What Is It?

[Mark]

I am the first to stick up my nose at anything sporterized but I recently bought something that is the exception. It is the one of the nicest .30-06 I have ever shot and it has Wilson Peep Sights. I was wondering if anyone knows anything about the gunsmith (R.A.WARDROP) that built this and with a 1933 stamp, what he would have built it from.

1933 Mauser Banner on Receiver
R.A.WARDROP .30-06 on Barrell
Mauser-Werke A.G. Oberndorf a/N
52495

 

[jlj]

Seems to be fairly early in the DRP range of banner mausers. Look in the sticky threads for info on the original rifles. JL

 

[Mark]

Seems to be fairly early in the DRP range of banner mausers. Look in the sticky threads for info on the original rifles. JL

That was part of what interested me. I have one of the last 98s built in March of 1946 (SVWMB 29696C) so seeing a date and serial ealier than anything I was familiar with interested me. The action and bolt are original and matching but everything else is different. I have so far been unable to figure out who the gunsmith (R.A.WARDROP) was that built it.

 

[S/42]

Here is my DRP Standard Gewehr, only a couple hundred rifles away from yours.

Beautiful when left unmolested...

 

[RyanE]

R.A. Wardrop is almost certainly nobody of any real significance. It is likely that you will not be able to find out much about him aside from the fact that he was a reasonably successful American gunsmith probably operating in the 1950-60s. He chopped up some nice rifles a long time ago but nothing terribly interesting otherwise.