Opinions on a matching BYF k98

redstar

redstar

Active member
Hi all,

As we all know, do your research before buying not after. I have been comparing this rifle to the examples on here. Just took a look at this nice BYF 42. Everything looks nice. All the numbers etc seem to match and the stock looks original. Only got the number of the hand guard. Comes with the unmarked sling. The only detraction is a surface crack in the stock between the bolt take down and butt plate. It doesn't go through and seems to be maybe a few mm deep. Was hoping the experts would give it a once over and point out anything I might have missed? Also what should I offer and what is a reasonable price in today's market. PM me if you prefer. Thanks all.

The rifle.
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Look’s totally legit to me. Serials look great. Without seeing the stock channel for serial, can’t say 100% all matching. I would be 90% confident/take the chance that its the original stock due to the handguard matching and just the general fit and appearance. The crack would not concern me honestly. I have my suspicions that the cupped buttplate has been polished pretty good. It’s fairly shiney and the stampings/codes are faint…

Other than that, nice Byf 42’s are not that easy to find. I would buy it, if I had the opportunity and the price was right.

Bore condition?

Price… tough to say. All-matching rifles with little to no issues seem to range from $2000-$3000. The market has slowed a bit though lately.

Also, the bolt stop screw is a little “buggered” undoubtedly due to improper tools. 😔
 

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Looks like a nice honest byf42. There isn’t as much to look for on these, as 1942 was the year the Heereswaffenamt went nuclear on deleting inspections stamps (they brought some back in 1943).

As stated above, a byf42 is a surprisingly tough rifle to find. I see ten nice byf43’s for every byf42 I come across. Lower production number, but more importantly much lower survival rate.

Anyways, I’d say somewhere between $2k-$2500 would be an honest offer. You’d be walking away with an ok deal without ripping the seller off. Retail would probably be closer to $3k.
 
It looks like a nice example of a byf 42, even if the buttplate got cleaned. The last thing to check would be the stock serial number on the interior barrel channel. Also, just my experience, but I would disassemble the bolt too as I've had a rifle that was matching minus the firing pin and didn't find out until I disassembled it and found how poor fitting it was. I would say if you could walk away with it for $2500 or less, you did good as most 1942 dated rifles didn't survive the war so finding a nice matching one is uncommon.
 
I wouldn't let that crack in the stock stop me from buying the rifle. You're not going to shoot the rifle so there's no risk in having it get worse.
 
Gentlemen, thank you for all the help and comments. I drove the 120 mile round trip and bought the rifle. I wanted to say there are still deals out there. The guy had gotten the rifle as part of trade for a truck. He wanted to convert it to cash. And as we all know having the cash in your hand makes a big difference. He named the price and I paid it without question. I got a very good deal and I have the rifle sitting here next to me as I type.😁 Again thank you all. Now to find a nice spot on my wall for it next to my dou44, 1937 s/42 and bcd4.
 
From what can be told from the pictures , it looks good. The last really nice one I saw for sale with sling was $2500 and that was a fair price.

But that comes down too the buyer if your wanting a rifle too collect or shoot..
 
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