Looking for Information on a G43 duv 44 I Found

It is a cool rifle, but candidly I'd expect the wrist cut to affect value by 45-50%. While a DUV44 is a desirable rifle, they can be found without such a "severe" duffle cut. Just my opinion of course

I personally wouldn't expect the rifle to bring more than $2500 given the condition.

As Matt stated, to me the value is more in leaving it exactly as it is and finding another collector that appreciates the "bring back" nature of the piece.

BTW...Bills Mafia!
 
The G/K43's were cursed by a duffle cut as there was no way to hide it. With K98's, clever GI's made the cut under the band but there are lots of examples where the cut was made in other areas.

Even though this is likely a legit duffle cut, without a labeled take home box/crate or capture letter, there is no authenticity to it and in the end it is simply a rifle with a cut stock. We can certainly make a story for this rifle but without the box or capture letter, it is just a "story".

If this rifle has a labeled box/crate or even better, it has the captured letter in the crate, just sitting as is this rifle would be worth good money to the right collector.

Without a box/crate or letter I could see it sell as low as 2k but with the current value of standard parts, I am sure someone would be happy to pay at least 3K for this rifle IMHO. Some people don't have the patience, time or connections to find a better example for cheaper.

As forum members helped the current owner identify the rifle and its potential value, it would be great if he listed it for sale on this Forum and we can see if it sells or not.

List in the "Trader Section" of this forum.
 
mdarnell19 said:
Are you insane? Where are you seeing rusty G43s with a duffle cut at the wrist selling for $5,000? Do you work for a website called Pre98? Hard pass

Personally, I think $3000 is way too much also.
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Matt please refer to the pre98 website as fat scotty refers to himself as a “firm” sourcing only the “highest quality pieces” for “collectors”.
 
Again, I appreciate all of the information, suggestions, etc. I do need to make clear that I have no idea of the gun's original source. It belonged to my best friend, who was killed in a motorcycle wreck when he was 29 years old. Judging from the dates on the newspapers and magazines that it was cushioned with, the gun was placed in the box after he died in 1979, so it's not a shipping box from overseas or anything like that. My buddy was an only child, and his parents have both died since, so there's no way to discern where the gun came from. I was given other items from the family, including medals and trinkets from WWI and WWII. There was a German ring and tie clasp, as well as a "Gott Mit Uns" belt buckle, but again, I have no idea where they came from or if they were related in any way to the gun. My friend's dad was a Marine during WWII, but as far as I know he was only stationed in the Pacific. My friend's grandfather was a Marine during WWI and may or may not have been in the European Theater. The family had a rich military history dating back to at least the Civil War. Again, I can't overstate my ignorance when it comes to this gun. I don't even know what you guys mean by a "wrist cut." But I do sincerely appreciate your help and if I decide to post it for sale, it will definitely be on this site.
 
@Buffalo Late production G/K43 was manufactured with sub-par materials, especially the metal as Germany's industrial capacity was extremely diminished by wars end. Also, the Germans over gassed the heck out of them and they literally beat themselves to death, again, poor metal and quality control. Since these were produced, what 80 years ago? you don't shoot all original matching examples because the risk of breakage is substantial. So what people do is find a mismatch or poorer condition G/K43 and turn it into what us "collectors" call a shooter. There is a "shooters" kit that you can purchase which will allow you to down gas the rifle so it is safe to shoot. The great thing about shooters is they tend to be mismatched and if a part breaks, you just source a new one. Now shooters are pretty desirable in their own right because... who the heck wouldn't want to shoot one of these?

Unfortunately, the WW2 collecting community is full of less than reputable individuals. We see fakes, where someone has ground out the mismatched serials and restamped them to match. They ALWAYS have some great story... one of the best was someone got a K43 restamped, chromed (you could see your reflection, no seriously) and had the most wild story... said it was Hitler's SS parade rifle and listed it for sale north of $20k at first then dropped it lower, don't quote me on price. So, that's why the guys here are talking about the box and story.... when collecting any WW2 item, unless there is VALID proof assume the story is BS.

Now on to value. Something like this is always very subjective depending on who you ask. Seems like us members have provided prices from $2500 to $5000. $5k is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY to high. With something like this, I'd estimate that the packaged value would be the sum of what you could get for the parts if they were parted out.

If your looking to put it on the market, do it here in our forum trader section. It would be easier for you to sell it here than anywhere else, because now a lot of members are aware of it and you don't really have to market it. We have a trader section that you can browse and list things to sell.

