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K98 operational question...?

D

DukeIronHand

Senior Member
Have two K98’s in front of me and it took playing with a 1903 to realize I wasn’t going senile.
On one (BNZ 43) the magazine follower does not lock the bolt back on an empty mag.
The second (BYF 44) the follower does lock the bolt back when the mag is empty.

Is there a right and wrong here? Which was preferred by the Heer or by standards or guidelines? If any?
Or did this totally depend on the manufacturer and year and a whim?
 
I believe WW1 era guns and some commercial contract Mausers from the 30s were all made to close on empty.

WW2 German K98k for their own use, lock open on empty.
 
The German follower is design to hold back the bolt on empty. Czech rifles have a beveled corner on the follower to allow closing on empty.... Sometimes bubba switched or filed the orig to close
 
Thanks gentlemen.
The BNZ is a refurb from JRA (according to the previous owner) so in theory any mag follower could be in there. Investigation needed!
 
drop a pic of the follower... Some of the more astute in here can probably identify a military follower from a commercial example
 
OttoVonBismarck said:
drop a pic of the follower... Some of the more astute in here can probably identify a military follower from a commercial example
Click to expand...

Cool. I will. Thanks. JRA may have force-matched something on it. Guess I never looked real close at it.
But I suppose I’d better start looking for a real one to order as a replacement.
 
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Here is the follower. Keep in mind some marks could have been added by the refurbisher.
For example “94” is the last two digits of the rifle serial number.
 

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moconfed said:
Looks renumbered to me.
Click to expand...

Well yes it almost certainly is. I was throwing it out there in case someone could ID it out of “historical interest” as to where it really belongs.

EDIT: Unless it is a real live K98k follower (from another gun and restamped) and someone filed it. Is a odd number stamping.
 
Good luck with that.
Other than that follower, is the byf44 in matching condition? What letter block is it?
 
DukeIronHand said:
Well yes it almost certainly is. I was throwing it out there in case someone could ID it out of “historical interest” as to where it really belongs.

EDIT: Unless it is a real live K98k follower (from another gun and restamped) and someone filed it. Is a odd number stamping.
Click to expand...

moconfed said:
Good luck with that.
Other than that follower, is the byf44 in matching condition? What letter block is it?
Click to expand...

This is off a refurb BNZ 43.
My BYF 44 is gold.
 
You say the bnz is a refurb from JRA? Enlighten me as to what JRA is. Is the rifle otherwise refinished/renumbered, or?
 
moconfed said:
You say the bnz is a refurb from JRA? Enlighten me as to what JRA is. Is the rifle otherwise refinished/renumbered, or?
Click to expand...

Yes. Cleaned up K98 with force matched parts if needed.
JRA = James River Armory.
Beautiful gun just not “legit.”

This whole thing started as the mag follower was not holding the bolt open as it should so naturally it’s authenticity and origin is in question.
 
I have one of those as well!!!!! its not at all original but one of my favorite k98's!

Essentially they are russian captures that are have the receivers put on a cnc machine to remove the x. A new american barrel is installed and the gun is very nicely force matched. I will post pictures of mine later. They are wonderfully done. Little to no historical value but very attractive and fun to shoot.

I have a bnz 41 JRA. I think i paid $1000 flat before they ran out of RC's to build them on.
 
There was a time when people filed or ground a bevel on the square shoulder of their follower as soon as they got their rifle home. Mausers were a dime a dozen, there was little collector interest, and guys didn't want to be bothered with having to depress the follower in order to close the bolt. Books written on "Sporterizing the 98 Mauser" featured a litany of hack-job modifications, each were supposed to be within the ability of any home goonsmith. The less adroit usually went for the follower bevel first and, if successful, they were subsequently emboldened to tackle even greater feats of debauchery.
 
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OttoVonBismarck said:
I have one of those as well!!!!! its not at all original but one of my favorite k98's!

Essentially they are russian captures that are have the receivers put on a cnc machine to remove the x. A new american barrel is installed and the gun is very nicely force matched. I will post pictures of mine later. They are wonderfully done. Little to no historical value but very attractive and fun to shoot.

I have a bnz 41 JRA. I think i paid $1000 flat before they ran out of RC's to build them on.
Click to expand...

It truly is a beautiful gun and very well done.
For the old hands here I get it’s not kosher but who was I to pass up a “K98” that looked like it just rolled out of the factory.
I tried to Google information on JRA Mausers one time but came up with almost nothing. I was not aware of a new barrel but that was probably done with poor bored specimens. I think my barrel is the original - and gives every sign of it - but I’ll dig a little deeper. Thanks for the info.
 
R.W. Parker said:
There was a time when people filed or ground a bevel on the square shoulder of their follower as soon as they got their rifle home. Mausers were a dime a dozen, there was little collector interest, and guys didn't want to be bothered with having to depress the follower in order to close the bolt. Books written on "Sporterizing the 98 Mauser" featured a litany of hack-job modifications, each were supposed to be within the ability any home goonsmith. The less adroit usually went for the follower bevel first and, if successful, were subsequently emboldened to tackle even greater feats of debauchery.
Click to expand...



I’ve been “milled follower” shopping already and the pics I posted must be a common “aftermarket”replacement or the bubba filing work was finely done as it looks like most being currently sold. Course a part can say “K98” and even work even if not original equipment.

Gonna try and wade through a score of blind clicks in the Picture Thread and see if I can get a pic of a real BNZ 43 follower for reference.
 
DukeIronHand said:
JRA = James River Armory.
Click to expand...

Isn't James River the outfit that sells those Bula M-14 clones? A client who shoots NRA high power brought one of those by for me to look at, and I was truly impressed. Mil-spec all the way, drop-forged 8620, really beautiful rifle.

Hat's off to James River Armory!

Richie
 
R.W. Parker said:
Isn't James River the outfit that sells those Bula M-14 clones? A client who shoots NRA high power brought one of those by for me to look at, and I was truly impressed. Mil-spec all the way, drop-forged 8620, really beautiful rifle.

Hat's off to James River Armory!

Richie
Click to expand...

Yes. When the supply of WW2 surplus rifles dried up they switched to a lot of “modern” Eastern European, Russian, and I think actually started their own line with the M14’s?
I bought my JRA K98, almost sight unseen, because of my experience with a JRA refurb Remington 1903A3 that I traded for. All nicely done and top shelf so far. As an aside the 03 is crazy accurate.
 
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