WMO 1916 Factory Matching

chrisftk

chrisftk

Moderator²
Staff member
Hi All,

I bought this one back in September (very cheap BIN on broker) and had a chance to get it fully cleaned. It was positively filthy and covered with crud, grime and thick dust/surface rust in places.

In giving it a photo treatment, i noticed it was factory matching right down to the cleaning rod. Not a rare maker/date, but certainly not easy to find this intact.

The machining marks are pretty pronounced by this stage.

Here's the data:

Receiver 9856m
Barrel 9856m (BS 525)
Front Sight 56
Rear Sight Leaf: 56
Sight Slider 56
Ejector Box 56
Trigger Sear 56
Front Barrel Band 56
Rear Barrel Band 56
Trigger Guard 9856
Trigger Guard Screws 56, 56
Floor Plate 56
Follower 56
Stock 9856
Handguard 9856
Buttplate 9856
Bayonet Lug 56
Cleaning Rod 56
Bolt body: 9856m
Safety: 56
Cocking Piece: 56
Bolt shroud: 56
Firing Pin: 56
Extractor 56

IMG_20220118_231520148.jpgIMG_20220118_231631139.jpgIMG_20220118_231649110.jpgIMG_20220118_231700611.jpgIMG_20220118_231705159.jpgIMG_20220118_231711143.jpgIMG_20220118_231722827.jpgIMG_20220118_231735103.jpgIMG_20220118_231754782.jpgIMG_20220118_231759018.jpgIMG_20220118_231802782.jpgIMG_20220118_231813824.jpgIMG_20220118_231821106.jpg
 
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Excellent pickup & still walnut! I've got it's exact twin in the "n" block, same appearance & original matching.
 
joryfreeburg said:
Nice rifle Chris. Awesome that it’s ALL matching
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Thanks Jory!
hale1940 said:
Very cool rifle Chris. I really like the quickly finished look of the receiver.
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Thanks Hale- you really start to see some shortcuts on the machining as the war went on. They never got bnz45 desperate, but definitely a step down from pre-war quality.
feldmütze said:
Excellent pickup & still walnut! I've got it's exact twin in the "n" block, same appearance & original matching.
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Thanks Mike!
37th Div Ohio said:
Very nice! Great score Chris!
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Thanks Matt! Gotta love the Gunbroker BINs.
Warrior1354 said:
That's a nice one Chris thank you for sharing.
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Thanks Jordan, looking forward to seeing your new one!
PrayingMantis said:
Excellent snag, Chris! Added to the reference thread.
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Cool, thanks Cyrus!
 
Wish I had trends handy, but quite a WMO, as we all know there are no easy ones this nice and original!

Maybe when I trend it I will find something unusual!
 
Loewe said:
Wish I had trends handy, but quite a WMO, as we all know there are no easy ones this nice and original!

Maybe when I trend it I will find something unusual!
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Thanks Paul, I definitely agree. It seems like 95% of Gew98s in general have had *some* measure of reworking, even if it's just a band, sight leaf, screw, trigger upgrade, etc. The minor m/m that drive a k98k collector nuts are pretty commonplace on WW1 stuff . I think if someone tried to collect high condition, factory matching Gew98s, they would have a very long and frustrating road ahead of them. I have a few that fit that bill, but they are the exception, rather than the rule! (Mostly late 17 or 18 dated guns)

I'd be very interest to see anything on the trends, but know you are probably as busy as me, so no rush!
Telperion said:
Congrats! Glad you helped it to survive!

T
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Thanks T--
I'm never aggressive when cleaning. My rule of thumb is, if it doesn't come off with brass or copper, do not proceed. Too many nice examples have been FUBAR'ed by well-intentioned "cleaning".
 
The rifle matched every other in the range, - same block and those around it, the BC a natural progression for those surrounding it (to the degree such was available)

What I (so far) consider the Turk range starts with the k-block of 1916 (no L-blocks are confirmed), though no m-blocks are known with Turk signs (this is obviously not Turk in anyway, just a contextual comment); though Turks show up in small groups beginning in this range and increasingly so later in 1916. Naturally "Turk" G98's pre-date 1916, WMO and others also, but these might be rifles that found their way through irregular means, possibly German leave-behinds or transfers late in the war.. as we know Turk troops fought under German direction late in the war (including Rumania) and when the war ended many German rifles probably found their way into Turk hands and the postwar conflicts caused by Versailles and Entente incompetence (some of the worse violence in the 20th Century occurred in central and eastern Europe after the war, including incredible brutal fighting-rapine, rape & pillage in Turkey itself - Greece and other foreign occupations of Turk regions that were no part of the armistice agreement)

I agree with your thoughts on the rarity of rifles in this condition, especially from 1915 & 1916, trends says it all, sheets outlining acceptance (metal) & stocks show the disparity of rifles with original stocks or bolts are sharply diminished in overall observations (rifles serial recorded); this is especially notable by comparisons to 98k variation trends, never mind comparisons to byf, dot, dou, bcd & ce, but even scarcer makers like BLM, Mauser-Berlin, ERMA such WMO trends are pretty sparse by comparison with even the more common G98 makers, especially in upper grades!

I also agree with your concept on cleaning, the less done in best, even brass and copper methods have their risks, though in some cases it is just a risk that is unavoidable, - and of course, experience mitigates the worse risks...
 
Loewe said:
The rifle matched every other in the range, - same block and those around it, the BC a natural progression for those surrounding it (to the degree such was available)

What I (so far) consider the Turk range starts with the k-block of 1916 (no L-blocks are confirmed), though no m-blocks are known with Turk signs (this is obviously not Turk in anyway, just a contextual comment); though Turks show up in small groups beginning in this range and increasingly so later in 1916. Naturally "Turk" G98's pre-date 1916, WMO and others also, but these might be rifles that found their way through irregular means, possibly German leave-behinds or transfers late in the war.. as we know Turk troops fought under German direction late in the war (including Rumania) and when the war ended many German rifles probably found their way into Turk hands and the postwar conflicts caused by Versailles and Entente incompetence (some of the worse violence in the 20th Century occurred in central and eastern Europe after the war, including incredible brutal fighting-rapine, rape & pillage in Turkey itself - Greece and other foreign occupations of Turk regions that were no part of the armistice agreement)

I agree with your thoughts on the rarity of rifles in this condition, especially from 1915 & 1916, trends says it all, sheets outlining acceptance (metal) & stocks show the disparity of rifles with original stocks or bolts are sharply diminished in overall observations (rifles serial recorded); this is especially notable by comparisons to 98k variation trends, never mind comparisons to byf, dot, dou, bcd & ce, but even scarcer makers like BLM, Mauser-Berlin, ERMA such WMO trends are pretty sparse by comparison with even the more common G98 makers, especially in upper grades!

I also agree with your concept on cleaning, the less done in best, even brass and copper methods have their risks, though in some cases it is just a risk that is unavoidable, - and of course, experience mitigates the worse risks...
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Thanks Paul-- glad this one further confirms the existing trends-- Thank you also for the additional context-- I think a lot of western history focuses on Versailles and the German/ Russian revolutions, but the impact the the Balkans and other areas is largely forgotten. I was reading recently about the proposed post-war plans for Eastern Europe and the Baltic if Germany had ultimately won. Fascinating and little-discussed.

On the cleaning front, I cringe when watching certain YouTube personalities attempting to "restore" a nice Gew98... I wish people would realize that these rifles had a hard life-- i feel as though they apply K98k condition standards, which is simply the wrong way to go about collecting WW1, in my opinion.
 
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