Hi - first post here. I actually joined yesterday just to be able to download some pictures of K98k shipping crates, but come to you all today with a bit of a tangential mystery. I had been considering building a custom "shipping"/display crate for my two Mausers, based loosely on known originals, and hauled out one of the Mausers for reference.
The one I ended up grabbing was a '43 dated dou (Waffen Werke Brünn AG), not only my first Mauser purchase but likely my first rifle and WWII collectible as well (back c.1992). I probably paid ~$250 or so for it. The visible serial #s are all matching, but it appeared to have been sporterized - the stock was either varnished or laquered and the receiver had been drilled for a scope mount, though was missing said mount. The seller claimed that it was a sniper model, which at the time I bought like the chump I was/am
. I later concluded that I'd been taken, and just let it go at that. I considered finding a professional gunsmith/restorer who might be able to fill the holes in and restore the original markings, but figured that even if doable would be expensive.
So it has languished. However, when I looked at the rifle yesterday with regards to a display crate project I thought maybe I should pick up a blank side rail repro mount and actually fit it to the existing screw holes and have a "sort-of" German sniper rifle, if only to cover the unsightly holes. I had in the last year or so obtained a copy of Law's "Backbone of the Wehrmacht" volume 2 which covers the sniper versions, so I finally cracked the spine and started looking at the documented examples.
To my immense surprise the pattern of the hole exactly matched (in form, at least - I've not measured them to be sure) the screw hole pattern of the period side rail mounts, including the pin holes. Further, the stock had been professionally cut in that area to allow fitting of a side rail mount (see pictures). So I either have a K98 what was originally built as a sniper variant, or it was professionally faked at some point to be a "sniper model".
I'm leaning more towards fake because the way the stock is cut would suggest a long side rail rather than a short rail. However, according to Law, only JP Sauer & Sohn and Gustloff Werke made those, and then only in 1944, whereas my rifle is a different maker and the date is 1943. So while nicely done, it does not appear to be authentic to me.
(A possible in between scenario: rifle was originally built to take a short rail, but someone later on, perhaps even during the war but more likely much later, modified the stock to take a long rail mount)
What do you all think?
Going beyond that, would an Accumount long side rail reproduction work with this? If so, I'll probably get and install it, if only to cover those darn holes!
Thanks in advance for any insight you all can provide.
The one I ended up grabbing was a '43 dated dou (Waffen Werke Brünn AG), not only my first Mauser purchase but likely my first rifle and WWII collectible as well (back c.1992). I probably paid ~$250 or so for it. The visible serial #s are all matching, but it appeared to have been sporterized - the stock was either varnished or laquered and the receiver had been drilled for a scope mount, though was missing said mount. The seller claimed that it was a sniper model, which at the time I bought like the chump I was/am
. I later concluded that I'd been taken, and just let it go at that. I considered finding a professional gunsmith/restorer who might be able to fill the holes in and restore the original markings, but figured that even if doable would be expensive.So it has languished. However, when I looked at the rifle yesterday with regards to a display crate project I thought maybe I should pick up a blank side rail repro mount and actually fit it to the existing screw holes and have a "sort-of" German sniper rifle, if only to cover the unsightly holes. I had in the last year or so obtained a copy of Law's "Backbone of the Wehrmacht" volume 2 which covers the sniper versions, so I finally cracked the spine and started looking at the documented examples.
To my immense surprise the pattern of the hole exactly matched (in form, at least - I've not measured them to be sure) the screw hole pattern of the period side rail mounts, including the pin holes. Further, the stock had been professionally cut in that area to allow fitting of a side rail mount (see pictures). So I either have a K98 what was originally built as a sniper variant, or it was professionally faked at some point to be a "sniper model".
I'm leaning more towards fake because the way the stock is cut would suggest a long side rail rather than a short rail. However, according to Law, only JP Sauer & Sohn and Gustloff Werke made those, and then only in 1944, whereas my rifle is a different maker and the date is 1943. So while nicely done, it does not appear to be authentic to me.
(A possible in between scenario: rifle was originally built to take a short rail, but someone later on, perhaps even during the war but more likely much later, modified the stock to take a long rail mount)
What do you all think?
Going beyond that, would an Accumount long side rail reproduction work with this? If so, I'll probably get and install it, if only to cover those darn holes!
Thanks in advance for any insight you all can provide.
