Long story short, grandpa came into posession of a 98k sniper sometime long ago, moreso the guts (barrel, bolt, action). He kept it in the attic, it rusted, and then he proceeded to clean the rust with steel wool, gun oil, and probably solvents, removing a lot of the finish. I recieved it after he passed. Ordered a stock for it, so now it looks complete minus the claw mounts and scope. Id like to refinish the rifle so it looks how its supposed to and id like to make it a safe queen. Anyone got info on production marks/ reputable smiths who can restore this rifle? I know it would have been worth a lot in mint condition, but this is mostly something id like done for myself and to finish grandpas project.
98k
- Thread starter Mattski
- Start date
Johnny Sako
Member
Whats done can not be undone. I tell this to people on a regular basis but few listen.
hale1940
Canadian Fabio
If you want some detailed responses then you are going to need to upload detailed pics of everything you have. Make sure stuff is in focus and clearly lit, and get all the serial numbers and proofs on each part.
heavy_mech
RKI- Reasonably Knowledgable Individual
Umm us?
So in the first photo the 'avk' is the barrel finisher and it's Ruhrstahl (literally Ruhr for the river and steel). Every stamp tells us something about that part. Your rifle is of later manufacture so it will have less identifying marks than earlier or especially pre-war rifles. In photo 2 you show stamped bottom metal with both parts made by Mauser Oberndorf (the Mauser) indicated by the e/135 (eagle over 135) which was the inspection teams 'code' assigned to that area at that time.
Can You check to see if the Barrel has the proof mark of WaAD36 should be area of the avk barrel code you show in 1st photo .
Does the barrel have serial number or not ?? Thank You
Absolut
Senior Member
Peter already told you, you have a very rare Steyr made K98k rifle that was converted to a sniper rifle by company Marholdt in Tyrolia/Austria. This variant is commonly referred as "Steyr Single Claw Mount". You'll find more pictures of this variant on this website here: https://www.wwiigermansniper.com/single-claw
Please share a few more pictures of what you have. While you are correct in that it surely isn't untouched and will not be all original again, however you have one of the rarest sniper variants that Germans used in WWII what also makes it one of those with the highest value. From looking at your two pictures I do not think you should refinish the rifle - you would really harm the value it still has. If it were mine, I'd get rid of the active rust and preserve it in the condition as it is now and find a stock that matches the condition of the rifle.
Please share a few more pictures of what you have. While you are correct in that it surely isn't untouched and will not be all original again, however you have one of the rarest sniper variants that Germans used in WWII what also makes it one of those with the highest value. From looking at your two pictures I do not think you should refinish the rifle - you would really harm the value it still has. If it were mine, I'd get rid of the active rust and preserve it in the condition as it is now and find a stock that matches the condition of the rifle.
heavy_mech
RKI- Reasonably Knowledgable Individual
Yeah that's hard to miss huh? Like a giant wart on someone's nose. Hopefully the OP will provide more photos and details.
Mattski,
Welcome to the forum. As mentioned above you have a legit single claw sniper. These are very rare and desirable. But as you already know, yours has lost most of it's collectible value due to the damage done by neglect and over cleaning.
Since the damage is already done, I don't see any problem with restoring it. You can find most of the parts you need but you will likely not find a scope and rings. I would search for some reproductions.
Good luck. Look here to see more examples of rifles like yours.
http://www.k98kforum.com/showthread.php?40932-Steyr-Single-Claw-Rifles
Welcome to the forum. As mentioned above you have a legit single claw sniper. These are very rare and desirable. But as you already know, yours has lost most of it's collectible value due to the damage done by neglect and over cleaning.
Since the damage is already done, I don't see any problem with restoring it. You can find most of the parts you need but you will likely not find a scope and rings. I would search for some reproductions.
Good luck. Look here to see more examples of rifles like yours.
http://www.k98kforum.com/showthread.php?40932-Steyr-Single-Claw-Rifles
Herk1994
Senior Member
Dude that looks awesome. Like others have said, lots of collector value lost but a great piece for a good restoration. It’s gotta be done properly, one step at a time. It’ll be worth it in the end as a nice piece that’ll last. It started life as a legitimate sniper, it’ll always be one. All I can say is I hope you take us on the forums along for the ride to see this thing come back to life!
Absolut
Senior Member
It can be brought back to nearly full former glory since I do not see rust pittings, just a worn/polished off finish. A bit weird to do not see the WaAD36 on top of the barrel shank, but might still be hidden somewhere. I noticed the rear sight curve is mismatching, did you replace this one?
Your rifle should be a 1944 made one.
The refinish should be done by someone who has done this before on German K98k rifles and knows what he's doing.
Your rifle should be a 1944 made one.
The refinish should be done by someone who has done this before on German K98k rifles and knows what he's doing.
I too noticed the lack of WaAD36 has me worried as well. Wondering if the barrel didnt recieve any marks or if they just stuck it on due to scarcity of materials. I did replace the base, the whole rear sight was missing. Still have to order the rear leaf, or i may have the gunsmith order one to fit it correctly. As far as the restoration goes, ive found one smitg in texas who has restored them and tgey look beautiful. Once i order the claws from accumount ill be shipping him the rifle to bring it back to its former glory. Ive found a guy in Eurwho makes stocks and can mark them as well, im hoping to get the correct waffenamt markings for this model so he could make it historically accurate.
Its gunna be a looooong process i know getting things accurate will be time consuming and costly. Ill definitely share the process of restoring the rifle!
