Well, I certainly do not want to make it appear that I know what is exactly going on with this rifle, - and D-K and Ryan can continue with their observations, as they are both knowledgeable collectors.
But, I will take the easy and obvious answers seeing as they have not posted yet. The barrel is the original barrel (
code is actually broken down- 264 is the lot of the raw forging, 1939 is the date, and Ru= Ruhrstahl, a firm that was part of Germany's largest steel corporation, VSt, a very important company in steel and armaments, much like Krupp), this is a very late 1939 rifle, near the end probably, this is the last block I have recorded, this is not the highest known but in the last block. I have recorded them into the 4500 x block and Backboner has them to 7500 x block range, so this is probably right before they went to 1940 production.
The stock can only be speculated about, I can't make out the serial number, or whether it has 4 or 5 digits (
if it has 5 digits in the barrel channel it probably was once a MO/43 stock recycled by a depot, which would mean, if depot work, it was work done late in the war, which might explain some of the oddness), or whether it is for sure made of elm (looks like it in some of the pictures). If it were a Mauser Oberndorf stock originally, which if it were elm it most likely was, then it would be from 1943 manufacture and the right side would have originally had a final e/135, though this could have been sanded out, - often depots defaced original markings or counter stamped them, or the rifle could have been sanded or cleaned to remove these since the war. The original stock would have been as D-K stated, the recoil and the take down would have been e/26 marked, the e/26 in known original rifles, in this range have a slightly different e/26 appearance than this rifles, but this could be irrelevant. Odds are this stock has been altered either by the depot or postwar, and considering the slot in the side, probably postwar, though others can offer their own opinions.
I do think it is appropriate to say, I really do not know what to make of the stock; it is as likely postwar replaced as period and without a serial matching the receiver on the stock one can only speculate, - it should have been re-numbered to match, usually externally. But there is always doubt on originality when it lacks a matching serial, - which is why so many like to use “latewar” expediencies as an excuse for all problems a rifle has. It is just as likely the original stock was sportered and someone salvaged the original stocks components restoring this rifle to keep it as original as possible. (
there are no other signs this rifle went through a depot, except the marking that “appears” similar to the Wels ordnance depot acceptance, - which is known on the side like this and fits the general shape and make up)
Ok so I stripped it down all the way after the family passed out in a turkey coma. The barrel is marked "26439Ru" on the underside. What is that number?
The stock serial is 1683 or 7683, the takedown discs have a "26" WaA, but the recoil lug at the center of the stock is "214". Apparently Luebeck used 26 and 214 between 1938-40? There are no other marks I can see on the wood and the butt plate has no number or stamp I can find. Thoughts?
