Earliest cupped buttplate ?

E

EichenlaubElsaß

Member
Hi everyone,
I'm looking for buying a Gustloff Werke rifle from 1940, which has a cupped buttplate and a laminated stock. Is there any chance that the stock matches the action ?
Thanks for your advices
 
You don't really give a lot of information but I'll say no, most likely not factory done. However there are possible ways this could legitimately come to be but more information/photos would tell the tale.
 
To date the earliest K98k manufacutured with a cupped buttplate is a 'b' block byf41 - pretty sure is was coded 'bpr40'.
That rifle has a 1940 dated buttplate so the feature was upgraded late in 1940 but I am unaware of any 1940 rifles with that part.
Now there could be some rifles that were released late in the 1940 production run (likely in early 1941) that may have a cupped buttplate,
but none have been reported to date.

That would be a really neat rifle if one appears one day!

The ironic aspect about that is Mauser Berlin was using flat buttplate equipped stocks well into 1943 - another unique anomaly with K98ks.
 
what’s the receiver code? a ‘40 would be ‘337’, a ‘41, ‘bcd’. if you look in the photo reference section, you’ll see an ‘m’ block ‘337’ rifle w/FBP, and a ‘g’ block ‘bcd’ code w/CBP, ‘40 & ‘41 respectively. I can’t get to my books right now, others may know more about the circumstances/timing of the changeover for that particular maker.
 
bruce98k said:
To date the earliest K98k manufacutured with a cupped buttplate is a 'b' block byf41 - pretty sure is was coded 'bpr40'.
That rifle has a 1940 dated buttplate so the feature was upgraded late in 1940 but I am unaware of any 1940 rifles with that part.
Now there could be some rifles that were released late in the 1940 production run (likely in early 1941) that may have a cupped buttplate,
but none have been reported to date.

That would be a really neat rifle if one appears one day!

The ironic aspect about that is Mauser Berlin was using flat buttplate equipped stocks well into 1943 - another unique anomaly with K98ks.
Click to expand...
It makes sense to me that if you're going to affect that change, you'd need to produce the part (cupped buttplate) at least a bit before you introduce it into the production stream.

Another thought. These were being made in Döbeln and I wonder how many they produced before the first production shipment?
 
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Interpolating Bruce's data on bcd production, it looks like the cupped butt plate was introduced somewhere between bcd 41 block A (flat ) and block F (cupped). He doesn't list an examples of blocks B through E. Obviously the data is only representative and not an exhaustive list of production, but the trend looks pretty clear - no cupped butt plates before bcd 41.
 
Regarding production at Mauser Oberndorf in 1941, beginning in the 'b' block, both flat and cupped buttplate equipped stocks were interspersed well into 1941 production.
I have not done any studies regarding the cutoff of flat buttplate equipped stocks at Mauser, but through the 'd' block flat butt stocks continued to be released.
 
Another thing to be aware of.. Any early k98k can have a cupped butplate added. So this makes things kinda murky. Bruce is spot on with earliest "factory production" installed cupped type BP.
 
By the numbers those 'n' block Erma were likely manufactured in early 41 - especially having the 41 dated barrel as in Bobs example.
Still its a 40 dated receiver.
 
Hi everyone,
Here is a picture from the gun I was talking about
 

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Did the stock blanks get finished at or near time of production as flat or cupped butt plate? I have a ce 41 D block that is cupped. It has a stock date of 7-40-40.
 
bruce98k said:
To date the earliest K98k manufacutured with a cupped buttplate is a 'b' block byf41 - pretty sure is was coded 'bpr40'.
That rifle has a 1940 dated buttplate so the feature was upgraded late in 1940 but I am unaware of any 1940 rifles with that part.
Now there could be some rifles that were released late in the 1940 production run (likely in early 1941) that may have a cupped buttplate,
but none have been reported to date.

That would be a really neat rifle if one appears one day!

The ironic aspect about that is Mauser Berlin was using flat buttplate equipped stocks well into 1943 - another unique anomaly with K98ks.
Click to expand...
I have a Heer 655 Byf 41 (A block) with a matching BPR 40 cupped butt plate.
 
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