Third Party Press

early BNZ43 single rune

X

Xavier

Senior Member
Hi
please find pictures of a matching bnz43 single rune 98K. serial number 1936.
Barrel code 89, kind of w in a circle and then Bö (Böhler) . Waa 623 on the right side of the barrel.
Single rune on the triggerguard and floor plate.
Serial number inside the channel of the stock and handguard, on the bands and rear sight.

best regards
 

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wow..

very nice...this one has a totally blank receiver. I have seen others like this.. Its probably not a radom made one. Also it has that pleasing plumb hue and the odd variant with the Bnz. There are 3 at least receiver variations I think. This one rune on the t.g. and floorplate ! very cool.. A nice triple rune rifle..! Also a un-mistakable steyr made stock.. All around a great example. Thanks for posting..:thumbsup:
 
i love bnz rifles and yours is nice. one day i hope to find a matching one, right now all I have is a few mismatched ones.
 
more informations

K98 found in France, near the city of NIORT, ouest part of France.
Which ss unit was in this area in 1944 ???
regards
 
single runes..

my little idea is these were made for the h.j. division. As they were getting formed up ect in that time period. It was a full division and they needed weapons. The h.j. symbol is the single rune. So it kinda makes sense.. At least to me ?:facepalm:
 
HJ

I am not sure HJ division has ever been in that area (NIORT, near LA ROCHELLE, atlantic coast). To far away from Normandy and the after from Belgium.
But may be I am wrong.
 
The idea that single rune rifles were made for the HJ divisions has been around as long as I can remember. Just like the "Gray Ghost" P.38 legend from U-Boat sub storage pens, I think it's just urban legend or collector lore. I'm pretty sure the HJ drew weapons from the same sources as other SS divisions and not from some special run. If any SS unit would have received rifles marked in some special way it would have been early in the war, and would probably have been to the LAH as they were the darlings of the SS, and as far as I know there are no (REAL) LAH marked K98k's.

Besides, the Rune marking was intended to seperate the SS made rifles assembled outside the Waffenamt system as the Heer felt they would be poor quality (which pretty much describes any Steyr product) and they wanted an easy way to spot the SS junk in the supply system. :laugh:

My own thought is that many of the single rune and SS contract guns sat unissued in storage somewhere- you see an awful lot of them in new condition in the US, so somewhere the GI's found a pile of them in new condition.
 
17th SS was in the area

Might be 17th SS or one of the SS Police Battalions in the area or one of the Malice units that fell under the SS/Gestapo umbrella.

mrfarb said:
The idea that single rune rifles were made for the HJ divisions has been around as long as I can remember. Just like the "Gray Ghost" P.38 legend from U-Boat sub storage pens, I think it's just urban legend or collector lore. I'm pretty sure the HJ drew weapons from the same sources as other SS divisions and not from some special run. If any SS unit would have received rifles marked in some special way it would have been early in the war, and would probably have been to the LAH as they were the darlings of the SS, and as far as I know there are no (REAL) LAH marked K98k's.

Besides, the Rune marking was intended to seperate the SS made rifles assembled outside the Waffenamt system as the Heer felt they would be poor quality (which pretty much describes any Steyr product) and they wanted an easy way to spot the SS junk in the supply system. :laugh:

My own thought is that many of the single rune and SS contract guns sat unissued in storage somewhere- you see an awful lot of them in new condition in the US, so somewhere the GI's found a pile of them in new condition.
Click to expand...
 
RichUrich said:
Might be 17th SS or one of the SS Police Battalions in the area or one of the Malice units that fell under the SS/Gestapo umbrella.
Click to expand...

I believe the SS contract guns were nothing more than an attempt to circumvent the normal weapons procurement system. Himmler was totally obsessed with making his people self sufficient and what's more, had billions in cash, taken from his concentration camp victims, to pay a premium for goods, as well as a huge slave labor force to barter with. I doubt any were specifically reserved for any particular unit.
 
Great piece Xavier, thanks for posting it. Got bolt pics and such? Pic stickied. You can easily find out about the SS units operating where the rifle turned up.
 
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