Gewehr 98 WMO 1917 7409w

[PrayingMantis]

Picked this up from Chris, so it may look familiar. Absolute gorgeous stocked bolt and follower mismatched WMO 1917. Seriously, I doubt I’ve seen a nicer stock. Aside from being so crisp, it has a neat dovetail and a c/RC stamp. The keel stamps are silhouettes, which makes me think the RC comes from reshaping the bottom in some way.

The metal isn’t as nice unfortunately. Actions screws are buggered to hell and the barrel was turned to the left slightly, marring the barrel and receiver in the process. Someone cleaned it up it’s still evident.

Acceptance wise it’s pretty typical for WMO, and there many different familiar letters: c/G, c/U, c/J, and c/K, but the triggerguard is overproduction from another maker and the bayonet lug is a contracted part, which is more common by late 1917. It has some neat assembly numbers, too. Overall it’s a stunningly beautiful Gew and not common at all.

WAFFENFABRIK MAUSER A.-G. OBERNDORF A/N 1917

Receiver 7409w c/G c/V c/V
Barrel 7409w c/K c/K c/K BS 13
Front Sight 09
Rear Sight Leaf 09 c/U
Rear Sight Base c/U
Sight Slider 09 c/U?
Sight Slider Tabs 09, 09
Ejector Box 09
Trigger Sear 09 c/G
Front Barrel Band 09 c/U
Rear Barrel Band 09 c/U
Trigger Guard 7409 c/P) c/V
Trigger Guard Screws 09, 09
Floor Plate 09 c/J Collector Matched
Follower armorer
Stock 7409 c/FW c/R c/W
Stock Wrist c/J c/R
Buttplate 7409w c/W)
Bayonet Lug 09 c/B)
Handguard 7409 c/K

 

[PrayingMantis]

Barrel and sights.

 

[PrayingMantis]

Triggerguard and bands.

 

[PrayingMantis]

Stock, stock metal, and handguard.

 

[PrayingMantis]

And the assembly number, 51, on the triggerguard, barrel, and receiver.

 

[37th Div Ohio]

Absolutely gorgeous stock! The RC is very neat to see!

 

[joryfreeburg]

One of the best gew98 stocks I have ever seen. Very nice

 

[biggymu]

Fabulous example! I always wanted one of those late dovetailed stocks. Why is it always the way? If I find a rifle like this, I should use a butter knife to try and disassemble it?

 

[MountainGew]

Damn that is beautiful

 

[chrisftk]

That wasn't an easy one to give up Cyrus. One of my nicest stocks, but only need one 1917 WMO and the matching one wins. I only would have sold to a friend in this case!

 

[AN-94]

That stock is gorgeous! I didn't realize that they did the dovetail with walnut stocks too, I mostly see it on the beech stocks so that's pretty neat to learn.

 

[mauser1908]

Cyrus, that thing is a stunner! Such a crisp stock! Great observation on the keel!

That stock is gorgeous! I didn't realize that they did the dovetail with walnut stocks too, I mostly see it on the beech stocks so that's pretty neat to learn.

Yes, walnut stocks seem to present dovetails after walnut became scarce. Dovetails were probably done for different reasons depending on the wood source. They were very common early on with beech because they had problems working with it (drying process, warping, cracking, etc). Walnut stocks were likely dovetailed to allow the use of smaller juvenile trees once it became scarce.

 

[OnlyMil]

Man am I sucker for a pretty stock, and this one is absolutely top notch. Photos do a great job showcasing it. Appears like juvenile walnut? The juvenile walnut stocks always seem to have a lot of character.

 

[PrayingMantis]

Thanks, everyone! It really is cool to see juvenile walnut and the interesting grain pattern. It's a great comparison with the other WMO 1917 i have, which features a beautiful but beech stock: https://www.k98kforum.com/threads/gewehr-98-wmo-1917-1254v.54083/#post-416115