Hoping for some perspective from the Imperial Collectors!

Y

yellowkid

Senior Member
I'm mainly a late war 98k collector, but I've pretty much wrapped that up and now considering rounding out my small imperial collection. for the k98s, I've had some hard and fast rules for myself: no bolt m/m, no sanded stock, no import marks. but in my limited exposure it seems like holding to these rules might make it hard when it comes to G98s. how do you guys look at it -- looser rules? seems like some mismatch is OK (not talking about depot guns which i find interesting and "original")? would appreciate the wisdom of your experience ;) john p
 
I would generally say there are "looser rules" in my opinion compared to ww2 k98s. But I suppose it's up to the collector, I don't mind a mismatched part or two or multiple if it's been depoted or it's a rare maker/year. As matching gew 98s are harder to find but not impossible I've had a couple in my collecting years so far.
 
My Imperials are at least barreled receiver, stock, trigger guard and bolt body matching…..small numbered parts that don’t match are ok as long as they are few in a given example. A couple minor parts that don’t match do not matter as much on the Imperials IMHO……. I do really like Imperials that are 100% matchers though
 
joryfreeburg said:
My Imperials are at least barreled receiver, stock, trigger guard and bolt body matching…..small numbered parts that don’t match are ok as long as they are few in a given example. A couple minor parts that don’t match do not matter as much on the Imperials IMHO……. I do really like Imperials that are 100% matchers though
Click to expand...
This--

You can find 100% factory matching, but the vast majority of these rifles saw some level of reworking during the war. WW1 was nasty business, particularly on the western front and things had to be serviced and parts replaced. It requires a little bit of an attitude adjustment if you make the conversion or expansion from K98K / TR era collecting.

The rarer the rifle, the more compromises that you can make. I have a pretty significant number of factory matching rifles, but they are not the norm and if you only collect them you won't have a very big imperial collection; and it will be mostly wartime rifles.
 
Excellent perspective gentlemen that you! I was feeling some compromise was in order to build the collection esp some of the less common ones I might be looking for, and appreciate the insight in to how you might prioritize. That takes time and experience so thank you for the generosity of your knowledge. Where else but here.
 
joryfreeburg said:
My Imperials are at least barreled receiver, stock, trigger guard and bolt body matching…..small numbered parts that don’t match are ok as long as they are few in a given example. A couple minor parts that don’t match do not matter as much on the Imperials IMHO……. I do really like Imperials that are 100% matchers though
Click to expand...
This is something that took me a while to fully come to terms with, especially with condition and smaller parts matching. Some of the earliest Imperial rifles had service histories longer than the entire existence of the Third Reich and parts do wear out in 15+ years of service and in a massive war of attrition. While factory matching rifles are nice, that requirement will exclude a lot of pre war rifles and be much more difficult to find from what I've seen posted here and for sale.
 
I had "trouble" looking for Gewehr 98s early on in my quest as well. I think it mainly stemmed from not knowing what to look for, and where. Not to mention mindset... The k98k mindset does not adapt well to Imperial collecting I found. With patience, knowledge, and understanding, you will find what you are looking for. Good luck!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top