BNZ 43 SSZZA4 7038 Depot Build

This rifle came out of an auction in Pennsylvania. I know a lot of members here knew about this rifle, so here are the photos. The rifle came to me as many of us collectors here call a good closet rifle…. The rifle had a alot of dust and a certain amount of surface rust on it. Rust particularly on the floor plate and the both bands. I did the best I could with ballistol and a toothbrush and clean cotton rags to preserve things. You can still see remnants on the floor plate, both bands and the electoral penciled/acid etched numbers as well as other blued metal area, but I am not going to go any further. Overall the blueing is very nice and the stock is a really awesome untouched piece of wood. The receiver is an Astrawerke produced part. The bands, trigger guard, and follower are stamped numbered. The rest of the parts are electro penciled/acid etched. On the floor plate the 3 or the 38 is a little tough to make out. Also on the cocking piece, that numbering is tough to make out. I will provide extra pics of those. The trigger guard has a decent dent to it. Also of note the front sight piece has two starlike marks that would make it a rejected piece? Also it seems to me that here was never a sight hood installed on this rifle? I will provide photos…

More of the rifle….

Some of the fantastic wood….

Lastly of the overall condition of the rifle….

That’s a great rifle Jory! Congratulations . So this one has no mark above the keel skull. I know some others have markings above. Is there a consensus what they signify?

biggymu said:

That’s a great rifle Jory! Congratulations . So this one has no mark above the keel skull. I know some others have markings above. Is there a consensus what they signify?

Click to expand...

I am not sure and only have knowledge from the paragraph in volume 2b about those markings, which states that the higher serial number guns have the K over the totenkopf….. In book 2b, one example is numbered 6244 totenkopf with no k over. Next is example serial number 6877 with the K over the totenkopf….. Hopefully Mike will chime in, but I am pretty sure these were produced in serial blocks 1-9999…. My example and 6244 were possibly from one block of 10,000 and example 6877 was produced in the next block possibly?

A true screamer

A++ Jory! Glad a friend got it!

Awesome rifle Jory! So glad you got it and spared me from having to throw in a bid for it lol. I take it these SS depot rifles do not come up, or in this kind of condition, very often if at all. Not to mention the deadly minefield that is "SS" stuff. Diamond in the rough for sure!!!

Congrats on an awesome rifle Jory! I really like how crisp the stock markings are, this one is probably a good competitor for a centerpiece in your collection!

Such a cool and historically interesting rifle with super excellent condition to go along with it as well! Congrats Jory

AN-94 said:

Congrats on an awesome rifle Jory! I really like how crisp the stock markings are, this one is probably a good competitor for a centerpiece in your collection!

Click to expand...

His last 2 pick ups he got this year imo are both center pieces of a collection unless he grabs a SSZZA2 sniper I coulda gotten one if I wasn't 23 or 24K short at that time.

Certainly a difficult rifle to obtain. Congratulations on a rare bird. The wood on this rifle is exceptional in my opinion.

very nice.. Shame about the rust but the stock offsets that IMHO.. So many of these get the stocks ruined and the rust wont get any worse. Looks to possibly never had a site hood either ???

The lower skull placement is curious but possibly they weren't keeping track ?

I’d say we’ve confirmed that the stocks skull marking is the equivalent of an army depot mark, so an SS depot marking. If I’m correct that these were assembled at Kurmark (it’s the only SS depot of 4 mentioned in original German documents that begins with K) them that makes the most sense. The Kurmark depot wasn’t officially listed until 1945, so perhaps the later serial guns were given the K once the depot was officially established? It’s speculation until further documentation shows up but I bet Kurmark would have eventually become the largest SS training center.

Congrats on another stellar rifle. That wood condition is fantastic. Thanks for the great photo spread!

I also saw depot build S/N 6380 sold, but didn't see a price on that one. Care to share what it sold for? If not, I understand.

One more item of note that I neglected to get in the description…. I did call the auction house in an effort to get a little more information on the rifle. The lady would not give me any names, only that the rifle came out of an older gentleman’s collection from the New Holland PA area that’s local to the auction house. She also stated that he had several firearms on that auction bill….

Since the serial numbers are all fairly close together and the condition on the known examples are fairly similar I wonder if these were all captured together.

heavy_mech said:

Congrats on another stellar rifle. That wood condition is fantastic. Thanks for the great photo spread!

I also saw depot build S/N 6380 sold, but didn't see a price on that one. Care to share what it sold for? If not, I understand.

Click to expand...

Where did 6380 sell?

Excellent example Jory!

Incredible rifle Jory. Really top tier.

I can’t tell from the pics, was the inside of the handguard numbered?