Portuguese contract M/937-A

[Deejay]

Mine is a very common 1937 Portuguese contract K98k, but I like it for a number of reasons : firstly, because it was quite affordable compared to its all-matching all-German counterparts, secondly because the fact that it bears the whole of the markings you would expect to find on a 1937 Mauser-made Wehrmacht K98k makes it a very interesting object to study, and lastly because its almost immaculate bore makes it a very good shooter.

The rifle was reimported by Hege Jagd & Sport in 1972 and went through the Cologne proofhouse.

The cleaning rod is not numbered and looks a bit too long, so I think it must have been replaced.

European legislation on "hunting rifles"...

 

[Deejay]

A few more pictures :

I suppose the Weimar eagles on the stock show that the rifle was made at the end of 1937, when these eagles were being replaced by Nazi eagles but what I still do not understand is the reason why these Portuguese contract K98ks were stamped with a wealth of German military markings while the Mod. 1935 rifles of the second part of the Brazilian contract that were shipped in April 1937 bore NO military markings whatsoever.

 

[M1903A3]

I'm surprised nobody has commented on this thread yet! That rifle is fantastic!! I also wonder why it seems to have all the normal German Army markings PLUS the Portuguese markings. I've seen others like that too, but not this nice! Were these diverted out of normal Army contract lines and thus marked as such? Thank you for sharing it, it's very nice.


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[oldcorps]

The pattern was distinctly Portuguese and they insisted upon German military inspection standards. I've always liked those too for the same reasons given.

 

[pzjgr]

I think she is a beauty...they are neat variants. I think yours looks in pretty decent shape. These all seem to have dark stocks...

Thanks to a member here, I have a proper Port stock on the way for mine...when I receive it I will update my original post...

 

[DaveDavis]

The pattern was distinctly Portuguese and they insisted upon German military inspection standards. I've always liked those too for the same reasons given.

And why not ???? Fascism was the rage in Europe and Hitler was Man Of The Year

 

[Deejay]

Thank you for your comments

Here are some more pictures :

 

[heavy_mech]

And why not ???? Fascism was the rage in Europe and Hitler was Man Of The Year

MSM on the wrong side of things even back then!

Great rifle Deejay! I also think the full German inspection and acceptance adds interest and value, at least IMO. Thanks for sharing this!

 

[oldcorps]

Europe has undergone quite a transformation since the 60's. My job back then involved a lot of travel around the continent and it seemed that most of the people I met had been resistance fighters during the war or had close relatives who were. Fast forward thirty+ years and in the same countries, many of those I met were the sons of Waffen SS volunteers. Hmm...

 

[Deejay]

The part of France I live in was German at the time - some of the people in my family were sent to the Eastern front, but three of them ended up in a concentration camp, either because they were communists or because they had tried to escape to dodge the draft into the Wehrmacht... You have an outsider's vision of our history.

 

[oldcorps]

If you mean that I am an outsider because I have no claim to French citizenship you are entirely correct. In Germany we had one family member, Uncle Kurt, sit out the war in a concentration camp because he was an unrepentant KPD supporter and SPD who couldn't keep his mouth shut. All three of his brothers were killed while serving in the military. I doubt that they had any connection with 1937 Model Portuguese Mausers, though.

 

[Deejay]

Here are the latest additions to my 1937 Portuguese contract : a muzzle cover and a M1884/98 III bayonet - the muzzle cover sports a 63 Waffenamt stamp (that is, the correct Mauser-Werke inspection mark), but the serial number of my rifle is C1104, whereas the SN of the bayonet is C4898, which is the closest match I could find. The WaA 253 stamp on the bayonet stands for Solingen, but, according to what I have read so far, it has been impossible to determine who the producer of these 1937 Portuguese contract bayonets was. With the correct sling, I daresay my m/937-A is now almost complete.