Hi there,
There are 3 confirmed 1917 Oberndorf 'n' block Gew 98 ex-sniper rifles (1080n, 5115n & 9179n) known to have come out of Turkey. Possibly another one once we get the serial #..
It's early days & very limited data at this stage, but there certainly seems to be a pattern forming. I think that its fair to say that these rifles were not random bubba drilled & tapped as some previously claimed. They are a yet-to-be-defined serial# range of Oberndorf made Scharfschutzen Gewehr 98's that have served in Turkey, had their scope & mounts removed, then been refurbished & exported to the US among standard Gew 98's.
Maybe they were used by the Turks, but its curious that the examples I've seen so far don't have any Turkish markings. This is unlike the standard Gew 98's used in Turkey that have the 'crescent moon' markings on the receiver. Could these Oberndorf sniper Gew 98's have been issued to German troops serving in Turkey? It's also curious that the Oberndorf ex-sniper rifles seen so far - all show the same hole pattern for the scope base mounting. Its well known that there were numerous mounting options used on the state arsenal made Scharfschutzen Gewehr 98's that served in Europe, but there's only one type of mounting pattern showing up so far on the Turkish examples.
Its difficult to see the original mounting hole patterns in some Turkish Gew 98 ex-sniper rifles, because they have been 'restored' to standard gew 98's by having the screw holes filled (using a variety of methods) and their bent bolts replaced with mis-matched straight ones. I suspect that most of the Oberndorf ex-snipers have been missed by many collectors because they're in such poor condition & look like standard Gew 98's.
With the 1917 'n' block range of serial #'s and consistent type of scope mounting pattern, the information gathered so far could suggest a production line sniper rifle conversion from a factory block of rifles - rather than random field assembly from the hundreds of thousands of Gew 98's sold to Turkey. Would it be reasonable to summise that IF Mauser Oberndorf did produce Scharfschutzen Gewehr 98's, they would do it in a more efficient way than the state owned arsenals who selected their rifles at random? But this selection of a block of rifles for conversion to sniper rifles is not consistent with the usual German practice of selecting rifles for conversion to snipers, based upon their accuracy. However its unwise to jump to conclusions without a lot more examples to base them on.
The evidence so far seems to show that authentic Oberndorf Gew 98 sniper rifles did indeed exist. Perhaps another chapter needs to be added to the story of the legendary "Scharfschutzen Gewehr 98"?
Would you please give Amberg or me, the serial # of any other Oberndorf Gew 98 ex-sniper rifles that you've got (or seen) so the research can be expanded?
thanks
308nutt
There are 3 confirmed 1917 Oberndorf 'n' block Gew 98 ex-sniper rifles (1080n, 5115n & 9179n) known to have come out of Turkey. Possibly another one once we get the serial #..
It's early days & very limited data at this stage, but there certainly seems to be a pattern forming. I think that its fair to say that these rifles were not random bubba drilled & tapped as some previously claimed. They are a yet-to-be-defined serial# range of Oberndorf made Scharfschutzen Gewehr 98's that have served in Turkey, had their scope & mounts removed, then been refurbished & exported to the US among standard Gew 98's.
Maybe they were used by the Turks, but its curious that the examples I've seen so far don't have any Turkish markings. This is unlike the standard Gew 98's used in Turkey that have the 'crescent moon' markings on the receiver. Could these Oberndorf sniper Gew 98's have been issued to German troops serving in Turkey? It's also curious that the Oberndorf ex-sniper rifles seen so far - all show the same hole pattern for the scope base mounting. Its well known that there were numerous mounting options used on the state arsenal made Scharfschutzen Gewehr 98's that served in Europe, but there's only one type of mounting pattern showing up so far on the Turkish examples.
Its difficult to see the original mounting hole patterns in some Turkish Gew 98 ex-sniper rifles, because they have been 'restored' to standard gew 98's by having the screw holes filled (using a variety of methods) and their bent bolts replaced with mis-matched straight ones. I suspect that most of the Oberndorf ex-snipers have been missed by many collectors because they're in such poor condition & look like standard Gew 98's.
With the 1917 'n' block range of serial #'s and consistent type of scope mounting pattern, the information gathered so far could suggest a production line sniper rifle conversion from a factory block of rifles - rather than random field assembly from the hundreds of thousands of Gew 98's sold to Turkey. Would it be reasonable to summise that IF Mauser Oberndorf did produce Scharfschutzen Gewehr 98's, they would do it in a more efficient way than the state owned arsenals who selected their rifles at random? But this selection of a block of rifles for conversion to sniper rifles is not consistent with the usual German practice of selecting rifles for conversion to snipers, based upon their accuracy. However its unwise to jump to conclusions without a lot more examples to base them on.
The evidence so far seems to show that authentic Oberndorf Gew 98 sniper rifles did indeed exist. Perhaps another chapter needs to be added to the story of the legendary "Scharfschutzen Gewehr 98"?
Would you please give Amberg or me, the serial # of any other Oberndorf Gew 98 ex-sniper rifles that you've got (or seen) so the research can be expanded?
thanks
308nutt
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, and can look for unit histories. .....