Who knows if this is an original k98 mauser?

Hello,

I have this mauser. How knows if it is original? It has the following stamps;

42
1940
waffen ss
9569
MOD. 98 -



(It is the one on the bottom)







Thank's!!

 

it certainly looks good,its the k98 rifle,but dont like the slings buckle at all.better pics of gun stampings/markings please,ray..

 

sling keeper should be like this.... German K98 Sling

 

k98 codes and marks.. Help with K98 markings for "historic binder"....

 

taken from milsurps web page..

Badger")

3. CAUTION: How do I tell if I have a rebuilt RC (Russian Capture) and not an original unaltered K98k?

Russian Capture K98k's all share similar traits. The are all WW2 era German Karabiners (though some are former Gew98's the Nazis had converted to K98k spec - rare though!). Most have matching receiver and barrel.

When the Russians came into these guns they stockpiled them and promptly began doing other more important things like rebuilding their cities, etc. Many RC rifles sat for month or even years exposed to the elements. By the late 1940's, many of these rifles were in an advanced state of deterioration, while some remained like new.

In true Russian style, a colossal public make-work project was undertaken. The ENTIRE inventory of German small arms then in Russian possession (roughly half the total wartime output of Nazi Germany's arms production) was ordered to undergo refurbishment and as many useable arms as possible to be made ready. Why? Russia was paranoid. The Cold War was freezing over and Russia feared invasion from the West. Also, it was a cheap source of arms they could export to allies in North Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, and every other wanna-be commi armpit of the world without depleting their "front line" weapons stockpiles.

The Russians took all their K98k's, and totally disassembled them except for the barrel. Bores were inspected and those found to be acceptable (ie, some pitting OK - so long as it's still safely shootable, much like with their refurbed Mosins) were set aside. Those that were deemed too far gone were recycled into steel for tractor parts or Order of Lennin medals, or whatever.

The small parts were all hot-dip reblued. Rusty parts were wire brushed or sandblasted first. These were placed indiscriminately in bins. The stocks were also inspected for serviceability. Those deemed acceptable were retained, those unacceptable were burned.

When the rifles were re-assembled no effort was made to match parts. A new (used) bolt was assembled and fitted to the receiver and the whole affair was assembled into a rifle from the binned parts. When done, most parts were electropencilled with the rifle's serial number and a flat was sanded on the left side of the wood stock (think big belt sander and half-drunk worker). The rifle's serial number was stamped there running parallel to the rifle's bore line. (Yugos are stamped perpendicular, for comparison)

Once complete, the whole rifle was generally painted in cheap shellac as a preservative agent - these are often not cosmolened for some reason - crated up and sent to war reserve, especially in the frontier states like Ukraine (which stored them in underground "nuclear proof" depleted salt mines). Today, cash strapped former Soviet states are all too happy to sell these to us.

It's difficult to say what percentage of captured arms survived the rebuild programs, but I'd imagine maybe half (or less) would be a good guess. Many of these arms sat out in the open for LONG periods of time before being rebuilt, so attrition due to the elements was probably a factor.

It's also wrong to assume that RC's are, in fact, "captures". At any given moment, less than 2 million Nazi troops would have served on the Russian front. Not all would have had K98K's. Over 14 Million K98k's were built and most experts agree that somewhere around 7 million likely ended up in Russian hands after the war. Throughout the whole war, it's doubtful a full 7 million K98k's traveled to east Prussia and beyond.

When Nazi Germany surrendered to the Allies, the Whermacht assembled at depots all over Europe and turned in their arms. Additionally, government arms stockpiles and factories were captured and divied up by the victorious armies. At hostilities cessation, every Mauser weapon in the future East Germany (and all points east) would have become what we think of as an "RC K98k". Public ownership of guns in the USSR was banned as well. So whether a rifle was taken from a dead private in 1944 Minsk or if the NKVD knocked on a door in Berlin in 1947 and confiscated the arm from a retired volkspolitzei prison guard, it still ended up in the stocks of RC mausers. In fact, it's safe to say the MAJORITY of such guns are likely NOT battlefield captures. ...... (Feedback by "Claven2")

 

Okay, The sling might be added later.
The gun itself does that look what it should look like.

Hein

 

sling looks good from pic,but no keeper,the gun looks o.k.too just curious to know markings? as that should help to know maker...ray..

 

It has a nice laminated stock with the original red glue. But I'd be a little suspicious of any 'Waffen SS' marking......

 

I think he is referring to nazi inspector stamps martin,rather than ss markings...ray..

 

Oh - Waffenamt markings, sorry.....yes, a few close-ups of the markings would be good.....

 

waffen amp and pics of the top with maker and year would be good too. any import stamp?

 

check receiver, trigger guard, bolt and handle for any type of markings. SS should read as such or not at all, check under the safety for futher marks as well as stripping down the bolt and spring.

belt and buckle are all wrong, post war probably. can we see the rest of the rifle please ?

 

better pics of markings along breach...if poss.any waffenamt markings on stock?

 

as martin said,nice laminated stock.early stocks were made from quality walnut,and the in later war replaced with beechwood and plywood...

 

another good site for slings.. German rifle slings

 

This one seems to be a transitional stock ; there is no steel 'cupped' buttplate which was introduced when the laminated stocks were found to be liable to splitting.

 

that would date it around late 1940 to early 1941.when the cupped plate came in martin..

 

Hai, Thank's for all the reactions!

We have more information. The rifle was not at our place yet, and the former owner said he thought there where ss marks, Now that we have it we see that there are no ss marks but plenty of other ones.
Here a few pictures. The sling seems to be allright, only there has been added some buckle at some time because the original frog is missing.
The sling has a mark stamped in it (not very clear). see below.

There's a whole lot more. But I'll this will do.






















Thanxx!!!

 

inspection stamp WaA 655 is mauser werke a.g.oberndorf,1940, it appears as seen? to be all matching according to stamps,and the one on stock is nazi inspection stamp,underneath it is,WaA 655 stamp very feint.but very nice piece,you should try and get an original keeper,as the sling looks goodaprt from buckle,its got no markings on it I take it?ray.

 

the marking P/V with the crown is a bit odd

your rifle here : Mauser, Obendorf- "42" 1940