K98k Mauser marking help - MORE pictures and target!!

[Nabs]

You should have seen the pile of shop towels, steel wool, and oil soaked patches it took to clean my Gewehr 98 but I am sure it is along the same lines, just lots of effort, care, and persistance and now we both have beautiful Mausers.

Do you have a full length shot of your Kar98k ?

 

[ArtyMan]

now we both have beautiful Mausers.

Do you have a full length shot of your Kar98k ?

Thank you very much! Here are a few

 

[Nabs]

Very nice! I'm jealous as my RC is not in that good of condition.

 

[Coyote Ugly]

With the MK-1 on the stock and the Electropencil, and restamped bolt number, black finish, it looks like a Vopo East German rebuild post war, as well as the X which is also on Vopo G43's. Nice Rifle!

 

[ArtyMan]

Thanks for the info. I did a bit of reading on the Vopo and the stamps they applied to their weapons, and they seem to have the Vopo 'shield' stamp on the barrel of most. Any idea why mine would'nt have that? and why my swastikas would still be there?

 

[Coyote Ugly]

I never saw a Vopo K98 or G/K43 that had it's Swastikas removed. Mostly RC and some Eastern European Countries done postwar.

 

[ArtyMan]

oh ok cool, thanks a lot for the info!

 

[smellie]

As to the mysterious 'h' in script type, it is part of the serial number. They started in January with serial number 1, went to 9999, then went to 1a and all the way to 9999a, then to 1b and all the way to 9999b..... like that. My first Luger was a DWM, 1918, s/n 5076c.... which means that it was the 35,076th Luger made by DWM in 1918.

'ar' was the Mauser plant at Borsigwald, Berlin.

Originally, it would have had a blue finish, very rich and dark and lovely. Only the war-gods know what might have happened since.

The Russians had a special mark, looked sort of like a sloppy "X", that they stamped on captured materiel to mark it for Soviet use. If you look at it carefully, you will notice that it is supposed to be crossed Moisin-Nagants. I have this on a Luger. Problem is that they didn't stamp everything.

Even if you never find out the entire history of your rifle, you have a real piece of history in your hands.

Have fun!