WWII German K98 Rifle - dnz 42
This K98 rifle and web page is dedicated to the memory of United States World War II Army veteran
Nick Sinchuk who passed away April 7, 2005.
Veteran bring back from Italy. My parent's next door neighbor, Nick
served in North Africa and Italy during WWII in a US Army maintenance unit. While
in Naples, Italy in 1945 as part of the 1st Battalion 125th Ordinance, he
picked up from a pile of surrendered rifles this maker marked 'dnz' 42 K98 Mauser rifle. He then
had it shipped back to the States. The rifle stayed in his finished basement
until around 1998. Knowing my interest in WWII, he graciously gave
it to me. He stated it has not been fired since WWII. I have no intentions
of firing it or selling it, just taking care of it. I've since added a sling (not German),
sight guard, and cleaning rod. All numbers match on the rifle (3654) except
for the bolt (7076, all matching). The original bolt had been separated
from the rifle in Italy and Nick picked one from another pile.
Numbers appear on front barrel band, rear barrel band, under folding sight,
top end of sight, receiver, small 'step' left hand side at rear of receiver
a 54, bottom of receiver, and floor plate. I don't see any numbers on the
stock, there may be very faint number 25 on top of upper hand guard. The
cupped buttplate has the letters 'brg', maker code for H.W. Schmidt, Döbeln, Sachsen. There appears to be a lowercase
"b" under the number 3654 on the front left hand side of the receiver. Small
"77" on right hand side and two small "77"'s above 3654 on bottom of receiver.
Receiver top has a Waffenamt or inspection stamp of "WaA623". There are
the letters 'dot' on the bottom of the stock, near the buttplate. These
letters indicate the stock was manufactured by
I seem to recall my Dad and I took the upper hand guard off once and found
numbers (not 3654) under the part. May have to remove again to check.
Marking "Ru" is an unknown barrel manufacturer code. The "b" below serial
number is the suffix letter block production code. An observer on the internet
noted the stock may have been sanded and the sling is probably original
WWII issue. Because the receiver is shiny, it may have been reblued since
WWII. Nick always said the rifle has been in his basement since WWII and
has not been fired since then. May never really know. Interesting note;
30 minutes after I posted for the first time on the internet regarding this
rifle, I found out Nick had passed away that evening.
Here are some comments about the rifle:
Bob in Ohio:
Looks like a nice piece. Code 'bnz' is a Steyr made piece
which is desirable. Things look "right" but that m/matched bolt hurts value
and the receiver and barrel may be reblued? Pretty glossy finish and pitting
that might be blued over is my cue. Value would be 3-600 depending on the
reblue question and how motivated the buyer is.
Turbo Archie:
Yea, $300 if you want to buy it and $600 if you want
to sell it.
Spitzenmeister:
I also agree with Bob that there is a possible re-blue
issue with the receiver, especially if you compare that area to the milled
“H” front band. But, I can’t tell for sure (i.e. the muzzle and front sight
look ok). It may just be the camera flash.
Rich, what you have there is way better than a Russian
Capture (RC). Someone messed with it sometime in it’s long past (the drill
hole and sanding reflect this) though. But this is pretty common, so it’s
nothing to feel down or otherwise bad about.
Unfortunately, there was a small hole drilled in the stock just in
front of the sling slot on the left side. It does not go through the stock and is covered
by the sling. The bore is nice.
Markings: Matching SN 3654, except bolt (7076) Numbers appear on
front barrel band, front sling band, under folding sight, top end of sight,
receiver, small 'step' left hand side at rear of receiver 54, bottom of
receiver, floorplate. No markings on wood stock. Possibly faint number on
top of front wood piece. Hole drilled in front of rear entry of sling, left
side. Two circular marks between front barrel band sling band. Rear bottom
of stock may have "dot" letters stamped in wood.
Additional Markings: Receiver front "Ru" 'bnz' 42 Mod. 98 Appears to be a lowercase
"b" under SN 3654 left hand side receiver. "77" on right hand side, Two "77"'s
above bottom receiver. Receiver top stamped with Waffenamt of WaA623, Receiver
left ("FP - SN") NOTE: Reference on Internet had FP-SN, not sure what that
is referring to. FP is Firing Proof, maybe eagle and swastika? Cupped buttplate:
brg WaA497, produced by sub-contractor H.W. Schmidt Metallwarenfabrik, Döbeln
in Sachsen. No serial number on exterior of plate. According to revised edition
Backbone of the Wehrmacht, a pictured rifle assembled in 1942 by Steyr had
a buttplate stamped 'Wa623 Sn' (page 193). Buttplate markings 'brg WaA497
Sn' is pictured for rifles assembled in 1941 (page 176) and 1943 (page 213)
at Steyr.
Sling (non-original WWII issue) was added by current owner. In April 2005
purchased correct 12.5 inch (no SN, original) cleaning rod. I've also fitted an
original sight hood. At the time the rifle was given to me, the fitted sling was a belt.
It is possible the previous owner had drilled a hole in the stock to secure the belt,
not sure.
Maker codes on rifle
bnz - Steyr-Daimler-Puch A.G., Steyr (Upper Austria)
brg -
H.W. Schmidt Metallwarenfabrik, Döbeln in Sachsen
dot - Waffen Werke Brünn,
Bystrica
