Late War K98k Kreigsmodell Rifle………………………(F 848) SOLD

Very Late K98k Rifle – possibly un-shot!

In collectors terms one of the last K98k rifles produced by Mauser Oberndorf – dated 1945.  Unfortunately, with mixed numbers but sourced from America.  Not a Russian capture.  When the armouries and weapons dumps were officially seized great quantities of war machinery were removed, bundled up and sent back to Allied army depots, or even stateside for disposal or sale.  This rifle hints very strongly at that kind of fate.  It actually appears unfired, yet some of the components do not match by serial number or production type. This could mean it was taken unfinished and then put together at a later date.

The main guts of the weapon are the original “byf / 45” action and barrel.  That marking is uppermost on the receiver.  By this stage they had  even dropped the model designation of “Mod 98” which usually appears on the action outer wall; this is absent.  Careful inspection of the receiver revels the shudder or cutting marks which still show.  Later finishing and polishing processes had been also been dropped to speed up production time.  They are not unpleasant to the touch, merely interesting pointers to the weapons’ vintage.  The correct “135” waffenamt and firing proof and acceptance marks are also on the receiver.  The serial number “12396” is clearly stamped into the LHS of the receiver along with a clear broad winged Nazi Eagle.

Unfortunately, the bolt carries another serial number as does the trigger guard.  However the trigger guard is the correct steel stamped and folded construction but, it has the keeper screws, which it should not; so it is slightly earlier than the rifle.  The floorplate should also be stamped but is solid cast but unnumbered.  The stock is the correct laminate construction but has a bolt strip-down disk, which should have been dropped by then.  It also has the steel cupped butt-plate.  The butt stock has the correct side mounting facility for the rifle and the mid barrel band provides the front mounting point for such.

Both the for-end-cap arrangement and the barrel band are correct for this vintage rifle.  There is no bayonet mount, just the Abdeckblech (blanking plate) screwed to the front of the stock.  There is no for-end spring retainer for the two front components, just, as is correct, wood screws.  Therefor no cleaning rod.  The front sight is hooded and the rear sight is a replacement as it is incorrectly numbered.

Once again, this rifle shows virtually no signs of use; the bore is immaculate and there are no tell-tale loading marks within the receiver.  A well informed K98 collector will recognise the significance of this late war example but it will double as an excellent shooter.

 Proofed for UK

Stock No’ F 848

£ 1250. (SOLD)

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