G43 Question

[bodes]

Forum members, I hope to be looking at a Gustloff made G43 in the coming weeks, but have some questions....The guy has told me it's been converted to shoot .308 blanks....Now the barrel has the nut on the end, so I understand one merely puts a bank adaptor on the muzzle's end....My first question is whether/not one could have kept the original barrel (7.92 German) and just reamed out the breech (if applicable) to accept the .308 round?....Or would the barrel need to be replaced as well?....I'm hoping not, because I'd like the rifle to be as original as possible and not just some bubba job....Another question is, can one fire .308 using a 7.92 barrel (.303), or is this not advisable?....I guess i see no problem, but have never tried it....The rifle is supposed to be mis-matched but not sure what is what....Also lastly, how much devaluation will come from such conversion?....I've known the seller for about 25 years and he states he doesn't know anything about how it was converted...I will be waiting for replies, which are always appreciated...Bodes

[Steve Flanagan]

Sounds like a reenactor conversion. I would take to gunsmith and get chamber casting to see whats been done. If no extra markings on barrel/receiver. Has gas system been swapped out as well for shooting? I would say value is 1/2 what mismatched but correct rifle would be. I personally would not shoot it.

[STG44]

I think the original barrel could have been used. Like Steve said a cast of the chamber would be best. Best case scenario would be original barrel with a sleeve installed in the chamber like the 30'06 to .308 & 7.62 x 45 to 7.62 x 39 conversions. Removing of the sleeve can be done.

[bodes]

Sounds like a reenactor conversion. I would take to gunsmith and get chamber casting to see whats been done. If no extra markings on barrel/receiver. Has gas system been swapped out as well for shooting? I would say value is 1/2 what mismatched but correct rifle would be. I personally would not shoot it.

Thank you Steve for the reply....It is a reenactor's conversion...Haven't seen it yet, so I have no idea about the gas system....Bodes

[bodes]

I think the original barrel could have been used. Like Steve said a cast of the chamber would be best. Best case scenario would be original barrel with a sleeve installed in the chamber like the 30'06 to .308 & 7.62 x 45 to 7.62 x 39 conversions. Removing of the sleeve can be done.

STG44, thank you for your input.....Bodes

[Willi Z.]

I bought a .308 barrel for a G43 back in the 90s. They were easily obtained back then, and often used by reenactors in order to use .308 blanks, which were cheaper (other than the wood tipped Egyptian 8mm blanks) than making/ finding crimped 8mm blanks. It was common then to find duffle cut and sanded G/K43s at a modest price to convert.

[bodes]

I bought a .308 barrel for a G43 back in the 90s. They were easily obtained back then, and often used by reenactors in order to use .308 blanks, which were cheaper (other than the wood tipped Egyptian 8mm blanks) than making/ finding crimped 8mm blanks. It was common then to find duffle cut and sanded G/K43s at a modest price to convert.

The nineties are about the time I became acquainted with this guy....He's a reenactor who dresses from the Revolutionary war up through WW2.....He never wanted to part with it, but now that he's getting into his sixties, he's thinking about parting with some of his stuff....Bodes

[Chet Sowersby]

Hopefully it hasn't been buggered up too badly as it's a very desirable code. Pity he didn't use a Walther since they are quite common code wise.

Chet

[bodes]

Hopefully it hasn't been buggered up too badly as it's a very desirable code. Pity he didn't use a Walther since they are quite common code wise.

Chet

I hear you there....Walther ac44's are the most common maker/year for the G43's....Bodes

[Willi Z.]

7.92mm is larger than .308. I just reread the first post. That is why folks replaced the barrel when converting it.

[bodes]

7.92mm is larger than .308. I just reread the first post. That is why folks replaced the barrel when converting it.

Willi, you are indeed correct...I should have known that as I took drafting classes in college, and one of my first jobs out of school was to convert metric prints into US standards.....But somewhere along the way, I wrongly came up with this idea that 7.92mm was equivalent to British .303.....Bodes

[bodes]

I called the guy tonight asking about getting together to look at the G43....He said he had an old friend (fellow reenactor) stop on over and take a look at the rifle....Guy offered him $1K cash, and he sold it...However, we talked for over an hour, and he told me the barrel had indeed been replaced....This and he figured the stock had been as well...He described it as a solid stock and not laminated, and was not drilled to accept a cleaning rod....I don't believe any G/K43's were factory built with solid wood stocks....Other than perhaps experimental versions....He said it was a Gustloff, but he also said the rail would accept a scope mount....I than asked him if the mount could be locked down (as Gustloff rails were not recessed, but flat straight across) and strangely he said yes...So, I don't believe it was a 'bcd'....He also said the gun had two 'Denmark' marked magazines, which leads me to believe it may have been a post war used G43....He's going to do a look and see if he has any pictures of the rifle on his computer, and hopefully send me some...Bodes