[themauserkid]

Just recently picked this one up, it’s neat to examine the conversion work. Neat mix of parts on it, the rear band is e/43 the ejector spring is e6 as well as the sear. The TG has rough, as forged areas on it, and it’s even rough inside the bow, which is thicker than normal and mildly rounded, unlike a military component. The bolt body is a pear shaped commercial unit, with a long extractor on the left side that rides on the typical extractor collar.

 

[moconfed]

Killer

 

[Frosty]

^^, +1.

 

[scandiknivars]

Super nice. Thanks for sharing.
Dan

 

[CJ556]

Cool one Clay. Dumb question I presume it’s in 8.15x46?

 

[themauserkid]

Thanks guys. Marc it’s a .22, at the bottom of the ads from Geco and such, they mention the Wehrmannsgewehr can be had as a .22 as well. No serious shooting with it yet, but did plink around with some RWS subs and that sure was fun.

 

[kabanchik]

Imperial! ABSOLUTELY IMPERIAL...and in .22lr, to boot!! A BEAUTIFUL rifle, my friend. NICE photography, as well. Congratulations!

 

[DaveFromSheffield]

I'm not sure where you got the Geco connection from. The rifle is marked KABA which is for Carl (/Karl) Bauer, a 1920s gun smith/retailer from Berlin. This rifle dates from post WWI and was most likely made from surplus parts/NOS parts at hand. You can see another KABA marked Gew98 here: Hermann Historica - Internationales Auktionshaus für Antiken, Alte Waffen, Orden und Ehrenzeichen, Historische Sammlungsstücke . Or you may compare it with a Nazi era .22 training rifle pictured here: https://www.k98kforum.com/threads/kaba-spezial-sport-buchse-ges-gesch.2801/ . Hence this is NOT an Imperial German rifle.

Your rifle is extremely nice and surely not many like it were made. Thank you for sharing it!

 

[themauserkid]

Thanks for the link Georg, much appreciated, neat to see another marked Kaba! This rifle is not proof dated unfortunately (I don’t know why they don’t do such on KKW) but the Simson parts marked e43 etc date those components to around 1929-32. Carl Bauer was already acquired by Geco by this timeframe. Rifles barely higher in serial number (hunting rifles) are marked both Geco and Kaba on the same barrel, even on the same milled flat in the rib indicating it wasn’t an after thought application. While it surely must be early I really do believe the Kaba trademark was already a Geco holding by the time this rifle was made. We know that rifles continued to be marked with the trademark’s of acquired firms long after the fact, case in point, see the 1944 hunting rifle I just posted marked Gecado.

 

[DaveFromSheffield]

Clay, in case you didn't notice: the rifle from HH rifle is less than 20 digits away from your rifle.

 

[free1954]

very nice.