Third Party Press

byf 43 black paint

SAM S.C.S.

SAM S.C.S.

Active member
I've read where black paint means Russian capture, but all numbers are matching and I see no other signs of Russian capture other than the black paint. How does this happen? It belonged to a friends uncle that served in WWII. The stock has his uncles initials in it and he's not Russian. Did the Germans ever use the black paint?
k98a.jpg
 
The original finish was not black paint. From the picture, no black paint is visible.
If all original numbers match, it's got value, although the initials carved into it hurt.
Better pictures required.

Duh. Damned eyesight. It has been painted black at some point.
 
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I can see the paint. The veteran who brought it back painted the metal maybe to preserve it. That's my guess.


John.
 
byf 43 30609 e

On the stock, under the butt plate is the numbers 3 26 43. The butt plate is marked on the inside with the number 147. Does that mean the butt plate was made by J.P. Sauer & Son Suhl? Also, is there any other known butt plates with this marking?
 
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Could have came loose at some point or removed when the stock was refinished. They then accidentally put it in backwards. Not a huge deal. The stamp in the wood under the butt is the date the stock was made. I dont believe the ink stamped 147 has anything to do with jp sauer. By 1943 jp sauer was coded CE.

John.
 
3 26 43 stock date stamp

bnz41john said:
The stamp in the wood under the butt is the date the stock was made.

John.
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My understanding of the number code under the butt plate is the 3 would be the day, 26 the week, and 43 the year. If my calculations are correct that would put the stock being made about mid July 1943. Would that be about right?

William
 
bnz41john said:
Could have came loose at some point or removed when the stock was refinished. They then accidentally put it in backwards. Not a huge deal. The stamp in the wood under the butt is the date the stock was made. I dont believe the ink stamped 147 has anything to do with jp sauer. By 1943 jp sauer was coded CE.

John.
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Been doing a little more research and understand now that the butt plate was made by a subcontractor by the name of H.W.Schmidt, and the stamp inside is a Waffenampt inspection stamp, but I'd still like to know more about the number 147 on the stamp, like was it assigned to a particular factory.

According to wikipedia, WaA147 is the code assigned to the manufacturer Grossfuss AG in Dobeln. H.W.Schmidt must have subbed from Grossfuss AG and approved with their stamp.
 
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Miracles never cease... wikipeedia actually managed to get something right.

Yes the 147 is a waffenamt, and it is for Döbeln; but WaA147 is an inspector, not a firm, and most things made by Grossfuss (bpr) & H.W. Schmidt, Metallwarenfabrik (brg) were inspected by WaA497, or actually under his authority. WaA147 is a rarely seen inspector for Döbeln, mostly found on Grossfuss MG components, and even then rarely. WaA147 is known outside of Döbeln also, like nearby Freiberg, but as in this case sometimes on brg buttplates. BUT, this has no relationship between Grossfuss and Schmidt, they were independent firms and both metal workers (stamping).

Oh, and waffenamts represent the military, not factories, they cover areas, or sometimes very large and busy firms.
 
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SAM S.C.S. said:
Thanks for pointing that out. Is that a bad thing or is it normal to see one backward now and then?
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The recoil lug nut was generally on the right. You can see where this one was damaged because whoever removed it didn't have the proper spanner tool. I'll guess that this was done when the rifle was disassembled for painting.

Looks like a very nice gun! The paint should not be hard to remove.
 
backward recoil lug

tsmgguy said:
The recoil lug nut was generally on the right. You can see where this one was damaged because whoever removed it didn't have the proper spanner tool. I'll guess that this was done when the rifle was disassembled for painting.

Looks like a very nice gun! The paint should not be hard to remove.
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I did notice the lug had a very small amount of side to side play like the nut wasn't snug. I had no problem turning it around and snugging it up to remove the play. It fits and looks a lot better now, the paint chips off kind of easy with my finger nail and I may go ahead and remove it, thanks for the help.
 
Inspector WaA147

Loewe said:
Miracles never cease... wikipeedia actually managed to get something right.

Yes the 147 is a waffenamt, and it is for Döbeln; but WaA147 is an inspector, not a firm, and most things made by Grossfuss (bpr) & H.W. Schmidt, Metallwarenfabrik (brg) were inspected by WaA497, or actually under his authority. WaA147 is a rarely seen inspector for Döbeln, mostly found on Grossfuss MG components, and even then rarely. WaA147 is known outside of Döbeln also, like nearby Freiberg, but as in this case sometimes on brg buttplates. BUT, this has no relationship between Grossfuss and Schmidt, they were independent firms and both metal workers (stamping).

Oh, and waffenamts represent the military, not factories, they cover areas, or sometimes very large and busy firms.
Click to expand...

Very interesting! Thanks for the added info, this really clears things up for me.
 
jbmauser said:
Just some more examples of ink stamped buttplates if you're interested. I find these pretty neat myself.

http://www.k98kforum.com/showthread.php?5865-Buttplate-ink-stamp
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Yes, they are very neat, wouldn't it be neat if we knew more about stock makers? My stock has numbers and letters on the wood under the buttplate and in the sling cutout hole that I understand is the date and possibly inspection marks, but I'd like to know where the stocks were made. The letters in the sling cutout are RR if that helps. I've looked but can't find anything about it anywhere.
 
To me, the butt plate paint is the most German thing on the k98. They were seriously concerned enough about the lifespan of a bolt action rifle that they painted the plates. I guess the water/rust would damage the stock.... In a century or two...
 
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