SS Mauser experts: Is this the single rune??

J996

J996

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I decided to dissolve the shellac on my RC98 and it turns out it was a blonde and has what looks like a lightning bolt. Having never even seen a picture of an rune on a stock i thought i would ask some of you more knowledgeable fellows. Is this the single rune? If not, what is it? Stock markings are as follows from R to L: Small eagle with swastika over H (Heer for army right?) next to that a big eagle with swastika over WaA26 and a #3 stamped over its wing and one more small eagle with swastika over WaA26.
Recoil lug and buttplate are both WaA26 and serial # on buttplate is 2041. The letter P stamped behind the hand grip on the bottom.

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Well there goes my exitement.:( And no, before someone asks, i did NOT put that there. I used turp and 0000 steel wool and there it was. Oh well its still a nice stock.
 
I'll wait for a few more replies. If the general consensus turns out to be that this is a scratch that happens to look like a rune (like a virgin mary appearance but pure evil) it will be carefully sanded off. Im no SS fanatic so if it is not a legit historical marking I want it off my rifle.

(By the way skirsons im in the middle of stripping another RC. Muhaha!!) "Eine Bolshevistische schmiererei ist das!! :)
 
Yeah, on any single rune examples I have seen, the rune is on top of the reciever between the manufacturer mark and date code or on the side of the barrel.
 
Why such a hurry to obliterate the marking? If it is just a scratch then leave it be... it's not a mint rifle anyways. If evidence becomes available down the road that this marking has a specific meaning you will be kicking yourself in the arse for sanding it out of existence....
 
Infanteer90 said:
Why such a hurry to obliterate the marking? If it is just a scratch then leave it be... it's not a mint rifle anyways. If evidence becomes available down the road that this marking has a specific meaning you will be kicking yourself in the arse for sanding it out of existence....
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Bubba never stops until all of the history is removed from the rifle.
 
Individual soldiers often put their own personal marks on their equipment. Most SS 98K contracts were BNZ 42-44 and sometimes marked on barrel/receiver. You have a RC so it will be more difficult to figure out what is historically correct.
 
I know this will anger the purists among milsurp collectors BUT I dont see the layer of shellac that the Russians added to their war trophies as any more "historically significant" than the layer of cosmoline they put on top of said shellac.

Now regarding this specific rifle, is it a deliberate marking, a scratch, or battle damage ... ?

I suspect no-one will ever know unless a LOT more RC K98s are stripped of shellac and examined. There is a whole aspect of the war on the eastern front that may end up being uncovered with these rifles, and no doubt millions of other German artifacts that the Russians have been sitting on since the end of the war waiting for tthe right western buyer.
 
With my lack of interest in Mausers I'm no expert, but it looks like a stamp to me. Notice the evenness of upper and lower bars. The horizontal bar is parallel with the grain which is why it has not survived as well. Notice there are other markings along the same 'line' in the stock. Notice that the rune (if that is what it is) is centered quite well between the nearby cutout, fittings etc.

As for sanding it out, well, if the Russians were able to put up with it with their history, I would have thought you could manage it. If you feel that strongly, why collect German/Nazi weapons at all?
 
It could be "Screwdriver Art", with a slotted type screwdriver. IE: Fake.

It's nothing more than a "coincidence" as that mark would be on the receiver.
 
I have been looking into this and this is what i have come up with. Feel free to correct me if any of this is wrong as im no expert. I can not find any reference anywhere of a rune being located on a rifles stock. As has been said, they are either on top of receiver or on side of barrel. WaA26 is early war Lubecker or Borsigwalde and this stock was made for the army ("H" stamp). At that time of the war the SS were seen as rivals and were outside the regular supply chain and got their weapons from other sources (czech, captured, ect). I did find some articles that suggested rifles were collected up later in the war and refurbed at SS depots but again rune was placed on receiver or barrel and not on the stock.

So where did it come from? I doubt the russians did it, so either it is a dent/scratch, or some soldier did it.......im getting a headache.......either way im going to leave the damn thing alone. I just did not want some ridiculous fake looking marking on my stock.

Maybee skirsons was right......where is that can of shellac at?
 
J996 said:
....So where did it come from? I doubt the russians did it, so either it is a dent/scratch, or some soldier did it.......im getting a headache.......either way im going to leave the damn thing alone. I just did not want some ridiculous fake looking marking on my stock.

Maybee skirsons was right......where is that can of shellac at?
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IIRC the German military did not condone stock decoration by soldiers...

Why would someone fake such a marking? If it is not known or recognized what benefit would there be? Does it look fresh? Do any of the other markings look false or 'newish'? If someone was faking runes, wouldn't they logically fake two and not one??

If there is no apparent motive or appearance of fakery, why would there be any?
 
J996 said:
Haha, I guess not. By the way I really like your G33/40 .22 you made, very well done..........but now that JW25 will never be "original" again either.:p
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Yeah that JW-25a has a lot of military history. I militarize sporting rifles to combat those who sporterize and vandalize military rifles. It's like fighting back against bubbary by hitting him at home.
 
RRCo. said:
IIRC the German military did not condone stock decoration by soldiers...

Why would someone fake such a marking? If it is not known or recognized what benefit would there be? Does it look fresh? Do any of the other markings look false or 'newish'? If someone was faking runes, wouldn't they logically fake two and not one??

If there is no apparent motive or appearance of fakery, why would there be any?
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I feel it can only be one thing. A German POW with a bad case of crabs, in the Gulag, in Siberia, assembling the RC Rifles for the Russians. Feeling sad, he took a sharp object and engraved what was to be SS, however being caught, he was shot on the spot, and that is why there is only a single rune.
The End.
 
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