Gustloff K98

[Emdawg]

I just jailed one from a gun store I visit.

It is a bringback rifle. No import marks. No peened waffe marks. Shiny bore. All parts match except the bolt, which matches itself.


The reciever is a BCD 43, which is the 1943 code for the Gustloff Werke in Weimar. The barrel code is AVK 104, whatever sub-contractor that was (Ruhrstahl?).


I didn't have the time to get pictures.




Anything special about these K98k variants? Does anyone have one?

[Syntax Error]

I used to have an RC bcd 1941, this was my first K98k. I've since improved my K98k acquisition, so it's been sold for a while now, but from what I understand, Gustloff-Werke isn't terribly uncommon as far as K98ks go.

[Emdawg]

From what I have been researching all day, the ones in 1943 are by far the most interesting of the Gustloff production.

I would post my inquiry on the K98k board, but I am afraid to without pictures.

[pitfighter]

Ha yes -


Post there saying... "Very rare rifle, sniper version..."
They'll embrace you with open arms, lol.

[Discogodfather]

Nice, these are going for $1500 easy these days. Gustloff was a Army/Heer contractor and was basically an assembler (very little was actually made at Gustloff). I have seen many with an FN sourced barrel. Alot of the gun is actually made in Oberndorf.

Very interesting article on Gustloff that goes into detail:

http://www.ycgg.org/pdfpages/ww2/gustloff.pdf

[Emdawg]

Well, that was helpful. Thanks Disco.

[Bobby Ricigliano]

I just jailed one from a gun store I visit.

It is a bringback rifle. No import marks. No peened waffe marks. Shiny bore. All parts match except the bolt, which matches itself.


The reciever is a BCD 43, which is the 1943 code for the Gustloff Werke in Weimar. The barrel code is AVK 104, whatever sub-contractor that was (Ruhrstahl?).


I didn't have the time to get pictures.




Anything special about these K98k variants? Does anyone have one?

Any different sort of k98 variant is interesting to me. Funny how a lot of nicer k98's have mismatched bolts yet the bolts match themselves. My Standard Modell has a non matching bolt, even though it is a correct straight bolt handle rather than a bent one like K98's usually have.

I look forward to seeing pictures of your self-Christmas present!

[Emdawg]

Any different sort of k98 variant is interesting to me. Funny how a lot of nicer k98's have mismatched bolts yet the bolts match themselves. My Standard Modell has a non matching bolt, even though it is a correct straight bolt handle rather than a bent one like K98's usually have.

I look forward to seeing pictures of your self-Christmas present!

Well a lot of bringback rifles are like that due to the conditions they were captured. When the Allies got half of Germany, the Germans surrendered their arms. For the K98's, the bolts went in one pile and the rifles in another. When they were ready to be restored to use or put in the warehouse, the bolts were put back in the gun with no regards to matching numbers.


The story I got from Rick (gun shop owner) is that he got the gun from a 88 year old vet that wanted to get rid of it. The vet was part of the post-war occupiers. He got the gun from one of those pile-ups of surrendered arms from remaining Wehrmacht and police units.


EDIT: I am also looking forward to posting pictures. It is in marvelous shape.

[SVT-40]

Well a lot of bringback rifles are like that due to the conditions they were captured. When the Allies got half of Germany, the Germans surrendered their arms. For the K98's, the bolts went in one pile and the rifles in another. When they were ready to be restored to use or put in the warehouse, the bolts were put back in the gun with no regards to matching numbers.


The story I got from Rick (gun shop owner) is that he got the gun from a 88 year old vet that wanted to get rid of it. The vet was part of the post-war occupiers. He got the gun from one of those pile-ups of surrendered arms from remaining Wehrmacht and police units.


EDIT: I am also looking forward to posting pictures. It is in marvelous shape.

Congrats on finding a nice K98k!!

However buy the rifle not the story....Just because it doesn't have an importer stamps, and has intact markings does not mean it's a "bring back". German K-98k's were imported by the hundreds of thousands here into the US before these were any marking requirements..

Now if it has the matching papers... That is a different story..

$27.95 each back then...Hunters Lodge had around 50,000 to sell

[Bobby Ricigliano]

Congrats on finding a nice K98k!!

However buy the rifle not the story....Just because it doesn't have an importer stamps, and has intact markings does not mean it's a "bring back". German K-98k's were imported by the hundreds of thousands here into the US before these were any marking requirements..

Now if it has the matching papers... That is a different story..

$27.95 each back then...Hunters Lodge had over 50,000 alone.....

I am going to call them Thursday morning when they open. $27.95 for a K98? I will take 100 please. I am sure they are still there, right?

[Emdawg]

Okay, either way it was a damn nice rifle.


The gun was in excellent shape. The bluing is faded, but that is typical from what I have seen. All matching parts, except bolt. Laminate stock with cup buttplate. Bore is shiny and the grooves sharp.

All in all, a fabulous K98 from my opinion. Probably not as good as anything as what you got SVT, but it made me happy.


The only thing I wonder about its condition is the stock. I am not very good at deciding if a stock has been refinished and it is in really good shape, but I will post pictures after I pick it up.

Normally I am able to tell by the damage done to any stamps and cartouches, but this rifle did not have any or signs there of. I read that the 1943 rifles had no external markings, so...

[SVT-40]

Is it laminated or hard wood?

If it's laminated it's easy to tell. Over time the laminations expand, and cause each layer to be different... If it's been sanded it will be all smooth..

In the pic below you can see the differences in the laminations.

[Emdawg]

Is it laminated or hard wood?

I am pretty sure it is laminate. I know the made stocks in walnut and it sure was not walnut.

Wasn't smooth, but is was not as dark as that.

[Emdawg]

Like the one in the middle in this link, just not grimy.

http://imageevent.com/badgerdog/generalstorage/germanriflewoodtypes;jsessionid=mmt6uxc1i1.frog_s?p=2&n=1&m=24&c=4&l=0&w=1&s=0&z=9

[Discogodfather]

Many of the bolt matching guns have been successfully scrubbed and renumbered to match on the body and safety, including the extractor and firing pin. Sometimes it's very hard to tell. You usually have to read the tooling marks, the rough patterns actually help to show were things where altered.

I once took the bolt out of my BYF and put it in an RC and head-spaced checked it, it was roomy but fine. The Germans really screwed themselves when they numbered everything to itself, pretty much overkill. Maybe they did it as a courtesy to future collectors?