Matched 1911 Erfurt kar 98a

As promised, here are the photos of that unit marked Erfurt I picked up. I am not a Mauser guy but I’ve tried to follow the format that I’ve seen others use but if I miss anything, feel free to yell at me about it and I’ll get that missing photo/information posted. Forgive the clarity of some of the photos as most everything steel has a layer of ballistol on it. I have brass brushed some of the gun lightly already and I can already tell that there’s not much of the original rust bluing or fire blue on this thing. Most of the color you see on the exposed metal surfaces is not true in the photos, it’s a fine brown rust to the naked eye. I won sawback WMO 98/05 bayonet w flashshield and WMO scabbard at an excellent price that will pair well with this rifles machine gun and artillery history. I’m also fashioning a faux 98a sling for the rifle out of a random 1” sling with a similar buckle and keeper I had in a parts bin.

On receipt I learned the rifle was duffle cut and had two cracks in the handguard all of which I’ve since repaired. Duffle cut repair has two threaded steel inserts running across it so that should be plenty strong. I also was unaware of the notches cut near the stock toe so that was a cool surprise. Can’t speak on their veracity but they are old and filled with dirt. Butt plate has been grounded a few too many times and the serial is pretty faint but I brass brushed down to be able to read it and it does match. Two unit marks. Obviously got burnt at some point but I have looked over the metal and springs and have yet to find a part with any sign of a HAZ. Everything that was rightward facing on the rifle sure was covered in caked ash though. I find the combination of the unit marks, the “kill” notches, the unclipped firing pin, the fire damage and the duffle cut quite intriguing. I do not know this rifles story but I sure would like to. All around, I’m quite happy with the rifle and it’ll go nicely with my depot rebuilt 1916 Erfurt Gew 98.

If wanted, I do also have a matched Erfurt Kar 88, matched suhl Kar 71 and that depot Erfurt Gew 98 I could make posts for as well but none are quite as interesting as this rifle IMO

Receiver- 6116
Barrel- 6116 KR. 19?
Front Sight- 16
Rear Sight Leaf- 16
Rear Sight Spring- 16
Sight Slider- 16
Ejector Box- 16
Trigger Sear- 16
Front Barrel Band- 16 (top and bottom)
Rear Barrel Band- 16
Trigger Guard- 6116
Trigger Guard Screws- 16, 16
Floor Plate- 16
Follower- 16
Stock- 6116 (internal and external)
Handguard- 6116
Buttplate- 6116 (unit marked 13.Fuss Artillerie Regiment, Ersatz Batallion, 2 Company weapon nr.61 AND 2.MG Kompanie, weapon nr.26)
Bayonet Lug- 16
Stacking Hook- 16
Stacking Hook Internal Stock Insert- 16
Bolt Body- 6116
Extractor- 16
Safety- 16
Cocking Piece- 16
Bolt Sleeve- 16
Firing Pin- 16 (Un-cut)

more photos

yet more photos

last set

Thanks for taking the time to get so many photos. I appreciate your thoroughness. This is a very interesting Kar, being so original and matching for being so early, plus the double unit marked buttplate is awesome. The acceptance is pretty typical, some that i haven't seen before on specific parts, but nothing surprising, and it's good to have a documentation.

It's in the reference!

I don't think I got every acceptance mark so if there's more you'd want to see lmk and thanks!

PrayingMantis said:

Thanks for taking the time to get so many photos. I appreciate your thoroughness. This is a very interesting Kar, being so original and matching for being so early, plus the double unit marked buttplate is awesome. The acceptance is pretty typical, some that i haven't seen before on specific parts, but nothing surprising, and it's good to have a documentation.

It's in the reference!

Click to expand...

That’s a nice early rifle and photos . Thanks for sharing!

One last update for this thread.

After I had my metallurgist friend verify what I figured regarding the heat treat on all the steel parts I ended up shoring up the compromised side of the stock so it would hold recoil and I took the carbine to the range. As the stock was incredibly thin (I could flex it in and out by hand) before I shot it I inletted the stock as deeply as I could from the stock bolt area to just ahead of the bolt handle scallop along the internal side of the magazine well. I cut a piece of 1/16" corrugated steel plate to act as a support and epoxied it in the relief using the bottom metal as a backer. The repair is not externally visible, and the stock is solid now and is standing up to shooting. Rifle is good windage-wise with yugo surplus and my reloads and I took it out to 300 with no issue, range was closed past that the day I went. Bore still looks well used after shooting but plenty serviceable obviously. I also fashioned a stand in for a 98a sling out of random sling of the correct width, length and buckle. Just added some more holes and slots and threw on a repro k98k keeper. Bayonet I got for it was a sawback 1917 WMO with a WMO scabbard, it went cheaply at auction due to poor description and it seemed appropriate for an MG unit marked 98a. I doubt I'll find a muzzle cover for a reasonable price so the photos of the carbine in its presumably final state are with its brother, a 1916 depot marked erfurt gew 98.