Gustloff Werke Kar98k

Description

Recently imported from the US & offered for sale is this very nice all matching numbered mid-late war K98k made by Gustloff Werke, one of Germany's' newest firearms manufactures. The company was founded by Fritz Sauckel with approval from Adolf Hitler on May 27, 1936. The original assets of the plant were from the recently expropriated Suhler Simson-Werke. In 1939, a modern plant was built in Weimar, which would later become Gustloff Werke's headquarters. The company was also renamed to Wilhelm Gustloff Werke, Nationalsozialistische Industriestiftung for tax & statutory reasons the same year as it was essentially a Nazi Party asset. Beginning in October 1938 the decision to rationalize the concerns industrial activity resulted in the formation of a “consortium” of sorts where smaller firms would supply components for rifles that would be assembled in the corporations Weimar’s operation. Gustloff Werke Weimar’s rifle production was unique among the German rifle makers in several ways & in many ways it would be the model for the others to follow by the wars end. The facility was the lead firm of the Wilhelm Gustloff Foundation (Wilhelm-Gustloff-Stiftung), which was a Nazi state owned corporation founded upon 'nationalized' Jewish property the National Socialist seized during its early consolidation phase 1933-1936. Gustloff-Werke Weimar was very much the model of National Socialist ideology. It was an incredibly inept & wasteful operation with vast sums were squandered on its expansion & development. Like all National Socialist programs, profit & efficiency was never a consideration with the operation being profoundly flawed. It is acknowledged that forced labour was used by Gustloff Werke. Postwar evaluations of the operations state that even with all the brutality & destructive power of the state behind the operation, Gustloff Werke never operated beyond 60% of its capacity & as such produced a much lower number of Kar98k rifles than other manufacturers making this a desirable rifle to collectors. In 1941 the Gustloff Werke production code changed from “337” to a script “bnz”. The top of the receiver ring on this rifle is marked 'bnz' over 44, the right side is marked with Waffenamt proofs which were the acceptance codes for Gustloff Werke & the left side is marked with the Nazi firing proof (Nazi Eagle or ‘Reich Adler’) & the serial number. It looks all correct including the laminate stock with the correct cupped butt plate, milled barrel bands, floorplate & trigger guard plus it retains the original cleaning rod. This is a very good example of an early-mid war K98k rifle made when the Germans were still building quality guns & before they began to introduce changes to production techniques seen in the Kriegsmodell & has all the hallmarks of being a war trophy, having been taken home after the war by a US GI. This is all matching, right down to the firing pin & presents as all original as can be seen in the photos. The wood is good with minimal marks & it has much of the original blue still present (which is darker than appears in the photos), although the barrel bands & butt plate have almost no blueing left at all. The bore is excellent, shiny with lots of rifling clearly visible, so definitely a shooter! The muzzle will not accept a PPU ‘8mm Mauser’ round, as per photo which demonstrates the barrel is still tight but of course it shoots the original 7.92mm (now called 8x57 or 8mm Mauser). Make your decision based on what you see, so please view the photos carefully as they form the main description & override all written information so ask for more if desired. Whilst we check these out for serviceability, the warranty has expired & these are sold on an as is basis. As with all used guns, we recommend you have this checked by a suitably qualified person prior to shooting. Call for shipping cost to your dealer.  

Specifications