BNZ 42 Kar.98 questions

[TG]

Good afternoon Gentlemen,

This is my first post in the firearms forum (my bread & butter is Pz.Kmf.Abz.) so please, be gentle with me.

I would just like some opinions. I apologise for the crappy images but they were taken in haste; the locals were giving me strange looks as I stood on the side of the road with the seller, earlier today, inspecting the gun.

From what I could tell upon inspecting this BNZ 42 today;

• the stock has been sanded & lacquered
• near all of the parts (visible) are matching
• the metal-work looks far too good not to have been re-blued
• the bore is spotless & mirror-brite

I am considering purchasing this rifle so, any input or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

*images to follow*

[TG]

Rhs

[TG]

Lhs

[TG]

breech

[TG]

bolt

[TG]

butt (blued butt-plate?)

[TG]

fore-end

[Ostmark]

What i can see from the pics, the rifle has been reblued imo ...

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi James, I would agree with yours and Ostmark's observations. It would appear to be a gun that has been restored.

It all depends on:
A.) what you are going to do with it?
B.) price.

If you want a shooter then I think this would be a good example to have? I think we agree that it has been refinished, so from a gun collectors point of view the value has been severely reduced. But as one to use it would be fine. If you are looking for one for display, again, it would look very pretty. But I think many would advise you to buy an example that has not been altered since the war and was in original condition. Price as always can be a big factor in all of this.

Cheers, Ade.

[TG]

Ostmark & Adrian, thank you both very much for your comments.

Essentially, I am looking for a gun to shoot. Ideally, I would also love to have it to display but given the archaic gun laws here in Australia, this is never going to happen.

My main issue is that I am finding it extremely difficult to find anything original here, other than Israeli or Yugo refurbs. So I may be jumping the gun (no pun intended) at something that appears to be so good. By the same token, I would also like to have a gun that, potentially, has a decent re-sale value. The asking price for this is AUD$1000. Decisions, decisions...

[Justen_Wilson]

I don't know the diff. betwen AUD and USD. but if they are close, than 1,000 is stout to me. its maching yes, but most people who buy these are collecters and i don't think it has a great re-sale value. yes the are going up. but i don't know, i would try and talk him down a little around 800.

[sszza2]

TG,

There is not enough detail shown in the pictures to determine if the subject rifle is original or has been postwar reblued or period reworked. I have frequently seen forums make bad calls on rifles due to unclear pictures or inexperience. What is the serial number letter range of the subject rifle? I would be interested to see pictures of the right and left side of bbl in between the rear site and receiver. Does this rifle have final assembly proof on top of the receiver or proofing on the right side of the receiver? Are the bbl bands, floorplate and tgd numbered?

Scott B

[Adrian Stevenson]

Hi Justen, $1000 Aus dollars = about $757 US dollars.


Hi Scott, my comments were based around James' original observations and I do not consider myself any expert on the subject It would be interesting to know if everything does indeed match, but then we would still need to know if refinished or not?

It does seem that collectors "down under" do have to pay high prices for their items compared to the US or even us here in the UK.

Cheers, Ade.

[TG]

TG,

There is not enough detail shown in the pictures to determine if the subject rifle is original or has been postwar reblued or period reworked. I have frequently seen forums make bad calls on rifles due to unclear pictures or inexperience. What is the serial number letter range of the subject rifle? I would be interested to see pictures of the right and left side of bbl in between the rear site and receiver. Does this rifle have final assembly proof on top of the receiver or proofing on the right side of the receiver? Are the bbl bands, floorplate and tgd numbered?

Scott B

Hi Scott. Again, I apologise for the crap images. I know that I am making things difficult for you guys to help me out by posting inferior images.

I can tell you that the following parts defintely have the serial# 975
•bolt handle
•bolt sleeve
•safety
•cocking piece
•bolt release
•floorplate
•trigger guard
•rear sight (base, post & guide)

I am unsure of the receiver serial due to the circumstance of our meeting place and the fact that it started to rain, so things got hurried and I didn't get a decent picture. I am pretty sure it matched though. I am also reasonably sure that the front band also matched. It does have a firing proof on top that I can't quite make out, plus 2 more proofs on the left side. Nothing on the right hand side, that I can see (but I am relying on my full res crappy images)

I couldn't see a serial on the barrel, although it has "41 RU" or something thereabouts and a proof.

[Jarrid Marsh]

Hi Scott. Again, I apologise for the crap images. I know that I am making things difficult for you guys to help me out by posting inferior images.

I can tell you that the following parts defintely have the serial# 975
•bolt handle
•bolt sleeve
•safety
•cocking piece
•bolt release
•floorplate
•trigger guard
•rear sight (base, post & guide)

I am unsure of the receiver serial due to the circumstance of our meeting place and the fact that it started to rain, so things got hurried and I didn't get a decent picture. I am pretty sure it matched though. I am also reasonably sure that the front band also matched. It does have a firing proof on top that I can't quite make out, plus 2 more proofs on the left side. Nothing on the right hand side, that I can see (but I am relying on my full res crappy images)

I couldn't see a serial on the barrel, although it has "41 RU" or something thereabouts and a proof.

The stock is definitely redone, the stock disc is blued as is the magazine follower, and the trigger guard has a phosphate finsh. Im not an expert, but the gun looks totally reblued and redone, to be honest, I think its just a lot of money for a shooter. You can buy a mint original Kriegs rifle for that. But that is just my opinion. I dont know the market in Austrailia, but I would not pay more 3-400.00 U.S for this rifle

J