recently acquired 98K

[colt45]

look good

[lithgow]

'Forced Match'-very common with rebuilds-my Steyr M1895 Carbine is the same-you could try returning it if you were mislead by the description.

[CaptCanuck]

'Forced Match'-very common with rebuilds-my Steyr M1895 Carbine is the same-you could try returning it if you were mislead by the description.

In the case of a 'Forced Match' rebuild, is that indicative of extra work and care to optimally match replacement bolt to receiver before grinding and renumbering? Is it safe to assume this was done at the arsenal level and not in private hands?

[lithgow]

e passage of time since the rifles were made and post war use by both govts and individuals, it's difficult to say who is responsible for what changes but arsenal rebuilds are usually done by govts. Some dealers have been known to 'create' more valuable examples and individual owners also upgrade or restore their rifles. The Soviets were only interested in rebuilding a serviceable rifle with a matching serial number for the receiver and bolt for storage and issue control-the fact that they could do that with a variety of parts is a tribute to the modern industrial practice of making interchangeable parts.

[CaptCanuck]

Hey guys,

Popped the stock off this morning - here are a few more photos to analyze. As you can see the stamped number in the stock matches the receiver, and the bayonet nut looks original to the stock.

[GIZMO8Z]

Your rifle is "force matched"... which more than likely means that it, along with so many other rifles just like it were returned to an arsenal after wartime. The rifles were all stripped down, and the parts taken off were tossed into huge bins of like-parts. The entire rifle and the parts taken off were cleaned and the metal and wood parts were refinished. I'm not sure about your particular Czech produced rifle, but other types of K98ks that have a dark black finish to the metal parts and a deep red color shellac on the stock is a dead giveaway tat the rifle was rearsenaled. After the wood and metal parts of the rifle were refinished, the rifles were rebuilt using random parts from the parts bins. Whatever part fit was used to complete the rifle... the arsenal workers did not take the time to match serial numbers. They were much more concerned with making functioning rifles to make available to troops if another war broke out.

[CaptCanuck]

Your rifle is "force matched"... which more than likely means that it, along with so many other rifles just like it were returned to an arsenal after wartime. The rifles were all stripped down, and the parts taken off were tossed into huge bins of like-parts. The entire rifle and the parts taken off were cleaned and the metal and wood parts were refinished. I'm not sure about your particular Czech produced rifle, but other types of K98ks that have a dark black finish to the metal parts and a deep red color shellac on the stock is a dead giveaway tat the rifle was rearsenaled. After the wood and metal parts of the rifle were refinished, the rifles were rebuilt using random parts from the parts bins. Whatever part fit was used to complete the rifle... the arsenal workers did not take the time to match serial numbers. They were much more concerned with making functioning rifles to make available to troops if another war broke out.

Great information, thank you.

One more marking in the barrel channel that I forgot to post.

Does the "N" have any significance that you're aware of?

[mauser9]

Hey Capt What you have is a late model BCD Gustloff Kar 98k made in 1944. They usually only included one number instead of 2 denoting year of manufacture. These late war 98k with stamped barrel bands and matching bolts are very desireable and collectible. Too bad for the peened swastkas but your rifle is worth plenty in my area. Many capture kars have mismatched bolts. Is this a deact or are you allowed to have guns that can fire? Congradulations on your find.

[CaptCanuck]

Hey Mauser9,

Thanks for your feedback, much appreciated.

I'm not sure this can be called a matching bolt and receiver because at some stage, the serials on the bolt were ground and renumbered. Do you have any opinion on when this may have been done and by whom? Some comments to date have suggested post war Czech refurb.

It's a live weapon and after I have the headspace checked I'll take it to the range and put some rounds through it. The bore looks good overall.

Cheers,

CC

Hey Capt What you have is a late model BCD Gustloff Kar 98k made in 1944. They usually only included one number instead of 2 denoting year of manufacture. These late war 98k with stamped barrel bands and matching bolts are very desireable and collectible. Too bad for the peened swastkas but your rifle is worth plenty in my area. Many capture kars have mismatched bolts. Is this a deact or are you allowed to have guns that can fire? Congradulations on your find.