing you'd need for any items, except for exactly a very few limited applications such as K98k stocks from a very certain period. Therefore my reply was not directed towards the gun itself, but more of a personal surprise that someone has a stamp of something very unique and even actually using it.
 
The 'a' is the letter block of production for that year. The first 10,000 rifles in that year had no letter on the receiver/stock/bolt. The next 10,000 would start with '1a' then '2a' etc. until they reached 10000a. After that they would start with 'b'.
 
The metal looks cleaned as well - base plate etc...some is honest wear and some is steel wool. Still a decent rifle.
 
Cleaned up a little bit is acceptable to me, most importantly I just want a nice matching numbers gun as long as nothing seems like a forgery. It's something I've wanted for a while mostly for the collectability but I also would like to occasionally shoot it as well and he tells me the bore is very clean. All in all are we thinking this is a solid buy?
 
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