1916 Spandau, depot repaired?

[chgruener]

Hello all!

I have posted here once before regarding my 1909 Spandau that was put together at depot 22. Thanks to another member, I was given a lead on this 1916 Spandau which appears to have undergone extensive repairs. I’m not very familiar with Gew98s so please feel free to chime in with your opinions and any information you may have.

From the seller’s photos, I knew the rifle was extremely dirty, as if it just came out of someone’s attic or crawl space. The entire rifle was caked in dirt, dust, grime, and surface rust. I got the rifle in hand and it was apparent that the butt stock was suffering from water damage. The wood around the butt plate is brittle and discolored. When removing the butt plate screws the wood inside started to crumble. I will have to glue some dowels inside the holes and drill new screw holes. Other than that, the rest of the rifle cleaned up extremely well.

The bolt body is force matched, the firing mech is mismatched, the safety is mismatched (matching front barrel band), the bolt release is matching, the trigger is mismatched (matching to rear barrel band), the stock and hand guard are matching, the rear sight is mismatched, the magazine and floor plate are matching along with the screws, the rear barrel band is mismatched, the front sight blade is matching.

See attached photos via this Imgur link:

https://imgur.com/a/iTGo7yL

 

[PrayingMantis]

That's a beauty, the auction listing didn't do it justice. Could you get a photo of the bolt serial number and fireproof? According to the 5 on the buttplate, it went through Koln and may have received a new bolt there, the serial number looks like it was stamped over scrubbing marks.

 

[chrisftk]

That's a beaut. Glad you got it man!

 

[chgruener]

That's a beauty, the auction listing didn't do it justice. Could you get a photo of the bolt serial number and fireproof? According to the 5 on the buttplate, it went through Koln and may have received a new bolt there, the serial number looks like it was stamped over scrubbing marks.

See attached photos. You can see the some of the old characters.

 

[PrayingMantis]

It very well could be legit depot renumbered. Most commonly the old numbers are simply lined out, but sometimes they are scrubbed and stamped over. I'm inclined to say this is period done, i think anyone trying to fake it would obliterate the old markings.

 

[chgruener]

It very well could be legit depot renumbered. Most commonly the old numbers are simply lined out, but sometimes they are scrubbed and stamped over. I'm inclined to say this is period done, i think anyone trying to fake it would obliterate the old markings.

I tend to agree with your assessment. And why only the bolt body, and not the other numbers on the bolt? This rifle had not been messed with in a very long time, likely ever since coming over here. I will share a photo of the bolt condition prior to cleaning.

I have a depot built rifle on a 1909 Spandau receiver, the bolt body is also arsenal force matched, but over stamped. The rest of the bolt is either unnumbered or mismatched.

 

[Fal Grunt]

Remember, many, if not most, of the rifles we received in the US made their way through at least one other country's service prior to being imported. Whether parts were replaced prior to making here, or after, is impossible to say. I do agree that rifle had been "sitting" for decades.

I have a Gewehr 98 that I would argue was a possible bring back. Everything is matching except the firing pin assembly (FP/BS/CP/S) which matches itself, and based on the wear/use it was in the rifle for a long time. The owner had a very "aged" collection most of which looked like it was purchased in the 50's and 60's. Did he replace it in the 50's? Was it replaced in Germany?

If sales continue to be decent this year, I intend to "purchase" (ie digitize) the work/service instructions for the 1871, 71/84, 88, and 98. I won't know if these are an arsenal level document or a depot level document (probably arsenal down to depot) until I get them. Always fun to play the "you have to pay for it to find out what it is" game, but unfortunately it is what it is.

 

[chgruener]

There are some other things to note, the “8” in “81” on the bolt body is stamped upside down. Not sure if someone trying to fake numbers would have made that error, along with what @PrayingMantis said about them not entirely scrubbing the old markings.

The other thing is that the firing pin is snipped, something extremely common on WWI bring back rifles. I doubt this went through another country’s service before being brought back.