byf 44 K98k - legit all-matching Mauser or not?

R

Rolf

Member
Being no expert in the field of Mauser rifles, I am getting more and more cautious about purportedly all-matching K98k rifles and would like to have your opinion on this one: do you think it is a legit byf 44 K98k and, if I do buy it, what do you think would be a fair price for it?

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I am sorry for the quality of the pictures - I am sure the rifle would have looked much better in broad daylight. Could it be a g block rifle?

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It looks like the rust on the barrel was scraped off.

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The rifle is apparently all-matching.
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I can't tell from the photo I had taken and I don't remember (the rifle is not mine yet). Its owner had taken it apart before me and all the parts seemed to match. He didn't take the bolt apart, though, so I can't tell about the firing pin.
To me, the receiver and the barrel look like they were heavily refinished.
 
Looks legit to me... an easy check for the stock is the hand guard serials in the barrel channel.

The receiver appears worn, not refinished. The wood has a bit of shine, not a total closet queen, IMO.

If legit, it comes down to price. What is the asking price?
 
The seller is still undecided - I think he wants maybe $500 or $700. At least this is what he says the gun is worth, as all-matching K98k's are becoming scarcer and scarcer. Initially he didn't want to sell it, because he still shoots it from time to time.
 
The hand guard and barrel channel serial numbers did match and I remember seeing a number or letter stamped in green ink too.
 
I seem to remember the rear sight leaf was serialized, but I can't tell you for sure - I would have to take a second peek at the rifle and the seller doesn't seem to be in a hurry to part with it.

The rifle comes with its original sling but is missing the front sight hood and the cleaning rod.
 
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I am struck by the crude finish of the receiver and barrel, but still, my impression is that steel wool or something of the like was used to polish the barrel.

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tool marks: perhaps the last receiver before changing cutting tool/grinding wheel? there has to be one, & the next one off the machine was probably pretty as pie!

Haven’t we seen this posted before, recently? Isn’t it the one the poster called those 3 scratched lines across the butt ‘kill notches’, & a story about it being left against a tree, US troops approaching???
IMWTK…….
 
Muncher 1953 said:
tool marks: perhaps the last receiver before changing cutting tool/grinding wheel? there has to be one, & the next one off the machine was probably pretty as pie!

Haven’t we seen this posted before, recently? Isn’t it the one the poster called those 3 scratched lines across the butt ‘kill notches’, & a story about it being left against a tree, US troops approaching???
IMWTK…….
Click to expand...
Absolutely, but I didn't get any hint as to the originality of the byf 44 rifle other than 'that stock looks questionable as well'. Both rifles were supposedly appropriated at the end of 1944. The fact that I told the owner of the CE 44 rifle that the stock couldn't have been original to the rifle helped him change his mind about the byf 44 one, as he wouldn't sell it in the first place. I have no idea whether I will eventually be able to buy the Mauser made rifle but, if I do, I intend to post a full photographic review of it on here.
 
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