I recently acquired a mildly sportered K98- it's an S/42 1936 K98 that was supposedly brought back from the war and was sportered as a birthday gift in the late 40's or early 50's- the sights were replaced and it was dropped into a nice sporter stock. I took a good look at it and it appears no alterations were made to the barrel, and there are no extra holes in the receiver. The bore is sharp, shiny and clean. This rifle appears to be a possible rebuild- the bolt is E/214 stamped throughout (bolt body, shroud, safety, extractor, etc.) and all the parts are stamped to match the rifle's serial number, minus the "a" suffix- I don't see any indications of grinding or line-outs on the serial numbers on the bolt. There is an E/214 mark on the underside of the bolt handle at the root, and an eagle/swastika on the backside. The barrel struck me as different- it is not serial numbered, and it is marked "cxm 44 bys" on the underside along with two E/26 marks, and has a marking on the left side of the barrel shank that I am not familiar with- it is shown in the attached image. Is this a rebuild mark, or a "Luftamt" mark? It was tastefully sportered (if there truly is such a thing) but since I'm not into it for much money and have always wanted a pre-war K98, I am considering returning it to close to it's original form- it will need a stock/bands and complete front and rear sights. Should I be on the hunt for a walnut stock, or if it was rebuilt in 1944, would any stock suffice? It should be a fun project, at any rate. If anyone has any information they can share about the mark in the picture, I would appreciate it. Thanks in advance!
3/7- I added some pictures of the bolt and other areas. The sporter front sight is a band type and is mounted with a small set screw in the same place as the original sight base- I measured an original K98 I have for comparison- no extra holes. The rear sight base was ground down and rotated 180 degress to expose the smooth underside, and two E/26 marks are present on what's left of the base- I will try to find a complete E/26 rear sight as a replacement. The sporter rear sight is attached with two screws, but the holes that were made will be hidden by an original rear sight. If anyone has or has a lead on a complete E/26 rear sight, please contact me. If anyone would like me to photograph any other areas, please let me know. I realize that, much like old muscle cars, these things are only "original" once, but being as this is an unusually marked rifle (and a pre-war K98, something I've always wanted!), I almost feel like it's my duty to make it look like it once was. I shouldn't have much more in it than I would for a decent RC by the time it's done, and the task of locating parts and making it happen myself are all part of the fun. It still makes me cringe that this one was sportered to begin with!
3/7- I added some pictures of the bolt and other areas. The sporter front sight is a band type and is mounted with a small set screw in the same place as the original sight base- I measured an original K98 I have for comparison- no extra holes. The rear sight base was ground down and rotated 180 degress to expose the smooth underside, and two E/26 marks are present on what's left of the base- I will try to find a complete E/26 rear sight as a replacement. The sporter rear sight is attached with two screws, but the holes that were made will be hidden by an original rear sight. If anyone has or has a lead on a complete E/26 rear sight, please contact me. If anyone would like me to photograph any other areas, please let me know. I realize that, much like old muscle cars, these things are only "original" once, but being as this is an unusually marked rifle (and a pre-war K98, something I've always wanted!), I almost feel like it's my duty to make it look like it once was. I shouldn't have much more in it than I would for a decent RC by the time it's done, and the task of locating parts and making it happen myself are all part of the fun. It still makes me cringe that this one was sportered to begin with!
