Hi All,
I finally got around to taking this one apart and cataloging. Normally, I'd be a bit more timely in getting to this, but the last few months have been chaotic with my time. This is my 2nd large ring Kar98, with the first one being a mixmaster restoration missing the rear band, bayo lug and end cap (SN 855) I picked up a few years ago as a fun project.
This popped up a few months ago with a very low start bid. I called the shop to try and make an offer and they were being bombarded with calls. I made what I felt was a lower-end offer due to the condition, and mine was accepted. Apparently this was sitting in the back room of the shop for decades. Naturally, this is a fairly rough example, but a very rare model. There is work to be done yet on very carefully cleaning this up and conserving it, but I wanted to give the "before" and will share the "after" later.
The good news on this one is that it is mostly matching, with only the bolt, floorplate and rear screw mismatched (I've got two other bolts for these, but no dice on having the matching one
). The biggest conditional issue is the crack on the right side of the stock, splintering off the recoil lug. I will likely leave as-is, given that this is part of the story. There aren't a lot of guns I'd overlook this on-- this is one of them. The stock does not appear sanded, just really worn. I can see the acceptance in the sling well, but they are faint and hard to photo. Same with the wrist and keel markings. The rear band screw was present, but the head was broken in half. I am going to get a replacement for that fabricated. There was a broken cleaning rod segment in the hole, but I was able to remove it and a replacement Gew98 rod is on the way (Shockingly, they used the same rod; the nut is set back far, just in front of the recoil lug- you can see in the barrel channel pics)
These were a failed series of designs, (oddly still chambered in Patrone 88) that were only manufactured for a short time before the Kar 98 concept was reinvented with the longer, small ring Kar 98 (aka 98a) that we all know and love. Storz goes into significant detail on this, for those interested. After manufacture was ceased, these were phased out in favor of the 98a but remained in use in the colonies and a large number were re-barreled with 7x57 commercial barrels and sold to Mexico. This example is one of those (along with a number of others that seem to turn up in the US) The ones sold to Mexico maintain their imperial markings and the same miniature lange visier sight.
Lengthwise, these are basically identical to a Kar88, but the stock is semi pistol grip like a Gew98 and the buttplate is the same as the 98a. The front of the stock has a very unique band and bayonet lug configuration where the lug hugs up to the small stock section ahead of the band. The nosecap looks like the Kar88 one, but is much smaller and has an extra hole to easily adjust the front sight blade through. The triggerguard is identical to that of the Gew98, but without the quick detach hole. The bolt, as you can see has a Kar88 style of handle. I'll do detailed parts comparisons after I get this cleaned up a bit more.
Here is the data:
Receiver 2113
Barrel (7x57 & commercial proofs) 2113
Stock: 2113
Handguard: 2113
Nosecap: 13
Bayonet lug: 13
Rear band: 13
Rear sight leaf: 13
Rear sight slider: 13
Triggerguard: 2113
Floorplate: 45
Follower: 13
Screws: 13, 74
Front sight: 13
Buttplate 2113
Ejector: 13
Bolt body: 3059
And the pics:
I finally got around to taking this one apart and cataloging. Normally, I'd be a bit more timely in getting to this, but the last few months have been chaotic with my time. This is my 2nd large ring Kar98, with the first one being a mixmaster restoration missing the rear band, bayo lug and end cap (SN 855) I picked up a few years ago as a fun project.
This popped up a few months ago with a very low start bid. I called the shop to try and make an offer and they were being bombarded with calls. I made what I felt was a lower-end offer due to the condition, and mine was accepted. Apparently this was sitting in the back room of the shop for decades. Naturally, this is a fairly rough example, but a very rare model. There is work to be done yet on very carefully cleaning this up and conserving it, but I wanted to give the "before" and will share the "after" later.
The good news on this one is that it is mostly matching, with only the bolt, floorplate and rear screw mismatched (I've got two other bolts for these, but no dice on having the matching one
). The biggest conditional issue is the crack on the right side of the stock, splintering off the recoil lug. I will likely leave as-is, given that this is part of the story. There aren't a lot of guns I'd overlook this on-- this is one of them. The stock does not appear sanded, just really worn. I can see the acceptance in the sling well, but they are faint and hard to photo. Same with the wrist and keel markings. The rear band screw was present, but the head was broken in half. I am going to get a replacement for that fabricated. There was a broken cleaning rod segment in the hole, but I was able to remove it and a replacement Gew98 rod is on the way (Shockingly, they used the same rod; the nut is set back far, just in front of the recoil lug- you can see in the barrel channel pics)These were a failed series of designs, (oddly still chambered in Patrone 88) that were only manufactured for a short time before the Kar 98 concept was reinvented with the longer, small ring Kar 98 (aka 98a) that we all know and love. Storz goes into significant detail on this, for those interested. After manufacture was ceased, these were phased out in favor of the 98a but remained in use in the colonies and a large number were re-barreled with 7x57 commercial barrels and sold to Mexico. This example is one of those (along with a number of others that seem to turn up in the US) The ones sold to Mexico maintain their imperial markings and the same miniature lange visier sight.
Lengthwise, these are basically identical to a Kar88, but the stock is semi pistol grip like a Gew98 and the buttplate is the same as the 98a. The front of the stock has a very unique band and bayonet lug configuration where the lug hugs up to the small stock section ahead of the band. The nosecap looks like the Kar88 one, but is much smaller and has an extra hole to easily adjust the front sight blade through. The triggerguard is identical to that of the Gew98, but without the quick detach hole. The bolt, as you can see has a Kar88 style of handle. I'll do detailed parts comparisons after I get this cleaned up a bit more.
Here is the data:
Receiver 2113
Barrel (7x57 & commercial proofs) 2113
Stock: 2113
Handguard: 2113
Nosecap: 13
Bayonet lug: 13
Rear band: 13
Rear sight leaf: 13
Rear sight slider: 13
Triggerguard: 2113
Floorplate: 45
Follower: 13
Screws: 13, 74
Front sight: 13
Buttplate 2113
Ejector: 13
Bolt body: 3059
And the pics:
Last edited:
