Advice required please on my bnz 1944 k98

[Ade]

Hello
I live in the UK and have recently acquired a bnz 1944 k98. I have a bnz 1943 barn find at my property in Normandy and wanted one in the UK. I have tried researching my 1944 k98 on the internet and have found that it was manufactured by the Steyr Daimler Puch factory in Austria. I understand that these rifles were made by forced labour. The k98 doesn't appear to be a soviet capture as the bolt does not bear the electro marked serial numbers although the frame and bolt numbers do not match. The receiver plate also appears to by made by byf. I am pretty sure that my k98 has been refurbished at some point and due to the mismatched serial numbers. Also the trigger guard appears a little unusual. The metalwork on top of the receiver also appears to have been messed around with as the finish shows faint file marks. Any information of my k98 would be greatly appreciated. I am hoping to fire some rounds down the range this week. I have reloaded some test rounds with cast lead heads as I will only be shooting at 50 yds and do not wish to exceed the power limit of the range. Thanks in anticipation.

 

[Ade]

Hello
I live in the UK and have recently acquired a bnz 1944 k98. I have a bnz 1943 barn find at my property in Normandy and wanted one in the UK. I have tried researching my 1944 k98 on the internet and have found that it was manufactured by the Steyr Daimler Puch factory in Austria. I understand that these rifles were made by forced labour. The k98 doesn't appear to be a soviet capture as the bolt does not bear the electro marked serial numbers although the frame and bolt numbers do not match. The receiver plate also appears to by made by byf. I am pretty sure that my k98 has been refurbished at some point and due to the mismatched serial numbers. Also the trigger guard appears a little unusual. The metalwork on top of the receiver also appears to have been messed around with as the finish shows faint file marks. Any information of my k98 would be greatly appreciated. I am hoping to fire some rounds down the range this week. I have reloaded some test rounds with cast lead heads as I will only be shooting at 50 yds and do not wish to exceed the power limit of the range. Thanks in anticipation.

 

[Dradzk]

Welcome! You should post your question in the "Mauser Rifles 1933-1945" section to get the most responses to your question. Also, more pictures=more information. Hard to tell much from just one picture of a small section of the rifle.

The file marks you mention looks to be machining marks to me, but I will let the others weigh in.

 

[Ade]

Welcome! You should post your question in the "Mauser Rifles 1933-1945" section to get the most responses to your question. Also, more pictures=more information. Hard to tell much from just one picture of a small section of the rifle.

The file marks you mention looks to be machining marks to me, but I will let the others weigh in.

Thanks for your reply. Reading through the forum I have found the site to most helpful. For some reason I am having great difficulty downloading the pictures. It has allowed me to attach one image but keeps telling me the the other images cannot load due to their size even by doing them individually. Any ideas as I have about 8 further images.

 

[abrakadabra]

Thanks for your reply. Reading through the forum I have found the site to most helpful. For some reason I am having great difficulty downloading the pictures. It has allowed me to attach one image but keeps telling me the the other images cannot load due to their size even by doing them individually. Any ideas as I have about 8 further images.

Welcome to the forum! An alternative way to post images is via an image hosting website like imgur here: https://imgur.com/
Drag/drop your pictures into the webpage and then simply paste the link in your post. Pictures, gifs, videos will be embedded per my example below. Good luck!

https://imgur.com/2Tm8ykE

 

[Ade]

Welcome to the forum! An alternative way to post images is via an image hosting website like imgur here: https://imgur.com/
Drag/drop your pictures into the webpage and then simply paste the link in your post. Pictures, gifs, videos will be embedded per my example below. Good luck!

https://imgur.com/2Tm8ykE

Thanks. I will give that a try tomorrow.

 

[Ade]

Finally managed to upload the photos.

 

[Ade]

Finally managed to upload the photos.

The third photo are British proof marks.

 

[Ade]

The third photo are British proof marks.

I managed to get down to my local range yesterday and fired a handful of my reloads. I used some of my cast heads with 18 gn of 2400. This is my first batch of handloads for the k98 and although they shot well the accuracy was a lot to be desired. They were a trial run and I will make some with varying loads to find which load suits the gun. I have a feeling that the heads may have been a little soft as the rifling was fouling a bit. It's pretty difficult/expensive over here to get linotype, tin and antimony to harden the heads. I didn't gas check them. I will try some different loads and if I can't get the accuracy I will have to purchase some FMJ heads or factory ammo. Early days yet. I am loving the k98 and it caused a lot of interest at the range, Ultimately I want to get a collection of 2nd world war b/a rifles. A British smle and 1903 Springfield or P17 Enfield.

 

[Muncher 1953]

leading the barrel can be a problem, IIRC I’ve just a bit less than 18 gn of 2400. for loaded ammo, are you able to purchase ppu in the UK? here in the states it is more affordable than most other options, brass reloads well.

 

[Ade]

leading the barrel can be a problem, IIRC I’ve just a bit less than 18 gn of 2400. for loaded ammo, are you able to purchase ppu in the UK? here in the states it is more affordable than most other options, brass reloads well.

Thanks for your reply. The problem with the UK and it's strict legislation makes it difficult to post or transort powders and primers. So if the supplier is not local you really have to make do with whatever you can get your hands on. I was told that 14gn of Unique is a good load for cast heads. I have some of this and also have a tub on back order. So if I can't get the consistency with 2400 I will try the Unique. It's all trial and error until I find the right load for the rifle.

 

[Muncher 1953]

Thanks for your reply. The problem with the UK and it's strict legislation makes it difficult to post or transort powders and primers. So if the supplier is not local you really have to make do with whatever you can get your hands on. I was told that 14gn of Unique is a good load for cast heads. I have some of this and also have a tub on back order. So if I can't get the consistency with 2400 I will try the Unique. It's all trial and error until I find the right load for the rifle.

I was going from memory, but I think I found that much over 17.5 gn 2400 caused leading in the Spanish M43 8mm I was developing loads for, cast bullets around 18-22BHN. I’d have to looks for the chrono sheets, but I made a real mess of the barrel, had to buy a special deleading tool from Brownell’s. Pandemic shipping disruptions have made reloading dicey, my favorite shotshell powder is made in Oz, so hard & $$ to find. Add to that new regulations for shipping powders & primers that have caused shipping companies to impose elaborate contract requirements upon the manufacturers and distributors to ship their products via them, and the passing on of those costs, it’s a mess here too!

 

[Ade]

I was going from memory, but I think I found that much over 17.5 gn 2400 caused leading in the Spanish M43 8mm I was developing loads for, cast bullets around 18-22BHN. I’d have to looks for the chrono sheets, but I made a real mess of the barrel, had to buy a special deleading tool from Brownell’s. Pandemic shipping disruptions have made reloading dicey, my favorite shotshell powder is made in Oz, so hard & $$ to find. Add to that new regulations for shipping powders & primers that have caused shipping companies to impose elaborate contract requirements upon the manufacturers and distributors to ship their products via them, and the passing on of those costs, it’s a mess here too!

Thank you for your reply. I have to reload a selection of powder weights for the k98. I will start at 17 gn and work up by .5gn increments until I find a load that has the best grouping. I feel that my heads may be the problem. I have some doubt that I have the necessary hardness. Most probably have to purchase some for fmj heads to do a comparison.

 

[Muncher 1953]

Thank you for your reply. I have to reload a selection of powder weights for the k98. I will start at 17 gn and work up by .5gn increments until I find a load that has the best grouping. I feel that my heads may be the problem. I have some doubt that I have the necessary hardness. Most probably have to purchase some for fmj heads to do a comparison.

I agree with your conclusion, also meant to suggest that by using even less powder, one may lower velocity to a point where soft heads don’t smear in the barrel. Downside is shorter range & more arc to the bullet’s travel, but if one is primarily target shooting at less than 100 yards not really a problem, once you understand the dynamics.

 

[learjet]

my goto load for 8mm and the Lee cast bullet is 16g of 2400. ive never had leading issues casting with scrap or wheel weights. however if you have pure lead or close to it i doubt even your unique load will work well. In fact 14g of Unique sounds high to me. I haven’t had much luck w Unique in rifles.

You say its tough to get linotype and tin etc…search for old plumbing solder, i still find bars now and then at flea markets and antique stores in the USA. Another option that ive never tried is to use pewter. I know a guy who buys cheap pewter plates and housewares at antique shops and melts it down and mixes with lead. I have no idea what results he obtains however. Id recomend gettin a Lee lead hardness tester so you know what your working with.

You can also try water dropping to harden the bullets. I have had good results with higher power cast loads using this process.

hth

Lear

 

[Ade]

Thank you for both of your replies. My local range only has a maximum of 50 yards so distance is not an issue. My main aim (excuse the punn) at the moment is to acquire an accurate handload. I made an error with the Unique load it should be 12gn. I don't know where I got 14 from. My first batch of casting the heads I used a block of linotype and the second batch was scrap lead with 10% tinmans solder (plumbers bar). Again over here tinmans solder has been modified to include less tin. I have also heard about pewter as it contains a percentage of tin. I am pretty lucky where I live in the UK as my town is awash with antique shops and I have spoken to some dealers who will be holding their scrap pewter for me. So I have that covered. I also have a club member frequently attends auctions across the county and he will pick up some printers linotype for me when he sees it. Old wheel weights are virtually non existent over here. They changed the mixture about 30 years ago and now they are made of a zinc alloy. The last thing is that I do drop the heads in water after casting. So I think I have most things covered. I haven't had much info about my k98. Perhaps I am posting on the wrong part of this site. I would love to hear the more experienced members thoughts. As stated in the initial post I do have a 1943 bnz at my place in Normandy. I purchased a rural property 15 years ago and found a Mauser bayonet. Thinking where'e there's a bayonet there must be a rifle. I searched the property for many years without success and one day whilst up in the roof space of the second building I found the rifle hidden under some old planks of wood. The metal work had surface rust but on the whole in good condition. The laminate stock where glued a perished slightly but on the whole the rifle was in good condition. I also have found over the years mg 42 belt ammunition and have actually fired the k98 albeit remotely using a bench vice and long length of wire. The rifle was either abandoned when that area was liberated by you guys or taken from a German infantry soldier. My property is about 5 miles from Mortain and there was a major battle there between the American and German army when the Germans tried to cut of Pattons forces at Avranches. Anyway so much for the history lesson. Keep the comments coming. I enjoy reading your thoughts and replying.

 

[Ade]

Hello Admin. Would it be possible to move this posting to the relevant section. I have been told that the help section is not the appropriate section of this forum.Thank you.