Steyr BNZ 43 K98 Mauser

[nycGUNguy 61]

I have a friend who told me that he had his dad's old rifle that he used to play with in the Bronx. He was wondering about it and said that he recently retreived it from his sister-in-law's house that had burned down in the Bronx. The police had given it back after firefighters had retrieved it from the basement. He told me that his dad had been in the Army during the war in Germany. When I went to his house to look at it, I was surprised to see that it was all rusty, dirty, had paint on it, and also had some kitchen grease on it. When I looked at it, I knew that it was a Mauser k98 because of the stock lines and bolt design. I put a trigger lock on it and put it in a case to get it back to my garage.

 

It was covered in surface rust and dusty dirt. I sprayed it with carburator cleaner because that is all I had to get the caked dirt off. I stripped the barreled action off the stock. After that I lightly used the wire brush wheel on my bench grinder so as not to take the blueing off. I sprayed into the barrel and ran a brush thru it. The rifling looked crisp and clean after cleaning the bore. I used Pledge on the wood after lightly using Scotch-brite all over.

 

Overall, the rifle looks good despite the fact that it is missing the upper handguard, barrel band, bayonet lug, 6inches off the front of the wood stock and the front sight and sight hood. The markings are clear. I don't have any 8mm round or snap caps but the thin dry fired twice quite nicely.

 

The stock and buttplate numbers: 9517

 

The bolt and strike numbers: 9131

 

The receiver, barrel, rear sight and base, triggerguard, and magazine floorplate numbers: 4031 with the receiver having "bnz 43" code on top and the eagle on the bottom with Wa/77 for the stick eagle code.

 

My research has led me to believe it is a Steyr, Austria 1943.

 

My questions are:

Is it worth restroing back to original military condition?

Is it worth aquiring from my friend for a fair price?

Is it worth anything even with mismatched numbers?

Where can I get a German Steyr numbered stock?

What type of refinishing should I use for the metal?

 

 

Thanks for any help with this.

 

nyclu3

Edited June 2, 2009 by nyclu3

[Reverendfranz 160]

Mausers are great, and are always worth having around. the stock and gun looks good, if its got a decent bore, id say you have quite the find on your hands, assuming the original owner doesnt want to keep it.

 

I wouldnt bubba a WWII bringback German gun, though, so id say your only option is to restore it. (even a master bubba like me has a conscience)

 

Numrich should have everything you need. http://www.e-gunparts.com/model.asp?idDept=161

 

also surplusrifle.com and surplusrifleforum.com have tons of great info.

 

Enjoy.

[Reverendfranz 160]

also, as general rule, its deeply frowned upon to refinish historical weapons, you will likely damage, obscure, or remove some of the inspector markings that would make that rifle stand out as something that wasnt attacked by bubba in the 60s and 70s and turned into some horrible deerhunting conversion. The stock doesnt look bad in your pictures, you can probably replace only the upper and lower handguards and be set. the stock probably only needs a little bit of cleaning and some tung oil rubbed into it, steam if it has some nasty dents. (edit, my confusion, i didnt realize at first that the stock is actually cut) Then oil up the action, and it will likely last another 80 plus years as a little piece of history.

Edited June 2, 2009 by ReverendFranz

[nycGUNguy 61]

also, as general rule, its deeply frowned upon to refinish historical weapons, you will likely damage, obscure, or remove some of the inspector markings that would make that rifle stand out as something that wasnt attacked by bubba in the 60s and 70s and turned into some horrible deerhunting conversion. The stock doesnt look bad in your pictures, you can probably replace only the upper and lower handguards and be set. the stock probably only needs a little bit of cleaning and some tung oil rubbed into it, steam if it has some nasty dents. (edit, my confusion, i didnt realize at first that the stock is actually cut) Then oil up the action, and it will likely last another 80 plus years as a little piece of history.

 

 

Thanks for the advice Mr. Reverend Franz,

 

Since the numbers on the stock and bolt don't match the receiver, I guess I can try to find a surplus military stock of the right configuration. Upon searching, I find that the proper buttplate is cupped and that I need to find a front sight blade, hood and sling. If I can convince my friend to let me buy it from him then I will want to restore it to look like the Mitchell Arms Mausers.

 

I also just noticed that the safety is missing at the back of the bolt.

nyclu3

Edited June 2, 2009 by nyclu3

[Reverendfranz 160]

Numrich should be able to set you right. just a quick look and i saw the sight assembly, hood, front band and a couple of different stocks that will probably work (if not 100% correct) for 8-12 dollars for the small parts and 60 for the stock.

 

another sight to look at is sarco: http://www.sarcoinc.com/mauser.html#4

they have a stripped german laminate stock for 75

 

good luck talking your friend out of it, ive been looking for a good mauser for a while, and if you end up with something looking like a mitchel, you will be sitting well indeed.