1940 660 Mauser

S

scott christie

Member
Hello, you have a very informitive website, but I still have a few questions regarding my Mauser. This rifle was brought back by my great uncle after WWII, he served in Africa and Europe. This rifle has spent the last 70 yrs under a bed or in a closet and gone through various hands of my family. I've done some research on your site as well as others and a few questions have arisen. It has all matching serial #s (6014) except the bolt (#6708). It does have the WaA623 markings in various areas on the barrel and stock/butt plate. It is in quite good condition and hasn't been tampered with. My question is: there is a "g" below the serial #6014 on the barrel/chamber (see pics) which doesn't seem to come up with an explanation on your site. Any information you can supply would be greatly appreciated. My boys are 12 and 14 and studying WWII history and this is an interesting family tie-in. Values seem to be all over the place also and wondering if it should be insured. Thank You for any or all input. Scott Christie. I am having troubles loading the images. Any help to the tech. challenged? It says the files are too big?
 
Welcome and thanks for sharing your keepsake with the forum... You have an Austrian built K98 from Steyr Puch. 660 was their early war factory code until it changed to a letter code BNZ in 1941. WaA623 was the acceptance proof for Steyr and should be on many of your smaller parts. I have a 660 also and nearly every part is stamped. If you go to the forum main page you will see a database covering practical every example from the different years and factories.

The G is related to your rifles place in the production line. After every 10000 rifles the next letter was added. Yours is still rather early in production and many here can give you a more precise date. As for your photos, you need to reduce their file size for posting.

Looking forward to seeing your rifle and pleased it's still in the family.
 
You have a fairly hard to find maker code and year compared to most. Most vet bringbacks seem to have mismatched bolts and it does lower the value significantly but seeing as it is a family heirloom that will not matter much. As has been suggested, check out the picture reference on this forum it is a great aid to learning. I am new to collecting but Steyr seems to have a lot of variations in manufacture compared to say Mauser Oberndorf or J.P. Sauer but that serves to make them more interesting to me at least. You may notice some steel parts of your rifle marked WaA 77 instead of WaA 623(Steyr), these are manufactured in Radom, Poland and sent to Austria for use at the Steyr facility.
 
not really worth enough to warrant insurance. Ballbark w/o pics I would say around 800-1000.
 
mto7464 said:
not really worth enough to warrant insurance. Ballbark w/o pics I would say around 800-1000.
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Agreed... A safe has worked fine for mine for 30 plus years now.. To Mikes remark, my 660 is all 623 marked but my 43 and 4 BNZ's almost all Radom marked... And he's right about the interesting variations.. Now I'll have to dig out my 41 and see where the Waffens lie.
 
1940 660

Thank you for your input. I forgot to mention that it does not have the cleaning rod. The rifling looks good, I wouldn't hesitate to fire the rifle. I think it's condition is pretty good, but I will let you be the judge, I don't know the condition hyerarchy. I have hopefully attached the photos correctly. Thank You again. ScottDSCN0810a.jpgDSCN0811a.jpgDSCN0814a.jpgDSCN0817a.jpgDSCN0818a.jpgDSCN0819a.jpgDSCN0820a.jpgDSCN0822a.jpgDSCN0823a.jpgDSCN0824a.jpgDSCN0825a.jpgDSCN0826a.jpgDSCN0829a.jpg
 
1940 660

I have only seen WaA623. They seem to be fairly prevalant and very small. How would you grade condition?, as best as one can by photos. Thank You Scott
 
I don't think condition is that bad, blue is worn and thin in places but it hasn't been abused or neglected. Stock is not sanded, I don't think. But there are guys on here with far more experience than me to rate condition. I like it because it looks like it has been carried and used.
 
1940 660

If they could only talk. My great uncle died when I was young. My 97 yr. old Grandmother and uncles were able to supply me about how it got back to the states after the war and the stories he told. Scott
 
looks like stock has had something applied to it. Since it is a family heirloom and not for sale that does not affect it. If you were selling it would. I would leave it alone and not try to remove whatever it is.
 
mto7464 said:
looks like stock has had something applied to it. Since it is a family heirloom and not for sale that does not affect it. If you were selling it would. I would leave it alone and not try to remove whatever it is.
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Agreed... Scott, have you looked at the other 660s in the database? To Mikes point, love that it's a bring back that saw some action. I wouldn't mess with the metal or the wood.. When you shoot it, keep an eye on the stock lug.. I fired an decent original and the lug started moving back in the stock. Love the matching screws as well. I'm sure yours also has the band spring numbered and 623 marked like mine. Once again, thanks for posting..
 
I really like your 660 code, I have one in the C block that is also a bolt mismatch. Mine has a mixture of WaA 77 & 623. It was my first K98 and bought in the early 70's. Thank you for your post.
 
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