Walther DSM 34 ……… (f 476)…………Sold

A fantastic example of a Walthar produced DSM 34 Trainer

Its a strange fact but I do not own a .22 rifle of any description but that may be about to change.  This was purchased as a regular Walthar DSM trainer, in the USA, unseen and vaguely described.  The only thing I remember at the time was that it was a might more expensive than any others purchased previously.  Six months later and on struggling to open the wrapping I was stopped in my tracks by what I had uncovered!  Superb stock, excellent bluing and finish, wonderful Gothic script engraving and a silver plaque to “Erich Triebel”.  I will do my best to describe what I have in front of me now but I doubt I can really do it justice.

 DSM .22 Trainer by Walthar.  Overall length 43″  Round blued barrel length, 25.1/2″  Length of pull 12.5/8″  Caliber marked as 5.4 m/m  “B.U.G” proof marks.  The stock is of very dense select grade walnut or elm.  It is difficult to tell for sure without stripping it in some way.  All that is certain is that it is extremely heavy for a start.  The moment one lays hands on it the urge to run your hands over the smooth surfaces is almost unavoidable.  It is not only smooth on the long-grain but all over, end-grain included, especially around the semi-pistol grip.  It has been expertly finished and the craftsman that had the pleasure of working on this piece has taken full advantage of the  swirls and tiger strips that have emerged as he came closer to the finishing stage.  The butt has a strong stripe to it, as does the fore-end.  The circular swirl of the grain culminates in a full circle underneath the action, just forward of the trigger guard.  Although this excellent stock is superbly finished it still shows the signs of usage which can only build up over the years, light dings and dents have been finished over as time has gone by.  To my total horror and disbelief, on taking it apart for cleaning, I discovered the stock had been “duffel cut” ! but then, the penny dropped – there is only one reason for making such a cut – getting it home in a kit bag = proves its vintage!  Soldiers of many countries have used this method to sneak home various goodies they have purloined for years. As a full length rifle would not fit in a kit bag in one piece the rifle would be taken out of its stock, and the stock still being over length would get cut – a crime in this case but useful in getting it past the MPs and for us in establishing its vintage.

Then there’s the finish.  The quality finish on this item is way beyond anything I have ever seen on any military rifle.  The blue is extra thick, yet all the surface edges are well defined and the markings extremely clear.  There is very slight thinning on the muzzle and bolt handle, apart from those two, there are no other areas of wear.  The barrel is a heavy version of the K98 by proportion, and the action is also made with a scope rail along both the front and the rear upper surfaces.  The barrel being heavy for a .22 has required a heavier bolt and the rifle has been equipped with just such an item.  The action is a solidly constructed single shot type which continues through the length of the receiver.  There is a bright steel loading channel for placing the round into, the front portion of the bolt which is halved to compliment its lower part, then slides over the top, pushing the round home safely.  The Mauser action works identically to a normal K98 with the bolt cocking on closing, with a flag-type safety at the rear of the bolt.  All of this was designed to replicate the action of the full size K98 for training purposes.  The rifle even carried the spurious title of “Sportsmodell” – It’s a touch heavy to be lugging round the fields to control vermin with!  There is a bolt release button at the rear LHS of the action.  The bolt body is bright steel whereas the handle and safety components are all blued.  The underside of the bolt arm stub is numbered  “108” – stamped to match the action’s serial number.  Upon the underside the body and the bolt safety parts carry matching figure zeros.

On the top rear portion of the action are the manufacturers details in a superb, “spider thin” Gothic text.  They read ” “Waffenfabrik – Walther /  Zella-Mehlis, Thuringia”  The delicacy of the text suggests that the rifle has not been manually prepped for re-finishing when some text could be lost.  To the LHS of the receiver is the serial number “31108W” on the other side the proof marks of N B & U all under crowns.  Just forward of the receiver, on the barrel, the same “BUG” marks are repeated along with the metric caliber markings.  On the RHS are the eagle and “N” marks alongside the word “Nitro”.  On the visible crest of the barrel, behind the sights are the following:” “SportsModell” and the Walthar banner.  The rear sights are a facsimile of the K98 sights graduated from 25 to 200 meters and the front blade has been replaced by a Lyman fitting.

The stock is fitted out with fairly standard K98 parts.  The butt-plate is an incredibly thick piece of contoured steel with a superb deep blue finish.  An original K98 leather sling is included and fitted in almost the usual fashion, apart from a slight difference at the front where it is suspended by a conventional sling swivel under the mid-band ( although the provision for the conventional K98 side mounting is provided)  There is a blued steel dummy cleaning rod protruding from the nose of the fore-end.  The heavy barrel extends to the muzzle with no provision for a bayonet.  Lastly, and the only “downer” is that the trigger guard is of a modern plastic it is thought to be a replacement – perhaps the original was lost in transit.

The bore is good with no corrosion.  The action perfect and fully functional, as expected this DSM 34 is a pleasure to shoot and is accurate.  The last thing that sets this rifle aside is the silver plaque which has been let into the side of the butt-stock.  It reads “Erich Triebel”  A person unknown?  If anybody can find some information it would be highly interesting to find out the relevance of the name to the rifle.

Stock No’  f 476

£     SOLD

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