Identification help

F

Feldenak

Member
Good afternoon all. From what I've been told this rifle was claimed by my grandfather as a war trophy (along with a P38) and I'm hoping someone here can confirm that family story. I can take more pictures if needed, just tell me what additional photo you need. I do not have any capture paperwork and my grandfather has long since passed.

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I don't see how anyone here can vouch for your story. What exactly do you want to know? The rifle appears to be a bolt mismatch 42 (Mauser Oberndorf) code.
 
moconfed said:
I don't see how anyone here can vouch for your story. What exactly do you want to know? The rifle appears to be a bolt mismatch 42 (Mauser Oberndorf) code.
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I guess I'm wondering if that story is probable based on the weapon. I'm not calling my family liars but they do like to "embellish" stories of family history :laugh:


Bolt mismatch?
 
What you have is a standard issue world war two German Mauser rifle. Many of these rifles were made, many were brought home, so there is a good likelihood that if your grandfather claims to have brought it back, he probably did. Without paperwork, its hard to prove, unless he took photos of it overseas or something. If you'd like to check a little further look over your gun for any markings stamped or engraved into it like "German" or "8mm," etc. These would be import marks, indicating that it was probably a commercial import for sale to consumers.

There are no issue records for these guns, so you will never know which soldier it was issued to or where. So, that avenue is closed.

Matching numbers:
When these guns were made, the parts had serial numbers stamped on them. Your gun is number "4111 v," and all of the parts would've had this serial number stamped on it. The bolt, however, is stamped 8874. This means that it came from another rifle and was placed into yours. As a result, it is "mismatched," which hurts the value somewhat. Feel free to post more pics and we can give more info.
 
nirvana said:
What you have is a standard issue world war two German Mauser rifle. Many of these rifles were made, many were brought home, so there is a good likelihood that if your grandfather claims to have brought it back, he probably did. Without paperwork, its hard to prove, unless he took photos of it overseas or something. If you'd like to check a little further look over your gun for any markings stamped or engraved into it like "German" or "8mm," etc. These would be import marks, indicating that it was probably a commercial import for sale to consumers.

There are no issue records for these guns, so you will never know which soldier it was issued to or where. So, that avenue is closed.

Matching numbers:
When these guns were made, the parts had serial numbers stamped on them. Your gun is number "4111 v," and all of the parts would've had this serial number stamped on it. The bolt, however, is stamped 8874. This means that it came from another rifle and was placed into yours. As a result, it is "mismatched," which hurts the value somewhat. Feel free to post more pics and we can give more info.
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Thanks nirvana. I can't see any sort of stamping or engraving like you described. I'll grab some more photos after work this afternoon. Are there any particular parts I should photo that would be helpful?
 
Feldenak said:
Thanks nirvana. I can't see any sort of stamping or engraving like you described. I'll grab some more photos after work this afternoon. Are there any particular parts I should photo that would be helpful?
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No problem. Any pictures of markings on the stock, perhaps some overall shots on the rifle, pictures of serial numbered parts and so on. There isn't a whole lot to add to the story, but we can at least figure out if the rest of it is original.
 
I agree with what nirvana said. If you are so inclined, you might also be able to find out more on your grandfathers service history with some research. The unit he was assigned to, where that unit was during the war and when, etc. That might give you at least some possibilities on where he MAY have found the rifle during the war. It would be an interesting project at least!
 
Look under the rear band for a place that looks like it had been cut a long time ago. This is called a duffle cut and usually a pretty sure sign of a bring back but without bring back papers you can never be sure.
 
I apologize for abandoning this thread shortly after posting it. Life gets in the way sometimes and divorces can get nasty :(

Anyway, the rifle does indeed have a duffel cut.

I've given her a thorough cleaning and would like to take the old girl out to the range but I keep seeing references to possible different bore diameters (.313 vs .323?). Is there a way for a non-reloader layman like myself to be able to determine that or do I need to visit a local gunsmith?

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Duffel cut bolt mismatch. Nice. You can rest assured it's 323. The 313 was phased out earlier.
Sorry to hear about the divorce. They suck. Been there, done that.
 
moconfed said:
Duffel cut bolt mismatch. Nice. You can rest assured it's 323. The 313 was phased out earlier.
Sorry to hear about the divorce. They suck. Been there, done that.
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Outstanding. Thank you.

That action is as smooth as butter. It's really quite impressive and I'm looking forward to punching some holes in paper this weekend.
 
One more question. What is the 42 stamped in the receiver just above the 1938 (which I assume is year of manufacture)?
 
Feldenak said:
One more question. What is the 42 stamped in the receiver just above the 1938 (which I assume is year of manufacture)?
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42 is the numeric code for Mauser Oberndorf.
Started with S/42, then 42, byf, svw, svwmb to finish the war.
 
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