As you probably have already noticed G/K43s to these guys are SERIOUS BUSINESS. One of the great things about us is we believe in open discussion... that's how you learn and advance the collecting community. You came to the right place.

JUST A WARNING: Like you, I came here with not a lot of knowledge to seek advice on 1 rifle that I was interested at a gunshow--ended up not getting it.. but as you can tell, yea I'm still here years later... why? As I often say, I feel like crack would be waaaay less addicting than collecting these German WW2 rifles. I think a lot of that is because of this community and our great members and how passionate they are, it's captivating. It's also about the chase... always looking for that next rifle, when you get it you feel complete then a week later your like, god why do I feel like there is something missing in my life... ah, yea need another rifle. It doesn't stop.

Sorry for long post, but hope info helps you.

Regards,

Will
 
WreckTangle said:
@Buffalo Late production G/K43 was manufactured with sub-par materials, especially the metal as Germany's industrial capacity was extremely diminished by wars end. Also, the Germans over gassed the heck out of them and they literally beat themselves to death, again, poor metal and quality control. Since these were produced, what 80 years ago? you don't shoot all original matching examples because the risk of breakage is substantial. So what people do is find a mismatch or poorer condition G/K43 and turn it into what us "collectors" call a shooter. There is a "shooters" kit that you can purchase which will allow you to down gas the rifle so it is safe to shoot. The great thing about shooters is they tend to be mismatched and if a part breaks, you just source a new one. Now shooters are pretty desirable in their own right because... who the heck wouldn't want to shoot one of these?

Unfortunately, the WW2 collecting community is full of less than reputable individuals. We see fakes, where someone has ground out the mismatched serials and restamped them to match. They ALWAYS have some great story... one of the best was someone got a K43 restamped, chromed (you could see your reflection, no seriously) and had the most wild story... said it was Hitler's SS parade rifle and listed it for sale north of $20k at first then dropped it lower, don't quote me on price. So, that's why the guys here are talking about the box and story.... when collecting any WW2 item, unless there is VALID proof assume the story is BS.

Now on to value. Something like this is always very subjective depending on who you ask. Seems like us members have provided prices from $2500 to $5000. $5k is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY to high. With something like this, I'd estimate that the packaged value would be the sum of what you could get for the parts if they were parted out.

If your looking to put it on the market, do it here in our forum trader section. It would be easier for you to sell it here than anywhere else, because now a lot of members are aware of it and you don't really have to market it. We have a trader section that you can browse and list things to sell.

As you probably have already noticed G/K43s to these guys are SERIOUS BUSINESS. One of the great things about us is we believe in open discussion... that's how you learn and advance the collecting community. You came to the right place.

JUST A WARNING: Like you, I came here with not a lot of knowledge to seek advice on 1 rifle that I was interested at a gunshow--ended up not getting it.. but as you can tell, yea I'm still here years later... why? As I often say, I feel like crack would be waaaay less addicting than collecting these German WW2 rifles. I think a lot of that is because of this community and our great members and how passionate they are, it's captivating. It's also about the chase... always looking for that next rifle, when you get it you feel complete then a week later your like, god why do I feel like there is something missing in my life... ah, yea need another rifle. It doesn't stop.

Sorry for long post, but hope info helps you.

Regards,

Will
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Thanks, Will! I appreciate the information and the insight. I've had more than enough obsessions, compulsions, and addictions in my rather lengthy lifetime, so I'll take your warning to heart and steer clear of this one! ;-)
 
It looks like I took some heat for my initial appraisal for the potential value of this gun. But I am going to stand by my numbers. We have recently seen a G43 with a butchered receiver and repro stock arrive in the trader for $2600. Someone else posted a "barnfind" that was destroyed by the finder who removed the original finish. We have also seen someone who paid $2600 for a QVE 45 that had it's stock sanded away and contours removed. Gunbroker is ripe with examples of varying degrees of "messed with" for well over $3000. This is sufficient market evidence that $3000 AT LEAST for a potentially matching, untouched rifle is very fair.

I am also not sure based upon responses how many people actually read my full post, or just saw the numbers. I said, and stand by the following: *IF* the rifle is matching numbers, *IF* the corrosion is indeed reversible with proper conservation techniques, *IF* the wrist can be professionally repaired, than this would be an excellent rifle. It has excellent potential. Most guys cannot look past how it looks now, to what it could look like with proper skills and effort.

To the people who attacked me personally for posting my opinion- that was uncalled for. I was just trying to help. I also want to say I was really the only person to give real numbers to this nice guy asking for help.
 
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