Help Identifying this Rifle

H

hivoltagefx4

New member
Hello all,

I recently picked this up from a friend that bought this a long time ago. He said he bought it new, but never fired it. Looks to be a K98? It's in really great shape all the way around. Bore, barrel, etc... all look great. What is something like this worth? I got it on the cheap since he's had it just sitting around forever. Any help with what this rifle is and what it's worth sure would be appreciated!

Hope the pics are decent enough!



 
One more thing, I don't see any import markings, so not sure what difference that makes. Also, when I said that he bought it new, I meant that he bought it from a dealer years ago as a at that time I newly imported rifle. Have I confused you all yet cause I've confused myself for sure! :D
 
It is a Czech Mauser made at Brno under German control.
A VZ24 tweaked to K98k specifications.
Good catch.
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Since it's not an actual K98, what is something like this worth? Does it help that the markings have not been peened?? Thanks again!
 
I don't know about the dollar value, but there is nothing wrong with Czech quality.
And it is in all respects a K98 except not made by Mauser. As with a lot of other German weapons because a dinky little European kingdom did not have enough manufacturing capacity to rule the world.
 
It is a K.98k. The VZ24 is also on a 98 Mauser action, but it is really a different rifle.

After the Germans took over Czechoslovakia, they had the Brno (Brünn) factory continue making the VZ24. By 1943, the tooling had been changed over and the factory (code "dot") was producing the true K.98k. The barrel markings indicate the barrel contractor (though I now forget what they mean).

Jim
 
The barrel markings "24 40 RD" in that order indicate the lot number, the year of manufacture, and the maker. It is accepted by most that "RD" stands for "Radom, Poland (Fabryka Broni).

It has been speculated that it could mean "Rheinmetall, Dusseldorf". However, the evidence is most consistent with it identifying the Polish factory in Radom.

In this case, your barrel was made from Lot #24, in 1940 at Fabryka Broni in Radom, Poland.


Germany attempted to set standards for how barrels were to be marked (maker, year, lot or blank #), however few manufacturers followed it to the letter and some disregarded it entirely, which is why you'll often see inconsistent barrel markings between various manufacturers.
 
A lack of import marks means the gun was brought into the US before the GCA 68 was in effect.

People sometimes think a lack of import marks means a war time capture or bring back, but without any other supporting information, all one can conclusively say is that the gun came in before 1968.
 
Value wise, if all the numbers are matching and there's no evidence of refinishing, at least $700. Good condition k98 are getting hard to find.
But, there seems to be a Russian X capture mark on it, so most likely it is refinished and force matched number wise.
 
If this were a Russian capture, wouldn't the German markings be preened or scratched? Just curious? Thanks again to all for the replies.
 
Yes, and that opens a whole other can of worms - that you can buy a full set of stamps at ebay for less than what it adds in value to a single gun. Time to take the gun out of the stock and post some good pictures of all marks, especially WAA marks (those are location specific but most fakers don't go into that much detail; if you have a mark known at the Mauserwerke on a Bruenn gun you have a problem).
 
If this were a Russian capture, wouldn't the German markings be preened or scratched? Just curious? Thanks again to all for the replies.
Click to expand...

Not all of the time. In fact, most RCs have them intact. In any case, the "X" stamped on the side of the receiver above the serial number is the dead-giveaway of it being a Russian capture.
 
Code dot 43 & 44 should have a 63 WaA mark on major parts. They might also have WaA 135 on parts obtained from Mauser/Oberndorf.

Jim
 
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