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dou 43 Mauser ? refinished?

migrapilotmigrapilot Member Posts: 73 ✭✭
edited December 2013 in Ask the Experts
Hopefully the pictures are close up enough to tell. A friend of mine picked this up at a gun show and asked me if it looked refinished. The GS seller said that he thought it had been. I can't tell. The more I look at it the more I wonder if it's in origonal condition. There are no russian stencil or import marks on it, at least above the wood line. Friend says it is all matching, bore looks good, and the bolt, bolt shroud, and bands appear blued.

Any Mauser guys out there care to give us your opinion? Thanks!

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Comments

  • charliemeyer007charliemeyer007 Member Posts: 6,572 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Looks factory to me. Tooling marks look un touched. Better pictures would help.

    Bubba works in strange and mysterious ways. Better pic's would help answer the question. Lot of years for someone to work it over. A rough 43 wouldn't warrant the faking IMHO. I have a straight 1936 S that is all milled steel with a nice blued finish (been in the family since 45). I gave away my rough 44 BYF (Bubba) even though it shot good.
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  • rufe-snowrufe-snow Member Posts: 18,650 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Toward the end of the war. When things started going down the toilet for them. The krauts started using what they called a phosphate finish. On this side of the pond we called it Parkerizing.

    It looks like the 98 K has a mix of Phosphated and blued parts. But like Charlie says the photos are so poor, hard to tell if it's original? Over the years bunch of wise guys have refinished a lot of German rifles to make them look original.

    At this late date the best indication of originality would be the price he paid for it. Original 98 K's are big buck collectors items nowadays. If the guy he bought it from expressed doubts about it's originality, IMHO likely it isn't.
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  • migrapilotmigrapilot Member Posts: 73 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    Thanks Rufe, Charlie. He got for around $400 I believe. I'll see if he can send some better pics.
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  • b0400879b0400879 Member Posts: 256 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Pics are horribly dark for a full eval, but the bolt's root has been ground, & restamped to force-match it w/ a bogus s/n.
    Hope he didn't give too much coin for it.
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  • p3skykingp3skyking Member Posts: 23,916 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    The gun is fine and original from the looks of it. Nothing screwed with in the photos. Your friend made a nice score.
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  • migrapilotmigrapilot Member Posts: 73 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    P3,

    I see what b0400 is talking about with the bolt. I looked at several other bolts on the auction side and they look different, unground. What are your thoughts there? I can't see someone going through the trouble to do that for profit. We're not talking about a rare gun here.
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  • p3skykingp3skyking Member Posts: 23,916 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    quote:Originally posted by migrapilot
    P3,

    I see what b0400 is talking about with the bolt. I looked at several other bolts on the auction side and they look different, unground. What are your thoughts there? I can't see someone going through the trouble to do that for profit. We're not talking about a rare gun here.


    To actually judge authenticity, I use a 10X loupe to check EVERY nuance of number stamps. Obviously I can't with this, but I can examine the serfs and shape of the numbers and these all seem to match in the scope of serializing a 1943 dou rifle. I would bet anything the finish is original and I'm pretty sure of the bolt, although I wouldn't bet the farm without a hands on.


    ADDENDUM: Another thing I would check is the serno on the firing pin. If it's right, then the bolt probably is.
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  • TRAP55TRAP55 Member Posts: 8,292 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Looks like a Czech refurb minus the half gallon of shellac slopped on. Clear closeups of all the markings would help.
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